What good starter 50mm lens for a Voigtlander Bessa r3a

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Saptarshi Guha

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Hello,

I started B&W film development class and have begun to enjoy the pleasure of shooting film (and especially not looking at the rearview LCD to see if my shots are okay) and definitely this way can be very relaxing.

I have Bessa r3a. I like the 50mm field of view. But what is a good lens to buy? A few hundred dollars would be nice. For what it's worth i live in San Francisco, CA, USA.

1. I understand the r3a is a M-Mount but will accept LTM lens with adapter and nothing (viewing, framelines) gets affected.

2. I'm worried about the LTM lenses as they might have haze or fungus. There are plenty to be had from Japan but i cant inspect them.

3. The m-mount lenses are much more expensive!

4. I checked Pacific Rim Camera and saw this
"50/1.5 CANON IN LEICA THREAD MOUNT, GLASS HAS MODERATE INTERNAL HAZE (PROBABLY OIL MIST), A LITTLE OIL ON THE DIAPHRAGM BLADES, WHICH ARE A BIT STIFF, LIGHT CLEANING MARKS IN THE FRONT COATING AND A COUPLE OF SMALL SCRATCHES IN THE FRONT GLASS, LOOKS EX+" ($265)

I dont know if the haze will be bad deal

5. Lastly i have a Rokkor 50mm 1.8 - i could buy an M mount adapter and just try that. I always felt that the Rokkor 50mm was a bit soft throughout.

6. Or switch to the Voigtlander 40mm /1.8 and give up on 50mm?

Very confused. I think i should just get one and start shooting. Maybe am suffering from GAS (gear acquisition syndrome).

Advice from the experienced would be much appreciated.
Cheers
saptarshi
 
As a 50, you can't go wrong with the Color Skopar 50mm f2.5. Veery good lens, small and compact too. The Nokton 40mm f1.4 is another option, and a good one at that. It can do double duty as a 35mm OR a 50mm lens. One step back for 35 and a step forward for 50mm. I use one on a M2 as my "walk about" kit. Performance is very good, even at f1.4. Comes in SC (single coat) or MC (multi coated), the SC is more subtle, particularly in black/white - but both lenses are stellar performer.
The Canon 50mm f1.8 is another good choice - as is the Nikkor 50mm f2.0 in LTM. There are a multitude of 50 to choose from - older ones are critical as to fogging and scratches so buy the best you can afford or is willing to spend money for.
 
Tom A said:
As a 50, you can't go wrong with the Color Skopar 50mm f2.5.
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I agree with Tom, 50mm Color Skopar is outstanding. Compact, sharp, well made and with excellent handling.

Tom A said:
The Canon 50mm f1.8 is another good choice
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I've had one of those too but found the handling not as good as the Skopar, with a rather long focus throw. It's also slightly bigger.
 
There are dozens of good 50s out there for the M-Mount. But if you want the best possible value, in my opinion it would be the Zeiss Planar 50/2. Technically I don't think you can find a better lens anywhere near the price.

If you are interested in a bit more character in a lens that will take a bit of time to learn, pick the Zeiss Sonnar 50/1.5. It does have some focus shift which puts some people off, but if you take the time to learn to make it work for you, it will provide photographs with a very special look that will be almost impossible to find with any other lens.
 
Pioneer said:
There are dozens of good 50s out there for the M-Mount. But if you want the best possible value, in my opinion it would be the Zeiss Planar 50/2. Technically I don't think you can find a better lens anywhere near the price.

If you are interested in a bit more character in a lens that will take a bit of time to learn, pick the Zeiss Sonnar 50/1.5. It does have some focus shift which puts some people off, but if you take the time to learn to make it work for you, it will provide photographs with a very special look that will be almost impossible to find with any other lens.
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Completely agree with this. These are the only 2 50's I've kept. If you like the 50mm FL, there's no reason to give up on it. The ZM 50mm Planar is $860 brand new at B&H. It might just be the only 50 you'll ever need.

Or, you can go to fedka.com and for starters, try some of the Russian lenses for under $100.
 
Another for the Color Skopar 50mm f2.5.
The silver version is especially nice handling.
I wish I found this lens years ago. It's now my main RF 50mm lens.
Check out this thread for images.
Seek one out you won't be disapointed.

If you want faster go for the CV 50mm f1.5 Nokton.
Another really beautifully rendering lens.
 
kxl said:
Completely agree with this. These are the only 2 50's I've kept. If you like the 50mm FL, there's no reason to give up on it. The ZM 50mm Planar is $860 brand new at B&H. It might just be the only 50 you'll ever need.

Or, you can go to fedka.com and for starters, try some of the Russian lenses for under $100.
Click to expand...

50mm f2.0 Jupiter 8 is a great starter lens.
 
I love my Collapsible Summicron 2.0/50. Mine was $350 at KEH.com nine years ago. Don't know if your Bessa will allow you to collapse it though.
 
 
Saptarshi Guha said:
Hello, I started B&W film development class and have begun to enjoy the pleasure of shooting film (and especially not looking at the rearview LCD to see if my shots are okay) and definitely this way can be very relaxing. I have Bessa r3a. I like the 50mm field of view. But what is a good lens to buy? A few hundred dollars would be nice. For what it's worth i live in San Francisco, CA, USA. 1. I understand the r3a is a M-Mount but will accept LTM lens with adapter and nothing (viewing, framelines) gets affected. 2. I'm worried about the LTM lenses as they might have haze or fungus. There are plenty to be had from Japan but i cant inspect them. 3. The m-mount lenses are much more expensive! 4. I checked Pacific Rim Camera and saw this "50/1.5 CANON IN LEICA THREAD MOUNT, GLASS HAS MODERATE INTERNAL HAZE (PROBABLY OIL MIST), A LITTLE OIL ON THE DIAPHRAGM BLADES, WHICH ARE A BIT STIFF, LIGHT CLEANING MARKS IN THE FRONT COATING AND A COUPLE OF SMALL SCRATCHES IN THE FRONT GLASS, LOOKS EX+" ($265) I dont know if the haze will be bad deal 5. Lastly i have a Rokkor 50mm 1.8 - i could buy an M mount adapter and just try that. I always felt that the Rokkor 50mm was a bit soft throughout. 6. Or switch to the Voigtlander 40mm /1.8 and give up on 50mm? Very confused. I think i should just get one and start shooting. Maybe am suffering from GAS (gear acquisition syndrome). Advice from the experienced would be much appreciated. Cheers saptarshi
Click to expand...
Saptarshi, welcome to RFF and to the maze that is Rangefinder gear.

The good news is that there are no (or very few) really trashy rangefinder 50mm lenses.

At the low price point, Russian and Ukrainian (often referred to as FSU) 50mm Tessar designs are competent, adequately sharp esp stopped down and a bit variable mechanically. Make sure to get a coated version.

The FSU Sonnar designs (Jupiter 8 and 3) are quality character lenses and good examples are nearly as good as the modern Zeiss Sonnar. The J-8 is usually a better bet and much better priced. The extra stop is all soft-focus so unless this is really your thing, the slower lens is as good in the rest of its range.

After that the price goes up. Around $3-400 you get 1950's best efforts: Summitars, Canons, Nikons in the f2 class. I haven't used the Nikon but the advice given on Sonnars applies to all including the Canon 1.5 you mentioned.

These lenses are really good performers and you just need to confirm condition, buying from a reputable seller.

After that you rise into more modern lenses and finally into the Leica stratosphere.

Everyone has their favourites or the choices they made that they want reinforced. My advice is that you can dip your toes at a low price provided you know what you are after.

For a general purpose lens to rival a sub-f2 SLR 50 I would go for a modern style design, so no Tessars or Sonnars. A Canon 1.8 or even 1.4. The Voigtander 50s. A Leica Summitar or if you are prepared, an early Summicron. Any of these will be sharper than your film.

I personally have a Canon 1.4, a Summitar and some Sonnar designs. If I wanted one and only one lens I would get a Voigtlander 50/1.5 because it is a good general purpose lens plus I like its rendering wide open. I find the Canon 1.4 bland, but that is it's attraction as well. Check the gallery here and sites like flickr searching for the lens to check rendering.

As to condition, dust can be ignored, haze may be coating damage or oil haze, both of which soften the image. Oil can be cleaned but that's more money, and time. It sounds like you want sharp so my advice is avoid haze AND avoid Sonnars (which are very soft wide open but sharp stopped down, among other quirks).
 
If you want to shoot quickly in the street, in normal daylight, with depth of field, and using a small lens, you should get the Voigtlander 50 2.5...
But if you want to shoot with selective focus, with defocused backgrounds, do some 50mm portraits, or shoot indoors or in lower light or night, you should get the Voigtlander 50 1.5... But it's big compared to classic rangefinder 50s...
Russian ones can be good or bad, and bad ones are a lot more common... Unless you get a good one from a photographer you trust, you should buy a great lens for a fair price, and that's Voigtlander.
Cheers,
Juan
 
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