Surprises

[squirrel$$$bandit]

Epson RD1...

Ah, out of my area. External finders I guess eh?
🙁

Not necessarily...you get used to composing with longer lenses inside the 50mm framelines. Tough to focus at wide apertures though.

As for writers, one of my favorites, David Foster Wallace, died over the weekend, of a suicide. I'm very sad about it.

 

[Rafael]

The best surprise for me has been the 35/1.2 Nokton. The 75mm Summilux is my personal favourite lens. But, to be honest, I am not all that surprised by how much I have come to love it. I looked at a lot of photographs before I bought it and I had pretty high hopes when I actually sent the payment. But the Nokton has been a terrific surprise. I had been intrigued by the lens and bought one when a good deal presented itself. I saw the purchase as an experiment at the time. But I now use the 35/1.2 together with the 75/1.4 more than any other lens pairing.

 

[Doug]

Perhaps on a more modest note, but the Voigtlander 2.5/50mm Color Skopar was a pleasant surprise. At the time I got it (used) five years ago it had an unfavorable reputation for being soft/unsharp. Yet it was said to be the best-selling Voigtlander lens in Japan. So I was intrigued... and ultimately surprised at how very nicely it performs, with a more "gentle" sharpness than the 50 Nokton of the same era.

 

[jonmanjiro]

Another vote here for the Millennium Nikkor 50/1.4. An amazing all-round performer and IMO the best 50mm lens from Nikon in any mount.

 

[antistatic]

A vote here for the Rokkor 40mm f2.0. A quiet achiever and great value for money.

 

[Ade-oh]

For me, the three lenses I would miss the most are:

OM Zuiko 50/1.8
Leica Asph 35/2
DC Nikkor 135/2

 

[Keith]

One I have to mention is the 15mm Heliar ... almost no vigneting and minimal distortion at a near giveaway price. I've used mine far more than I predicted I would have!

 

[KoNickon]

I second Doug's comment about the 50/2.5 Color Skopar. I think it's becoming rather a classic lens and will be more sought after as time passes.

I have the "common" four M-Hexanons (28/2.8, 35/2, 50/2 and 90/2.8) and have to say these are just remarkably good.

 

[cam]

This is one I'm saving for, in fact I've got a bee in my bonnet for this or the last pre-ASPH 35 Lux as my next lens.

Danger, Will Robinson!

if the 28 Elmarit was too small for your hands, this 35 pre-asph will make you miserable. it's teeny tiny and you barely notice it's on your camera --but, oh, what images!

(that said, mine was obviously previously owned by someone in your situation and has absurdly ugly focusing aids attached to it... where there's a will, there's a way.)

 

[sepiareverb]

Danger, Will Robinson!

if the 28 Elmarit was too small for your hands, this 35 pre-asph will make you miserable. it's teeny tiny and you barely notice it's on your camera --but, oh, what images!

(that said, mine was obviously previously owned by someone in your situation and has absurdly ugly focusing aids attached to it... where there's a will, there's a way.)

Yes, focus aids were a thought. I'm after it for the bokeh and the flatter midtones in particular situations, it surely wouldn't be my main 35 by any stretch- that is the Summicron ASPH.

 

[cam]

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

that's the last line from Gatsby, and one of my absolute favourites. i think it perfectly expresses what i look for in a lens -- an agelessness, a timelessness. something that could have been taken today or fifty years ago.

my pre-asph Luxes (35 and 50) are no surprise. i expected to love them and i do. they sparkle and glow and dance in the light. their signature is evident, especially my older 50. unlike Bob Michaels, i count on that signature to be part of the images i create. i am sometimes disappointed with my 35 as it is a later one (83/84) and hides its magic if i mess up exposure.

my surprise, i have to say, is the 35mm 8 element Summicron. i'd been told to get v.4, the bokeh king, but i was put a bit off by the tiger claw focusing tab on the v.3 i tried and was scared the v.4 was the same. (let me explain that i was only looking for another 35 because of those damned focusing tabs on my Lux -- i was constantly knocking my settings off in the street.) so i did my homework and decided v.1 was for me... i was looking at an auction one day and oops! i hit my lap top and ended up buying the lens.

it is a brilliant street lens and i find the infinity lock a plus. i am much newer to rangefinders than you all and sometimes get dyslexic when focusing on the fly. the lock tells me which way i've gone 😛

more importantly, it's as sharp as i could ever ask for and brings out the most amazing colours. it's a dilemma for me, as i shoot in black and white but have the RAW file to ooh and ahh over. it has a magic all its own, but it is not nearly as distinctive as the Lux. so when i want a look that is more uniform, i reach for this. perhaps it's prose rather than poetry, but i love it all the same.

 

[JohnTF]

A vote here for the Rokkor 40mm f2.0. A quiet achiever and great value for money.

How do you think it compares with the Leitz cousin?

I had the 28 Rokkor, it was mis placed/ packed, in a box for the 40mm and I celebrated the good fortune and price, until one day I took it out of the pouch and it looked as if it had measles inside. Now I need an M mount 28mm.

I have both of the 40's, but have only used the Leitz as of late and on the M8.

Regards, John

 

[cam]

so this thread got me playing with my 35 pre-asph Lux again (how do i love thee? let me count the ways..) i still love the 8-element Cron for it's colours and closer focusing, but the Mandler look is just something that does it for me on the Luxes.

after reading and re-reading through this thread, it seems the 75mm Summilux is THE lens that makes people weak in the knees. it's my birthday at the end of the month, and i'm wondering if this is the lens i should get...

if people could further wax poetic and provide more examples, i'd be mighty obliged. (there's that Thambar out there on the 'bay, too, but i'm sure it will go too high -- i mean, what is a reasonable price?)

 

[Ronald_H]

My first real Leica lens, a 45 year old Summicron DR. Absolutely destroys everything I have ever used.

 

[deepwhite]

35lux preA.

I'm in the opposite with cam. My Noctilux and Cron IV are no surprise to me, cause I expected them to be great. Yet the 35lux preA really surprised me. In short, it's a very good f2 lens with:

- great color rendition; more "weight" than Cron IV to my eyes
- more versatility, ie same sharpness @ f8 with the Cron IV but softer @ f2
- the extra f1.4 stop with "glow"

I'll start a more detailed thread about my first experience with the 35lux preA, including three photos I shot with f1.4, f2 & f2.8.

I think it's the new "camera cap" for the R-D1s, while the Noctilux for the Hexar RF. (Should be on the M7, but my girlfriend says the M7 is hers....)

 

[monochromejrnl]

Canon 35/2.8 LTM = as good as my v3 35'cron for B&W at f2.8-f8... smaller, just as well built and inexpensive...

 

[Roger Hicks]

My Noctilux and Cron IV are no surprise to me, cause I expected them to be great. Yet the 35lux preA really surprised me. In short, it's a very good f2 lens with:

- great color rendition; more "weight" than Cron IV to my eyes
- more versatility, ie same sharpness @ f8 with the Cron IV but softer @ f2
- the extra f1.4 stop with "glow"

I'll start a more detailed thread about my first experience with the 35lux preA, including three photos I shot with f1.4, f2 & f2.8.

I think it's the new "camera cap" for the R-D1s, while the Noctilux for the Hexar RF. (Should be on the M7, but my girlfriend says the M7 is hers....)

Good point about 'no surprises' with lenses you expected to be good.

Totally seconded about the Summilux pre-aspheric: I sold my Summicron pre-aspheric (which I had at the same time) for precisely the reasons you state.

And I'm glad someone else has a girlfriend/wife who wants to use real cameras too. Frances's latest acquisitions: ZI Wide + 18/4.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Todd.Hanz]

Surprises,
I used to own a collapsible 50 summicron that performed beautifully, I think the fact that it was small when collapsed was a bonus to me.

The CV 75/2.5 was a surprise as well, I really like the bokeh it produces

Todd