Smallest 50

[troym]

What's the smallest 50mm lens available in M or LTM mount (other than the older collapsible lenses)? Is it the 50 Skopar?

 

[captainslack]

Define small.

Small as in size or small as in aperture?

 

[ghost]

nevermind. prolly the 50/2.5 skopar, 50/3.5 heliar, or 50/2.8 elmarit.

 

[troym]

Define small.

Small as in size or small as in aperture?

Sorry, I meant small as in size.

 

[blakley]

50/3.5 collapsible Elmar is definitely the smallest. Hard to find one in good optical condition, though.

 

[troym]

50/3.5 collapsible Elmar is definitely the smallest. Hard to find one in good optical condition, though.

Smaller than the current 50/2.8 elmar?

 

[ampguy]

or the fsu counterparts

or the fsu counterparts

industar i-22 or i-50, possibly easier to find and with harder coatings.

50/3.5 collapsible Elmar is definitely the smallest. Hard to find one in good optical condition, though.

 

[Justin Low]

Yes, but not without compromise. The aperture control is on the front face of the lens, and it rotates when you focus, making it rather tricky to select an aperture on the go.

The modern Elmar-M has a click-stopped ring but no infinity lock.

 

[peter_n]

50/3.5 collapsible Elmar is definitely the smallest. Hard to find one in good optical condition, though.

Is this a recent phenomenon? A couple of years ago there were no problems.

 

[Ronald M]

It has been a problem for a long time. Haze developes inside and dissassembly is required. Improper cleaning also scratches the front and rear outside surfaces. The premier lens repair person in the US does not have the ability to repolish the small elements of the 3.5, although he does a fine job restoring Summicrons etc.

My new version 50 2.8 elmar is a very very sharp lens. Right up there with the new Summicron IV, but smaller. It seems sharper than any other 50 I have, and I have most all going back to the 50 35 red scale and some older Leica 2.0 and 1.5 lenses. Don`t let the small shade put you off. It blocks as much off axis light as the larger vented hoods.

 

[peter_n]

I have the current Elmar-M and also an Elmar made in 1949. Apart from the contrast I have a problem distinguishing between them with a loupe. The f3.5 glass appears to be completely clear too. Just a sample of one each, my only samples, but that has been my experience. Both were bought a couple of years ago - maybe I got lucky.

 

[aad]

My 3.5 Elmar is also completely clear. I don't know its history.

 

[Dougg]

What's the smallest 50mm lens available in M or LTM mount (other than the older collapsible lenses)? Is it the 50 Skopar?

Might well be the 50 Skopar, as it is very compact. I have one and like its small size. I'm not so familiar with the former Soviet Union thread-mount lenses, but limiting this to non-collapsible lenses as you specified, the Industar 61 looks fairly small... not sure just going by pictures how it would compare with the Skopar.

 

[Photar]

Might well be the 50 Skopar, as it is very compact.

If weight is also important, Leica's Summicron Type 11819 is a strong contender. It only weights 195g compared to 208g for the Skopar.

 

[back alley]

What's the smallest 50mm lens available in M or LTM mount (other than the older collapsible lenses)? Is it the 50 Skopar?

curious as to why you ask?

probably not the smallest but small enough is my ltm 50/2.8 collapsible elmar. paired with the m3 it fits in a small space.

 

[troym]

curious as to why you ask?

I'm looking to pick up a second 50 as a walking-around lens, and I wanted the most compact one I could find. It will go on an M3.

 

[PhotoJim]

None of the Soviet 50s are very large. Even the 50/2 Jupiter-8 is pretty small, and I'd prefer it for walking-around photography to the Industar-61 or Industar-61LD (the latter with lanthanum glass, and probably the sharpest Soviet 50 ever made) because of the extra stop. The Jupiter-8 is actually a Zeiss design (Sonnar I think) and it's very good optically.

I've never used the various Leitz lenses so I can't compare. The Soviet lenses are certainly far less expensive, even when better optically, because there is no cachet in owning a Soviet anything.

Didn't Voigtlander make a 50/3.5 recently? That would likely be your best modern choice and the most likely to be good out of the box. I can't recall if it is collapsible or not.

 

[peter_n]

You just might want to consider the forthcoming Zeiss Sonnar 50/1.5. On the Japanese Cosina site they show the length of the lens as 38.2mm, about the same length as a Jupiter-8 with an M adapter ring attached. Pretty small.

Now that would be a cracking lens to put on an M3; a modern version of the classic 50mm Sonnar. 🙂 The pictures from it look really good too!

 

[back alley]

I'm looking to pick up a second 50 as a walking-around lens, and I wanted the most compact one I could find. It will go on an M3.

i wondered...i can easily recommend the 50/2.8 elmar ltm. very compact when collapsed and not all that big when extended.

 

[rich815]

The rigid Industar-22 (50/2.8 Elmar clone supposedly but rigid) is one of the smallest non-collapsible 50's I've seen. They are rare and hard to find though. I just got one, good performer but flares.

http://jay.fedka.com/index_files/image7221.jpg
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