I'd consider Zeiss if Zeiss offers something unique, like the 18mm f/4, but not to save money on something made by Leica. I haven't tried the Zeiss lenses for Leica, but most of them are Japanese (probably also made by Cosina) and the ones I've tried in other mounts are nice optically, but only third-party quality in their mechanical feel. For the Nikon SP, the only other choice is the unavailable Nikkor 21mm, which sells for about $8,000 used (if you can find it) because it's a collectors item, so the Cosina was the only 21mm lens I could get. I suspect the optics of other third-party lenses are probably fine, and I'll let you know as I get to testing them. I bought a $400 Cosina 21mm f/4 (Voigtländer) for use on my Nikon SP rangefinder camera. Buy a Voigtländer lens if it does something that Leica can't do, like the extraordinary 15mm f/4.5 Voigtländer lens, but don't bother with lower-performance lenses like the Voigtländer 28mm f/1.9 just to save money instead of getting the Leica lens you really want. I'll get into details, but don't buy Voigtländer lenses to save money. Cost per year: the world keeps paying you $100/year.)Īny time Leica cameras come up, people have always wondered how well discount non-Leica lenses work.Īsk yourself: if you have the money to throw away at an M8.2 or any other Leica, new or used, then why can't you afford a lot less money to invest in the lenses it deserves, which don't depreciate like the M8? Cost per year: the world pays you $100/year. Cost per year: the world pays you $80/year.)

Cost per year: the world pays you $10/year.) Only buy them if they do something Leica can't. Do not buy Voigtländer lenses to save money. Honestly, do you have any idea by how many thousands of dollars a year your M9 is depreciating? Do you realize that lenses only go up in value? The silliest thing people do is buy fancy cameras and cheap-out on lenses. The M9 has no such firmware for use with lesser lenses. The M9 is programmed with profiles to work perfectly with all current Leica ultrawides, so they are not a problem. They work great on film, but forget it with the M9. Their rear nodal points are so close to the sensor that they have red-tinged left sides and blue-tinged right sides. The Voigtländer 12mm, 15mm and 21mm lenses work poorly on the M9. Lenses are free compared to an M9, and cheap lenses compromise the M9's quality. I don't understand why anyone would cheap-out with Voigtländer lenses on an M9.

Buy from Adorama, Amazon, Ritz, B&H, Calumet and J&R.

Voigtlander bessa r service