Small LTM Lenses

[Bingley]

Edit: My bad. I just compared the Elmar extended to the Canon 50/1.5, and the former is ever so slightly shorter (w/out the hood). I should have checked before I opined. Sorry.

 

[BillP]

The OP is looking for a small 50, and doesn't want to extend his 50/3.5 Elmar. The Canon 50/1.5 is shorter than the Elmar when extended, IIRC. It's a heavy lens, though (the Canon).

"I'm looking for a non-collapsible lens that protrudes minimally beyond the camera body and is ready to use as soon as the lens cap is removed. Prefer 50mm - any suggestions?"

The OP is looking for a lens and expresses a preference for a 50mm. That's not the same thing as "looking for a small 50".

It's clear that we - myself included - are reading different priorities into the original post. I took "pocketable" as being more important than focal length. Others have interpreted it differently. C'est la vie.

Regards,

Bill

 

[Bingley]

Bill -- Point taken. If you're correct, then I suspect the OP will be looking at wider than 50, and a number of tiny 35s have already been mentioned in this thread.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

For a 50mm lens, the J-8 is also small. about the same size as a 40mm F2 Summicron.

I put German optics in mine, but it is the same size.

35mm lenses are smaller. The Nikkor 3.5cm F3.5 is very small, but I would agree that the Summaron is a better performer. My favorite 35mm lens is the Canon 35/2.8.

 

[tajart]

for years my walkaround was a leica 2f w 35/3.5 summaron without an ext. finder. served me well and was a nice compact combo.
a few years ago i picked up a 35/3.5 elmar which makes a really pocketable combination whether on a barnack or m-mount bodies, and gives a period look, fifties perhaps, to b&w.

 

[BillP]

Bill -- Point taken. If you're correct, then I suspect the OP will be looking at wider than 50, and a number of tiny 35s have already been mentioned in this thread.

Fair point, Bingley. Personally I am a 50=normal sort of person, so the 3.5cm is a supplementary rather than a main lens. However, I can really empathise with the "pocketability" aspect, so that is probably why I have given it such credence. The beauty of these little Barnacks is that they can be popped into a pocket with ease, and the 3.5cm certainly allows that.

Regards,

Bill

 

[tripod]

Here are my small Summaron 35f3.5 and Canon 28f3.5. The Elmar 35f3.5 is flatter than the Summaron.

 

[BillP]

3.5cm Elmar, 3.5cm Summaron and 50mm Colour-Skopar 2.5 for comparison:



Regards,

Bill

 

[besk]

I have two Jupiter 8's that measure 31mm from the camera face.
One is from 1963 and the other 1974. They are the most compact of all my 50's.

The old collapsable Elmar wins handsdown when collapsed.

 

[Luddite Frank]

Fair point, Bingley. Personally I am a 50=normal sort of person, so the 3.5cm is a supplementary rather than a main lens. However, I can really empathise with the "pocketability" aspect, so that is probably why I have given it such credence. The beauty of these little Barnacks is that they can be popped into a pocket with ease, and the 3.5cm certainly allows that.

Regards,

Bill

I 've been buried in a number of photo books over the winter, mainly the Morgan & Lester "Leica Manuals" and Sussman's "Amateur Photogrpapher's Handbook".

Those two books go into a fair amount of technical detail on camera / lens design.

The "standard" lens for a given camera is based on determining the focal-legnth of lens that gives a field of view similar to how our own eye sees the scene, for a given format.

The method cited for determining the "standard lens" is to measure / calculate the diagonal measurement across the film gate: for the common 24mm x 36mm camera, the diagonal dimension is approximately 43.2mm. This should be the "standard" lens for a 35mm camera.

A 6cm x 6cm camera, such as a Rolleiflex has a diagonal measurement of approx. 72mm, and they are usually found with 75mm to 80mm lenses.


Over the years, the "standard" lens for 35mm full-frame cameras has fallen into a range between 40 to 58mm.

So much for the book definition of "standard lens"...

Many folks here lean towards the wide-angle lenses for "point & shoot" or hyper-focal photography, and embrace the broader depth-of-field afforded by the "shorter" lens. ( One caution is the apparent distortion of perspective, if the subject is close to the camera. )

I think this approach probably best serves those folks who do their own printing (whether in the darkroom or scanned & photo-shopped); this way, they can enlarge & crop to their desired final image.

I tend to shoot the 50mm lens on my Leica LTM most of the time, switching lenses only when needed (long shots or WA for close-quarters); this means lugging my kit-bag... (camera, 35 /50 /90 /135 lenses, folding 50 hood, rigid 90/135 hood, Varifocal finder, LunaSix meter). Not exactly travelling light. I also prefer to keep my Barnack in an Eveready case when out shooting, to protect it.

I guess I need to have a go with just the Barnack / Elmar 35 and "sunny f-16" for a few rolls and see how I make-out...


Cheers,

Luddite Frank

 

[Bingley]

3.5cm Elmar, 3.5cm Summaron and 50mm Colour-Skopar 2.5 for comparison:

View attachment 58170

Regards,

Bill

Thanks for posting this comparison shot, Bill. The 35 Elmar and a Bessa T would be a delightfully pocketable combination.

 

[BillP]

You are most welcome, Bingley.

It's probably worth pointing out the "provenance" of that shot. The 3.5cm is my second. I bought my IIIc with one attached. It was pretty ropey. I sold it when I bought the Summaron, which fits beautifully on my IIIc. It is, however, a little large on my more diminutive IID.

I bought the 50mm Skopar to go on the IID, and it does, beautifully. BUT I have found myself using it mostly with my 5cm Elmar (back to pocketability again).

These days this is all I carry (apologies for the quick and dirty digi shot:



From L to R, top row:

IID with 5cm Elmar. Helios Viewfinder (in case), 3.5cm Elmar, 9cm Elmar (with yellow filter mounted - that will fit any of the three lenses) 2x Kodak 400CN, Gossen Digisix.

Bottom row:

Minilux belt case (fits the IID), LowePro glasses case (fits the viewfinder, 3.5 and 9cm lenses. 2 slot film pouch, Digisix case with lens cleaning cloth attached in neoprene dispenser.

This lot goes in pockets or in a shoulder bag.

Hope this clarifies.

Regards,

Bill

 

[planetjoe]

This lot goes in pockets or in a shoulder bag.

Bill, that's one heck of a nice carry-around kit.

I put German optics in mine, but it is the same size.
...

My favorite 35mm lens is the Canon 35/2.8.

I think I'd have to agree with Brian that the J-8 is a good bet for a small fast 50 (nice optics module swap, btw); as a passing comment on 35mm lenses, though, I just acquired a the Canon 35/2 LTM, and aside from it being a great companion, it's also one of the tiniest RF lenses I'd ever seen.


Cheers,
--joe.

 

[Austerby]

As the OP, can I clarify that pocketability was indeed a primary requirement - whilst it is undoubtedly quick to extend an Elmar, I'm looking for a camera that I can whip out of my jacket pocket and take a quick, opportunistic singlehanded snap.

My preference was for a 50mm but I wasn't aware that the 35mm Elmar did not need to be extended. That lens looks ideal - and the comparative photo of the three lenses was most helpful. I'm prepared to alter this requirement: my framing with the IIIa will be imprecise but this does not matter in these situations.

I shall commence a search for the 35mm Elmar. Many thanks.

 

[LeicaTom]

Nikkor 50mm f2.0 ~ small, light and compact.....one of my favorite all around lenses (mine is a Tokyo lens, but has a late modeled EARLY 1960`s plastic NIKON snap-on cap with the metal dog ears) best cap if you use it in your pocket, it`s not going to fall off 🙂

I have shot it on everything from a Leica IIIC K to a M6 no problems

You can sometimes find them cheaply on Nicca cameras

Tom

 

[Luddite Frank]

Austerby,

You may just find an Elmar 35 fairly cheaply, as most seem to be looking for the Summaron 35 these days...

I scored a pre-war uncoated version one-Bay this fall for about $100.

It is indeed the most compact LTM lens I have ever seen.


Good luck !

LF

 

[dlove5]

Austerby,

I have a post war coated 35 Elmar that I can't seem to part with. It and the IIIa make a very nice pocketable camera. I think it is a rather underrated lens. It has a few drawbacks such as the small aperture control and it is not as sharp or as contrasty as other lenses. Still, I like the pictures I can take with it.

Good luck finding and using one.

 

[rxmd]

50mm lenses generally tend to protrude on the order of magnitude of 50mm from the film plane, so finding one that is significantly more compact than an extended 50mm Elmar will be a challenge.

 

[Rhoyle]

Here's another option... Rollei 40mm f2.8 Sonnar. It's quite small, not quite as wide as a 35, has an LTM mount with an M adaptor.

 

[splitimageview]

The 35/2.5 Nikkor is pretty small.