compact, fast 50mm lenses for R-D1?

ark8012

ark8012

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Hi, All,

I just received my first R-D1 from my friend yesterday.

I was little surprised by its size, 😱 It's bigger than I thought.

I tried M-Hexanon 50mm on my R-D1, and it works fine for portrait.

So 50mm is ok, but I do not like the size of the combo. I realized I want to have a little more compact lens for my R-D1.

I need a relatively fast lens (prefer to have f2 or faster).

Could you please recommend some lenses for my use? 😀

Thank you!!
 
Get a Minolta M-Rokkor 40mm f/2 lens. Much more compact than the M-Hex 50/2, near-perfect match with the R-D1's 35mm frame lines, truly wonderful performance, and it will give you a bit more field-of-view as a general-purpose lens than does a 50mm.

If you're set on a fast 50mm, I think some of the vintage Sonnar copies are smaller than the M-Hex, but I don't have them in front of me right now, I'm not 100% sure of the relative size: Canon 50/1.5, Nikkor-H 50/2, Jupiter-3 50/1.5. Also, a vintage collapsible might give you a more compact option, but some are not safe to collapse on the R-D1: Summicron 50/2, Summar 50/2.

If you can give up speed for compactness, the CV 50/2.5 Skopar is wonderful and almost exactly the same size and shape as a Summicron 35/2 v1.

Enjoy your new R-D1 -- it's a great camera!

::Ari
 
ark8012 said:
...50mm is ok, but I do not like the size of the combo. I realized I want to have a little more compact lens for my R-D1.
I need a relatively fast lens (prefer to have f2 or faster)...
Click to expand...
AFAIK the most compact 50/2 is the Summicron-M v4 # 11819 with focus tab. Works fine with the R-D1.
 
Thank you for all comments.

What about ZM 50mm 1.5 sonnar? It looks this lens is smaller than other 50mm and fast.
But I do not know anything more than that. Any comments?

Is M-rokker the same to summicron-c?
 
my two fav fast 50's on the Rd-1 were the zm c-sonnar and the canon ltm 50/1.5.

both small-ish, fast, with beautiful bokeh.
 
Not cheap but shorter than a non-collapsible Summicron: Nikkor 50/1.4 or Canon 50/1.5 LTM.

Then again, I were you, I would get the 40/1.4. Outstanding lens.
 
ferider said:
Then again, I were you, I would get the 40/1.4. Outstanding lens.
Click to expand...

Yes, good suggestion. I just recently got one, and it's great, and the speed is very nice to have. Shorter in length than the M-Hex 50/2, but wider in diameter. And, of course, the 1-stop advantage in speed over the 40/2 M-Rokkor comes at the price of compactness.

::Ari
 
ark8012 said:
Is M-rokker the same to summicron-c?
Click to expand...

There were 3 versions of a 40/2 lens made for the compact Leicas of the '70s and 80s, all excellent:
- Summicron-C made for the CL
- M-Rokkor made for the CL
- M-Rokkor made for the CLE.

The practical differences are not large, but there are some:
The two CL lenses are single coated (I believe), while the CLE lenses are multi-coated.
The Summicron-C has an odd filter size (series 5.5?) while the M-Rokkors both take 40.5mm filters.
Some people prefer the image characteristics of the Summicron-C, while others prefer the flare resistance of the CLE M-Rokkor.

The Summicron-C tends to be the most expensive due to the Leitz Wetzlar pedigree, followed by the CLE M-Rokkor due to having newer coatings.

Note that all 3 of these lenses bring up the 50/75 frame lines on Leica M bodies, but that's not relevant to the R-D1.

Cheers,
Ari
 
Thank you for many thoughts. I am considering 40mm lenses now.
I have CS 35/2.5, and M-Hexanon 50mm.
If I get a 40mm lens, I might sell those 35 and 50 lenses. 🙂
 
Another vote for the 40mm Summicron C, Great little lens & Cheap!

If you have the cash, also consider a 50mm Elmar-M 2.8 Collapsible.
Not manufactured anymore but can score one for under 1k.

Not so far off from the current summicron 50mm.
 
ncc1701 said:
Another vote for the 40mm Summicron C, Great little lens & Cheap!

If you have the cash, also consider a 50mm Elmar-M 2.8 Collapsible.
Not manufactured anymore but can score one for under 1k.

Not so far off from the current summicron 50mm.
Click to expand...


Is it possible to use a collapsible lens on R-D1?
 
ark8012 said:
Hi, All,

I just received my first R-D1 from my friend yesterday.

I was little surprised by its size, 😱 It's bigger than I thought.
Click to expand...

Wonderful camera, but if you want something really compact a GXR with the M module or a nex 5n are much smaller and lighter. The GXR is better with the M wides, but the 5n has optional EVF which is spectacular.

Their sensors are very good.

That said, the CV 35 or 40/1.4 is nice and small and not too expensive, while the CL 40 is perhaps a bit sharper--also the early tabed v4 summicron 50s are really small:

5988339451_e74b4a44c1_z.jpg
 
Why do you want a 50 on your 1.5x RD1?

I would get a VC 35 f1.4 , it's about 50 eqv on the RD1, fast, compact and readily available
 
The 40 Rokkor was my main lens on the RD1. It's near perfect for what i wanted. That said, It only barely edged the Nokton for size and a bit easier oof area. Either is an excellent small fast normal option for RD1 or m8.
 
Smallest size with fastest aperture ever made was the ELCAN 50mm f/2 for the KE-7a Leica (Basically an M4 with a short Summicron.) It's the same size as the current Summarit and a serious drool-worthy rare lens.

If you can find one, it's a very cool optic. Most people have only heard of them and seen photos. I've never been near one to the best of my knowledge. If you can afford it, just buy it.

I want one quite badly but I'll have to continue to live vicariously through the photos and writeups of folks who do have one of the handful of lenses made.

Other than that, the recommendations for the 40mm lenses are good. If you want to stick with a 50mm, you can't really go wrong with the CV 50mm Color Skopar. It's quite small and a good shooter but 1/2 stop slower than a 'Cron.
That's what holding still is for though.

Phil Forrest
 
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