Elmar-M 50mm 2.8 II

M

matteiflex

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I dont see too much mention about this little lens. I've just started to use one and I'm getting quite excited by the results in b&w. I'm comparing it to my summicron rigid, its a totaly modern look quite a contrast to the rigid.
Any elmar-m 50mm 2.8 II users wish to share there thoughts and experience?
 
It's a lens I wouldn't be without, and my default lens for my M3. Do yourself a favour and try it with colour as well. There's something - I don't know, perhaps "delicate" - about it's colour rendering that I really like. (I like it pretty well with B&W too.)

...Mike
 
I have one for sale in the RFF classifieds. It's an ergonomic dream, but ultilmately decided to stick with my other 50mm lenses.
 
thanks for your insight Mike. Indeed I am trying a roll of velvia 50 right now. Will be excited to see this delicate nature with colour.

Matt.
 
Got mine in December 2011 and haven't used it much yet. With spring and lighter & longer days I decided to bring it on a business trip to Scandinavia as my only lens. With 400 Iso in the camera, it provided adequate speed and the operation was excellent - I have yet to wait for the results to come back.

Leica M2 with Elmar-M 50mm f2.8 by mandoflex, on Flickr
 
That M2 is even more beautiful than my button rewind. I would like a silver one of these for the M9, where lens speed is a little less crucial, although it makes more sense on a more compact M body. I would have to check whether the collapsible 50 is safe for the M9. I know my collapsible 90 is not. I have used it, but it's like having bikes on the roof rack and owning a garage.....there's always the possibility of failure to over-ride the automatic pilot.
 
i´m considering one sample...i´ve seen a lot of shots done with it and i´m very pleased, i ove collapsible lenses but also want a modern one, think this model would do.
Also there is a hexanon 50mm 2.4 but it´s chrome and really at least on pics isn´t up to leica standard.
 
Richard G said:
That M2 is even more beautiful than my button rewind. I would like a silver one of these for the M9, where lens speed is a little less crucial, although it makes more sense on a more compact M body. I would have to check whether the collapsible 50 is safe for the M9. I know my collapsible 90 is not. I have used it, but it's like having bikes on the roof rack and owning a garage.....there's always the possibility of failure to over-ride the automatic pilot.
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It's my most used lens, first on the M7, then on my new M9. There is absolutely no problem collapsing the lens on the M9, but there is a cautionary note to attach it in the extended state so as not to scratch the interior of the camera.

Harry
 
Hi,

It's a lovely lens and almost glued to my old M2. I've not seen the need for f/2 since going through my exposure notes and realising I'd need 1/4000th second to use it.

Of course, if you were starting out with the old screw thread Elmar at f/3.5 then f/2.8 would be really fast...

Regards, David

PS And I've just realised that the old advert's for the M2 in the early days featured a superb line drawing of the M2 with the collapsible Elmar on it. That shows just how much advert's affect us.
 
david.elliott said:
How do you find that they compare? Any notable differences?

Thanks in advance. :)
Click to expand...

I have not done any side by side test of them. Would be interesting though since I have four 50mm lenses to test. I also never tested the Zeiss 35mm f2 Biogon that I sold against the Konica 35mm f2 Hex which I still own. Ignorance is bliss sometimes.
 
A wonderful lens, compact and sharp. I mainly shoot mine with b&w. It gets an occasional trip on the M8, when that camera's working. Not very fast, and I miss the focusing knob, thumb rest, whatever you call it.
 
See, I always thought that cameras with no (or little) high ISO penalty (NEX7, X1 Pro) would re-create the market for the medium-speed lenses. When you can shoot at ISO 1600 and get acceptable results, who cares if your maximum aperture is f:2.8? Or put another way, maybe f:4 is the new f:2.8. The 50/2.8 Elmar is such a stunning lens. Tiny, sharp . . . all those conversations about optical design compromise for f:1.4 lenses just don't apply with such force to an f:2.8 50mm lens. JSrocket, if I'm right in a year the prices of these medium-speed wonders will be through the roof!

Ben
 
I'm torn on this lens; I love my 50 'cron, too, so it seems like overkill to have this AND the other. Still, haven't managed to bring myself to sell it yet...
 
I just got this little lens, after restraining myself for some months or longer. I looked at all the arguments for and against: the Summicron being better, the hooded uncollapsed lens being just as long as the Summicron or longer, the collapsed hooded lens being little shorter than the Summicron, about the size of the faster Summarit etc etc. In the end the colour, the lower contrast and the bokeh won out as arguments, but the real clinchers were the return to the 1950s concept, and the pleasure of a mechanism, offering too the capacity to collapse the 50 small to fit it in the bag or somewhere else. I have been using mostly a 28 2.8 ASPH lately and after a few months with the large 35 C Biogon, returned to the V 4 Summicron 35, and small lenses just suit me for carrying every day. The wonderful tabbed Summicron with hood on is like a telephoto by comparison. Not selling it though.
 
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