Favourite rendering M mount lens

[scautez]

Hi all,
I was just wondering what M, LTM, mount lenses you consider have a rendering or drawing that is somewhat special or appeals to you?
There are many aspects that go toward creating an appealing image, but I often notice in the images I like it's not the most technically sharp or perfect lens that creates it, but often lenses that have a distinct or special signature.

 

[maddoc]

Coated (M-mount)
35mm Summilux pre-ASPH
50mm Noctilux f/1.0
40mm Summicron-C f/2.0
21mm Super-Angulon-M f/3.4

Un-coated (LTM)
5cm Summar 1:2.0
3.5cm Elmar 1:3.5

 

[a.noctilux]

Summicron 8 element 35mm
Noctilux 1.0
Summilux-M 75mm

Canon LTM 1.2/50
Summar 5cm
Summarit 1.5/50

etc.
and each one IS unique and no other can replace :angel:

 

[Out to Lunch]

Voigtlander Collapsible Classic Heliar 2/50mm



Out to Lunch, on Flickr

 

[splitimageview]

any Sonnar-formula.

 

[karateisland]

40mm Summicron-C f/2.0

Since this is the only m-mount lens I own, I'd have to agree! Wonderful, wonderful first m-mount to own.

 

[icebear]

2/75 'cron asph

The asph lenses are often called clinical and too sharp.
Obviously it all depends how you use them. Wide open and up close you can use the shallow DOF of the in focus area to highlight what you want to show and the OOF zone in front and behind the sharp focus zone are just beautiful.
Be careful with processing and sharpening, use DNG and not in camera jpg output, otherwise you have a good chance to ruin the original capture of the lens.

 

[santino]

Pre-Asph 50 Summicron.

 

[jsrockit]

Zeiss C-Biogon 35mm 2.8
Leica 35mm 2.8 Summaron
CV Nokton 50mm 1.5

 

[presspass]

In M mount, four Mandler lenses - 135 2.8, 90 thin tele-elmarit, 35 pre-asph Summilux, and 200 Telyt for Visoflex.

In LTM, 50 Summar, 35 Elmar, both uncoated, Canon 50 1.5, and Canon 3.5 135. I do enjoy using longer lenses on rangefinder cameras - strange, I know, but that's the way it is.

 

[Strangefinder]

7artisans 50 mm 1,1 of course.

 

[Godfrey]

Hi all,
I was just wondering what M, LTM, mount lenses you consider have a rendering or drawing that is somewhat special or appeals to you?
There are many aspects that go toward creating an appealing image, but I often notice in the images I like it's not the most technically sharp or perfect lens that creates it, but often lenses that have a distinct or special signature.

All of my Leica lenses produce superbly beautiful renderings, every one slightly different and special, but the Summilux 35mm f/1.4 v2 of about 1972 vintage is very very special for its tiny size, speed, ability to change rendering dramatically with a twist of the aperture ring, and a particularly beautiful performer:

Leica M-P + Summilux 35mm f/1.4 (v2)
ISO 200 @ f/2 @ 1/90


Leica M-D + Summilux 35mm f/1.4 v2
ISO 800 @ f/4 @ 1/15​

G

 

[bayernfan]

B&W:
50/2 Summicron Collapsible
35/3.5 Summaron
35/1.4 Summilux Pre-Asph
28/2.8 Elmarit v3

Color:
50/1.4 Summilux v2
35/2 Summicron v2/3/4
21/1.8 Ultron

 

[coelacanth]

Elmar-M 50/2.8: no flare, 3D look not by shallow DoF but with the rendering, touch of classic look.
Summilux-M 50/1.4 Pre-ASPH E46: Classic rendering, great for portrait, not-so-creamy bokeh (classic look) vs ASPH. Not the rendering but being able to focus down to 0.7m is a big plus for me.

 

[charjohncarter]

All of my Leica lenses produce superbly beautiful renderings, every one slightly different and special, but the Summilux 35mm f/1.4 v2 of about 1972 vintage is very very special for its tiny size, speed, ability to change rendering dramatically with a twist of the aperture ring, and a particularly beautiful performer:

Leica M-P + Summilux 35mm f/1.4 (v2)
ISO 200 @ f/2 @ 1/90


Leica M-D + Summilux 35mm f/1.4 v2
ISO 800 @ f/4 @ 1/15​

G

Godfrey great shots, sorry I don't own any M mounts.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

From what I owned and own - Cron Collapsible for BW on film and Summarit-M 35 2.5 for everything. I liked Elmarit-M 28 2.8 III for rendering, but lens is the dog, sorry, Percheron.

 

[pyeh]

This is like that "5 favourite cameras" thread by the good JS Rockit (I think), such fun.
My absolute favourite M and LTM lenses, in terms of optical characteristics, are
- Nikkor 35/1.8 equal with Summicron 35 V4. I find them quite similar, except in colour rendition.
- Zeiss M 25/2.8 for its sharpness and colour rendition.
- Zeiss M 50/1.5 for its beautiful images
- Leica 24/3.8 Elmar-M Asph, just so high resolving and distortion free.
- Leica Apo Summicron 50/2 Asph, ditto
- Pretty much all the Cosina Voigtlander LTM Color Skopar lenses for their colour rendition mainly.

 

[f16sunshine]

ZM Sonnar f1.5/50mm tops my list

Although I have the Zeiss Contax RF ancestor ...I've never owned the ZM Sonnar 50.
Every pic I've seen with it whether film or Digitalis is beautiful.
Is it the perfect M mount lens...?....might be.

 

[JHutchins]

Two distinct sorts of lens:

1) Nice transitions to out of focus areas for portraits & simpler shots with soft backgrounds. Here it really is hard to beat the 50/1.5 Sonnar. It is absolutely beautiful. I'm also very fond of the 75 Summilux (which is very similar in a lot of ways) and the rigid 50 Summicrons (which are quite different from the Sonnar/75 Summilux but I still find them appealing).

2) For photos where you want lots or even substantially all of what can be seen to be in focus: I really like the 21/3.4 Super Angulon here. The light falloff toward the corner is just about right, I think, to subtly push the eye back toward the center without looking cheesy (I recognize that cheesy is in the eye of the beholder). Also it has, to my eye, just the right amount of contrastiness. It has a distinctive look and one that I like a lot.

 

[besk]

The lens that most impressed me with it rendering qualities was a 35mm Summicron M
version III. I sold it years ago and then realized my mistake and purchased another.