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recommendation for a 50mm f2


stump4545

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The Leica 50mm f/2 v3 is a bit more compact than the current model - until you add a hood. Have you thought about the 40mm summicron-c / m-rokkor lens at all? That thing is practically a pancake.

 

If you'd consider ~f/1.4 the Zeiss 50 1.5 sonnar is a bit smaller than most 50/2 lenses.

 

Otherwise the summarit Fgcm recommended is much smaller, also.

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The Leica 50mm f/2 v3 is a bit more compact than the current model - until you add a hood. Have you thought about the 40mm summicron-c / m-rokkor lens at all? That thing is practically a pancake.

 

If you'd consider ~f/1.4 the Zeiss 50 1.5 sonnar is a bit smaller than most 50/2 lenses.

 

Otherwise the summarit Fgcm recommended is much smaller, also.

 

I have a Zeiss Planar T* 2/50 which I absolutely love. Probably more than my two Leica Lenses. It is razor sharp and really resolves colour in a nice smooth way. Aperture ring has 1/3 stop increments and focus ring is smooth.

 

Also it is really small, quite light (and it's silver) and a fraction of the price of the Leica equivalent for not a fraction of the performance. What more could you want.

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What more could you want.

 

What more could he want? Quite simple: As he has written, a lens that is smaller than the Summicron, and as well as the Planar may compare to the Summicron (distortion aside), it isn't a smaller lens. :)

 

The CV Heliar 50mm f2 (collapsible) has the required speed, size-wise, when extended, it is midway between the Summicron and the CV Skopar/Leica Summarit, which are both very compact lenses (the Summarit at the same time an excellent performer), but you will loose some speed with them (f2.5). The Heliar f2 is only available used and difficult to come by. I have no idea about its optical qualities. The ZM Sonnar is about the same length as the Heliar, but noticeably thicker in diameter. The modern f2.8 Elmar-M is also quite compact, but obviously, you will use a full stop in speed.

IMO, if compactness is really your major concern, you will have to sacrifice some speed (or change the focal length).

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Is there a particular kind of character you're looking for (asph/pre-asph)?
I guess more of a pre-asph look since I don't think there is anything small and asph in terms of a 50 mm 1:2.

Well ... the new Apo-Summicron-M 50 mm Asph is fairly small for the speed and performance—but no smaller than the regular Summicron-M 50 mm ... slightly longer, actually. And very pricey. So I guess that's out of the consideration.

 

The old collapsible Summicrons are small when collapsed but no smaller than today's rigid Summicrons when extended and operational ... so no real advantage here. And collapsing those on a modern digital M model isn't recommended anyway.

 

So if small size is the major concern then I'd cast another vote for either a Summicron-C (or M-Rokkor) 40 mm 1:2 or, better yet, the Summarit-M 50 mm 1:2.5. The Summarit's slower speed isn't as bad is it looks, sharpness is as good as any Summicron's (except the Apo-Summicron, of course), and it's less prone to flare than the current Summicron-M 50 mm. The latter point is the reason why I'd prefer the Summarit-M 50 mm over the Summicron even when size doesn't matter.

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Here's a size comparison of seven 50s - most have been mentioned already. The current Summicron is on the left, then the v3 which feels smaller when using, and the original rigid Summicron. I threw in a 2.8 Elmar for comparison, then the Planar - which is as large as the current Summicron. Then are two interesting LTM lenses on M adapters. The Voigtlander "Nickel Heliar" f2.0 is quite tiny, and gives a blend of lower contrast glow wide open (but with quite good resolution) and more modern look stopped down. As reported, it does have focus shift stopping down, but I've had good results with it anyway. It is NOT collapsible in spite of the styling - which is patterned after the original rigid Summar. Finally the Canon 50 1.8, which is a nice, small lens that can be found cheaply enough to experiment with. It is worth trying.

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Here's a size comparison of seven 50s - most have been mentioned already. The current Summicron is on the left, then the v3 which feels smaller when using, and the original rigid Summicron. I threw in a 2.8 Elmar for comparison, then the Planar - which is as large as the current Summicron. Then are two interesting LTM lenses on M adapters. The Voigtlander "Nickel Heliar" f2.0 is quite tiny, and gives a blend of lower contrast glow wide open (but with quite good resolution) and more modern look stopped down. As reported, it does have focus shift stopping down, but I've had good results with it anyway. It is NOT collapsible in spite of the styling - which is patterned after the original rigid Summar. Finally the Canon 50 1.8, which is a nice, small lens that can be found cheaply enough to experiment with. It is worth trying.

[ATTACH]383338[/ATTACH]

 

Thanks for this size comparison. To avoid confusion it should be noted that in addition to the Nickel (non collapsible) Heliar f2, there is also an earlier, collapsible version of the Heliar f2 (in black or chrome finish, as part of a special edition set) and that was the one I was originally referring to.

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looking for something f2 and smaller then my Leica 50mm v5 f2...
... more of a pre asph look...

Summicron-M 50/2 # 11819 (black, on the left below) or 11825 (silver) if you don't dislike focus tabs.

Same results as your current version (on the right below) with a bit more flare though.

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random, but at center is the 50mm cron v5 sharper then current asph 50mm at f2?

 

i read that the 50mm v5 is sharper then the current asph but wasn't sure if this was entirely accurate.

 

thanks for all the great help!

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Back to topic: a size comparison of some more 50mm lenses.

ZM Planar 50, Summicron 50 rigid, Summarit 50 and CV Skopar 50.

I don't own the Summarit 50, so had to use the Summarit 35mm, which for all practical purposes has identical dimensions, as an equivalent.

Sorry for the crappy shot.

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All great suggestions above (and very useful size comparisons). A late coated Summitar in good condition is also a nice lens. It all depends on what type of images you prefer your lens to give you. But it seems you may want sharpness over other rendering qualities so this may not be the suggestion you want.

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