Colin McGuire wrote:
Thanks to all of you for your responses so far!In terms of budget, I really don't have a set budget. I am looking for the best value to achieve my criteria (which is: fast primes, sharp at wide apertures, w/ beautiful bokeh). I already have a lot of money invested in my Canon lenses, so I would likely not be able to afford brand new Leica lenses. I like Michiel Fokkema's suggestion of buying the models just before the latest... Can anybody tell me what would be a good search term to use when searching the internet for those model-just-before-the-current lenses e.g. do those lenses have the term "R6" or "R7" in their name, or something like that? Also, does anybody know of somewhere (a web gallery, or the like) I could go looking to see examples of shots take by specific lenses (such as the Summilux 80mm 1.4, suggested by Steve Barbour, or the 50/1.4, 60/2.8 and 90/2 suggested by Michiel Fokkema) so that I can see what the visual characteristics of the lenses look like? Best, Galwaycolin. Email: galwaycolin@xxxxxxxxxxx
Colin, I can suggest that you look in: http://gallery.leica-users.org http://www.northcoastphotos.com/Lympa.htm http://www.mflenses.com http://www.flickr.com http://www.photoethnography.com/equipment.html Alternatively you can google the types of lenses you are interested in, and see what comes up. Unfortunately the many generations of Leica lenses are not always clear to all users, so sometimes you are wondering which version works with what. This is also very much the case with which versions of what lens work with what adapter. If you search the archives of this list, I believe you will find all the answers you need. If not sing out, there are folks here who learned the hard way and are glad to spare other people the pain. Additionally, this list has a huge wealth of information on using Leica glass with various digital options, the several options that are most often discussed recently being four thirds, and compact four thirds, Nikon D-700, and the Canons you are looking at. When you find photos in Flickr, you will see that some list which versions of the lens were used. You can put that text in your search string, or you can double click on the lens type in the keywords list over on the right. For my own part, I can say that I have an old 180mm APO Telyt R f/3.4, and a 90mm Summicron R f/2, which I use with an E330, along with a Leicaflex SL and film, and both of these work wonderfull. Anything that goes wrong with a shot with one of them is my fault.They are both pretty reasonably priced these days. A 180 is for sale on this list at this time, last I looked.
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