35 or 50mm fast lens with reasonable price

LeicaFoReVer

LeicaFoReVer

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Hi there,

Soon I will be searching to buy a fast lens for my M6. I read a lot in the site but I decided to ask to people and see the recommendations.

My criterias are to be fast and soft with nice bokeh...I dont want a sharp lens. I am an amateur so I am looking to a price range of 300$ to 500$.

My candidates are:
Jupiter 50mm 1.5
Nokton 50mm 1.5
Canon 50mm 1.2
Summarit 50mm 1.5
Nokton 40mm 1.4

Which one is the best choice? Or more or less they give similar characteristics?

Cheers,
 
I have a Nokton 40mm f/1.4 and love it. For me, 40mm is the perfect focal length, not too wide and not too "normal". I like to use it for indoors available light situation and general snapshots. The bokeh isn't very smooth, so I wouldn't recommend it as a portrait lens (it's too wide for that anyway).

Whatever you get, also get one or two J-8s. They are incredibly cheap and if you're lucky and get a good sample they can take great pictures.
 
Nokton 40/1.4 is the best fast lens for the money. It's sharp and contrasty from f2.0 and f1.4 is very useable. It focuses to 0.7m while most (all?) of the other lenses in the list focus to 1m or 0.9m. It's the smallest lens on the list as well, and you won't have to worry about focusing issues or getting an old, beat up lens.

I'm selling mine now, but only because I now have a (considerably more expensive) 35 and a 50.
 
philipp.leser said:
I have a Nokton 40mm f/1.4 and love it. For me, 40mm is the perfect focal length, not too wide and not too "normal". I like to use it for indoors available light situation and general snapshots. The bokeh isn't very smooth, so I wouldn't recommend it as a portrait lens (it's too wide for that anyway).

Whatever you get, also get one or two J-8s. They are incredibly cheap and if you're lucky and get a good sample they can take great pictures.
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Thanks Philip, I liked noktons due to their compactness and great prices.

a silly question, how do you use 40mm on M? which frame do you see in the viewfinder? and how do you frame it?
 
Ask 10 people, get 20 answers. Only you know what you like and want. Based on your list, if it were my money, I would buy a really really nice clean perfect Canon 50/1.2. If a miracle happened and it was less than $300, great! My next choice would be a Nikkor 50/1.4. OOPS! Already have that lens. That's why I don't go looking for 1.2 lenses.
 
venchka said:
Ask 10 people, get 20 answers. Only you know what you like and want. Based on your list, if it were my money, I would buy a really really nice clean perfect Canon 50/1.2. If a miracle happened and it was less than $300, great! My next choice would be a Nikkor 50/1.4. OOPS! Already have that lens. That's why I don't go looking for 1.2 lenses.
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You are right Vencha, but there are people with experiences with those lenses so I will read all replies and suggestions and decide later on...I believe all are nice pieces! I am so excited :)
 
The Nokton 50mm and 40mm are great lenses, but quite sharp -- they do not sound like that's what you're looking for.

The Canon 50/1.2 will likely give you what you're looking for wide open, but the bokeh can be distinctively swirly (some would say jarring) with busy backgrounds in the middle distance (e.g., foliage 10 meters behind your subject).

Any of the Sonnar types (including the Jupiter) will be good portrait lenses -- sharp in the center, fading to softness toward the edges. You should be able to pick up a good Nikkor 50/1.4 LTM for less than $500, and that's one of the nicer Sonnar clones (though note that the aperture ring turns in the opposite direction from Leica and Canon, if that will bother you). The Canon 50/1.5 is also supposed to be great (I'm waiting for mine to arrive) but it's much rarer than the Nikkor and recent prices have gone higher than $500.

Another lens you might consider is the Canon 50/1.4, which you can definitely get for less that $500. This is a Planar type like the 50/1.2, but with a more neutral signature/character. I've never owned one, but by all accounts it's an excellent general purpose fast 50mm, and will likely be softer wide open than a modern aspherical lens like the CV 50/1.5 Nokton.

For good 35mm lenses in your price range, the only ones I can think of that would be fast and soft wide open are the Canon 35/1.5 and 35/1.8, but I've never used them -- the fastest 35mm I have is f/2.

Good luck!

::Ari
 
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kermaier said:
The Nokton 50mm and 40mm are great lenses, but quite sharp -- they do not sound like that's what you're looking for.

The Canon 50/1.2 will likely give you what you're looking for wide open, but the bokeh can be distinctively swirly (some would say jarring) with busy backgrounds in the middle distance (e.g., foliage 10 meters behind your subject).

Any of the Sonnar types (including the Jupiter) will be good portrait lenses -- sharp in the center, fading to softness toward the edges. You should be able to pick up a good Nikkor 50/1.4 LTM for less than $500, and that's one of the nicer Sonnar clones (though note that the aperture ring turns in the opposite direction from Leica and Canon, if that will bother you). The Canon 50/1.5 is also supposed to be great (I'm waiting for mine to arrive) but it's much rarer than the Nikkor and recent prices have gone higher than $500.

Another lens you might consider is the Canon 50/1.4, which you can definitely get for less that $500. This is a Planar type like the 50/1.2, but with a more neutral signature/character. I've never owned one, but by all accounts it's an excellent general purpose fast 50mm, and will likely be softer wide open than a modern aspherical lens like the CV 50/1.5 Nokton.

For good 35mm lenses in your price range, the only ones I can think of that would be fast and soft wide open are the Canon 35/1.5 and 35/1.8, but I've never used them.

Good luck!

::Ari
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Thanks Ari, that was a great help! Yes I was suspecting the possible sharp character from Noktons..they are really attractive considering price but...

I also heard that Canon 1.2 has swirly bokeh...then maybe canon 50mm 1.4 can be another candidate and it is not so pricey..I never though about nikkor...

I was thinking zeiss can be sharp but yeah some of the images posted on the site has that characteristic you mentioned, sharp at the focus and fades softly.. though zeiss is pricey :( and I heard bulky..

//edit,, sorry after reading your post again I realized you didnt mention zeiss but sonnar-type lenses, now I get, thanks!
 
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LeicaFoReVer said:
I also heard that Canon 1.2 has swirly bokeh...then maybe canon 50mm 1.4 can be another candidate and it is not so pricey..I never though about nikkor...
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I have the Canon 50/1.8, and it's great -- kind of like the 1960s Summicron 50/2 Rigid -- but maybe not fast enough for your purposes.

Another interesting thing about the Nikkor is that it will focus down to 40 cm (though you lose rangefinder coupling at about 1 meter).

::Ari
 
A Jupiter 3 may well give you, at low cost, what you are looking for in a 50mm. When I wanted a fast 35mm, the CV Ultron f/1.7 fit the bill.
 
venchka said:
Ask 10 people, get 20 answers. Only you know what you like and want. Based on your list, if it were my money, I would buy a really really nice clean perfect Canon 50/1.2. If a miracle happened and it was less than $300, great! My next choice would be a Nikkor 50/1.4. OOPS! Already have that lens. That's why I don't go looking for 1.2 lenses.
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But then again, I can see why he asks here, to get some opinions from us, users, rather then compare some stats, or listen to a sales pitch ;)
 
Does it absolutely have to be sub f2.0?

If you can live with f2.0 and have some patience checking the rff classifieds, you should be able to find a Zeiss 50mm/2.0 Planar for $500 or less.
 
kxl said:
Does it absolutely have to be sub f2.0?

If you can live with f2.0 and have some patience checking the rff classifieds, you should be able to find a Zeiss 50mm/2.0 Planar for $500 or less.
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well i love zeiss and I would like to try in the future but I have already summicron 50 f2 (which I love) and it gives good results too (though it is quite sharp for that purpose)

thanks anyways ;)
 
LeicaFoReVer said:
a silly question, how do you use 40mm on M? which frame do you see in the viewfinder? and how do you frame it?
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I started using it on an R3a, but when I got a ZI I found that the 35mm framelines are still very accurate. I think the lens mount needs a tiny piece shaved off to bring up 35mm framelines on M / ZI cameras, but mine came modified.

Here's a 40/1.4 shot wide-open I think (it was a VERY dark bar).

p880262263-4.jpg
 
I think any of the lenses on your list are fine lenses, and you should concentrate on sample quality and price. I've had the Nokton 50/1.5 and used the J-3, and both are terrific although rather different in their characteristics/rendering. I would not call the 50 Nokton "soft," but it is not a super contrasty lens and it can produce lovely bokeh. Since you already have a summicron 50, I gather you are looking for a different look as well as faster speed for shallow dof shots. In that case, from your list the J-3 or the Canon 50/1.2 would probably best meet your criteria.
 
Bingley said:
I think any of the lenses on your list are fine lenses, and you should concentrate on sample quality and price. I've had the Nokton 50/1.5 and used the J-3, and both are terrific although rather different in their characteristics/rendering. I would not call the 50 Nokton "soft," but it is not a super contrasty lens and it can produce lovely bokeh. Since you already have a summicron 50, I gather you are looking for a different look as well as faster speed for shallow dof shots. In that case, from your list the J-3 or the Canon 50/1.2 would probably best meet your criteria.
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thanks, you really defiened my situation very well...I think it is absolutely nice idea to start with jupiter and see, as it is rather cheap I can then decide for another one even keeping J-3...

Canon 50/1.4 would be in my list now too :) and nikkor,
 
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