50mm quandary

tbarker13

tbarker13

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I don't have a ton of experience with 50mm lenses, and I know that some of you folks have quite a collection.
I giving serious thought to buying a pair of 50mm lenses to go with my M8.

The first, I'd use with my 28/2.8 asph for general photography, travel, etc. A mix of color and b&w. Sharpness at all apertures is something that matters.

The second, I'd like to use for portraits and more classic documentary work. It would join a 35 UC hexanon and 90 pre-asph summicron. Virtually all of it would be b&w work.

The catch is that I want to do this for about $1,200 tops.
 
One possibility would be a ZM 50/2 Planar with a new version 50/2.8 Elmar. With a bit of patience, you should be able to find the Elmar for about $650 and the Planar for about $500. The Planar is a terrific, well-balanced all-purpose 50. It would probably pair with your ASPH quite well. The Elmar I love. It gives an older, slightly more muted look, while at the same time giving the subject sharpness that is associated with newer lens designs. The OOF rendering is beautiful. The best description of this lens that I have read stated that it combines the best of old and modern lens designs. The only potential pit-falls to using the Elmar as a portrait lens are its speed (if you want faster than 2.8), and the Summicron-type sharpness that you can get from it. A similarly priced alternative to the Elmar would be the ZM C-Sonnar. From everything I have read and seen online, it would be a very good portrait option in the 50mm range. But, I have never used one myself. So I can't make any comments from personal experience with the lens.
 
Hi Tim,
another "vote" for the ZM 2/50 to go with your 28 and why not consider an older Summicron V3 or 4? used. You'll get f2 and a not so clinical rendering which might be quite suitable as a portrait lens on the cropped M8. I would suggest you take a couple of test shots with your candidates for the specific purpose and have it printed at a nice size. Then you know exactely what you get.
 
I was wondering about the planar. I keep reading good things about it. And I believe its minimum focusing distance is .7 m, which is a plus.
But then again, I keep reading good things about many of these 50mm lenses.
The number of options is truly mind boggling. My list of potentials just keeps on growing. I can see why some members of this forum end up with such large collections.

I recently picked up an older 50 summarit. It is an interesting lens, but the performance wide open just isn't quite what I want it to be.

I like the idea of the 50 2.8 elmarit, but I really prefer something with at least 2.0 as the max aperture. I tend to shoot a lot in low-light settings without a flash.
 
Hi
I absolutely love my 50 F2 current Sumicron. It is also not a particularly expensive lens by leica standards. They are plentiful second hand.

Regards

Richard

50 Cron.jpg
 
The modern Elmar-M 50/2,8 is a great lens as is the Planar. Both are strong lenses for your purposes, though to get them both within your price limitation will take some waiting.
 
Tim,

The best resource for your 50mm analysis is Reid Reviews, a subscription site
with lots of info about 50mm for M mount. Including the Zeiss 50/1.5 which I
just received and it is a most interesting lens. It is a formula which portrait
photographers used in 40's to 60's to create those glowing Hollywood head shots.
Used wide open it achieves this character and stopped down it it sharp.

That's my advice.
gary
 
Richard Marks said:
Hi
I absolutely love my 50 F2 current Sumicron. It is also not a particularly expensive lens by leica standards. They are plentiful second hand.

Regards

Richard

View attachment 56800
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I'd have to agree. The 50/2 Summicron is a extremely competent lens which can be bought very reasonably (I picked up one of the current version in mint condition at about half the new price). I used to have the 50/2.8 Elmar but much prefer the Summicron. If you don't mind 'signs of use' they can be very reasonably priced indeed.
 
Yes, I've read Sean's reviews. He does a great job with them, but there are many more options than the ones on his site.
I think he's only reviewed a couple of these that I'm considering.
50/1.4 pre-asph lux (.7m and 1m focusing versions)
50/1.4 nikkor ltm
50/2 nikkor ltm
50/1.5 ZM Sonnar
50/2 ZM Planar
50/2 Summicron Rigid
50/1.4 Canon ltm
50/2 hexanon
50/2 CV heliar classic
 
The pre-asph lux is a tremendous lens (keeping an eye out for one myself :D ). However, I doubt that you would find either version at a price that would allow you to get two 50s for $1200. $1200 would be a good price for the E46 version alone. Of the other lenses on your list, I have used the Canon 50/1.4, the Nikkor 50/2, and the Planar. The Canon is a decent performer. It is almost "signature-free." That was actually the reason that I sold mine. But I know that it is one of the reasons that many really like this lens. The Nikkor is a Sonnar design. I actually have some regrets about selling mine (unless he has sold it, it now lives with Brian Sweeney). The lens has that really solid feeling of the older Nikkors. It is nice and small and seems to be quite under-rated. Good luck with your search. 50s are addictive.
 
Hey Tim, hope you've received the 135mm by now!

I've owned a lot of 50mm lenses (though maybe not as many as some here), and think the 50/2 Hexanon is a terrific value, and makes a great all-around lens. Equal to a Summicron in every way.

My best portrait lens, however, is the 50/1.4 pre-asph. Summilux (w/ built-in hood). Arguably, this is the only 50 anyone would ever need (though I have not taken this advice myself, owning currently 2 other 50s). I really like this lens at 1.4 and f2, it has great balance, fast focus, and it's not much bigger than a Hexanon or Summicron. At its current price used ($1200+) it tops out your budget, but you may not need anything else.
 
Hey there. The 135 was waiting for me when I got home from work yesterday. Still haven't had a chance to use it yet.
Part of me really wants the 50 summilux. And I've seen some of the earlier versions in the $900 range. I have to say, though, that I'm a fan of the .7 minimum focus of the last pre-asph version. Really helps with detail shots.

I suppose I could do a 50 summilux and then add a planar later.
 
50mm Quandary

50mm Quandary

I noticed no one mentioned the CV 50 1.5 , is this lens not in the same class as
the above mentioned ? I have the summicron 50f2 and I like it very much, but I
would like to hear what you think.
 
No doubt what to do:

The Hexanon 50/2 (or any of the Summicrons or the Planar - but the Hex is the
cheapest) to go with the 28/2.8, the Nikkor 50/1.4 for portraits.

Nothing beats the Nikkor for portraits, IMO :)

Cheers,

Roland.
 
Roland,
I don't suppose you have any shots taken with a Nikkor? Dante Stella had some interesting things to say about it on his site. The portrait side of it seems very appealing.
How would that lens perform for more general, non-portrait style photography? Say, for example, shooting guys working on an airplane in a semi-dark hangar.
 
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