multi 50 users with rd1?

back alley

back alley

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when my 50 elmar m arrives i will have 2 fifty mm lenses in my kit bag. i know that using more than one 50 is quite popular around here but i am wondering if that translates over to the rd1 users also?

having just sold 3 lenses, my kit will now consist of 15/25/40/50(x2). the 25 was just ordered from stephen over the weekend.

with 2 bodies, i'm thinking of 2 kits, one with 15 and 40 and one with 25 and 50.

right now, my fast lenses are the 40/1.4 and the 50/1.5.

been thinking (ahead) that i might sell the other 50 as i don't care for redundancy but also maybe keeping it as the second fast lens, if ever needed, plus it's a sonnar...
 
Joe- some M8 users have more than one Fifty. Or at least one of them that makes up for 29 others.

The difference in crop factor is not that much...
 
I've got it worse. I decide which 50 I want to use for a day's outing. Then I have to find it. I keep them all in cases, or on cameras.
 
I use 3 but own 6. The 40cron is my favorite for modern look. I'll be selling off my last version Cron and Planar. The hex, nikkor1.4, and summarit will stay with the 40.
 
back alley said:
...been thinking (ahead) that i might sell the other 50 as i don't care for redundancy but also maybe keeping it as the second fast lens, if ever needed, plus it's a sonnar...
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As much as i like the Elmar 50/2.8 i would miss faster lenses. The Summicron 50/2 is excellent but a bit soft at f/2 so i use more the Summilux 50/1.4 in both asph and last pre-asph versions. No experience with the Sonnar sorry.
 
Joe, I'm back. It was a trip planned before the quake.

Why the 4? The Nokton 1.5 was one of the first two lenses I bought when I got my R-D1. Then, at a Toronto RFF meeting I tried out someone's Canon, and was hooked. One came up for sale shortly after on RFF. Then a Zeiss came up for sale here at a great price. The Nokton 1.1 cuz I can't afford a Noctilux :)

I don't use the Nokton 1.5 much anymore, but I gouged the front, and although it works fine, resale value is diminished to the point where it's not worth my selling it; besides, it is a fine non-Sonnar lens, and much smaller than the 1.1. Of the Sonnars, I reach for the Zeiss when I anticipate lots of back and side-lighting, because I see it as more resistent to flare. I do love the Canon though for the alt-country and rockabilly bands I shoot. And it was great in Paris.

And I've borrowed Burlap Jacket's Nikon sonnar, and would buy that too -- under the right circumstances.
 
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Well I just found a replacement R-D1 after having sold a couple in the past. It should be on its way to me in a day or two, so I will consider myself qualified for the thread.

I have several 50's some fast, some not so fast, some modern, some old, some small and collapsible and some massive and rigid. I plan to use them all, now and then, on the Epson.
 
Joe,
I too am guilty as charged. I have the Nokton 1.5, Nokton 1.1, and Konica f2.
I love to shoot at night with the R-D1s and Nokton 1.1
I really like what the 1.5 puts out and how lite it is for a fast lens.
The Konica has great color and produces magic on the M8.
 
Joe,

I haven't had more than 1 50 for much time, but I have a 50/1.5 Nokton, a 50/0.95 Canon and a 50/1.8 LTM Canon. I might swap lenses with a friend and trade the Canon for a Summitar. But I've been also reading quite a bit about the Elmar, as it's the most compact lens for M cameras. Not that it'd make a big impact on size with the R-D1, but with the M6 it would.

The idea is to have a general purpose lens to be used most of the time and a brighter lens only for when it is really needed, eg going out at night to shoot or when I know I will want shallow DOF. I don't see having both as redundant, but complimentary. The 0.95 for instance has a very very specific use and it is huge, so I end up barely using it. The 1.5 Nokton is light but a little big. So to me a compact and versatile lens would be interesting.

and it's funny for me, even though it's equivalent to a 75 I still feel more comfortable using a 50 than a 35, I have a hard time seeing the 35 framelines in my R-D1 when using glasses. and even when I'm wearing contacts, I miss having the bottom line, it feels incomplete.
 
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back alley said:
when my 50 elmar m arrives i will have 2 fifty mm lenses in my kit bag. i know that using more than one 50 is quite popular around here but i am wondering if that translates over to the rd1 users also?

...

been thinking (ahead) that i might sell the other 50 as i don't care for redundancy but also maybe keeping it as the second fast lens, if ever needed, plus it's a sonnar...
Click to expand...

Joe,

I have 2 R-D1 bodies and loads of 50mm lenses too. Occasionally, I do bring a fast but big lens (e.g. Nokton 50mm f/1.1) as well as a slower but compact option in the same bag. If the situation does not need the fast lens, the smaller option is lighter/easier to handle as well as less 'threatening' to the subjects.

I too, do not care much for redundancy in lens choices.

Cheers,
 
I have five 50's that get used on my rd1. They are rotated with no real logic; I usually have no plot.

--michael
 
So far I've used a Jupiter-3, a Summar and a Summitar on my R-D1.
The results with the Summitar have surprised me in a good way.

I use whatever I fancy at the moment. Currently I've got my R-D1 hooked up to a Visoflex with 135mm Hektor.... :p
 
50/1.5 Nokton -- use when I want compact size
50/1.1 Nokton -- use when I want wide aperture but "conventional" sharpness
50/0.95 Canon -- use when I want its unique look

What's odd about that? Naturally you use different tools for different jobs.

At least I can get double duty out of my excess of 50s by using them on the R-D 1 and on my µ4/3 camera (Panasonic G1.)

Trick: Sometimes I'll go out with the R-D 1, the G1, and two lenses: a 35 (f/1.2 Nokton) and a 50. Put the 35 on the G1 and the 50 on the R-D 1 and I can shoot roughly the same angle of view with both cameras. Swap the lenses and I've got one with roughly twice the effective focal length of the other. The picture-seeing part of my brain seems to work in 2x increments, so this is a good combination for me.
 
here, two modern and three vintage 50's (& excuses to keep them):

50/1 Noctilux - speed & looks are reasons to keep this, its my best lens. not very often on camera.
50/1.4 Summilux - speed + compactness (vs Nocti), my most used 50
50/1.5 Summarit - speed + vintage looks
50/2 Summar - vintage looks, compactness
50/3.5 old Elmar - even more vintage looks ( :) ) , and compactness

think I had twice amount at one point :p havent felt need to have anything else for a while.

edit: damn forgot Jupiter 3 - ok, no excuse but for fun :D
 
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