Fast 50mm M9 options without breaking the bank?

[f.hayek]

The Canon 50/1.4 will seriously desaturate your color images; pastel-like. It's an effect some really strive for, I don't. Always looks like circa 1970 color emulsion whose chemistry has degraded over time. Personally, only use legacy glass like Canon & Nikon LTM with B&W film or Monochrom sensors.

Consider the Zeiss ZM 50/2. Sleeper of a lens.
Has all the things that make Zeiss what it is; solid resolving power, Zeiss "pop", great color. The Zeiss 50/1.5 Sonnar is tricky as it depends what f/stop it's optimized for and then focus shifts at every other aperture until f/8 or so.

But why not splurge a few hundred more and get the Voigtlander 50/1.2? It is a superb lens and outdoes all the fast Red Chinese lenses (TT Artisans, 7 Artisans, Coronavirus Artisans, Intellectualpropertystealing Artisans) without having to adjust it yourself. All the retailers have an ongoing sale ($100 off) that ends soon on this lens.

 

[Doug]

...The Zeiss 50/1.5 Sonnar is tricky as it depends what f/stop it's optimized for and then focus shifts at every other aperture until f/8 or so.

This is considerably overstating the focus shift effect; perhaps you have not used this lens yourself. Mine was originally set to perfect focus at f/2.8, and did show some front-focus wide open and a bit down from there. But from about f/2 to f/16 there was no noticeable effect. It didn't bother me since I rarely shoot wide open. I had the lens 6-bit coded and while at his shop DAG re-set the focus for f/2 - f/2.2 or so. Since then I've been able to ignore the effect, covered adequately by depth-of-field at any aperture. For those who have their lens set to focus accurately at f/1.5 I expect they might see a small back-focus effect around f/4 +/- but otherwise quite usable. This focus shift issue has been exaggerated out of proportion IMHO... Certainly agree the Zeiss 2.0/50mm Planar ZM is a gem!

 

[Ccoppola82]

This is considerably overstating the focus shift effect; perhaps you have not used this lens yourself. Mine was originally set to perfect focus at f/2.8, and did show some front-focus wide open and a bit down from there. But from about f/2 to f/16 there was no noticeable effect. It didn't bother me since I rarely shoot wide open. I had the lens 6-bit coded and while at his shop DAG re-set the focus for f/2 - f/2.2 or so. Since then I've been able to ignore the effect, covered adequately by depth-of-field at any aperture. For those who have their lens set to focus accurately at f/1.5 I expect they might see a small back-focus effect around f/4 +/- but otherwise quite usable. This focus shift issue has been exaggerated out of proportion IMHO... Certainly agree the Zeiss 2.0/50mm Planar ZM is a gem!

I agree. The 50 1.5 Sonnar is tied for my most used 50. I have it on the mp240 and the m2. Mine is set to focus at 1.5 and I have honestly not noticed nor cared if there was slight shift. Especially 1.5....chances are your focus or your subject moving will throw your focus off more than the shift. I use mine at 1.5/2 or 5.6-11. I don’t mind skipping 2 of the stops because the lens offers such a fast, compact package for a reasonable price. Really it’s a gem and a fun lens to use. No need to list it’s unique character here as a quick search will bring up everything you’d want to know

 

[WJJ3]

What do you think about the Nokton 1.5 Aspherical in LTM for the M9?

I recently got one for my M9 and am really enjoying it. The cost-performance of this lens is unbeatable.

A recent one from the Nokton and M9: