Canon LTM CANON 50mm F1.2 LTM

[LeicaTom]

Ohh that beat up Kenko screw in hood is now retired ........ here`s what I found for my f1.2/50 this past morning 🙂



A late 1960`s Yashica 35mm wide angle hood that`s a 57mm clamp on, it fits perfect looks great and was just the right price *under $10 for it and the generic hood cap*

Now I`m ready to shoot 😀 ~ I have a PinUp shot next Monday night!

Stay Tuned

Tom

 

[LeicaTom]

My First Sample from my f1.2 lens ~ 1960`s Styled Artistic Topless Nude

My First Sample from my f1.2 lens ~ 1960`s Styled Artistic Topless Nude

Here`s a sample from last Monday`s shoot here in Florida, a paid photoshoot for me........with this lovely lady flying in from the Northeast.

Kodak Gold ASA 100 in my M6 with my f1.2 shot wide open ~
photo is unretouched with only color channeling and a white boarder added 🙂

I love the look, really OOF background, but still very sharp where I want it to be, this lens is a keeper! 😀

Tom

PS: I`ll have new photos from this lens after this week, while I only finished a partical half roll here with this paid shoot and the rest of the day I used my 45' IIIC K with other lenses......

 

[Krosya]

Beautiful! Lens ain't bad either. 😉

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

Tom, you may find you're getting some vignetting with that hood. I had one that looked a lot like that, and it got in the way...I switched to one intended for wideangle lenses and it works perfectly.

One great use for f/1.2 is shooting interesting shapes out in the woods. Whenever I try to capture this kind of thing with other lenses, all I get is a jumble of shapes. 1.2 really lets you draw attention to just one little thing in a scene without much color or brightness variation. Here are a few from yesterday, on the R-D1.

 

[M2user]

Asking prices seem to be on the way UUUUUUp,Up,Up,Up for this lens. 😱

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120375755387&mfe=sidebar

Who let the cat out of the bag? :bang:

It's your fault TOM, Haa,Hee,Hee,Hee. 😀

 

[raid]

This lens used to sell for $300 on average. I am glad that I still have my lens.

 

[LeicaTom]

Ohh I think that hoods been working out ok, that room was very dark, there was no vignetting 😉

Hahhahaha seems everyone`s blaming me for driving the prices up on lenses, but it`s not just me who`s raving about them 🙂 ~ This lens has had a great reputation for many years, only the Doubting Thomas`s shun it by saying it`s too soft or does`nt perform well enough, it`s the performance of the Photographer on many counts WHY these vintage "fast" lenses don`t live up to their reputation!

Ohh that link was to a lens at Rokas, they price stuff just lke Kevins stuff, $200 to $300 more than normal price, you`ll find a nice f1.2 on evilbay for under $450 now

Hmmm well, as I remember about TWO years ago there was a mad rush for this lens, and prices went up to $700+ That`s about the time too, that the crazies stated about how the hood was like 2 to 3 times rarer than the lens itself, and people paid stupid prices for the combos!

I think that this will remain a $400 to $600 range lens, while it`s the fastest option to the Noctilux, but as a MASS PRODUCED lens, luckliy there`s quite a few still left and only the madness of the collectors will drive the price up further as they did with the f0.95
(remember that used to be a $500 or less lens too, about two years ago).

People if you want this lens, I say NOW`S THE TIME to buy one, and LOOK FOR AS MINTY GLASS AS POSSIBLE, this is not a lens that repairs well, most damage done with these is forever and can`t be reversed, and forget about that stupid large "gets in the way of everything" hood, the Olympus or Yashica hood work just the same and cost less than $25 when you search well for them.

The only major setback with these lenses are that the filters are specially made to clear the top of the front glass element, so hopefully you`ll be lucky to find one with original filters as I did......

There`s possibly MODERN filters that work too?

Please chime in if anyone knows or has suggestions 😀

Tom

 

[David Murphy]

One of the factors driving up the price of this lens is that a lot of them (and I've owned a few) now have damage that cannot be completely repaired with a typical CLA, such as heavy glass scratching, aggressive internal haze, serious mechanical damage (from being dropped), etc. It's a shame really.

I think the prices will continue to climb unless Voigtlander produces a modern 50/1.2 (I sincerely wish they would).

 

[LeicaTom]

HU: Canon f1.2/50 at auctions at evilbay....

HU: Canon f1.2/50 at auctions at evilbay....

There`s two currently:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Canon-50MM-F-1-...ryZ15234QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Canon-50mm-f1-2...ryZ15234QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

And what a finished auction did.....

http://cgi.ebay.com/Canon-rangefind...ryZ21168QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

You can still find these under $400 if you look for a while and don`t buy the first one you see.......be fussy, while damage DOES effect performance with these lenses!

Tom

 

[kermaier]

One of the factors driving up the price of this lens is that a lot of them (and I've owned a few) now have damage that cannot be completely repaired with a typical CLA, such as heavy glass scratching, aggressive internal haze, serious mechanical damage (from being dropped), etc. It's a shame really.

I picked one up last year for $179 -- in great shape mechanically and cosmetically, but it had extensive fungus on one of the rear group elements. A normal cleaning at Essex didn't help much, so now it's on its way back from FocalPoint having had the coating polished off one surface. I'm hoping, with 9 remaining coated surfaces, contrast and color rendition won't be noticeably affected (fingers crossed)...

::Ari

 

[raid]

I picked one up last year for $179 -- in great shape mechanically and cosmetically, but it had extensive fungus on one of the rear group elements. A normal cleaning at Essex didn't help much, so now it's on its way back from FocalPoint having had the coating polished off one surface. I'm hoping, with 9 remaining coated surfaces, contrast and color rendition won't be noticeably affected (fingers crossed)...

::Ari

Ari,

What will be the total cost?
$179+ $ for Essex + $ for FocalPoint

 

[kermaier]

Ari,

What will be the total cost?
$179+ $ for Essex + $ for FocalPoint

Essex didn't charge me, as they were disappointed with their own results (really honorable people at Essex). FocalPoint charged me $175 for their work, so I've put a total is $354 into the lens. My thinking is that I'd be hard pressed to find another at that price that didn't need a CLA, and given the original condition, I consider the $179 to be sunk costs. 🙁 So, essentially, for $175 I get a lens in excellent overall condition, with 1 of 10 lens surfaces uncoated. I can live with that.

 

[januaryman]

Now we need to see some sample shots using that 9 of 10 lens! 😀

 

[raid]

I would only pay 9/10 of the portrait fees if you took a photo of me!

 

[raid]

Click on any thumbprint to get larger sized image.

 

[kermaier]

Now we need to see some sample shots using that 9 of 10 lens! 😀

Will do, as soon as it's back in my hot little hands. 🙂

I posted a wide-open shot with the fungus earlier in this thread. Still gave a nice look, IMO, though as Mike Johnston (I think) once wrote, "available light usually means crappy light".

 

[raid]

Here's a shot wide open in dim light with my 50/1.2 before I had the fungus cleaned out (covered about 1/3 of the surface of an element in the rear group).

Canon LTM 50/1.2 @ f/1.2 on Epson R-D1 @ ISO 400

The image is beautiful. Leave the lens as is.

 

[Burlap Jacket]

 

[ChrisN]

I came close to selling lens this recently, but I'm happy to have held on to it.

Here's a sample from my last roll, f/1.2, 1/8 (hand held), HP5+, LC29 1+29.

This lens has some of the well-known imperfections, but not too bad, I think. 🙂

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Great shot of the ME-262. There is one in the Smithsonian Air and Space next to a WW-II vintage P80 Shooting Star. I'll have to bring the 50/1.2 next time I go there.