And yet another which lens thread!

[Keith]

Tomorrow morning at sparrow fart (sorry Stewart) I’m off to have breakfast with the homeless at the invite of a local social worker at ‘West End Community House.’ They put on a free early morning feed every Thursday for the street people in the area and after explaining to this very compassionate individual what my photographic aims were he suggested this move to get to know them all a little better and gain their trust further than I hopefully already have. There are usually around forty to fifty present at these breakfasts apparently.

In the interests of not startling the troops so to speak, I’m thinking of dusting off my early double stroke M3 as leaf shutters aside, it truly has the most silent operation of any camera I own. I’ll be shooting with Neopan 400 indoors in average to poor light with the influence of some fluorescents I suspect.

I really only have three 50mm lenses to choose from, all with their own (my perceived) issues:

Canon 50mm f1.2 in mint condition and just cleaned internally. I adore this lens but have missed a lot of spontaneous shots in the time I’ve owned it because of the very long focus throw!

Summicron 50mm f2 Collapsible from 1954 (came with the M3 of the same vintage). Has a few minor cleaning marks and nicks and a small patch of very faint internal haze, almost impossible to detect. I’ve never used it from memory so it’s performance is relatively unknown to me!

Konica Hexanon 50mm f2. In mint condition with no haze, dust or anything … barely used in fact because I’ve never taken to it. As good as this lens is it seems a little sterile to my eyes and I’m not sure that it would suit the mood of the occasion.

I’d quite like to use my ‘evil’ 50mm f1.4 ZF Planar but I feel the sharp ‘clack’ of an FM3A may not be too appropriate in this environment and I think a small nearly silent rangefinder will be far more effective! My gut feeling says the Summicron with a hood to reduce glare and subsequent potential flare from the fluorescents … would this be a wise choice considering the two other options and the subject material?

 

[xxloverxx]

From your opinion of the other 2, it seems the Summicron is the way to go, although you've never used it before so you wouldn't know about the performance.

You have experience with the Hexanon, so why not go with that? You can soften things up in printing if it's too sharp.

I understand how frustrating a long focus throw can be (I'm not sure how the Canon compares to the inner bayonet of the Contax RFs), so that's out of the question in poor light. Outdoors it's easier to scale focus because there's more room for error.

Summary — I'd go for the lens you don't have a problem handling and that you've tried before. I'd go for the Hexanon.

 

[Ranchu]

I'm not familiar with those lenses, but you might want to consider making a 'dry run'. Go and eat with them (pay the charity for it, I guess), crack some jokes and make some friends. Then come back next week with a camera. They might be more impressed with the canon 1.2, more likely to comment about it to you.

🙂

 

[oftheherd]

Your choice. I would not use a lens I have never used before. You just might want to provide some of these folks a print, or post some where they can see them. Being homeless doesn't mean they wouldn't like good photos and wouldn't recognize poor ones.

Since you don't like the throw of the Canon, seems you might need to choose the Konica. Personally, I would probably choose the Canon, as long as it provides good photos. So you miss a few, we always do. But you will get other opportunities at f/1.2 you would not get at f/2.

It will be interesting to see what you choose. I'm actually a little surprised, with your experience, that you even ask. But as you know, the important thing is to interact with your current and future subjects. Give them something they feel good about, whether in hand, in a common to them area, or both. And get to know them.

Not telling you something you don't already know, am I?

 

[LChanyungco]

the Summicron 50mm f2 Collapsible is the M3's "soulmate." 🙂

 

[Leigh Youdale]

Keith, I'd lean towards the Summicron. The Konicas tend to be very sharp and contrasty I think. A bit clinical.
Apart from that, and more importantly, I'd be inclined to take along some suitable prints of similar subject matter you've shot in the past to pass around - just as samples and as reassurance to those who might be a little reserved about the idea of being photographed (no matter how silently). If they can see that what you've done previously is sympathetic and of interest to them it should open more doors more quickly for you.

 

[Cron]

I would take the Canon!
It has reserves in low light and if properly serviced it is capable of very good pics wide open. Together with the finder of the M3 this would be my choice. Forget about the long focus throw, is it really so bad for you?

 

[Sonnar Brian]

I would not use the collapsible Summicron because you have not tested it. Too important of a task to use untested equipment. Of the three, I would take the Konica. If you want a soft mood, the Canon 50/1.2. Somehow the plight of the homeless seems more suitable for a harsh lens.

I would not hesitate to bring my own Collapsible Summicron as it is fully disassembled, cleaned, and tested.

 

[le vrai rdu]

Konica Hexanon, summicron may be more beautiful on your camera but the hexanon is clean and like new ......

 

[Keith]

Your choice. I would not use a lens I have never used before. You just might want to provide some of these folks a print, or post some where they can see them. Being homeless doesn't mean they wouldn't like good photos and wouldn't recognize poor ones.

Since you don't like the throw of the Canon, seems you might need to choose the Konica. Personally, I would probably choose the Canon, as long as it provides good photos. So you miss a few, we always do. But you will get other opportunities at f/1.2 you would not get at f/2.

It will be interesting to see what you choose. I'm actually a little surprised, with your experience, that you even ask. But as you know, the important thing is to interact with your current and future subjects. Give them something they feel good about, whether in hand, in a common to them area, or both. And get to know them.

Not telling you something you don't already know, am I?

I meant to mention that a set amount of the photos I take of these people will be shown at this centre in August when they have their yearly art show. The center runs weekly art classes for the disadvantaged in the surrounding areas and the exhibition will mainly consist of their work so hopefully they'll be comfortable with my reasons for wanting to photograph them!

Leigh's description of the Hexanon being clinical is accurate IMO and is what makes it a little bland, though very sharp. The Canon and the Summicron would both be a lot more foregiving I feel. I have a bit of an affinity for the Summicron because it actually came with the M3 which was one very troubled camera when I got it and took a lot of Youxin's skill to rejuvinate it ... bought from eBay as working perfectly of course! 😀

When I checked the serial number of the Summicron I discovered it's manufacture date is identical to the M3's so it probably spent most of it's life on that camera. I put it on my M8 earlier tonight and shot it straight towards some lights and from what I can see it didn't seem to mind too much so maybe it's better than I supected regarding the marks and minor haze etc. It focuses very quickly compared to the Canon which aside from the long throw also seems to be heavily damped.

I think the Hexanon is out of the running and I guess I can take both of the other lenses with me and see how I feel about it all when I get there ... maybe the slow focusing of the Canon won't be an issue because it is a hell of a lens!

 

[payasam]

What Ranchu says is logical. You should not expect good pictures -- regardless of the lens used -- at the first attempt. Rapport, or at least acceptance, matters when photographing people. I'd recommend the Hexanon, but then you seem to not like it.

 

[gavinlg]

I'd take the zf and fm3a and don't worry about the noise - when they know you're a real photographer your camera and the noises it makes become transparent in my experience (with the pentax 67). The more you try to be quiet and unobtrusive, the more they notice and act funny.

Out of the selection you listed, the leica and canon are the more exciting choices ("how will they draw the scenes I'm seeing" sort of excitement), but I'd be wanting the subject to be the main consideration for the photos, so the predictable hex would be my other choice.

Sorry if that sounded super clinical!!

 

[jamiewakeham]

...There are usually around forty to fifty present at these breakfasts apparently...

To me, this suggests things might be a bit cramped and close up? I don't know how big the venue is, of course. But that might mean you're rarely racking your focus from 2m to infinity, but only moving between 1m and 3m. And this might reduce the issue of the Canon's long focus throw. Just a thought.

Me? I go for the speed, every time. Mind you, if I had one, I'd be carrying the M8 on my other shoulder with a different lens - even another of the 50mm, as it's a different perspective on the crop sensor.

Cheers
Jamie