Steve66 Posted July 12, 2012 Share #581 Posted July 12, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) I am faced with a choice between these two 60's lenses. Elmar 50 2.8 and Canon 50 1.4 Ltm. I've tried both ..the elmar straight out of the camera produces good colour but wide I find it a problem in limited light. The Canon again with minimal pp work nice colour and wide lovely OOF rendition. The two stops of the canon l see as an advantage in low light but on the other hand there is the 'magic' of the leica. Has anybody had experience or can offer advice? Steve. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted July 12, 2012 Posted July 12, 2012 Hi Steve66, Take a look here M8 and Old Glass. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
menos I M6 Posted July 12, 2012 Share #582 Posted July 12, 2012 I am faced with a choice between these two 60's lenses.Elmar 50 2.8 and Canon 50 1.4 Ltm. I've tried both ..the elmar straight out of the camera produces good colour but wide I find it a problem in limited light. The Canon again with minimal pp work nice colour and wide lovely OOF rendition. The two stops of the canon l see as an advantage in low light but on the other hand there is the 'magic' of the leica. Has anybody had experience or can offer advice? Steve. I think, you answered your own question already, just seeking confirmation by others So go for the lens, that gives you the nicest imaging out of the box and even offers a bit more freedom in light. There is no such thing as "Leica magic". And if there would be, there would be as well Nikon magic, Canon magic, Hugo Meyer Magic, Angenieux magic, Astro Berlin magic, … I found, that personally I like certain lenses from many different manufacturers - it is just, that the vast choice of them is provided in higher quantities by Leica, as the company simply was around for a few decades longer, than any other of the manufacturers stayed in rangefinder lens business. There is one point to add though - maybe touching that "Leica magic" myth a slightly bit - I found from the lenses, I have worked on, that the majority of Leica RF lenses are truly beautifully constructed, whereas other manufacturers might have cut a few corners more in favor of lower production cost or even a lesser ingenious idea of mechanical design at projecting a lens for series production. I found though, that the pinnacle lenses of each of the big known manufacturers are the true masterpieces, not just in optical terms, but also in their operation and mechanical design, often helped by the fact, that lesser pressure of cost due to much lower expected sales and of course the ever important question of bringing an extraordinary top of the range (finder) product to market. The 60's 50/2.8 Elmar is no such product - it's a fine and beautiful lens, but doesn't rival it's contemporary Leitz lenses in any of those "magical" notes. To me, it is a fine lens, one can "also" have, not a must have lens over another. Any collapsible Summitar (if one can like it's characteristics) or even the later collapsible Summicron v1 has more character in spades. For the money of a 60's Elmar 5cm (if that might be the limiting factor), I would clearly look at other alternatives, that are more special (my subjective opinion), like a modified Russian Sonnar 50mm or a true German pre war Sonnar, optimized for Leica M - or one of the absolutely wonderful (still today!) Leitz 5cm collapsible Elmar f3.5 - a landmark lens, not just for histories sake, but incredibly sharp with extraordinary beautiful oof rendering! Wow, that's a long post Better throw in a picture: Canon 50 f0.95 - portrait - young biker by teknopunk.com, on Flickr Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted July 12, 2012 Share #583 Posted July 12, 2012 Steve, I echo what Dirk says. The 2.8/50 Elmar is often not well made. I had one of the last ones, factory coded from new. The barrel wobbled on extension and the aperture detents were close to non-existent. Nothing like as well made as my just post war 3.5 Elmar, so I got rid of it. My experiences with borrowed Canon LTM lenses have generally been good but both the ones I was testing for friends needed a small tweak to get the back/front focus sufficiently accurate for digital use, although they would probably have been fine on film. I have for example a 35/2.5 Color Skopar which is inadequate on digital but just fine on my M4. I have been on the look out for a nice Canon 50/1.2 since trying these ones. The 50/1.4 is probably a better general purpose lens than the 50/1.2 and IMHO, just as good as the early Summiluxes, at a very different price point. Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
menos I M6 Posted July 12, 2012 Share #584 Posted July 12, 2012 Wilson, I believe Steve actually means the 1960's made first 50 f2.8 Elmar, not the later modern 50 f2.8 Elmar. Despite I have not yet worked on either lens from just playing with these lenses, the older, vintage Elmar 50/2.8 indeed has a subjectively nicer built. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted July 12, 2012 Share #585 Posted July 12, 2012 Dirk, Are not both era's of 50/2.8 in effect identical both in construction and optical formula, with the aperture adjustment moved from the front face of the lens to an annular ring on the front body in comparison to the 3.5? A wobbly extending lens or one that has to be pulled out in as series of side to side movements, is a pet hate of mine. It just seems to shout sloppy assembly, machining or design. It has put me off buying one of the special edition 50/f2.5 Collapsible Hexars. My 1940's Elmar and 1950's Summitar pull out in one smooth movement, like a hydraulic piston and feel 100% rigid once locked. The 2007 Elmar never felt like that. Wilson 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil_SI Posted July 12, 2012 Share #586 Posted July 12, 2012 (edited) I'm not in the same league as some of you, but here's some casual snaps taken on vacation or just out and about. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! These were all taken with either the VC 28mm Ultron 2.0 or VC 40mm Nokton Classic 1.4, but I've just upgraded to a Summarit 35mmm 2.5 so looking forward to seeing how that fares. Thanks for looking! Edited July 12, 2012 by Neil_SI Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! These were all taken with either the VC 28mm Ultron 2.0 or VC 40mm Nokton Classic 1.4, but I've just upgraded to a Summarit 35mmm 2.5 so looking forward to seeing how that fares. Thanks for looking! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/110554-m8-and-old-glass/?do=findComment&comment=2060941'>More sharing options...
Photoskeptic Posted July 12, 2012 Share #587 Posted July 12, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) Neil, I can only get the last two to show up. Maybe it's my computer? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
farnz Posted July 12, 2012 Share #588 Posted July 12, 2012 I've had a go at fixing them, cheers. I used the img functionality to try and make them show in the post, but they don't, so I'm not quite sure how to? How to post photos to the forum instructions are here. Pete. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianv Posted July 12, 2012 Share #589 Posted July 12, 2012 On the M9... One of those Modified pre-war Sonnars, optimized for Leica... 1936 Carl Zeiss Jena 5cm F1.5 Sonnar, converted to Leica mount using a J-3 focus module. Wide-Open. Nikki, 1936 Uncoated 5cm F1.5 Sonnar converted to Leica Mount by anachronist1, on Flickr But don't feel bad for the M-8, the C-Sonnar lives on it. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
farnz Posted July 12, 2012 Share #590 Posted July 12, 2012 On the M9-P... One of those post-war Sonnars. 1947 Carl Zeiss Jena 5 cm f/2 Sonnar using an Amadeo Muscelli Contax to Leica rf coupled adaptor. Sophie. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! 14 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/110554-m8-and-old-glass/?do=findComment&comment=2061194'>More sharing options...
brianv Posted July 12, 2012 Share #591 Posted July 12, 2012 (edited) Uncoated CZJ 5cm f1.5 On the M8, at F4. CZJ Sonnar 5cm F1.5, at f4 on the Leica M8 by anachronist1, on Flickr The M8 picks up the "Sweet Spot" of a Sonnar. NOT OLD GLASS... The modern C-sonnar on the M8, at F4. C-Sonnar 50/1.5, at F4 on the Leica M8 by anachronist1, on Flickr I've done some comparisons between the two Sonnars, the modern lens does capture the "essence" of the original. Edited July 12, 2012 by brianv 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtoh Posted July 13, 2012 Share #592 Posted July 13, 2012 Chinese opera, backstage shot. M8 + nikkor 5cm f1.4 Will be shooting with this combi in this weekend. Thanks all for viewing! daryl http://dtohphoto.com 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JMF Posted July 14, 2012 Share #593 Posted July 14, 2012 First outing with the Canon 85 LTM 1.8: Bindu by careca2013, on Flickr Aurélien by careca2013, on Flickr Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chounws Posted July 14, 2012 Share #594 Posted July 14, 2012 Just got this Elmarit 9cm M mount from Korea, very surprised with it performance still valid today after 53 years old. Low contrast at wide open better stop down, like very much the color and resolution power. M8.2 Elmarit 9cm Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! 5 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/110554-m8-and-old-glass/?do=findComment&comment=2062331'>More sharing options...
andym911 Posted July 15, 2012 Author Share #595 Posted July 15, 2012 (edited) Here one on the 90/4 collapsible Elmar from 1957. shot on the M8.2 Quite a sharp lens with medium contrast, and a bargain! best andy Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Edited July 15, 2012 by andym911 4 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/110554-m8-and-old-glass/?do=findComment&comment=2063171'>More sharing options...
andym911 Posted July 15, 2012 Author Share #596 Posted July 15, 2012 and one from last weeks summaron shoot .... Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! 4 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/110554-m8-and-old-glass/?do=findComment&comment=2063198'>More sharing options...
Guest JMF Posted July 20, 2012 Share #597 Posted July 20, 2012 Getting ready for the Olympics... Canon LTM 50 1.2 London 2012 D-8 Summilux 35 pre asph London 2012 D-8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
menos I M6 Posted July 20, 2012 Share #598 Posted July 20, 2012 Jean-Marc, that last shot is really nice with the "Brasil" print clearly in focus on the jumping girl. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JMF Posted July 20, 2012 Share #599 Posted July 20, 2012 another one from yesterday's set: Canon LTM 50 1.2 junior treinamento no clube Flamengo by careca2013, on Flickr Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcrutcher Posted July 22, 2012 Share #600 Posted July 22, 2012 This thread got me all fired up so I pulled the M8 out which I haven't shot since the M9 came into my live. Last night in Phoenix we had a bad storm so it was perfect. All of these are with a 35 Summicron version IV, no filter Iso 640 F11, various shutter speeds. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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