A new M mount 50mm f/2 Sonnar is coming

[Rollin]

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Review video:

 

[costa43]

Very interesting lens. I always get good vibes off this guy. He comes across as really genuine. 

[Vanillasludge]

There’s something special about a Sonnar in monochrome.  This seems to capture that gentle handling of highlights and open shadows pretty well.  

Hopefully someone will be able to compare this new lens with the C-Sonnar.  
 

 

[catacore]

16 hours ago, costa43 said:

He comes across as really genuine. 

Yes, this was also my impression until last week, when I was watching his review about the 50mm Lux ASPH which, in his words, "is an incredible expensive lens, at almost 4000 Euros (200 Euros less for the black version)". Now this review is from 6 years ago, but I am pretty sure the said Lux ASPH lens was available, eventually, on the used market at less incredible prices, in 2019.

 

But for this review, on the Omnar lens, I was not able to resist past the 25:00 minute mark (due to the bad smell), when he said "here we get a lot more lens for the money" (while comparing with the Leica lenses in general, and the Leica Classic line in particular) - just wondering if he has any experience with the new Summilux Classic, for instance, as he was continuously featuring that lens throughout the whole video, inffering how expensive it is. So, the 2750-3000 GBP price, before taxes, for this 50/2 lens, is pretty justifiable, but the 4000 Euro for the Summilux is/was incredible expensive. 

Then the thing about the hand-made watch coming from an independent manufacturer, repeaded again, and again, and again....

To top it up, the filter size is purely genius, being 39mm in size, which corresponds (almost unbelievably) with that on his Summicron lens.

Really!?!?

 

 

[costa43]

11 minutes ago, catacore said:

Yes, this was also my impression until last week, when I was watching his review about the 50mm Lux ASPH which, in his words, "is an incredible expensive lens, at almost 4000 Euros (200 Euros less for the black version)". Now this review is from 6 years ago, but I am pretty sure the said Lux ASPH lens was available, eventually, on the used market at less incredible prices, in 2019.

 

But for this review, on the Omnar lens, I was not able to resist past the 25:00 minute mark (due to the bad smell), when he said "here we get a lot more lens for the money" (while comparing with the Leica lenses in general, and the Leica Classic line in particular) - just wondering if he has any experience with the new Summilux Classic, for instance, as he was continuously featuring that lens throughout the whole video, inffering how expensive it is. So, the 2750-3000 GBP price, before taxes, for this 50/2 lens, is pretty justifiable, but the 4000 Euro for the Summilux is/was incredible expensive. 

Then the thing about the hand-made watch coming from an independent manufacturer, repeaded again, and again, and again....

To top it up, the filter size is purely genius, being 39mm in size, which corresponds (almost unbelievably) with that on his Summicron lens.

Really!?!?

 

 

Maybe I’m just too trusting! I’ve not really given it much more thought but you raise some valid points. He just seems like a nice dude and I’ve enjoyed his content in the past.

[FrozenInTime]

There is a certain appeal to buying a Scottish hand crafted lens, but cost aside, the exposed helicoid, and rotating front don't sit well; the floating lens block mechanism wants field testing for reliability. Together this makes it one for the true Sonnar connoisseur ; speculative lens futures investment does not hold and interest.  I’m happy enough with the ( slightly flaky artisan built ) MS Sonnetar and the non-aspherical Summilux lenses.

[Ecar]

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On 7/20/2025 at 4:18 PM, FrozenInTime said:

the exposed helicoid, and rotating front don't sit well

Although the FLB mechanism is intriguing enough that I have one coming from the 1st batch, that's my biggest disappointment with the production version of this lens. The prototype featured a helicoid encased in a non-rotating barrel:

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On the other hand, the use of Skyllaney's Omnar helicoids probably helps with cost containment and can be seen as a nod to the original Contax RF mount. FWIW, my experience with these helicoids on other Skyllaney-converted lenses is otherwise very good, if somewhat annoying when changing aperture on the fly.

When the lens hits the streets, feel free to post pictures here. I understand Skyllaney sourced the glass for the prototypes and the 3 upcoming batches over 2 years ago, so I'm not expecting a difference in rendering.

[horosu]

On 7/23/2025 at 11:21 AM, Ecar said:

if somewhat annoying when changing aperture on the fly.

That's my personal issue with those lenses- you can't really work quickly in a reliable way. For quick shots these old lenses with rotating aperture rings need aperture priority mode, which I don't really like.