Help me find a 50mm lens for the M3 here..

[colker]

Got this M (along w/ a Rollei F) it´s been quite some time but always busy w/ digital that i never got back to commit to film again.

Through a small fuji i fell in love w/ small cameras and decided to take the leap w/ the Leica. I don´t even know if the camera is working ok or if the film workflow will happen her... so i am opting for not investing too much right now on the lens. I could even find an adaptor for my pancake nikkor 50 f1.8... anyone tried that? It´s a great little lens.

 

[raid]

The M3 is meant to be matched with a Rigid Summicron. If money is tight, I would get a Canon 50/1.8 RF lens.

 

[lxmike]

How about a 5cm f3.5 Elmar to start with and build up from there

 

[Phil_F_NM]

I'll see your 3.5 Elmar and raise you 2/3 stop in favor of the LTM f/2.8 Elmar.

Phil Forrest

 

[lxmike]

I'll see your 3.5 Elmar and raise you 2/3 stop in favor of the LTM f/2.8 Elmar.

Phil Forrest

I fold, (or collapse)😀

 

[jordan.dickinson]

If precision framing isn't extremely important to you, the 40mm Summicron/Rokkor is a great option. It's field of view will be most of the M3 viewfinder (outside of the 50mm framelines), but it's a great little lens with great ergonomics and falls into your "compact camera" preference. I realize some people hate the idea of having "loose" framing, but my style of shooting isn't all that precise anyway. You can also make it yours for about $400-$450 and won't really lose any value if you decide to upgrade down the road.

Other than that, the 50mm Summicron Rigid is a real gem and is perfectly matched with the M3, as Raid noted above.

Best of luck with the search, and enjoy your M3!

 

[madNbad]

Voigtlander 50 2.5 Color-Skopar, LTM with an adapter.

 

[bhop73]

Second the Canon (unless you can afford a Summicron)

 

[Erik van Straten]

The Color-Skopar, like madNbad says. Excellent on the M3 for about half the price of a Summicron rigid. Same build quality but much better ergonomics.

Erik.

Leica M3, VC Color-Skopar 50mm f/2.5, 400-2TMY, printed on Adox MCC 110.

 

[markk]

x3 on the Canon LTM 50 1.8. Older chrome version much less likely to be fogged, later black version has superior coatings, but difficult (not impossible) to find with clear optics. Pick up an M39/M3 adapter and you are good to go!

 

[Huss]

there are soooo many great lenses to choose from. everything from a Jupiter 8 to a Noctilux . First thing to do is determine ur budget.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Forget about Nikkor 50 1.8, you can't couple it with RF.

Wanna small and cheap? Get Industar-22 and 50mm LTM-M adaptor from Amazon.
Or any FSU 50 mm LTM. I have tried them all. And I have tried all Crons 50 and Planar, Nokton. I was often questioning myself what is wrong with FSU 50 lenses on film.
Because I can't find anything wrong.

Industar-26M. Those are very cheap. Like twenty bucks.




Jupiter 3 are under 200$ now. Very small f1.5 lens.

Industar-22. Under fifty bucks lens.



All on M3.

FSU are better lenses comparing old Leitz and Canon. They are much less prons to haze and fungus. Good luck to find Canon 50 1.8 without haze.

 

[peterm1]

The M3 is meant to be matched with a Rigid Summicron. If money is tight, I would get a Canon 50/1.8 RF lens.

I agree. The Canons are excellent lenses in either chrome or the later black / chrome livery and work well on the M cameras. They render quite neutrally and so are useful in a wide range of photographic settings and are always in reasonable demand and so can be sold again if your needs change. Having said that they are available readily and so tend not to be over the top expensive to purchase, especially if you do not want a mint copy where you might be competing with the collector end of the market. Don't forget to budget for a LTM to M adapter - if possible an original Leica one though I believe the after-market ones are most likely OK these days.

 

[nickthetasmaniac]

The 5cm Summicron Collapsible is a wonderful lens (particularly on black and white film) and is often cheaper than the rigid.


Collapsed on the M2


HP5+


400TX


Tmax100

 

[colker]

Besides the M3 i got this Leica which i got from a friend in a terrible state... I thought of finding someone to clean it and maybe use the lens. I don´t even know if the lens is threaded or fixed.

 

[colker]

And this is my M·... not bad.

 

[presspass]

That's a thread mount Leica, probably a II series - no means of attaching a strap. The lens is most likely a Summar. They are decent lenses and could be used on an M3 with an LTM/M adapter. Be aware that the glass in the Summars is soft and liable to either scratch now if not cleaned carefully or already scratched - I cannot tell from the photo.

 

[colker]

That's a thread mount Leica, probably a II series - no means of attaching a strap. The lens is most likely a Summar. They are decent lenses and could be used on an M3 with an LTM/M adapter. Be aware that the glass in the Summars is soft and liable to either scratch now if not cleaned carefully or already scratched - I cannot tell from the photo.

I got it already in a terrible state.
I can´t release the lens.

Since it was a present i never sold it.... but never took it to be CLAed.
It´s been a decade already.

 

[Dpingr1]

Another vote for the 50mm Color-Skopar. Great bang for the bucks, and a modern design to boot. But there are so many choices, both pricey and not. An embarrassment of riches - a good problem to have!

 

[jamin-b]

For great value I vote for either the 40mm Summicron or the Nikkor H.C. 50mm LTM. The latter is the Sonnar with close focus to 0.5m.