dant Posted April 4, 2013 Share #1 Posted April 4, 2013 (edited) Advertisement (gone after registration) Which 50mm delivers the best IQ for the least $. 3rd party lenses OK. Thanks Edited April 4, 2013 by dant Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted April 4, 2013 Posted April 4, 2013 Hi dant, Take a look here What normal gives the best bang for the buck?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
TomB_tx Posted April 4, 2013 Share #2 Posted April 4, 2013 Depends on what you value in IQ - but the Zeiss Planar is a bargain. The Voigtlander 50 1.5 Nokton used to be a price/IQ leader, but is discontinued and (if found new) has gone up almost to Planar price. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyMc Posted April 4, 2013 Share #3 Posted April 4, 2013 As a newcomer to Leica is there a table that shows; IQ, PRICE & RANK across all options ir perhaps Zeiss, Leica and Voigtlander Im probably asking for to much ;-) A Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted April 4, 2013 Share #4 Posted April 4, 2013 No there is not; for a simple reason. Each lens has its own character and use. None is best Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecar Posted April 4, 2013 Share #5 Posted April 4, 2013 Which 50mm delivers the best IQ for the least $. 3rd party lenses OK. Thanks I get the $ part. Please define "best IQ". Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted April 4, 2013 Share #6 Posted April 4, 2013 Indeed, there are no 'bad' lenses, it depends what you want. Find a good copy of a Jupiter 8 for £10 and you may have the best purely in terms of performance v £/$. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Martin Posted April 4, 2013 Share #7 Posted April 4, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) Seems a shame not to bolt Leica glass onto a Leica body, in fact probably better to do things the other way round, I.e cheaper body, Contax G , Sony, FUJI X Pro -1 and put Leica lenses on those. In most cases a great reliable very high quality sensor, with " top quality " glass on the front. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyMc Posted April 4, 2013 Share #8 Posted April 4, 2013 Hi appreciate that. So is there somewhere I can find an objective comparison of the most popular focal lenghs... As a newcomer knowing where to invest next is a little tricky? Thanks for the reply A Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted April 4, 2013 Share #9 Posted April 4, 2013 Which 50mm delivers the best IQ for the least $. As others say, best is in the eye of the user. But, this question is problematic in other regards. For instance, one could claim that the recently introduced 50 APO Summicron attains some technical standards unmatched by any other 50; if so, it costs the least amount of money for what you can get. Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jip Posted April 4, 2013 Share #10 Posted April 4, 2013 (edited) I've got the Summicron-M 50mm (latest NON ASPH model) and like it allot, the Summarit is nice too! So give that lens a try. I find myself using the 35mm Summicron-M APSH. and 50mm Summicron-M most... 50mm usually on film, and the 35mm usually on digital strange enough. And for portraits I love my Elmarit-M 90mm I don't use the 21mm Elmarit-M that much, but do love it for museums and architecture. Edited April 4, 2013 by jip Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
k-hawinkler Posted April 4, 2013 Share #11 Posted April 4, 2013 Which 50mm delivers the best IQ for the least $. 3rd party lenses OK. Thanks You may as well start here: Search KenRockwell.com That's what I did 3.5 years ago. You need to apply your own best judgement though and compare with other reviews. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokoshawnuff Posted April 4, 2013 Share #12 Posted April 4, 2013 Rockwell does have a simple, free and easy to navigate site. Most of the Leica M lenses have been reviewed there, but don't put too much faith in his opinions....as was mentioned above, use logic and your judgement when you read something that sounds crazy, because it likely is. As for other free sites, lavidaleica.com has some reviews, stevehuff.com. Also there is an Erwin Puts E-Book for around $10 that is a great alternative to his $125 book 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinnfell Posted April 4, 2013 Share #13 Posted April 4, 2013 BEST bang for the buck I think should be be any USED leica 50 summicron (especially the so-called type 4 and 5 - they are the same optically). While it is not dirt cheap, it really is a phenomenal lens with very few shortcomings. I got mine for nine hundred dollars and it was a mint condition type 4. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmradman Posted April 4, 2013 Share #14 Posted April 4, 2013 Concur with posts #11 & 12. Good & "cheap" Leica M is Elmar M, available only S/H. http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-wiki.en/index.php/50mm_f/2.8_Elmar-M Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted April 4, 2013 Share #15 Posted April 4, 2013 Hi appreciate that. So is there somewhere I can find an objective comparison of the most popular focal lenghs... As a newcomer knowing where to invest next is a little tricky? Thanks for the reply A Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2 Erwin Puts' "Compendium" describes nearly every Leica lens ever made. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted April 4, 2013 Share #16 Posted April 4, 2013 Bang for the buck: I got a Canon 1.8/50 and a 2.8/35 LTM,both mint, paid 300 Euro added together, and found they outperform their contemporary Summicrons. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rramesh Posted April 4, 2013 Share #17 Posted April 4, 2013 There are many 50mm lenses, each fantastic in its own right. 'Best value' is a function of how important the 50mm focal length to you, what pictures you would like to take and how much you are willing to put down. Once you determine this, then you can evaluate appropriate lenses. I went through the same exercise. I wanted a 50mm for use 40% of the time and needed reasonable low light (f/1.4). With my budget I got a 50 Summilux ASPH. For me this is 'value for money'. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkP Posted April 5, 2013 Share #18 Posted April 5, 2013 (edited) Dant? Hello, where are you? Please explain in more detail what you mean by IQ. What are you after in a 50mm lens? New or 2nd hand? New or older design lens? What do you want to photograph? Film or digital? How much do you want to spend? We can then probably advise you better. If you simply want the cheapest sharpest new lens then you probably can't go past the 2.0/50 ZM Planar which certainly holds up very well c/w it's Leica contemporaries. Regards, Mark Edited April 5, 2013 by MarkP Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
humba Posted April 5, 2013 Share #19 Posted April 5, 2013 I see the Planar at least on par with a pre asph. Cron or Lux. Thats why the Cron had to go :-) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
graeme_hutton Posted April 5, 2013 Share #20 Posted April 5, 2013 If it is for use with an M8 then the 40mm Summicron is a wonderful 50 substitute for only a few hundred pounds. Graeme Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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