Looking for the "old look" in a 50mm

I would reommend an old Zeiss lens and not a Leica lens here. The Zeiss 5cm 2.8 for the Contax I or II will give you the look you seem to wanting.
 
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Your right and I apologize......my mood was colored by my very old and trusty Summitar "disappearing" on a job which I replaced by buying a member's lens that was for sale in our classifieds.

For years I have heard offhanded comments about this lens from folks who had never even seen one let alone used it over time.........because they read something somewhere. Clearly your not one of those people.



What a rude insinuation.[/quote]
 
Someone made a joke about the Summar earlier, and I can understand why. But I had one, uncoated and with scratches, it is the only lens I wish I had back (this is 1963):

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i had a summitar for sale in the classifieds. expired ;) (got to pay for an om4)
 
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I've had two Summitars, both coated. One picked up here on RFF, cleaned some early fungus off of it and got to it before any coating damage occurred. The second suffered from internal haze, also cleared up. Sold that one at a good price so it would get more use, I had two.

Only reason I do not have it- went as part of a trade for a "Thorium Summicron" more suited for collecting than color film. The current owner is very happy with it.

Slightly lower contrast than a late Collapsible Summicron, the Summitar is center-sharp and softer at the edges. I'll pick up another one someday, got pretty good at cleaning them. I do prefer the late collapsible Summicron. But that is a matter of personal taste.

Given the intention of the OP, it is a very good choice.
 
I would vote for a Summar, if looking for a very
soft and old look, or for a Summitar, if looking
for something with a bit more clarity. Here are
a couple of examples from my Summitar (first
version, unhooded, with a round iris):





My experience with the Summitar is that it is
prone to veiling flare with strong light in the
frame, as in the first image. The second shows
what the lens is capable of doing in the absence
of flare. I like the way it emulates a Summicron
in the focused areas (at least absent flare), while
rendering the OOF areas more like a Summar.

And here are a couple of Summar examples:



 
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Canon 50/1.2 Wide open or close to it. Though you'll have to grow a bunch of fungus in yours to precisely replicate this "look". ;)

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I received my Summitar today. It was kinda gunked up, but it's usably clean now. One question: is the aperture rings supposed to click when rotated? Mine doesn't and in fact was stuck at f2 when I got it.
 
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