All the superfast 50s on the RD1s and Leica M7 - any tips?

[mani]

I'm looking into buying as many of the superfast 50s as I can lay my hands on (not all at once, of course). 😉
I've found that I pretty much only use my Noctilux for 95% of my shooting, and almost always at F1.0. Now I want to try the others that can be converted or can take a Leica M mount: I'm thinking of the Hexanon 50 1.2 and Hexanon 60 (no great hope of finding that one), the Canon 0.95 (preferably already converted, but not necessarily so), the Canon 1.2 and any others I may have forgotten.

Essentially I need to know what to look out for when buying, whether the conversions (including using the Voightlander LTM to M converter for those that can) give suitably accurate results for such sensitive lenses wide open, and if anyone knows of anyone who can convert lenses such as the 0,95 to M-mount in Scandinavia.

Thanks for any help! Also feel free to let me know if anyone is wanting to sell any of the above in good condition.

Mani

 

[santi-u]

I've got my new RD1s recently, and i also have a Canon 50/1.2 LTM that i purchased two months ago for shooting in low light conditions with my M6.
I have'nt used it too much, only one roll of Neopan 1600 basically at night and a few portraits.
It's not very big compared to other superfasts (i never had a nocti in my hands) and less sharper than my 50 cron.
I will try it now with the Epson and post some pics. I was thinking on selling it because my preferences go now for a wider focal lenth (my current ones are a 35 and two 50's).

Let's see first how it performs and i will decide it on the way.

Santi

 

[mani]

Let's see first how it performs and i will decide it on the way.

Great! ¡A ver si nos podemos ponernos de acuerdo!

 

[kshapero]

This is very interesting indeed. "I only shoot wide open", "want as many super fast 50's as I can get" I think the last time someone ordered up this meal was Santa Claus. he said something about it always being dark up on the North Pole.😀 Opps Sweden, now I get it.😀

Hey good Luck.😛

 

[santi-u]

As i said, i will post some pics with the Canon 50/1.2 on the RD1 when i get them.
At the moment, i only can put them with the M6. Here is one at f:2, with Neopan 1600 developed with HC-110

Wide open i think is too soft, maybe good for portraits, but i prefer it's performing a bit closed, more sharper but not so as the 50 cron. The models will appreciate it.

And here is the "monster" 😎

Cheers,

Santi

 

[jmkelly]

I had a very nice Canon 50/0.95 M-mount conversion that worked perfectly on 3 different film bodies, but was a miserable dud on my R-D1. It worked fine on the M8 of the guy I sold it to. Go figure.

I replaced it with a Canon 55/1.2 FL converted to M-mount, which works perfectly with my R-D1. The guy who did the conversion has another on eBay just now. No connection to the seller, but in my experience he is an easy guy to work with and the quality of his work is top-notch.

 

[furcafe]

You may want to contact the RFF member who goes by "hacker" as seems to be the resident superfast 50 expert (or @ least seems to own all of them).

I'm looking into buying as many of the superfast 50s as I can lay my hands on (not all at once, of course). 😉
I've found that I pretty much only use my Noctilux for 95% of my shooting, and almost always at F1.0. Now I want to try the others that can be converted or can take a Leica M mount: I'm thinking of the Hexanon 50 1.2 and Hexanon 60 (no great hope of finding that one), the Canon 0.95 (preferably already converted, but not necessarily so), the Canon 1.2 and any others I may have forgotten.

Essentially I need to know what to look out for when buying, whether the conversions (including using the Voightlander LTM to M converter for those that can) give suitably accurate results for such sensitive lenses wide open, and if anyone knows of anyone who can convert lenses such as the 0,95 to M-mount in Scandinavia.

Thanks for any help! Also feel free to let me know if anyone is wanting to sell any of the above in good condition.

Mani

 

[ampguy]

Interesting

Interesting

Thanks for this HU: Interesting description. I think I'll watch this one.

I had a very nice Canon 50/0.95 M-mount conversion that worked perfectly on 3 different film bodies, but was a miserable dud on my R-D1. It worked fine on the M8 of the guy I sold it to. Go figure.

I replaced it with a Canon 55/1.2 FL converted to M-mount, which works perfectly with my R-D1. The guy who did the conversion has another on eBay just now. No connection to the seller, but in my experience he is an easy guy to work with and the quality of his work is top-notch.

 

[ferider]

From the top of my head, this is what you are looking for:

Canon 50/1.2
Canon 50/0.95
Zunow 5cm f/1.1
Nikkor 5cm f/1.1
Fuji 5cm f/1.2
Hexanon 50mm f/1.2
Hexanon 60mm f/1.2
Noctilux 50/1 (which you have)
Noctilux 50/1.2 (which you don't)
Adapted Canon 55/1.2 SLR lens (see John's post above)
Adapted Nikkor 55/1.2 SLR lens (done by Amadeo Muscelli)

Together easily the price of a very good car 🙂

Cheers,

Roland.

 

[mani]

Great tips guys!
Ideally I'd like to get at least the first of the lenses before my vacation in a couple week's time, so I'm gonna start actively searching.

Pity there's no 'Buy now' on that auction - I'm not the greatest fan of ebay - and somehow the few times I've tried, someone's beaten me at the last second. But I'll give it a shot.
Ironically I was totally set on buying the 0,95 at an auction in Stockholm in the Spring - but I estimated the auction speed wrongly and arrived five minutes too late, and the lens (and camera) had sold at way under my target price. Now I'm really fired-up to get at least some of these (though the Nocti 1,2 is probably never going to happen...)

No intention to 'collect' incidentally - the idea is to get some good examples of a couple of these that I can really use.

Many thanks again!

 

[Joe Vitessa]

Just sent you a PM about a Canon 7 and 0.95 lens I'd be willing to part with... I'll likely be listing it on RFF in the coming days, if you're not interested... The lens is in great shape -- nearly mint and comes with the original UV filter and cap. The 7 works/looks great, too, and includes the case and manual. It's been a blast to shoot with, but baby No. 2 is coming soon and I need diaper money!

Cheers,
Joe

 

[Benjamin Marks]

I used to have an R-D1. Superfast 50's are going to be hit-and-miss with this camera given the extremely shallow depth of field when they are wide open and the focussing accuracy/tolerances of the R-D1's rangefinder. There is enough slop in the RF assembly to make snap-on focus questionable with any of these lenses. My experience was iffy focus with the 50/1, 75/1.4 and 90/2 -- all of which have very shallow depth of focus. Focus was much more reliable with a 0.85 Leica M6 TTL or an M3 (longer RF baselengths). I don't just say this on my personal experience, I also have talked at length on this subject with Don Goldberg who has seen many Epson's for RF adjustment and matching to particular lenses. Sorry to be the bearer of bad tiding, but there it is.

Ben Marks

 

[cam]

thank you, Ben... quite sad to hear, though... then why does my Epson work so beautifully with the 50/1.4 pre-asph?

 

[mani]

Well I'm watching that ebay auction now - still a couple days to go, so we'll see how it turns out.

I agree about the possible problems with focussing - but the beauty of the RD1 is the ability to fine-tune back and front focussing with just a screwdriver. I did this, and (at the moment) have perfect focussing with the Noctilux (knock on wood).
But I appreciate the heads-up, as I'm sure this won't be true with all the lenses (and I'm particularly concerned with conversions).

Thanks Joe - I replied to the PM, but for now I'm sleeping on it.

Santi-u that 50 1,2 looks really nice, and if you feel you want to part with it, do feel free to let me know. In many ways it feels better to buy a lens that's already converted, rather than sabotaging a lens and camera combo.

Thanks to all again!

Mani

 

[MCTuomey]

i may be undergunned among this crowd, but i love my new-to-me canon 50/1.5. nearly perfect to my eye on my r-d1. not expensive either.

 

[Krosya]

A good Canon 50/1.2 ltm is perfectly fine wide open:

has even a "glow" in certain light:

But what you should also consider (and I know it's not a 50mm lens) - a cv Nokton 35/1.2 - superb lens- both wide open and closed down:

here is wide open:

 

[mani]

Nice images Krosya! Well if everything goes according to plan, I'll be getting this lens soon - so I hope my efforts can be half as good as your's.

As I like to always shoot wide-open, what's the filter size for the lens? I'll be getting a 6x or 8x ND, and I guess I'll need to order in advance if I hope to get everything before my vacation. And is there any manufacturer that makes deeper filters, to avoid touching the lens surface?

 

[LCT]

thank you, Ben... quite sad to hear, though... then why does my Epson work so beautifully with the 50/1.4 pre-asph?

Because the base length of the R-D1's rangefinder is too short to get the same hit rate with faster lenses. The M8 is not much better from this viewpoint as its finder magnification (.68x) is much wider than that of the R-D1 (1:1). In both cases a magnifier like the 1.25x Leica or the 1.30x Megaperls will help though.

 

[jmkelly]

Because the base length of the R-D1's rangefinder is too short to get the same hit rate with faster lenses. The M8 is not much better from this viewpoint as its finder magnification (.68x) is much wider than that of the R-D1 (1:1). In both cases a magnifier like the 1.25x Leica or the 1.30x Megaperls will help though.

Yes a magnifier is a big help in focusing shallow DOF lenses on the R-D1. AFAIK the Leica adapter doesn't fit the R-D1 (or Bessas or ZI). But because of patent restrictions, Dirk can't sell the Megaperls adapter in the US for use on a RF. That 1.30x adapter fits Nikon digital bodies, though.

 

[deepwhite]

+1 to the Cosina Voigtlander Nokton 35mm f1.2. Amazingly sharp at f1.2 with beautiful bokeh without looking too clinical. Don't miss it.