Favorite LTM 50mm lens

[Joerg]

Hi,

What are your favorite Leica thread mount 50mm lenses, regardless of manufaturer?
I might want (read: want it really badly) to get an additional lens to complement an uncoated Summitar and would like to pick the collective wisdom and experience, that make this forum so great, to get some guidelines on what to choose.
Thank for your help


Joerg

 

[rover]

Canon 50/1.5,

Jupiter 8

 

[aizan]

a collapsible summicron would be nice.

 

[RML]

Jupiter 8.

 

[Kin Lau]

50/3.5 Elmar, a I-22 or I-50 would be a very good copy.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

See this recent thread under Optics:

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9614

 

[bmattock]

I am quite fond of my Canon 50mm f1.4, but I also have a 50mm f1.8 that is very nice. I guess I'd take the 1.4 in a pinch, but they're close.

If I had a Leica 50mm, I'd probably prefer that, but I don't.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[JoeFriday]

I would like to say my Jupiter 3, but I haven't tried it out yet.. if it's anything like my Sonnar 50/1.5 (Contax mount) I'll be very happy

 

[AlexC]

I'll put a vote in for the Canon 50/1.2. I mainly use it on an Epson R-D1, where, with the 1.5x crop, it makes for a great portait lens. It is fairly hefty, so the 50/1.4 may be better if you want a faster lens that the Summitar without adding a lot of weight.

 

[Joerg]

Hi,

thanks for the interesting selection.
The Canon 1.8 or 1.4 sound interesting

I am confused about the FSU lenses. What are they copies of?
Jupiter 8?
Jupiter 3?
Industar 22 or 50?

Could some one please clarify?

Ciao Joerg

 

[Sonnar Brian]

The Jupiter-8 is a copy of the pre-war Sonnar 50mm F2 lens (6 elements); the Jupiter-3 is a copy of the pre-war 50mm F1.5 Sonnar (7 elements). They are coated lenses. The biggest issue with Russian thread mount lenses is that they are a slightly different longer focal length than what the Leica cameras are calibrated to work with. The Jupiter-3 will focus about 1" farther at 36" than what the Leica RF indicates. They work fine on Russian Fed's and Zorki's as those cameras are calibrated for 52.3mm. The second issue with Russian lenses is quality control and variation between samples. If you get a sharp one, life is good.

 

[laptoprob]

Well, bad question I think. I only have the 1,2 Canon. Very nice for portraiture.
Old 1935 Elmar is coming up, very curious about that!

Rob.

 

[Mackinaw]

Canon 50mm F1.2. I love the images I'm getting when stopped down to F1.4 - F1.6. The attached was taken at F1.4 on Delta 100 in Rodinal.

Jim Bielecki

 

[Kin Lau]

Old 1935 Elmar is coming up, very curious about that!

Rob.

It's more a combo of size, feel and handling. If I want sharpness, my i-22 is sharper and has better contrast than my Elmar. It's just the right lense with the IIIa. The Summar too is a fun lense.

 

[Richard Black]

I have an I-50, Jupier 8, and Jupiter 3. The I-50 and Jupiter 3, along with a Jupiter 12, make up my Leica IIIc kit. The black J-8 stays with the Bessa R. Which is my favorite, the I-50. Why, it takes good pictures but it looks cool on the IIIc! The 3 lenses work fine on MY Leica and I don't mean to argue with those whose don't. Some have problems, and some are really lucky. I was. BTW, the 50's work fine on the Bessa R too, but don't colapse the I-50 into it, nasty stuff!

 

[ray_g]

Heliar 50/3.5

Summar 50/2

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Summitar f/2

 

[FrankS]

Summicron collapsible in LTM.

 

[furcafe]

Favorite classic 50 regardless of mount is the Zeiss 50/1.5 Sonnar; it can be found in LTM, if you can't, the 50/1.4 Nikkor-S is pretty close & will certainly do ;-) Close behind is the (original, not Cosina) Voigtlander 50/1.5, but that's not easily found in LTM unless you're willing to spend thousands of $$. For a readily-available LTM 50 I would go for the Canon RF 50/1.4 or 1.8 (depending on whether you need the speed). If you want something modern, you can't go wrong w/the Cosina Voigtlander 50/1.5 Nokton . . .

 

[phototone]

50mm Summicron f2 is by far my favorite, second would be the 50mm Nokton f1.5
Both LTM.