p.1 #1 · M mount landscape kit at a reasonable budget
I was just looking at reviews for 135mm options for Leica M, as well as browsing my copy of Puts' Leica Compendium and was surprised at just how affordable the Tele-Elmar 135 is considering its performance. It's an old design but seems to fare well against most modern options (Fred Miranda did a comparison against the 135 Batis where it held its own). I see these for 200-300 EUR which to me is incredibly cheap for something wearing the Leica name _and_ performing this well.
So what else is available that offers serious bang for the buck in the various focal lengths? I know Voigtlander has a large selection of lenses that are quite good but what else might be hidden in Leica history? Some of the older designs are still solid performers today especially if you plan on stopping down to 5.6-8 which is not unreasonable for landscape work.
I don't have one at the moment but I remember being quite pleased with the performance of the Summicron 90 pre-ASPH however reading up on the options it seems like the Tele-Elmarit 90 might be a strong contender in this focal length. Or maybe even the Elmar-C?
Let's shoot for keeping the budget at around or below 500-600EUR / lens. Light weight would be appreciated as well. Suggested focal lengths 21 / 35 / 75 / 90 / 135 but feel free to pick anything you want
p.1 #2 · M mount landscape kit at a reasonable budget
I'm currently building my landscape kit too.
My tele lens is now the Zeiss Tele-Tessar T* 4/85 ZM. This lens doesn't get much love because it is slow. But it is very sharp, weighs only 310g and I got a mint copy for only 500€.
For 35mm I found a Zeiss C Biogon 2.8/35 ZM for 580€. This lens renders beautifully, it is very sharp in the center and mid field. For the extreme corners f/8 is required. Weight 200g.
I'm still looking for a good solution in the 21/25 range. I had a Zeiss Biogon 2.8/25 ZM in the past and sold it, unfortunately. But on a BSI sensor of my M11 it should work fine. It is on my wish list again, also the Zeiss Biogon 4.5/21 ZM which is very hard to find. But I'm open for other recommendations too.
p.1 #3 · M mount landscape kit at a reasonable budget
Have you considered the 21/3.5 Color-Skopar? I have no personal experience with it but from what I've read it seems like a quite decent lens at a reasonable price (and better for use on digital than the older 21/4). Or the Zeiss Biogon 21/2.8 which is around 700 EUR?
edit: I see a 21 Color-Skopar in Germany for around 500EUR on eBay. :-)
p.1 #4 · M mount landscape kit at a reasonable budget
pingflood wrote:
Have you considered the 21/3.5 Color-Skopar? I have no personal experience with it but from what I've read it seems like a quite decent lens at a reasonable price. Or the Zeiss Biogon 21/2.8 which is around 700 EUR?
I once had the 21/3.5 Color-Skopar in E-mount. It is a decent lens, not quite as good as the Loxia 21. The Zeiss Biogon 21/2.8 is certainly a good alternative.
p.1 #5 · M mount landscape kit at a reasonable budget
I have Zeiss Biogon 4.5/21 ZM and use it on Leica M11M. On mono sensor the lens is very sharp corner to corner wide open. I tested it on sigma FP-L and still see corner color shift, not sure about Leica M11. While it is small and sharp, I consider the vignetting is too heavy for landscape usage. For BW street shooting the lens is perfect if this focal length works for you.
p.1 #6 · M mount landscape kit at a reasonable budget
The Leica R28 PC Super-Angulon (technically a Schneider lens in a Leica badge) is a fantastic lens for landscape. Below was shot with the M11 along with a table top tripod.
p.1 #7 · M mount landscape kit at a reasonable budget
dalegaspi wrote:
The Leica R28 PC Super-Angulon (technically a Schneider lens in a Leica badge) is a fantastic lens for landscape. Below was shot with the M11 along with a table top tripod.
Yes, that sounds very interesting indeed. It probably can also be used on my HB 907X. The MTF looks really good @f/8.
p.1 #9 · M mount landscape kit at a reasonable budget
KlausJH wrote:
Yes, that sounds very interesting indeed. It probably can also be used on my HB 907X. The MTF looks really good @f/8.
there's a YouTuber that goes by the handle name "mathphotographer" a high-end camera gear enthusiast did an extensive review of the lens on a GFX and yes if does cover the frame with a little bit of room for shifting.
and yes it kind of shows its age for anything wider than f8 but mind you still better than a lot of the cheaply-made lenses that flood the market.
also worth considering is the Leica R 50 Summicron which can be had for surprisingly affordable price (i bought mine the latest ROM version in like-new condition at a criminally low price at a very reputable used gear online store)...for landscapes probably don't push your luck with anything wider than f5.6 (_maybe_ f4 for low contrast subjects) unless you want substantial amounts of LoCA on your images.
p.1 #10 · M mount landscape kit at a reasonable budget
the Voigtlander 35 and 50 APO lenses are a cut above if you can buy them used since their resale value drops like a hot potato even in excellent condition.
p.1 #11 · M mount landscape kit at a reasonable budget
pingflood wrote:
Have you considered the 21/3.5 Color-Skopar? I have no personal experience with it but from what I've read it seems like a quite decent lens at a reasonable price. Or the Zeiss Biogon 21/2.8 which is around 700 EUR?
KlausJH wrote:
I once had the 21/3.5 Color-Skopar in E-mount. It is a decent lens, not quite as good as the Loxia 21. The Zeiss Biogon 21/2.8 is certainly a good alternative.
At one time I had four M-mount 21mm lenses. The one I started with when I got an M9 was the ZM 21/2.8. It's a good all-rounder with Zeissy punch/contrast/colors. Things I didn't like included edge color shift on the M9 and IIRC to a lesser extent on the M240. No idea how it fares on the M10 and later. It was relatively long, though you'll likely use live view for composing 21mm anyway. It had some outward field curvature that was eventually hidden by depth of field past around f/5.6 and with the sun in certain areas just outside the composition it would produce a quite strong red lens flare blob in the image. Easy to see and mitigate with live view, but it somewhat annoyed me with the M9. I never had the ZM 25 so can't offer a comparison there, but it's very highly regarded and based on what I've read and absorbed over the years, it probably has the technical edge over the 21.
In terms of other 21s, if you're looking for high sharpness type of performance, then IMO it's the Leica 21/3.4 SEM. If you don't mind the size, apparently the Voigtlander 21/1.4 is as good, if perhaps slightly better, at shared aperture values (according to Fred).
As for other vintage Leica 'hidden gems' the old 35/2.8 and perhaps also the 35/3.5, but not sure if they're available within the proposed budget.
I was able to try/use a 135 Tele-Elmar a while back and it was sharp enough. Where I thought it lacked was contrast and flare resistance, likely due to old coating technology.
p.1 #12 · M mount landscape kit at a reasonable budget
rscheffler wrote:
As for other vintage Leica 'hidden gems' the old 35/2.8 and perhaps also the 35/3.5, but not sure if they're available within the proposed budget.
Are you referring to the Summarons? The 2.8 shows up for around 600EUR (for a couple of years you couldn't find one for under 1200 but things seem to have calmed down a bit) here on occasion; I picked one up a while ago in good condition. The 3.5 is generally a fair bit more affordable but I have no experience with them.
The 2.8 Summaron is one of my favorite lenses when it comes to rendering/character and it performs well enough stopped down though I wouldn't choose it if landscapes are the primary subject.
p.1 #13 · M mount landscape kit at a reasonable budget
pingflood wrote:
Let's shoot for keeping the budget at around or below 500-600EUR / lens. Light weight would be appreciated as well. Suggested focal lengths 21 / 35 / 75 / 90 / 135 but feel free to pick anything you want
Are you looking for one lens or a complete set ?
When I started with my M9 in 2026, I got a couple of Zeiss lenses (35/2.8 Biogon and 21/2.8 Biogon) for which I got good prices, about 500-600 Euros each.
Now, I would look at Voigtlander lenses, including: 21/3.5, 21/4, 28/2.8, 35/2.5.
The case of the 21/4 depends on the body on which it used; if it works well on your camera, then a 21/4 + 35/2.5 bought used should not be far from 600 EUR total and would provide a great landscape starting point.
p.1 #14 · M mount landscape kit at a reasonable budget
Xavier Rival wrote:
Are you looking for one lens or a complete set ?
When I started with my M9 in 2026, I got a couple of Zeiss lenses (35/2.8 Biogon and 21/2.8 Biogon) for which I got good prices, about 500-600 Euros each.
Now, I would look at Voigtlander lenses, including: 21/3.5, 21/4, 28/2.8, 35/2.5.
The case of the 21/4 depends on the body on which it used; if it works well on your camera, then a 21/4 + 35/2.5 bought used should not be far from 600 EUR total and would provide a great landscape starting point.
I figure a budget of 500-600EUR per lens, seeing what options are available in each focal length. Personally I think most of the time I'd be fine traveling with 35/75/135 since I can always stitch if needed and rarely care of wide angle. A 21 could be fun and interesting to have on occasion but it'd be something I use pretty rarely. Any experience with the 21/4 on an M10? I hadn't looked at it since everything I read pointed towards the 3.5 being a more suitable option for a digital body.
p.1 #15 · M mount landscape kit at a reasonable budget
pingflood wrote:
I was just looking at reviews for 135mm options for Leica M, as well as browsing my copy of Puts' Leica Compendium and was surprised at just how affordable the Tele-Elmar 135 is considering its performance. It's an old design but seems to fare well against most modern options (Fred Miranda did a comparison against the 135 Batis where it held its own). I see these for 200-300 EUR which to me is incredibly cheap for something wearing the Leica name _and_ performing this well.
Reason why these Leica 135 mm options are very affordable is that this longer focal length is less often used with rangefinder M cameras. The standard 0.72x viewfinder allows only a fairly small rectangular field of view in it to focus well. 1.4x viewfinder extension might be useful here (I don't have experience with them). I recommend staying away from Hektor 135/5.6 versions since they are very low in contrast especially with digital M.
So what else is available that offers serious bang for the buck in the various focal lengths? I know Voigtlander has a large selection of lenses that are quite good but what else might be hidden in Leica history? Some of the older designs are still solid performers today especially if you plan on stopping down to 5.6-8 which is not unreasonable for landscape work.
I recommend on the wider side for landscapes the Voigtlander 21/1.8 or newer f/1.4 version. The bit older f/1.8 has a fixed lens hood which doesn't allow to attach step-up filters with larger filter size. I have used the 21/1.8 versions for > 10 years with film and digital M cameras, and it is a great and affordable lens around $500 used. You can pair it with a large variety of any Voigtlander 28 or 35 mm lens of which several ones were mentioned here earlier.
I don't have one at the moment but I remember being quite pleased with the performance of the Summicron 90 pre-ASPH however reading up on the options it seems like the Tele-Elmarit 90 might be a strong contender in this focal length. Or maybe even the Elmar-C?
I am using an older Leica 90/2.8 version I (!) Elmarit-M lens on my digital M cameras, and it works extremely well! Don't get fooled that you need a modern 90 mm lens to get very sharp images with a modern digital sensor - at least on my 24 MP M 240 based sensor the 90/2.8 Vers. I delivers very sharp and contrasty results. I also have the Leica 90/4.0 collapsible Elmar lens which is heavier but more compact. Delivers as well very good image quality.
p.1 #16 · M mount landscape kit at a reasonable budget
dalegaspi wrote:
the Voigtlander 35 and 50 APO lenses are a cut above if you can buy them used since their resale value drops like a hot potato even in excellent condition.
I second this. You won't find a better (reasonably priced) M lens at 35 or 50 than these VM APO lenses. I'd also keep your eyes open for a used Voigtlander 28 APO, or just invest in a new one at a cost far below even a used current model 28 Elmarit.
The Voigtlander 90 APO is a great compact option and I also regularly use the Voigtlander 21 3.5 Color-Skopar - it is a solid performer at a compact size. I like the Laowa 15mm F5 cookie for an ultra compact wide angle with reasonable performance.
p.1 #18 · M mount landscape kit at a reasonable budget
pingflood wrote:
I figure a budget of 500-600EUR per lens, seeing what options are available in each focal length. Personally I think most of the time I'd be fine traveling with 35/75/135 since I can always stitch if needed and rarely care of wide angle. A 21 could be fun and interesting to have on occasion but it'd be something I use pretty rarely. Any experience with the 21/4 on an M10? I hadn't looked at it since everything I read pointed towards the 3.5 being a more suitable option for a digital body.
If the budget is per lens, then you can most likely find a used 21/3.5 in that range.
The 21/4 was reported very problematic on M9 (due to colour cast in the corners). I remember reading much more positive opinions on more recent cameras (not sure if M10 or M11). The best would be to try it on your camera before you buy. Otherwise, the 21/3.5 is a safer choice, I do not remember reading anything bad about it. (I have a 21 SEM so I never bothered looking at these two, but I eventually may, in order to have a light 21 too...)
Regarding to the 75mm focal length, Voigtlander also made a very nice 75/1.9. I have one and love it for its reasonable size and very high image quality. Not sure why they stopped it, maybe they will eventually propose a new version.
p.1 #19 · M mount landscape kit at a reasonable budget
The great thing about choosing lenses for landscape use is that wide apertures are general not important. High optical performance at wide apertures is where a lot of improvements exist in modern lenses, and where lots of costs are incurred. When shooting stopped down on a tripod at small apertures many older, inexpensive lenses work just great. Combine this with the high resolution modern sensors which allow you to shoot a bit wide and crop off the edges and your lens choice in the M system are huge.
