Ricoh GXR with Leica M Mount - which lenses?

As in the title, I've gone and bought a nice copy of a GXR with the A12 Leica Mount attachment, so naturally I'm now looking to find some 'Leica' lenses to go with it. In terms of budget, I'm looking for lenses on the cheap side as it's more of an experiment than anything else. If an opportunity exists to buy a lens that has resale value then I don't mind making a small investment.

Looking on the auction site I can find loads of lenses and many of them are very expensive!

I've also done the odd bit of googling and found one of our users has been through this before - it would be interesting to see if they can also reflect on their experience. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

I have a Voigtländer M mount 35mm f/1.4 NOKTON Classic I used on my Canon M5 with an adapter. If you are interested I could try and find it?

Must admit I didn't use it much, looking at the photos now maybe I should have given it a bit more attention.


Mudeford Quay by Mike.Pursey, on Flickr


Mudeford Quay by Mike.Pursey, on Flickr


Mudeford Quay by Mike.Pursey, on Flickr

Found one of it on the M5


Nokton Classic by Mike.Pursey, on Flickr

Interesting, it looks very crisp. I actually had my eye on the Nokton 40/1.4, and that seems to go for £400+ at the moment with a few already sold for around £330 - probably worth looking out for one that might be snipe-able on eBay.

@Mike: What did you make of the lens, especially compared to your usual Pentax lenses?
I'm not quite sure the novelty of having the GXR will last too long so it might not be worth spending so much when I've got a lot of cool Pentax options to put on the K-1.

My type of photography is mainly wildlife so I am always using either a macro lens or the 150-450mm on the K-1. I very rarely (never) use primes so I couldn't really compare it to anything I have in Pentax mount.

TBH I bought it on a whim, bit like you are doing ... to try a few adapted lenses. I even bought an adapter to try Pentax lenses on the M5 ... does the aperture as well.

DA* 50-135mm


Finlay by Mike.Pursey, on Flickr

I have the Nokton 40/1.4 MC (Multi-coated) as my only lens for my Leica M4 (they do an SC single-coated one for dedicated mono shooters...). I've only used it with mono film but have no complaints. As a lens it feels very similar to the FA43 - compact, smooth and with lots of metal (only just noticed it says 'Made in Japan').

I Have enjoyed using the 35 F1.4 Nokton on my M9, Its small and light a bit like the DA 21mm but with a tab for focusing. Images form it seem to have good contrast. Have not had as much use of it as i would like as i only got it before ther great plague struck. Used to have Voiglander 21mm Color Skopar which was quite cheap (for a leica lens), felt good., seemed to vignette a bit but that wil be less of an issue on GXR. It was a bit to wide on the M9 though.
Some of the longer Leica lens like 90mm can be a bit got a bit cheaper
The zeiss lens are a bit more expensive but compared to Leica counterparts are a bit of bargin.

If you can use slightly longer focal lengths, the Russian Jupiter 8 and Industar 61 work well - the Industar is available in slightly longer focal lengths (55mm) which translates to 80mm or so on APSC - a good portrait focal length. you will need an M to LTM adaptor.

Another option in 35m focal length is the Voigtlander Skopar 35mm f2.5 - very compact and sharp.

I've bought an expensive PK adapter for it which is quite ironic because I've spent all this money making what is essentially a K-01 without AF.

I don't know whether I want any native M lenses now, unless I find a superb deal on something. I've overspent a tiny bit for sure.

I suggest keeping the LTM and M mount lenses in mind just because they are very compact. Also worth considering are 7-Artisans and similar lenses in M mount which can be very well priced. Not necessarily best performance but lots of character.

The SMC Pentax-FA 43mm f/1.9 Limited lens was also made in Leica mount, although I don't know in what sort of quantities.

This used the Leica screw mount (adapter needed for M mount), they're usually searchable on eBay under 'Pentax-L Special' or similar. Some have the shoe mount 43mm viewfinder that was originally included.

Ricoh also made a Leica mount version of the original GR1 28mm (film compact) lens but again not sure of the quantities.

Beautiful pics