50mm lens for some landscape work

M

msheppler

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Hello all,

I have a leica m3 with a collapsible summicron and I would like to buy a second 50mm lens for landscape photos. Although everyone has their taste about how they want their details and contrast rendered I would think a lens that would render higher detail with more contrast would be a good complement to the collapsible. From what I have learned from reading the forums I think a canon 50mm 1.8 or a later model summicron would be a good choice.

BTW, I would be shooting slide film for scanning.

Any opinions on my options?
 
A late 50/2 Summicon or ZM Planar should be fine. I don't think a Cannon will be quite as sharp if you want the ultimate in high contrast.
 
I know it's a matter of taste, but when I'm shooting high contrast slide film, like Velvia, I find that a more moderate contrast lens works better. I have used a C/V Heliar Classic 50/2 and I like the results very much. I've also used a lower contrast Minolta SLR 50mm and I think it works even better. This is especially true if you're scanning your slides, because the scanner has trouble with high contrast film.

I understand if you want to keep your kit simple and stick with the RF, but an SLR really is a better tool for landscapes. You could pick up an old Minolta manual focus SLR and a very sharp 50mm for $100 and it will allow you to use filters you can't use with your RF. I have a whole seperate landscape kit with several high quality lenses and all added up it cost about the same as my Heliar Classic.

Paul
 
At F4 the Canon 50/1.8 is very sharp and does have higher contrast than the collapsible Summicron. It is not a "high-Contrast" lens, but should work well with slide film. I've found that modern high-contrast lenses tend to lose shadow detail on slide film as it has less latitude than negative film.

But again- these things are personal taste. For outdoor secic shots, a coated 50mm Elmar is also good. The Canon 50/1.8 will cost less than than the alternatives named, should run $100~$150 for a good one.
 
How about a 40/2 Summicron-C or Rokkor ? Works well on M3 (use full viewfinder), very sharp and contrasty a bit closed down.

Roland.
 
I have the Collapsible and the Dual Range Summicrons, and the DR is a lot crisper in its redition of fine detail. I would recommend the Rigid, though. It's the same optical cell as the DR, but without the close-focusing ability. This makes it quite a bit lighter, I'm told, and it also has a focusing tab, which I got very used to with the collapsible.
Good luck!
Vic
 
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