COMPACT lenses for landscape

[noimmunity]

I'm interested in hearing what works for people in terms of compact lenses for landscape, particularly at infinity.
My favorite on film, chrome and B&W, so far is a ZM C Biogon 21/4.5

I'd like to find a normal lens to pair with it, ideally something 50 or above (above must be impossible, given my emphasis on compact size). In a separate thread (under the CV heading), I inquired about the CV Nickel Heliar 50/3.5

But for this thread we might as well include lenses of every focal length, with the stipulation that lens length has to be shorter than 40mm...

 

[back alley]

cv 50/2.5...

 

[maddoc]

Leitz 9cm Elmar 1:4 (screwmount), cheap and very good. 🙂

 

[noimmunity]

Well I could take, and have taken, either my 75 cron or 135/4 TE, but the length of those lenses requires a whole different system for carrying them. Compact short lenses will fit nicely, by contrast, into an Ortlieb padded waterproof hip belt pocket.

Not sayin' I want to limit this thread, either.

As for the CV 50/2.5, I'm kinda surprised, people. Yes, I know it's small, but I've never been terribly impressed by what I've seen from it. Whereas the 50/3.5 seems to have some magic by comparison.

Of course there is the new Leica Summarit, but it is over my budget...

 

[back alley]

 

[back alley]

I forgot to mention the collapsable 50mm Elmars (f-2.8 & f-3.5), while they may not be as physically small as the CV 50/3.5, when on a body and collapsed they do tend to add very little bulk to the camera. The later f-2.8's can be quite sharp also closed a couple of stops.

i really liked the elmar m 2.8 but found using a collapsable lens not to my liking.

 

[back alley]

the elmar m 2.8

 

[semilog]

Cost-no-object: 75 Summicron ASPH. Cost-some-object: collapsible Heliar.

 

[newspaperguy]

CV 25/4 Snapshot - IMO a stupid name for a serious lens.

 

[back alley]

Cost-no-object: 75 Summicron ASPH. Cost-some-object: collapsible Heliar.

compact?



.

 

[semilog]

Not quite as compact, but you won't do better optically: ZM 50mm Planar. And there's one for sale in the classifieds right now.

 

[semilog]

compact?

It's all relative. Compared to most any SLR 85, yes, it's compact.

 

[back alley]

It's all relative. Compared to most any SLR 85, yes, it's compact.

true...but compared to small...not so much.

 

[chris00nj]

The Canon 35/2:

 

[noimmunity]

Cost-no-object: 75 Summicron ASPH. Cost-some-object: collapsible Heliar.

Well, I have the cron. It's pretty much the ideal in terms of IQ and the extra reach is really useful in the mountains. But Sir Cron is hardly lord of the compactness department!

Personal illustration: Taking the cron when I go backpacking means having to leave behind a second body. I like to take two bodies, one loaded with RVP50, the other loaded with Acros, each in a separate Ortlieb side pocket. These side pockets are well padded and totally waterproof, but they won't easily accommodate long lenses. Taking the cron (or the 135/4 TE for instance) would mean leaving a body at home...But yeah, sometimes I do that, too, heh-heh. Compact here means like less than 35mm long; even the Planar is a little too long. I went last week with a C Sonnar and am waiting to get the results back from that.

I guess there are so few Heliars out there it will probably be hard to get some user feedback specific to my question...

 

[Bingley]

cv 50/2.5...

+1. It's a terrific landscape lens, and quite compact.

 

[Bingley]

My backpacking lenses this past summer were the 28 and 50 skopars, and they both performed superbly. I also like my 1947 coated Elmar 50/3.5 for landscapes: it's sharp, and the moderate contrast allows a great tonal range. But for color, I prefer the 50 skopar.

 

[alan davus]

I'll be heading off to New Zealand for my annual 3 week hiking holiday on Dec 26 with either the Hex 35 2 UC or the MS Optical Perar 35 3.5 paired with the CV 50 3.5 Heliar. Compact, light and sharp: (speed is not over important.)

 

[Bingley]

Some samples, FWIW:

Leica Elmar 50/3.5 coated, on TMax 100 @ iso 50 in Rodinal:

Voigtlander Color Skopar 50/2.5, TMax 100 @ iso 50, in Rodinal:

Same lens, this time w/ Ektar:

Voigtlander Color Skopar 28/3.5, TMax 100 @ iso 50, in Rodinal:

Same lens, same film and developer, but w/ a yellow filter (and, yes, it's very flare resistant):

 

[mfogiel]

One of the best compact lenses you can get, in particular for B+W is the 35/2.8 Summaron

However, if what you like is the Zeiss rendering, then there is no way out of the ZM line, and the best candidates will be the 35/2.8 C Biogon and the 50/2 Planar.

Biogon 35/2

Planar 50/2