Which 50mm lens for my Bessa R2M?

[timothyd]

I previously posted questions about buying a 50mm lens on RFF, but it was a while back and I don't know how to find it now.

I have been using my R2M (my first rangefinder) for less than a year with the 35 color skopar c. I like it, but then again, I've never used anything else. I thought I would buy a 50mm in order to help myself take closer pictures (as I often wish I had taken the photo closer). Obviously, I could move closer to my subjects, but I am not yet confident enough to take close pictures of people I don't know. And street shooting is mainly my interest.

So, what are some good 50mm lens that will fit with my Bessa R2M? I can't spend lots of money. But of course I care about sharpness and quality.

Thank you.

 

[kshapero]

Can't go wrong with the kit lens, Classic Heliar 50/2.

 

[back alley]

i recommend the cv 50/2.5 lens, sharp & solid and small, just like the 35/2.5

joe

 

[sebastel]

any.......

 

[rxmd]

Any.

Cheap:
Industar-61
Jupiter-8

Lower medium range:
CV Skopar 50/2.5
Canon 50/1.4
CV Nokton 50/1.5
Some used Leica

Upper medium range pricewise:
Zeiss Planar 50/2
Zeiss Sonnar 50/1.5
Canon 50/1.2
Used Leica Summicron 50/2

Expensive:
Leica Summilux 50/1.4
Leica Noctilux 50/1
Canon 50/0.95
Weird collectibles

Unless you have a more specific idea how much you spend or what you want, you can buy pretty much anything and there's ample material everywhere what 50 to use when, where, how, for what purpose, on what film, on what body, during which phase of the moon and in what state of inebriation 😉

I normally recommend the Industar-61 to people asking this sort of question. It's $10 or so and a really good lens image-quality-wise.

 

[Keith]

CV 50 Nokton is an excellent lens ... a little large but very versatile and excellent wide open. For what you're getting they're a bargain secondhand at $250 to $300! Kind of wish I hadn't sold mine at times. 😛

 

[Spider67]

I'm using a Canon Serenar 1,8 chrome Version.
Quite content with it on a Bessa R and not expensive!

 

[funkaoshi]

I'm using a J3 on my R2A, and I love it. I think any of the Sonnar style 50s are worth a look.

 

[mr_phillip]

I'd go for any of the Voigtländer 50s – whichever one you find in good condition used. All things being equal, I'd opt for the Heliar-Classic over the others, and it *was* the kit lens for your body.

 

[sherm]

The one you can afford.......... this way you'll be able to buy more film !

 

[tennis-joe]

Bessa R - Canon 1.8

Bessa R - Canon 1.8

I am using a Bessa R and a Canon 50 1.8 and I am amazed with the color and contrast. I just go a Leica 50 2.8 cleaned by Sherrie but I am reluctant to use it on the Bessa because I get mixed blog messages on using it with the Bessa. But with the Canon giving me such great results I don't know if I will use the Leica on it.

I will use the Leica on my IIIf that came with the lens.

My home computer is down that has the scanner so I will post pictures later with the cleaned Leica.
Joe

 

[Krosya]

Get M-Hexanon and dont look back - better built than any CV 50 lens. Performs as good or better than any 50/2 out there. And can be found a lot less expensive than those.
Has a built-in shade and focuses down to 0.7m, unlike some older crons and Heliar. Can't see any better option.
here is a pic from mine:

 

[ferider]

If you are price conscious, and f2 is OK, the 50/2 Hex is indeed the all around best lens you can get. For an all around faster 50 and less than, say US 300, the Canon 50/1.4 beats anything else. If you have less than, say US 200, the Canon 50/1.8 is great, too.

For portraits mostly, get a Sonnar variant. Jupiter, Canon 50/1.5, Nikkor 50/1.4, or ZM C-Sonnar, depending on budget.

The CV Nokton 50/1.5 is optically great, but I don't like its size, built and .9m min. focus.

Outside the box, for your purpose, a 75/2.5 Heliar might be a great choice, too. Fits very well with the 35/2.5.

Cheers.

Roland.

 

[jja]

I agree w/ Krosya and ferider, emphatically. While I cannot claim to have tried all the 50mm lenses out there (there are so many!), I can say that my favorite 'budget' lens is the 50/2 Konica M-Hexanon.

 

[Bruin]

I gotta throw in another vote for the M-Hex 50/2. Modern double gaussian 50/2 designs (M-Hex, Summicron, Zeiss Planar, etc.) are all very close in sharpness, contrast, and distortion. The Zeiss arguably has the best flare resistance, and likewise the M-Hex for build quality and feel.

 

[bennyng]

I do find the compact size of Voigtlander's 50mm Color Skopar f/2.5 to be very, very attractive. Whilst I have not had the opportunity to use most of the other lens suggested here. This Color Skopar must be one of the smallest 50mm I've mounted on the camera. The smaller aperture can be compensated by higher speed flim. If you are shooting predominantly outdoors, it's fine really.

Cheers,

 

[retnull]

Agree with many of the above recommendations. But here's another angle: I shoot film because I want it to look like film, NOT DIGITAL. One strategy to exaggerate the film-ness is to use older lenses. They have lower contrast and resolution than modern lenses. But this can be an asset for certain types of photography: most viewers experience the atmosphere of a photograph first, not make judgements about resolution. Also, some of these lenses are a relative bargain versus their modern counterparts.

If you are interested, go to the Flickr M-Mount group and look at images from the Leica Summar 2.0, Leica Elmar 2.8 (v1) or 3.5, Canon 1.4, etc etc.

 

[oscroft]

If you don't need a fast aperture and you want to keep the cost down, I think the 50/2.5 Skopar is superb value for money (though you need a bayonet adapter) and will complement your 35 Skopar nicely.

I got one (I don't need fast lenses, don't have squazillions to spend, and I value smaller compact lenses to take traveling) and I love it - it's one of the best built of the CV lenses.

 

[rxmd]

Is there a way to limit the width of links to external images?

 

[maggieo]

Is there a way to limit the width of links to external images?

If HTML for image tags was enabled, there'd be a very easy way.