The venerable "50"

I am also a fan of 50mm lenses for the RF camera. I find it the best suited focal length for how I see the world around me. I may have 14-16 RF 50mm lenses in LTM, but since I got two Contax cameras added to my sets, I have added two 50mm lenses already in Contax mount. As for 50mm SLR lenses, who knows what I have in "that closet".

I do not have any modern 50mm RF lens. Maybe [or maybe not] I am missing out on something.
 
literiter said:
There must be a special Heaven for those few of us who just have one camera, one lens, one film and Cartier Bresson's motivation.
Click to expand...

Well, except for HCB's motivation, we can do the rest if we want to. I recently made an oath to myself to use one camera, one lens and one film for the next 6 months. I am using a M4-P, Planar 50/2 and Neopan 400. I have plenty of other gear, but like many of us, I was shooting as much (or more) to try my gear as for the picture itself and finding I wasn't taking interesting photos.

I settled on a 50mm lens for the next 6 months, partly because I love the Planar and know it well enough already, but also for the 50mm perspective. As has been said already, there is nothing gimicky about a 50 and it can do almost anything.

I used to shoot mostly the 35mm focal length, but was finding that what I found interesting at the time I took a shot was sometimes lost in the frame of the final print. The 50 forces me to focus (no pun intended) on what I find interesting. If I need more context, I have to consciously acknowledge that and back up (if possible) or determine that the shot is not that interesting without the context and move on. Another way the 50 emphasizes your subject is that you don't have unlimited depth of field, so some subject isolation is going to be part of the final image (unlike wides where you can have almost everything in focus).

It is nice to always know what I am tacking with me when I leave the house and one camera with a lens attached is a lot easier to take everywhere than a whole kit. Less than a month into it, I am already learning more about myself as a photographer (and my gear) than I expected. 5 months and 1 week left to go!

P.S. This hasn't stopped me from wanting more gear... I'll just have to wait to play with it.
 
i think that many of us started with a 50mm '' free '' with an SLR !
As to whether this is '' boring '' just because it was often my best lense among the Soligors / Vivitars /Sigmas etc , which was all I could afford , is dependant upon the , in my case , snapshooter .
The great advantage for me , with a Autisic glitch , is that it is a similar view to that which I am accustomed to , and somehow , I become able to really learn / take in what a 50 will do , but on my M8 - 50mm is definitely longer ! OOPS !

Even when I built up my collection of Rokkors , the tiny 45mm f2 was / is my favourite - a wider 50 on a smaller version of the Minolta SRT - the meterless SRs it's a deelight . I have 2 of them and a 35mm Fi.8 , but the shop did not know what it was @ £15 / $30 !

dee
 
Count in 1 more 50 addict, I have 7 50mm on 3 different system and most of the time it's all I need :D Gotta love the 50mm, though I find 40-45 cool as well, for that wee bit more space

@ Dee: just curious, where/which shop is that ? I wanna pop in and looks for some bargain too ^^
 
Keith said:
Yep ... 'nother 50 fan here! :D

I have eleven of the little devils!:eek:
Click to expand...

holy cripes! :) I love 50mm, my favorite lens. I just agreed to purchase a Canon 1.4 from a fellow member here to try on my Bessa R.
 
Three fifties for me currently, I've used and then sold three others in the last year. A 50 is nearly always on a camera I'm carrying, though I often carry two
 
pdx138/Kyle -

Can you speak to the focusing action on the Planar ZM?

I've been using the collapsible Summicron 50, and love the FL, but its really slow focusing and large minimum focus limit me on indoor shots of family - my primary subject.

I've had a 25 and 35's, but am trying to get rid of them in favor of learning to use one lens/camera/film combo really well.

From the shots I've seen online the 50/2 ZM Planar is on my short list.
 
Last edited:
My first serious camera was a beautiful, big, black Nikon F that I purchased (barely) used around 1970. It came w/ a wonderful 50mm f1.4 Nikkor lens, and I used exactly that combo and nothing else exclusively for the next twelve years. Call it poverty-imposed "one camera, one lens" (I was a student during that period), but I never felt limited. I guess I learned to see w/ that focal length, and although I've flirted w/ other lenses since I seem to return to the 50.

50mm for me is a focal length that covers so much: portraits, street, landscapes. Occasionally I feel the need for something wider or longer, but those are supplements and not the main lens. Also, it is possible to fine wonderful 50s at relatively little cost.

Since jumping on the RF bandwagon, I find myself now owning 4 50s. How did that happen? Doh! :eek:
 
Thank goodness the 50mm focal length is my favorite, as I do much of my shooting on fixed lens 50's folders. Besides these (which include Tessars (actually 45mm), Xenars, Xenons, Color-Skopars, and Solinars), I have ten 50mm & 55mm Takumars, 4 Jupiters, & a Leitz Elmar for my FSUs. I even use my Takumars (yes, I know it's not really a 50 on the smaller sensor) as the main lens on my DSLR.
 
When I only had my Nikon F3HP it was always the 105/2.5, which I used. I had also the 50/1.4 but it collected dust. Now, with the Leicas, the 50 became my favorite FL again. Having the Summitar, Summilux 50 pre-ASPH, and the Summicron 50mm vs 3, the Summitar is my favorite for its size and rendering. The Hassy only has the (50mm eqivalent) 80mm and for the Rolleiflex it is the 75/3.5 Planar.

50mm rules ! (But so does 21mm ... :))
 
dpetrzelka said:
pdx138/Kyle -

Can you speak to the focusing action on the Planar ZM?

I've been using the collapsible Summicron 50, and love the FL, but its really slow focusing and large minimum focus limit me on indoor shots of family - my primary subject.

I've had a 25 and 35's, but am trying to get rid of them in favor of learning to use one lens/camera/film combo really well.

From the shots I've seen online the 50/2 ZM Planar is on my short list.
Click to expand...

The focus has what I'd call a medium throw - definitely longer than some, but not too much. Enough for accurate focusing, but it never feels like a chore to focus like some lenses. Ergonomically, it is very comfortable to use. I would have preferred a tab to the focusing nub, but that is personal preference.

I think the .7 minimum focus distance is a huge difference over the .9 of older lenses in a 50mm. It turns a 50 into a very capable portrait lens.

One thing I'm learning by limiting myself to a single lens is that the Planar is a little big for a carry everywhere lens. I love it, but for travel I wish I was using a collapsable instead.

All that said, the results are fantastic which is what counts.
 
40 Years Ago

40 Years Ago

I bought a DR Summicron 50 for my M4. I bought a 2.8 Summaron 35 at the same time. I shot one roll with the Summicron and it's been in storage until two nights ago when I needed something fast for a Cafe Tacuba concert.

I scanned the pictures yesterday. Wow, what a nice lens in low light. I only shoot 50's for the 'look' of the lens, the Summitar being a favorite. I find them still to be a giant pain to work with. They're telephotos to me. I'll stick with the wides.
 
My M-Hexanon 50 makes a very capable portrait lens on my M8, which I've just sent off for cleaning.
I've been shooting my Hexar RF exclusively in its place, giving it more use than I have for a good while, perhaps 2/3 of the time with the 50 on board.
It's a lot of fun, and this is a fantastic lens. A sample from rural China shot last week:

 
pdx138 said:
...
One thing I'm learning by limiting myself to a single lens is that the Planar is a little big for a carry everywhere lens. I love it, but for travel I wish I was using a collapsable instead.
Click to expand...
I have five 50's across three systems, most recently the classic Elmar 50/2.8. I had thought the collapsible feature was a gimmick until the lens was mounted. Wow! The profile is streamlined, aiding general portability. Plus, it looks darn cute. :)
 
Rico said:
I have five 50's across three systems, most recently the classic Elmar 50/2.8. I had thought the collapsible feature was a gimmick until the lens was mounted. Wow! The profile is streamlined, aiding general portability. Plus, it looks darn cute. :)
Click to expand...

Yup, I think I'm eventually going to get one of those - Actually, I want the current one. I have not found myself wanting faster the f2 with a 50, so between the Planar for general use and the Elmar for travel, I think I will be set on 50s (not counting the others I have in screw mount already...).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom