First 50mm lens decision, help!

[f16sunshine]

The reality is, all the 50mm lenses where/are good. LTM and M mount. I can't think of bad ones.
The other than the obvious size/max aperture differences will be,... Minimum focus distance and contrast/flare resistance from coatings (single vs multi coated).
Chose the price point, find something in good condition, ... and go for it.
The Planar 50mm seems to be the lens that will give you the Zeiss pop that you are used to from the hassy.
FWIW,.. My personal favorite at this point is the Voigtlander LTM Color Skopar 50mm f2.5.
It's a beautiful brass jewel of a lens with a nice focus tab and gorgeous slightly centered performance (I like a touch of fall off in 35mm format).

The best advice anyone could give you is to ignore this forum completely and go empty rolls of film through whatever set up you have 😀

Color Skopar a bit gritty
Hickory and Willow by Adnan, on Flickr

 

[froyd]

haha! ..........

 

[kxl]

Also consider the CV 50mm lenses... I myself have settled on 2 50's: a ZM Planar and a ZM Sonnar.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

These days Color Skopar 50 2.5 is one of the hardest lens to get, with price tag of 400$ and higher. While by 500-600$ you could easily get used Planar ZM, or even Nokton VM.

 

[bayernfan]

i'm primarily a 35mm shooter, however, i do enjoy shooting 50 on occasion. that being said, my favorite 50 is the summicron collapsible. the rendering is classic and timeless. the lens collapses into the body for a very nice travel sized kit.

i did spend some time looking at the images you posted on IG. as i mentioned before, the v2 pre-asph summilux would match your existing work quite well. that being said, it's fairly large, heavy and pricey (i own one).

i think your best bet is used zeiss 50/1.5 sonnar-c. classic rendering, beautiful out of focus rendition, and compact. rock that till you find a deal on a lux. 🙂

 

[Cabledog]

Yeah that lux looks like a good fit but light and compact are definitely factors. I'm leaning to the sonnar c and collapsible summicron /elmar. What are the different characteristics of the elmar vs summicron collapsible? From the prices I'm seeing for these lenses I might be able to pick up a 50 and a 35 or 28. I do do a lot of wide landscape shots living in the desert.

i'm primarily a 35mm shooter, however, i do enjoy shooting 50 on occasion. that being said, my favorite 50 is the summicron collapsible. the rendering is classic and timeless. the lens collapses into the body for a very nice travel sized kit.

i did spend some time looking at the images you posted on IG. as i mentioned before, the v2 pre-asph summilux would match your existing work quite well. that being said, it's fairly large, heavy and pricey (i own one).

i think your best bet is used zeiss 50/1.5 sonnar-c. classic rendering, beautiful out of focus rendition, and compact. rock that till you find a deal on a lux. 🙂

 

[bayernfan]

search flickr with the term "summicron collapsible kodak". that will bring up a nice set of images that show how it renders on film. i can email you a few samples of mine as well, just let me know where to send them.

 

[Cabledog]

I have flickrd for hours lol. Problem is with the amount of post processing it's hard to figure out if that's the true characteristic of a lens or not.

search flickr with the term "summicron collapsible kodak". that will bring up a nice set of images that show how it renders on film. i can email you a few samples of mine as well, just let me know where to send them.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Collapsible Cron is one of the hardest lens to get in good condition. It is kind of low contrast lens, which is good on BW, but nothing good on color (IMO).
Elmar-M 50 2.8 latest version is classic formula lens with modern coatings. It is very nice lens on BW and just about right on color.
On updated budget of 1.5K you could get used Elmar-50 2.8 and used Biogon C 35 2.8 plus two new protective filters. Compact and great set of lenses for color and bw film, IMO.

 

[Cabledog]

That does sound like solid kit. I've read the biogon c has some focus shift issues wide open though. Although using a 35 for a tight head shot or critical focusing probably isn't something is likely do anyways, it'd be for wider landscape shots.

Collapsible Cron is one of the hardest lens to get in good condition. It is kind of low contrast lens, which is good on BW, but nothing good on color (IMO).
Elmar-M 50 2.8 latest version is classic formula lens with modern coatings. It is very nice lens on BW and just about right on color.
On updated budget of 1.5K you could get used Elmar-50 2.8 and used Biogon C 35 2.8 plus two new protective filters. Compact and great set of lenses for color and bw film, IMO.

 

[sjauch]

I have flickrd for hours lol. Problem is with the amount of post processing it's hard to figure out if that's the true characteristic of a lens or not.

I think you answered a question. It's not really going to matter. A 50 is a 50. Pick an aperture and whether you want modern coating or not.

 

[sjauch]

Also the collapsible lenses aren't really that compact. I have an elmar-m, when it's collapsed it's roughly the same size as the planar.

 

[BillBingham2]

I have flickrd for hours lol. Problem is with the amount of post processing it's hard to figure out if that's the true characteristic of a lens or not.

It's not till death do you part, try two and keep the best, try another and keep the best, rinse and repeat until you get the desired results.......

B2 (;->

 

[Cabledog]

That's true

 

[Ko.Fe.]

That does sound like solid kit. I've read the biogon c has some focus shift issues wide open though. Although using a 35 for a tight head shot or critical focusing probably isn't something is likely do anyways, it'd be for wider landscape shots.

Many RF lenses I have tried with tripod, focus scale and cable release did focus shift on me. Including Summicron 50. But it real life photography it was not the factor to me.

Taking close up portrait commands small aperture with any format. Something like f8 on 35 and smaller on larger formats. You are not going to be affected by focus shift, IMO.

Old Leitz 50mm lens with close up attachment on Leica. I needed f8 to get the portrait, not the portrait of one eye.


Lollipop.

And for this one it was around f16, Mamiya 6x6:


Sergey Plyshevskiy. Poet.

 

[aizan]

i wouldn't downgrade older lenses for use with color film. eggleston, herzog, levitt, leiter...great color even back then.

 

[Erik van Straten]

These days Color Skopar 50 2.5 is one of the hardest lens to get, with price tag of 400$ and higher. While by 500-600$ you could easily get used Planar ZM, or even Nokton VM.

Well, that is $100 cheaper for a very good and very handy lens that can be used on any Leica, M or LTM. You have to look for them, but they are around.

Erik.

 

[f16sunshine]

BTW

Have to thank the OP for the topic.
This subject is probably one of the favorites to write about, read about, and think about on RFF.
It's a topic matter that does not seem to get old 😱
Cheers!

 

[sepiareverb]

BTW

Have to thank the OP for the topic.
This subject is probably one of the favorites to write about, read about, and think about on RFF.
It's a topic matter that does not seem to get old 😱
Cheers!

True that.

My 2¢: I find the Elmar-M 2.8 performs great in color and B&W. Compact, lightweight, good flare resistance, modern coatings. Well within the budget and easily available.

The Planar I shot always seemed a bit chalky on B&W film, not sure I ever shot color with it.

For a smoother, more MF vibe you might consider a Summitar f2.0? Also compact, also in budget. Fussy with its weird filters, but my coated version delivers great color to the M9 (I've not shot color film with it). Might take a little longer to find one with perfect glass that doesn't need a cleaning, but they are around.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Well, that is $100 cheaper for a very good and very handy lens that can be used on any Leica, M or LTM. You have to look for them, but they are around.

Erik.

OP has no LTM. Just one M. Personally, I dislike LTM lenses handling on M bodies. Nothing, but hassle. Plus, it needs another 50$ or more for adapter which is trustable.