Anyone have a 50mm "carry everywhere" solution?

Leica/Minolta CL with a compact 50 of your choice. I'm not sure a collapsible woud be a good idea, but that's the only caveat. It's a tiny body that is really easy to use.

Otherwise, I second the LTM bodies mentioned, whether they be Leica, Zorki, or FED, mated to a collapsible.
 
If you're looking for a smaller camera body on which to mount a 50mm, I have a couple of suggestions in addition to those of Ernesto, Gregg, and 40 oz. above:

1. Mount a small 50 on a Bessa T. The 50 Elmar 3.5 LTM will collapse most (but not all) of the way on a T. The T is only slightly larger than a Canonet Q17 GIII, and is definitely pocketable. Alternatively, match a T with one of the smaller Canon 50s (either 1.8 or 1.5). Either way, it's a v. compact set-up (I will use a 50/3.5 Elmar on my T if Santa brings me a 50 finder for Christmas 🙂 ), and gives you something like a Leica IIIf w/ mod cons.

2. I think the Leica III* suggestions are good for a carry-around camera, but don't ignore the Canon copies too, like the IVSB and variants. Again, smaller than an M mount, and you can mount a small 50 and have a pocketable carry everywhere rig.

Anyway, my two cents.
 
Since you seem to like the new Elmar, how about a classic Elmar 50/2.8 on
your M2 ?

Ideally I would say CL + collapsible Summicron or Heliar,
(do not try the Summitar or Elmar), but for the price of that combo you
can get a modern Elmar.

Or just a CL with your Canon 50/1.5 and no hood .... The Canon is very small.
Not bigger than the new Elmar or Heliar with hood.

Roland.
 
Thanks for all of the suggestions so far.

A CL with the 50/1.5 is a good idea. Is it easy to use a 50mm lens with the 40 framelines?

The 50/1.5 is a great little lens. But, even without the lens hood, it is still about 66% longer than the collapsed Elmar-M.

CL + 50/1.5 vs. M2 with collapsible 50... I guess it's time to talk to Santa.
 
The current Elmar-M 50/2.8 is a great little lens that used to have a crap reputation because of the Summicron. But it is excellent and really great for travel because of it's small size and low weight. It's really a perfect carry-round 50.



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BTW, if you are not fixated on rangefinder, Leicas and 35mm, this is
probably the highest quality most compact film camera with the FOV you
are looking for:

olypen32.jpg


(from our bartender's web site).

Here is mine with a 1.2 lens:

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Cheers,

Roland.
 
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If you want to turn your M2 into a pocket camera, and you are looking only for a 50 lens, then the (two) Elmar(s), the coll. Summicron and the CV 50 f/2.5 are your obvious choices. There are also some collapsible Russians in LTM, the Summitar, and the older Elmar. Oh, and the collapsible Heliar - but if I am not wrong that last one is actually not so small despite being collapsible (never seen/handled one though, so I could be wrong). Of all these I 've tried for a while with the collapsible Summicron, the others were simply too slow for the kind of (portable) use I need (lots of interior shots, night photography), even more so as I don't like pushing beyond ISO1600. The collapsible Summicron did reasonably well in all that (you have to be careful with flare) although I suspect it will not compete with the modern Elmar (or your Planar for that matter) for sharpness and tonal nuancy wide open. But perhaps, like me, you wont care for all that if the circumstances you want to use the lens already degrade image quality anyway (slow shutter speeds, handheld fast shooting etc).

The camera with the collapsible Summicron just about fits a large coat pocket. Unfortunately M cameras are quite heavy and that sort of defeats the purpose of turning them into pocket cameras. I should know, I am currently trying the same ploy with another lens and the seams in my pockets are seriously disagreeing with the weight of the M.

EDIT: Oops, lots have been posted as I was composing. Nice photos from the Elmar.
 
Rafael said:
Boy Scout said:
What's so special about the Elmar-M?
Click to expand...
To my eye, the photographs that it produces are more understated than those produced by the current Summicron. There is a smoothness to the OOF areas that I really like. But the images still have the punch that you get from modern lens designs. I don't know if that makes sense: smooth punchiness? I often have trouble articulating comparisons between different lenses. But that's about the best I can do right now...
Click to expand...
I also really like the modern Elmar M. I originally bought it for its compact size and, I'll admit it, for a touch of "retro" appeal on my M3. I have other good 50s, so this really was a compact size issue and I thought "as long as the image quality is OK" and "I'll give up a stop for the size".

Well, IMO the image quality is far better than "OK". To my eye (and, perhaps, in my imagination?) there's a quality to images from my Elmar that I can only describe as "delicate" (I'm no good describing these things either) that especially shows up with colour photos. This shot shows the sort of thing I'm referring to (though this version of it may not be large enough; I might replace it with a larger one when I get access to it):


M3, Elmar 50/2.8(current) @f5.6; Kodak Gold 100, lab scan; resize, levels etc. PS CS2

I fondly imagine that this "delicate" rendering might be related to only having 4 elements in the light path. (If that's mystical BS then please don't tell me!)

I'm glad I picked up this lens: even if it wasn't compact I'd still want it just for the different rendering from my other 50s. I never would have bought it but for the compact size, so I'm glad of that and still take full advantage of that aspect as well.

...Mike
 
How about a folder like the Retina? Comes with a 50mm lens and is really a cool camera! Just took my newish Agfa Super Isolette (6x6 RF folder) to Hawaii and it was joy to shoot. It was nice to have the lens protected and even though the Isolette is a fairly large camera, when it folds up it is much thinner than an M or CL with a lens attached. I carried it in a little shoulder bag, the type that can hold a notepad. Or, like others have mentioned, get a small digital camera.
 
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