compact or ultra compact 50mm M mount?

[northeast16th]

looking for a good 50mm, but i love compact lenses that look really inconspicuous and tiny. any recommendations? would love something that was f2 or faster. that zeiss planar looks really sweet and i would love that because i'm assuming it would be similar to the look from my 'blad 80mm planar, but alas the zeiss is pretty big. looking for smaller.....

thanks in advance for your wisdom!

 

[sepiareverb]

Collapsible Summicron? The Elmar-M is 2.8, and without the hood is pretty darn tiny. And pretty darn stunning optically. But of course I'll be showed the fool I am.

 

[Krosya]

Well, collapsible lenses are only tiny when, well....collapsed. I'd say something like Nikkor 50/1.4 - somewhat smaller than your typical 50/2 like Summicron, and faster too. Otherwise a bit slower CV 50/2.5?

 

[Bruin]

ZM C-Sonnar 50/1.5

 

[ferider]

Love the Elmar-M.

If you want small, modern and f2, consider the 40mm/2 Summicron or Rokkor.

 

[hiromu]

CV Heliar classic F2 is collapsible,,, but not much smaller than Summicron. If slower is okay, CV skopar is very small and I liked it a lot.

 

[nyx]

isn't the new summarit pretty tiny?

 

[northeast16th]

was just looking at the new summarit and it looks pretty sweet, if a little slow. that's pretty much exactly what i'm looking for except it's pretty pricey compared to the cv lenses, but may be worth it. anyone used it for color work? i shoot exclusively in color slides, provia 100.

 

[Ken Tanaka]

was just looking at the new summarit and it looks pretty sweet, if a little slow. that's pretty much exactly what i'm looking for except it's pretty pricey compared to the cv lenses, but may be worth it. anyone used it for color work? i shoot exclusively in color slides, provia 100.

Actually the Summarit 50 f/2.8 is nicely compact. I just recently picked it up mainly for bright scenes and compact walking-about, even though I also have the Summilux 50 f/1.4. So far I have to say that I love this lens and I think you will, too. (I shoot nearly all color work.) Very sharp, even open. Nice color contrast (but not excessive), neutral color rendering. It can be very hard to distinguish between images taken with the Summilux and Summarit 50s at roughly f/4 - f/8, given a moderate/bright scene.

No the Rit's not really inexpensive but it is as good a Leica "value" as you'll find. You may find a bargain at PopFlash or on eBay. I bought a 35mm Summarit in demo/like-new condition at a Hong Kong dealer (eBay) for $1,000 recently so opportunities are out there.

 

[nzeeman]

any of sonnar type lenses will be small: jupiter 8 and 3, canon and nikon sonnar clones, new zm sonnar...

 

[mfunnell]

Collapsible Summicron? The Elmar-M is 2.8, and without the hood is pretty darn tiny. And pretty darn stunning optically. But of course I'll be showed the fool I am.

Most certainly not from this quarter. My Elmar-M is one of my favourite lenses in terms of it's rendering in both colour and B&W and is one of my most-used lenses because of its convenient size (including with the hood on). In fact, my M3 with Elmar-M is my usual daylight "carry everywhere" kit. I enjoy using that rig and printing and viewing the photos I've taken with it.

...Mike

 

[former member]

The Canon 50/1.5 is the smallest fast fifty that I have. With the hood and filter left in place, it fits in the Leica M3's fitted case. With the hood off and lens cap on, it fits in the Leica CL's pouch case. It is slightly shorter than the Jupiter-3.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Well, collapsible lenses are only tiny when, well....collapsed.

Quite. And you can't have a good, modern, fast, compact design: you have to go to an older design, usually with vignetting, reduced sharpness and probably some focus shift as compared with a fast modern lens.

The CV f/2.5 is very good and only 2/3 stop below f/2. The Summarit is even better (we have both). EDIT: and I agree with Kywong (below) about the question of convenience. My favourite 50 is the C-Sonnar, too, though Frances's is the Summarit.

Cheers,

R,

 

[kywong]

I had an Elmar, I love the way it renders, but sometimes just that extra bit of time spent getting the lens out of it's collapsed position is enough to miss a photo opportunity, and the lens cap comes off too easily without the hood, so I ended up just keeping it in the ready position, with the hood on, which of course meant it's not THAT compact. It's speed can be limting, so I bought a ZM Sonnar, which is fairly compact for a 50.

 

[kalex]

CV 40mm Nokton 1.4. Close enough to 50mm. Very fast at 1.4 and very very small

 

[leica M2 fan]

The smallest 50 I have is the Canon 1.5 and I can heartily recommend it. It is small and sharp enough wide open and better stopped down to 2.8 or 4. It is Sonnar based.

 

[kermaier]

The Canon 50/1.5 is a truly great Sonnar type, and quite compact for a lens of that speed.
The Canon 50/1.8 is a bit slower, a bit smaller, and a lot cheaper - but it's not a Sonnar, more like a Planar?
The CV 50/2.5 is half the size of the above two lenses, quite sharp and really solidly built.
I have all 3, and they're all excellent.
::Ari

 

[former member]

The Canon 50/1.5 is smaller (shorter) than the Canon 50/1.8. Both use 40mm filters and hoods. The Chrome 50/1.8 intrudes into the viewfinder of the Barnack Leica's less than the later Black versions. The 50/1.5 does not intrude into the IIIf finder at all.

The Canon 50/1.4(1-2-2-1 Planar) is big by comparison, uses 48mm filters and blocks 1/3rd of the IIIf finder. I have all four lenses mentioned.

Summicron in collapsed position on my IIIf.

My custom mounted 5cm f2 Sonnar in J-8 mount on my IIIF.

5cm f2 Sonnar in early J-8 mount.

J-8's are about the same size, extend a LITTLE bit farther.