Lens suggestions for Epson rd1

J

Jakk_

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Hello guys,
Thanks for your help helping me find an rd1, I just ordered an rd1s from eBay and I am new to the m mount system. Was looking for a cheaper lens since I just spent most my budget on the camera itself. I know m mount lenses aren’t cheap so I was deciding if I should get an M mount like the ttartisans 28mm f5.6 or if I should get some kind of adapter. I obviously still want to maintain rf functionality and I read that LTM lenses should maintain rf with an adapter. Some suggestions?
 
I‘d start with the best bang for the buck: A Voigtländer/Leitz m mount adapter and an Industar 61LD (50mm 2.8). The lens delivers and is really cheap. If you gonna like the rf experience, you can get Voigtländer or other lenses. If you prefer a faster, more retro rendering lens, the Jupiter 8 50mm 2.0 from the fifties is your friend (eveb with focus tab).
 
The Soviet 50s (Industars and Jupiters) will seem appealing until you use one for a bit and find yourself having to deal with the back-focusing issue and the crop factor (50mm on an APS-C camera is annoying - I hate using mine on a Fuji X-mount. I find it's a little too long for everyday use, but not long enough to really be of use for portraiture or landscapes).

You're going to want something wider as a one-lens daily user, and for €300 you're probably going to be looking at Canon's old LTM lenses or the various cheap Chinese M-mount ones available nowadays. For instance, I'm seeing a few Canon 28mm lenses around the £225-£250 mark at a dealer in London - that would be a solid choice. 28mm on APS-C is similar to 43mm in full-frame, so you can replicate the new 43mm Q3 experience - and the Canons will likely hold their value better than the Chinese lenses will.
 
LTM lenses will work with the rangefinder, but will require a LTM-M adapter to fit the R-D1.

The Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 MC in M mount will work beautifully with the R-D1. If you want a less expensive LTM lens, try the Voigtlander Ultron 35mm f1.7 LTM. I adore that lens, but be sure to get a copy without internal haze. There's also the Voigtlander 28mm f1.9 LTM, which becomes about 40mm on the R-D1. These lenses can be found for around 300 euro from reputable Japanese sellers on eBay.
 
Thanks for all the replies!!! I am currently evaluating a Jupiter 12 with the adapter, can you confirm the rangefinder coupling works well? Also looking at some voigtlanders they look very nice but most of them I can find for 500 wich is currently a bit out of budget.
 
Also considering the Tt artisan f5.6 but it seem way to slow for my kind of shooting. Also there seems to be a scarsity of lenses wider than 35mm for this mount…
 
There is LTM Summaron 35/3.5 which sometimes coming right about 300. And it's possible to get coated version from 50s.
 
Jakk_ said:
300€
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Cosina Voigtlander 35/2.5 Color Skopar for normal FOV. Probably the absolute _Best_ lens you can get for it. Find it in LTM, get an adapter, put it on and never bother with anything else...

Canon 50/1.8 LTM is a bit long on that crop sensor but lovely if you get a good one.

There aren't many cheap lenses that will go wide on a crop sensor though. You might get lucky like I did and find the CV 21/4 if you can live with the f/4 and that will get you and effective 31mm FOV.
 
wlewisiii said:
Cosina Voigtlander 35/2.5 Color Skopar for normal FOV. Probably the absolute _Best_ lens you can get for it. Find it in LTM, get an adapter, put it on and never bother with anything else...

Canon 50/1.8 LTM is a bit long on that crop sensor but lovely if you get a good one.

There aren't many cheap lenses that will go wide on a crop sensor though. You might get lucky like I did and find the CV 21/4 if you can live with the f/4 and that will get you and effective 31mm FOV.
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wlewisiii said:
35/2.5 is a good size for the RD1.
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Jakk_ said:
Thanks for all the replies!!! I am currently evaluating a Jupiter 12 with the adapter, can you confirm the rangefinder coupling works well?
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It still backfocuses. Whether or not you notice it depends on how much you shoot wide-open or close-up and how critical you are, but the back focus is there. Often it's just covered by the depth of field or some human error in focusing anyway.

The Jupiter 12 also has a huge rear element that doesn't fit in some cameras and affects the TTL metering on others. Even if you're happy dealing with the backfocus, it'd be worth checking there's no issues mounting on one the Epson before you pick one up.

Jakk_ said:
Also looking at some voigtlanders they look very nice but most of them I can find for 500 wich is currently a bit out of budget.
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This is why I didn't recommend them - the 28mm Color Skopar is one of my favourite lenses of all time, but finding one below €300 is basically impossible. Also, the early LTM ones are also prone to haze which can't be removed, so you have to shop with care - often times they crop up for cheap, but they're cheap for good reason.
 
With 6 mpx and 35mm backfocus is neglectable. The huge rear element of the Jupiter 12, if it doesn’t hit a light baffle, will probably block the metering cell though.
 
I read in some sites that the j12 should be usable on the Epson because it protrudes back less than 20.5mm. Not sure about the metering cell
 
Man, keep it simply and go with something by Voigtlander (35mm color skopar is not $500). I think they are the best budget option to be honest. Unless you go for something vintage from Canon. I used a TTArtisan 50mm 1.4 on M Mount and saw some weird behavior. It would focus and be decently sharp close up until say 10 feet (even look nice) and then after say 15 to infinity, it just had a weird look and couldn't focus too accurately. I just haven't experienced that with Voigtlander or vintage lenses. They just work like they should.
 
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