What 50mm non leica lens for M8

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panos

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hi guys ,

i have a 35mm summicron f:2 on my M8 and is the only lens i own.

i am really happy with its performance so far

i mainly shoot fashion and portraiture so i was thinking for the
50mm ZM f:2 Plannar

what do you think ?

do you recommend something else ?( non leica , really expensive can not afford )

i like really sharp lenses is the Plannar 50mm ZM one of them?

let me know what u think.
your opinions are always helpful

thanks

panos
 
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do you mean the 50/2 planar or the 50/1.5 sonnar? the first one is sharper, but the second one has more character, so they say.
 
Dear Panos

There a quite a few second hand 50 F2 Summicorns around and not very expensive. This should also be a consideration. It is a brilliant lens on the M8 for fashion / portraiture.

Richard
50 Cron.jpg
 
You don't give a budget, but if sharpness is your main priority then either the current generation Summicron, Summilux or the ZM Planar 2.0 would be great choices. The Voigtländer Heliar 3.5 also has a reputation for fierce sharpness, but it's kinda hard to find now and might be a little slow for you.

The ZM C-Sonnar certainly has its fans, but its sharpness (or lack thereof) has been its main area of criticism so it's maybe not for you.
 
From what I've seen online, the Sonnar has a very specific look. It bucks the trend toward ultra sharpness in modern lenses. If you're looking for sharpness, you might want to consider something else.

A new Zeiss C Sonnar is about $1000 or so? For a couple hundred more you could probably find a pre-asph Summilux, which would be a lot sharper than the Sonnar.

If you want to spend less, you could get a used pre-asph Summicron. They sell in the $600-700 range, I think. Another, even cheaper, option would be a Konica Hexanon, which produces very similar images to the Summicron. The Hexanon is very sharp and well made. You could probably get one for about $450 without looking too hard.

Then of course, there's the Zeiss Planar (which I like a lot), the various CV offerings, vintage Canon lenses ... the list goes on. The M-mount pool on Flickr is a great resource for comparing lenses. Check it out here.
 
Another vote for the Cosina Voigtlander 50/1.5 Nokton. Relatively cheap, a great performer, & easy to find 52mm UV/IR filters. The filter issue could be a significant factor for some of the otherwise great vintage lenses, like the Canon 50/1.4, which has a 48mm filter thread, etc.
 
I prefer vintage 50mm lenses for beautiful results.
If you also like such vintage lenses, then I would recommend the Canon 50/1.4 or 50/1.5. The other choice is a Nikkor 50/1.4 or 50/2. These are "non-Leica", and that's why I chose them here. Zeiss is nearly as expensive as Leica for similar age lenses.
 
I love the Sonnar...one of my favorite lenses. It goes nicely with the 75 lux.

L1060850.jpg
 
Andrew Sowerby said:
....If you want to spend less, you could get a used pre-asph Summicron. They sell in the $600-700 range, I think. Another, even cheaper, option would be a Konica Hexanon, which produces very similar images to the Summicron. The Hexanon is very sharp and well made. You could probably get one for about $450 without looking too hard........
Click to expand...

Is there a 50mm Summicron ASPH yet? So, why refer to a pre-asph Summicron?
 
I love 50mm lenses. I have several, had even more. Different ones for different reasons - look, sharpness bokeh, etc.
After owning Planar, 2 Summicrons (rigid and current), and Hexanon - all at the same time, best all-around f2 lens I kept is Hexanon. Not to say that others were bad. I just prefer the look, build and handling of the Hexanon.
For more of a specialty lenses - Canon 50/1.2 is very good. Also, old Leica Summitars have a pleasant look, even some of the russian lenses. As other said - many choices.
I'd recommend to search RFF for examples of photos from all these.
 
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