Something cheap and fast in 50mm for leica LTM?

[Keith]

I've decided to go back to shooting a screwmount for a while in an effort to re-connect with roots photography ... probably sans light meter as well!

I have a 50mm red scale Elmar which is a beautiful little lens along with a 35mm Summaron. However, I want to concentrate on using mainly 100 ISO film and my Leica II has 1/20 as it's slowest shutter speed ... no low speed mechanism on this 1933 model! For dull light it gets a little marginal with f3.5 (Elmar) and 100 ISO film.

What would be an inexpensive but capable 50mm LTM lens, f2 or preferably faster? It doesn't have to be Leica.

 

[monochromejrnl]

early all chrome 50/1.8 Canon LTMs are compact, very sharp and inexpensive

 

[John Lawrence]

If you get a good one, some of the Russian 50mm lenses (such as Jupiter 8) can be excellent and inexpensive. Alternatively, depending on the sort of 'look' you want, the Summar lens seems to be dropping in price from a few years back - although you still need to get a good one.

John

 

[greyelm]

If you want a vintage Leica look to your pictures you could look for a Summitar or Summar, both are f/2.0. Don't be put of by mention of haze, both these lenses are fairly easy to open & clean using a good lens cleaner. Cleaning marks & bubbles have little effect on the image. A lens hood is needed to reduce flare.

 

[Keith]

It's ironic ... I had three Summitars and sold two of them then the remaining one broke an aperture blade! 😛

 

[newspaperguy]

Keith, the Nikkor 50/1.5 in ltm is a beaut. I really regret letting mine go (twice). My Canon 50/1.8 is a great lens. The Canon 50/2.8 is a good second. The Rooskies are... well, the ones I've had have all been OK.

 

[johannielscom]

There's a Summarit in the Classifieds right now, complete with filters and hood, have a look. No connection to seller (in fact, I haven't got a clue who's selling it at all, so that might be untrue 😛)

 

[corot]

For faster, a Canon 50/1.4 is undoubtedly capable, but a bit out of proportion to the the small Barnack body. Nevertheless, I do enjoy that combination with a IIIf.

Summitar, as mentioned, is a very good fit all around for handling and image.

 

[wlewisiii]

Ones I've got/had:
Canon 50/1.8
Jupiter 8 50/2
Jupiter 3 50/1.5
Summitar 50/2

I love the Summitar the best as it has the funky look of the Summar wide open while once stopped down it's a good as any modern planar. The Canon is probably the most consistent across it's range. The Jupiter's are interesting Sonnar clones but you'd best work with Brian to ensure getting a good one, at least for the J3. The J8 is usually safer to "just buy one" because they're cheap and they've enough DOF to hide problems.

William

 

[John Lawrence]

The question is what does Keith consider "cheap"?

For example, there's a dealer in the UK selling a Jupiter 8, complete with 6 months guarantee, for £25.00 sterling. A Zorki 4 and Jupiter 8 on Ebay can be had for around £35.00.

John

 

[gb hill]

Jupiter 8 is as cheap as you are going to get. I'm suprised you don't own a Sweenified J-3. That would be perfect for you Keith. I really liked the look of the Canon 50/1.8 that Paulfish had. I don't know what summitars are going for right now but here is a good review on the lens.
http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2010/03/05/the-leica-50-summitar-lens-review-on-the-leica-m9/

 

[pagpow]

John's question above is relevant.
+1 on the Canon 50/1.8 -- see Dante Stella's opinion on this lens' competition w. the Summicron.
I have both Canon 1.4 and 1.8 -- both late models. Love the 1.4 but grab the 1.8 for travel and proportionality when I do not need 1.4.

 

[dexdog]

pretty tough to beat the Canon 50/1.8 for cost and performance; built like a tank, too, especially the chrome ones.

 

[flip]

The canon 50/1.4 is very good for the money. low flare. great for b/w.

 

[ampguy]

Keith, I'd recommend either a summilux ltm (pretty rare), or a J8 or J3 that's clean, and been adjusted for the leica spec.

My J3 has a tad bit of pincusion distortion, noticeable when shooting architecture and long straight lines, but not people or other things. I like the J3 better than the J8, it is a bit thinner, and that extra speed helps. It will flare more than a modern lens, but the lower contrast is good for digital or film b/w use.

 

[Krzys]

The Jupiter 8 is beautiful and bubbly wide open. I love it.

Canon 1.8 & 1.4 are nice and sharp.

 

[splitimageview]

I use a 50/1.5 Zeiss Sonnar in Contax RF mount with an Amedeo adapter. $75 for the glass, 220 for adapter.

 

[Melvin]

A clean nickle Summar would be the "authentic" fast lens for a Leica II. I got one recently and I really like it, it's the one lens I only use wide open.
I also sometimes put a canon 1.4 on the Leica II. It actually looks pretty neat. But the lens does block a lot of the built in viewfinder, so then you end up wanting the 50mm aux. viewfinder. The Canon at 1.4 is sharp, and it's also really good stopped down.

 

[dacookieman]

I would recommend a Canon 50mm f1.4 LTM, affordable and fast🙂 Love how capable it is in colour and bw.

 

[ferider]

The canon 50/1.4 is very good for the money. low flare. great for b/w.

Best bang for the buck. US 250-300 for a decent copy.

Or a CV 50/1.5, but that runs a bit more, usually.