Canon LTM Guess what I just received today.

[leica M2 fan]

It should have been here yesterday but finally showed up tonight just before 7PM. A pristine 50mm f 1.4 Canon LTM. The glass is so clean I could swear it just came from Canon in Japan. It went on so smoothly on my Zorki 6 and on the M2 with adapter. Focusing is a little stiff compared to my J8 and the Summicron 50 on the M2 but is nice none the less. Pops right in focus on both cameras rather easily. I can hardly wait till tomorrow to get it outside, we've had lotsa rain lately and tomorrow looks like it'll be rain free. I'm really anxious to compare the Canon to the Nikkor 1.4 50mm from the same era. I don't have too much experience with Canon lenses having used Nikons for the past 20 years or so.😀 😀

 

[5:00 PM]

I got one today too!

I got one today too!

Except mine has a Canon P attached to it. They would like you to know they are very happy together and wish you all the best!

----
pld

 

[leica M2 fan]

All the best to you too.

All the best to you too.

The Canon P is a great camera. This lens is a natural for it. I'm hoping to get a nice 7 for my lens someday.

 

[jlw]

Focusing is a little stiff compared to my J8 and the Summicron 50 on the M2 but is nice none the less.

If you ever get tired of this stiffness, you might want to have the helical cleaned. During the 50/1.4 era Canon used a kind of grease that eventually breaks down, turns yellow, and gets sticky. You see it more often on aperture rings, but I think it can be found in the focusing assembly also.

Cleaning is fairly easy because Canon 50s of this era have a very clever form of modular construction: remove a slotted ring around the rear element and the entire optical section comes out, leaving the focusing mount separate for servicing. To get at the focusing helix, remove the screws that attach the focusing ring assembly to it, lift off the focusing ring, and back out the helix (noting carefully exactly where it comes out, so you can get it back in the right position.) Then clean off the old grease with solvent and replace with modern grease.

The only potential gotcha in this operation is to make sure you don't lose the brass ring around the back of the optical section. This is the "collimation shim" that makes sure the optics sit at exactly the right distance from the film plane.

 

[5:00 PM]

Speaking of kit lenses...

Speaking of kit lenses...

...according to Karen N's indispensible site, the 50/1.4 was something of a kit lens when P's were sold new. The package price was $146.00 US, which is about $1025 today. Based on half a day's shooting, I'd say that's really low. I can't imagine anybody selling a hockey puck metal body and a lens this good for less than $2k today, even without "Solms Germany" stamped on the top plate.

http://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCameras/index-frameset.html?CanonP.html~mainFrame

 

[ferider]

Congrats, it's a great lens !

(My second one is on its way from Canada - and yes, I still own the first one)

Flare resistant, compact, sharp from edge to edge, great bokeh wide open, and compact for a fast lens.

Cheers,

Roland.

 

[Mackinaw]

I think you'll like the Canon 50/1.4. Fairly light and compact with really good image quality to boot. Th sonnar-guys will cringe when I say this, but I much prefer the look of the 50/1.4 to the look of the Canon 50/1.5.

Post some pics when you get the chance.

Jim Bielecki

 

[ferider]

Cringe 🙂

I dug out two of my favorites taken with the 1.4. They show how sharp the
lens is, and the OOF behavior. Very similar to the modern CV Nokton, IMO,
just smaller, heavier and single coated.

Truly a general purpose lens.

Roland.

 

[Keith]

Cringe 🙂

I dug out two of my favorites taken with the 1.4. They show how sharp the
lens is, and the OOF behavior. Very similar to the modern CV Nokton, IMO,
just smaller, heavier and single coated.

Truly a general purpose lens.

Roland.

Lovely ... I've got one of these and I'm ashamed to admit I've never used it ... I've been seduced by the song of the Nokton. Might have to give the Canon a whirl I think! 🙂

 

[leica M2 fan]

Thanks Roland

Thanks Roland

Those are two great examples, if I get anything near this good I will be a very happy camper. Do you use a hood on it and is it 48mm?

 

[ferider]

Those are two great examples, if I get anything near this good I will be a very happy camper. Do you use a hood on it and is it 48mm?

Thanks !

I used to have the S-50 hood but didn't like it. Now I use a 48-49 step-up
ring as "minimal hood", that works very well. The lens is quite flare resistant,
I find.

Here is how my "hood" looks, compared to the S-50:

I've seen the lens with the W-50 Canon hood and that looked good.
Never found one for sale, though.

BTW, you can find very good Hoya HMC 48mm UV filters on ebay.

Best,

Roland.

 

[leica M2 fan]

Roland, wonderful news. Do you use a hood on the Canon 1.4/ 50 ? Is it a 48mm hood? TIA.