Sonnetar 50mm 1.1 LTM on Leica iii?

[John inglis]

I see Sonnetar 50 1.1 LTM lenses listed on ebay,
but am not sure if anyone has bought one. Has
anyone here bought one? Not cheap, but so light.

Do people think this would work well on a Leica iiif?
So many other fast 50s block the viewfinder or the rangefinder.
At least this one does not directly block either on the photo,
even though the hood might.

John

 

[Pioneer]

I see Sonnetar 50 1.1 LTM lenses listed on ebay,
but am not sure if anyone has bought one. Has
anyone here bought one? Not cheap, but so light.

Do people think this would work well on a Leica iiif?
So many other fast 50s block the viewfinder or the rangefinder.
At least this one does not directly block either on the photo,
even though the hood might.

John

As far as I know the only way you can buy the MS Optical Sonnetar is in M mount so it will not fit any LTM camera.

As for performance and size? It is a stunning little lens with adjustment for coma and for focus shift. It is a Sonnar design so it will perform in much the same manner as all Sonnar lenses before it.

It basically lives on my Zeiss Ikon.

 

[jonmanjiro]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Silver-MS-O...65564773?pt=Camera_Lenses&hash=item485b123365

Should work just like an M-mount version if both the camera and lens are calibrated correctly. No idea about finder blockage.

 

[John inglis]

Thanks,
I would so like to use a lens this fast and small for slide film
while we still have slide film!
But am a little nervous about the struggle of attempting to focus in darker light with a Leica iiif, but open to the challenge.

 

[Livesteamer]

There is an e bay seller with new mirrors for the IIIc/f rf unit. They are supposed to give you the brightest possible split image. Also, that is a large lens and will probably block some of the viewfinder but a 50mm finder like a SBOOI would be useful. Good Luck. Joe

 

[f16sunshine]

It's novel and a sweet little trip away from the norm.
As far as a fast ltm user I would choose a f1.4 nikkor f1.5 canon.
Both are very small and excellent. Also readily available in the used market (ok, the canon f1.5/50 can be tough to track down at times).

Cheers!

 

[LeicaTom]

I agree with the last posting......a classic Nikkor S.C. f1.4/50 or a Canon f1.5/50 is the ticket with a fast user lems on a Screw Mount Leica.

The Sonnetar's bokeh, is flat and boring, doesn't really have any character, while the Nikkor and the Canon are flowing with it......save your money and you should be able to buy one of the two for something in the $450 to $600 range. 🙂

Happy Shooting!

Tom

 

[Landshark]

As far as I know the only way you can buy the MS Optical Sonnetar is in M mount so it will not fit any LTM camera.

It basically lives on my Zeiss Ikon.

*One of their pics shows it on a lllG.

 

[mdarnton]

iif, in point of fact.

 

[Pioneer]

*One of their pics shows it on a lllG.

You are absolutely right! I do apologize.

The price is hiked up a bit from what my M-Mount version cost, probably to help pay for the wonderful, premium, e-bay experience. 😀

 

[Scrambler]

I agree with the last posting......a classic Nikkor S.C. f1.4/50 or a Canon f1.5/50 is the ticket with a fast user lems on a Screw Mount Leica.

The Sonnetar's bokeh, is flat and boring, doesn't really have any character, while the Nikkor and the Canon are flowing with it......save your money and you should be able to buy one of the two for something in the $450 to $600 range. 🙂

Happy Shooting!

Tom

Isn't the bokeh adjustable?