Leica 50mm in the 1000-1250usd range?

[uhoh7]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

tons of great 50s. 

 

I might have 12. But v4 Cron gets used more than any. In your price range it's the best lens by a ways. F/2 is decent fast and will help the M8 in the DIM. Just be sure to shine a light through the copy to check for haze etc. 

 

Now, you could grab a Canon LTM 50/1.4, for about 300, which is real fast, and a clean copy looks great on M9, so would be even better on the M8 crop.

 

You could also afford a CV 50/1.1, or even a new Sonnetar (tiny 50/1.1)

 

Many swear by the ZM50/2 Planar, and many love the CV 50/1.5; these in the 600 range used. 

 

In your shoes I might get a clean Canon and get another FL with the extra

[Trivette]

Unless your heart is set on a Leica, the Zeiss Planar 50mm is a worthy alternative to the Summicron.  According to an online review by Ken Rockwell, "The Zeiss 50mm f/2 Planar ZM lens for LEICA is an excellent lens. Its performance is exceeded only by LEICA's own LEICA SUMMICRON-M 50mm f/2, and then, only slightly." The price for a new one is very reasonable.

[run23]

+1 on the Zeiss. I have a 35mm Biogon and love it.

[TRIago]

Rigid Summicron.

[furcafe]

The current Cosina Voigtlander 50/1.5 Nokton is excellent & can usually be found for around $800-900 used.  The design & ergonomics are unusual (copying the 1950s LTM version of the original Voigtlander 50/1.5 Nokton, just like the ZM lenses copy the1960s lenses for the Contarex SLRs), but if they work for you, the Nokton is a great value.  The build quality is equivalent to, possibly even better than, the ZM lenses Cosina makes for Zeiss.

[gberger]

+2 for the Zeiss 2/50 Planar

[RobertJRB]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Summicron V5 for me. I have bought mine for 1100 euro so it should be possible for 1200 usd.

 

I like it over the IV version because of the build in hood. Makes it nice and compact. Though a focusknob would have been nice, I don't seem to miss it. I like them the best with wide angle lenses.

 

 

Have had the 50/2.5 summarit. Its a marvelous litte lens with great performance. However what made me choose the cron besides the little bigger aperture, the minimum focus distance. The cron can go to 0,7 meter where the summarit needs at least 0,8m.

 

The 50 planar ZM is a great lens as well for a much lower price. Especially used. More modern and saturated compared to the cron. The cron has a hint of classical rendering.

[MarkP]

Look at this thread. The little Elmar M is pretty good! (the 'new' version Elmar, although a 3.5 M mount is superb too - same lens as the famous Red Scale).

 

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/246073-add-elmar-m-50-or-rigid-summicron-to-summilux-50-asph/

 

 

I would give serious consideration to the latest version of the 50/2.8 Elmar.  Take a look at the images embedded in the thread that earleygallery noted in post #3 above. 

 

The 50 Elmar is a very affordable lens and as can be seen in the photos posted, it is nothing short of remarkable with regard to the image quality vs. dollars spent equation (based on what we can tell from looking at computer screen images, that is).

 

 

So it was me who posted those photos of the 2.0/50 APO-Summicron, 1.4/50 Summilux ASPH and 2.8/50 Elmar-M on the Monochrom v1 for comparison.  I was amazed at how well the little Elmar-M held up agains the other two. Certainly not there at it's maximum aperture of f2.8, not to the corners, but otherwise overall it was remarkably good, and note these were on a Monochrom.

 

The Elmar-M has quickly become one of my favourite lenses (especially on the M7). If you want sharpness the edges then it's not the right lens but neither is the 50 Summarit, and in the suggested price range then indeed the ZM Planar would be the way to go.

 

I think you've been given lot's of good suggestions here.

What maximum aperture do you need as that may help decide. You may well want f2.0 (but I don't think there's much between 2.5 and 2.8