I have too many 50mm lenses. Do you too?

MRohlfing said:
Too many 50s? No, I only have one: The collapsible 50/3.5 Elmar in LTM.

Well, and of course the Ultron 50/2 on my Vitomatic IIa
and then the Color Skopar 50/2,8 on the Vito BL and the Color Skopar 50/2,8 on the other Vitomatic IIa

And then those, that do not count: Nikkor AI 50/1.4, 50/2, 55/2.8 and the EL-Nikkor 50/2.8 on my enlarger.

And than the one, that does not count at all: Bronica Zenzanon MC 50/2.8

So, I clearly need some more 50s. Any suggestions?
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Let's start with a mini-primer:

Summar-Summarit-Summitar : One of these three classic Leica lenses would be a good start. The Summarit may give you sometimes unpredictable results when used at large apertures.

Nikon 5cm/2 or 5cm/1.4: Both lenses are superb RF lenses for your LTM camera. The Sonnar look will be obvious.

Canon 50/1.2-50/1.4-50.18: Each of these three lenses is superb. The 50/1.8 is a bargain for what it can produce. The 50/1.2 can be awesome if correctly adjusted.

Canon 50/1.5: The "perfect" Sonnar lens.

Summicron 50mm/2 : Any of the versions would be awesome.

Jupiter 3 50mm/1.5: A great lens once it is optimized for the camera.

I-50 50mm/3.5: A very sharp and cheap lens. Compare to Elmar 5cm/3.5.

Menopta 53m/1.8 (or sold as Helios 103):One of most capable FSU lenses.

Then there are the more exotic and expensive 50mm lenses that I donot own. There are also 50mm lenses by CV that I prefer not to own. :angel:

The 50mm family is large for LTM cameras. Take your pick.
 
joachim said:
Hi Raid,

I have this one in PKA. I also have the 45mm for the Contax G (actually a 47mm according to Zeiss). The weird thing to me, is that I got on with the Pentax but so far not so well with the Planar. Don't know the exact focal length of the Pentax. I am puzzled that a few mm in this range matter so much to me. Might be that the different cameras contribute (SLR vs Ranger).
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Hi Joachim,
With an SLR camera, you see what you will get. This may do the trick.
 
MRohlfing said:
You call that long list MINI? :D Wow, my GAS is getting worse!

Thank you, raid!
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You are welcome. I do not own a Canon 50/1.5, but I have tested one. The rest of the lenses in my "primer" I actually own and use regularly. I forgot to mention the collapsible Summicron, but it is not essential to own such a lens.

If one lens has to do, I feel that everybody should use a Summicron 50/2.
 
sepiareverb said:
I couldn't agree more Raid.
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I really said this from the heart.

I cannot separate RF photography from trying out Leica lenses. Equally, I cannot separate the 50mm Summicron from Leica lenses. It is something that is difficult to put in words.
 
I misread the title of the thread as I scrolled past, and for a moment became hopeful when I saw "I have too many 50mm lenses. Do you want one?"
 
breathstealer said:
I misread the title of the thread as I scrolled past, and for a moment became hopeful when I saw "I have too many 50mm lenses. Do you want one?"
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Well, this is not totally incorrect; some people posting in this thread may give you a 50mm lens for the right price.:D
 
I am getting some anti-GAS feelings, and they frighten me!
In plain English, I may sell a couple of my 50mm lenses the coming days.
 
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In particular, I will post a classified ad for a Canon 50mm/1.8 and a J-3 50mm/1.5. Both are tack sharp, and both have been tested over and over against twenty other 50mm lenses.
 
raid said:
I am getting some anti-GAS feelings, and they frighten me!
In plain English, I may sell a couple of my 50mm lenses the coming days.
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Raid - would that be GDS (Gear Divestiture Syndrome)? I'm feeling it too. But I might buy your J-3 (pm me). ;)
 
foto_fool said:
Raid - would that be GDS (Gear Divestiture Syndrome)? I'm feeling it too. But I might buy your J-3 (pm me). ;)
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Hello John,

I bought yesterday a Canon 50mm/1.4, which suggests to me that I can let my Brian Sweeney tested and assembled J-3 go. I will pm you.
 
raid said:
I forgot to mention the collapsible Summicron, but it is not essential to own such a lens.
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Is it somehow inferior to the rigid Summicron? Or just because you might get blurred pictures because of forgetting to pull out the lens before taking the photo?
 
MRohlfing said:
Is it somehow inferior to the rigid Summicron? Or just because you might get blurred pictures because of forgetting to pull out the lens before taking the photo?
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Well, it could just be that having over fifteen 50mm lenses give me a lot of flexibility in choosing the right 50mm lens for a given situation. A Summitar may take care of the cases where a collapsible Summicron is needed. The rigid Summicron is sharper than the collapsible Summicron. I may have used my collapsible Summicron in 2-3 rolls so far.

I have the collapsible always fully extended. The myth of saving space is a joke.
 
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I have:

Summilux (might have a focusing issue, I'm in the process of testing it)

Summitar(blech, need to get rid of it, oh maybe I'll give it another shot)

Canon 1.4 (a summilux for the IIIf)

Summicron current (Yowsa!)

That's weird, I thought I had more. I still want an Elmar, for it's compactness.
 
I have just sold a wonderful J-3 because "I have to".
Next will be my sharp Canon 50/1.8.

Tomorrow, I will place an ad in the RFF Classified.
 
I must unburden myself as well. I will be listing a 50/2 M Hexanon and a late Zeiss Jena 50/1.5 Sonnar T (CLA by Don Goldberg) if anyone is interested.
 
Mint Hexanon is an M-mount lens that came with my Hexar RF kit (original caps but no pouch or box). The Zeiss is LTM and was probably manufactured in 1946.
 
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