Most of Leica R lenses in the 35-80 range are either not-too-special or exorbitantly expensive and hard to justify. The 50/1.4 E60, 35/1.4 and 80/1.4 are all quite expensive, but very good. I don’t know about the 50/1.4 E55, never used one.
I’ve never used the 60/2.8 Macro, so can’t speak from experience, but I’ve never heard/read a bad word about them. I’d like one of these myself. Maybe it\'s worth looking at and they are in the $500-700 plus range. Maybe others can comment/compare it with similar glass.
The R 28/2.8 E55 is exceptional, but you weren’t asking about 28’s.
As good as the 50 Cron is, I\'m not sure that it stands head and shoulders over any of it\'s peers. The Cron has great colours, sharpness and Bokeh is good when slightly stopped down, but not great. I have the 50 Cron (E55) and tend to use the Contax 50/1.4 instead. The Contax 50/1.4 has softer Bokeh at F2 than the Cron at F2. Sharpness is about the same, as most 50\'s are in about the same ball park.
The R 80 is a great lens and one which I think is different enough to justify its price. There are similar 80/85\'s, with better and worse performance depending on the exact criteria, but the R 80 excels in many respects and is probably my most used Leica. As Ferris Bueller said, “if you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up”.
Most of Leica R lenses in the 35-80 range are either not-too-special or exorbitantly expensive and hard to justify. The 50/1.4 E60, 35/1.4 and 80/1.4 are all quite expensive, but very good. I don’t know about the 50/1.4 E55, never used one.
I’ve never used the 60/2.8 Macro, so can’t speak from experience, but I’ve never heard/read a bad word about them. I’d like one of these myself. Maybe it\'s worth looking at and they are in the $500-700 plus range. Maybe others can comment/compare it with similar glass.
The R 28/2.8 E55 is exceptional, but you weren’t asking about 28’s.
As good as the 50 Cron is, I\'m not sure that it stands head and shoulders over any of it\'s peers. The Cron has great colours, sharpness and Bokeh is good when slightly stopped down, but not great. I have the 50 Cron (E55) and tend to use the Contax 50/1.4 instead. The Contax 50/1.4 has softer Bokeh at F2 than the Cron at F2. Sharpness is about the same.
The R 80 is a great lens and one which I think is different enough to justify its price. There are similar 80/85\'s, with better and worse performance depending on the exact criteria, but the R 80 excels in many respects and is probably my most used Leica. As Ferris Bueller said, “if you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up”.
Most of Leica R lenses in the 35-80 range are either not-too-special or exorbitantly expensive and hard to justify. The 50/1.4 E60, 35/1.4 and 80/1.4 are all quite expensive, but very good. I don’t know about the 50/1.4 E55, never used one.
I’ve never used the 60/2.8 Macro, so can’t speak from experience, but I’ve never heard/read a bad word about them. I’d like one of these myself. Maybe is worth looking at and they are in the $500-700 plus range.
The R 28/2.8 E55 is exceptional, but you weren’t asking about 28’s.
As good as the 50 Cron is, I\'m not sure that it stands head and shoulders over any of it\'s peers. The Cron has great colours, sharpness and Bokeh is good when slightly stopped down, but not great. I have the 50 Cron (E55) and tend to use the Contax 50/1.4 instead. The Contax 50/1.4 has softer Bokeh at F2 than the Cron at F2. Sharpness is about the same.
The R 80 is a great lens and one which I think is different enough to justify its price. There are similar 80/85\'s, with better and worse performance depending on the exact criteria, but the R 80 excels in many respects and is probably my most used Leica. As Ferris Bueller said, “if you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up”.
JJ
Jan 25, 2012 at 09:45 PM
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