The Monomagician

Someone I know said the following about the Apple I-Phone:

“It’s a bit like Paris Hilton. Expensive, quite nice to look at, but what does it actually do?”

I guess it’s possible to make a similar observation about Leica M cameras and lenses. Sure, they are expensive. Arguably, they are nice to look at. But what do they do? Well, they enable the photographer to produce absolutely stunningly sharp images with beautiful bokeh. Or in my case mediocre pictures that are stunningly sharp with beautiful bokeh

Take the new 28mm ASPH Elmarit lens for example. I bought one for myself as a special treat a couple of months ago. It makes the perfect partner (in my view) to the M8, as it more or replicates the field of view of a 35mm lens which is my preferred focal length on the M6TTL or M2.

This lens is bitingly sharp - almost too sharp for some things. Its rendition of detail is incredible. I think this is definitely my favourite lens on the M8.

Another lens that I am coming to love is the wonderful Voigtlander 12mm Ultra Wide Heliar f5.6. I managed to get an ex-demonstration example of this lens from Robert White in Poole, Dorset. It gives a field of view equivalent to a 15mm lens on the M8, which is pretty wide by anyone’s standards! In fact you have to be careful not to include feet, errant fingers and any other bodily protuberances out of the shot!

This lens isn’t rangefinder-coupled. Mind you with the sort of depth of field that you get using a lens like this, it’s hardly an issue. For landscapes and some interior shots, this lens is pretty hard to beat. Whilst it’s not exactly a ‘body cap’ in the same way as the 28mm Elmarit, it’s a damned useful lens to have when you’re out and about.

One thing that I haven’t tried with it yet is my Lee RF-75 filter kit. I have a feeling that the filter holder will vignette. If it doesn’t then it will probably be worthwhile having another custom filter adaptor made by Lee. It would probably be worthwhile as the lens lends itself to using ND grads to tame skies.