Leica Leica R 35-70mm - any experience with it?

carlb

All-Pro
On my walk last Saturday, I found swapping lenses to be a bit limiting at times. Usually an animal or person moment missed because the 25mm was on the camera.

For much of what I shoot, a zoom works nicely - does so on the X Vario, a camera I still love. So I did a bit of research.

The Leica 28-70mm R f3.5-4.3 has mixed reviews, with many saying the 35-70mm f3.5 has better performance. The 28-70mm F2.8 Leica with superb performance is apparently a very big lens, something I'm not too keen on. So I'm going to give the 35-70mm a try, it will be here in the next few days.

For my purposes, 35mm is not too bad for many wider-angle shots. I'll definitely keep the 25mm Biogon along for the wider shots, but my guess is the 35-70mm will cover enough range to be on the camera for most of the time.

I'll post my findings, and post shots with it. Has anyone else had experience with this lens? Guessing little, as it's not rangefinder coupled. Not a limiter on the M 240 with focus peaking, however.
 
I shot last weekend with a 50 on my M7 and 25 on an R4a. It was more weight but I really liked having two cameras to hand. Will be interesting to hear your experiences with those lenses.
 
I'm about to find out. The f3.5 is a great looking lens, reasonably balanced on the M. I'll take it out a bit over lunch tomorrow, post a few results.
 
Hey Vince, after checking up on the f4 version, sounds like you're right. I have a copy of that coming, and will compare the two. My other choice might be a CY mount Zeiss 35-70mm at f3.4, although I'm uncertain if that can be adapted to M mount ...
 
The 35-70mm f4 was one of the best lenses I ever used. The 35-70mm 3.5 (either German or Japanese) wasn't, but they are a lot cheaper.
 
Hey, thanks Matt. There's an f4 coming on Monday, I really look forward to trying it.

"Has a very subtle bend on the front edge of the built-in hood (see 2nd photo left of lens number) making it more difficult to attach the standard detachable hood. Mechanically and optically, this lens is fully operational otherwise."

As such, it was about half what others were going for. Perfect for me. I'll post results with it as soon as I can.
 
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