“Budget” 50mm lens for M262

[Loomis77]

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Thank you all very much for taking the time to reply and help me. It seems, from what you say and from @Harpomatic’s incredibly useful reviews that the Voigtlander Nokton 50mm 1.5 II is the best bet.

Apologies: two more questions. Do I need to be getting the Vintage Line and does the MC deliver better all round shots than the SC?

Many thanks again.

Ben

[rpsawin]

8 hours ago, Loomis77 said:

 Voigtlander Nokton 50mm 1.5 II is the best bet.

Apologies: two more questions. Do I need to be getting the Vintage Line and does the MC deliver better all round shots than the SC?

Many thanks again.

Ben

That is really subjective and has to do with the images you want to create. I don't think you can go wrong either way.

Good luck.

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[colonel]

8 hours ago, Loomis77 said:

Thank you all very much for taking the time to reply and help me. It seems, from what you say and from @Harpomatic’s incredibly useful reviews that the Voigtlander Nokton 50mm 1.5 II is the best bet.

Apologies: two more questions. Do I need to be getting the Vintage Line and does the MC deliver better all round shots than the SC?

Many thanks again.

Ben

IMHO yes

MC provides better contrast and flare control. SC if you are a classic look fanatic ....

[tgray]

I agree with rspawin, but I’d get the MC. It’s cool that they offer the SC lenses, but I think MC is the right choice for most people. 

[TAFFY]

I’m use the ZM Planar and the 50 C-Sonnar and I can highly recommend the ZM Planar as as budget option. I got mine used for $450. 
 

I like the color rendering, the 3D pop, the sharpness is well documented. It has great flare-resistance so a hood isn’t always necessary, keeping the size under control. I think it’s a great all-rounder. I think it will do well for a variety of situations especially if details / sharpness matters.  

[Knipsknecht]

Concerning the CV Nokton 50mm f1.5 Version II: Just scroll down this page and you will find a comparison between the multicoated and the singlecoated lens:

https://www.voigtlaender.de/lenses/vm/50-mm-11-5-nokton-vintage-line-aspharical/?lang=en

Edited March 21, 2021 by Knipsknecht

[SiggiGun]

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My best non Leica experience all-round 50mm lens is the ZM Planar 

[cboy]

An honorable mention is 50 f2.8 elmar-m. Its a gem of a lens. A relatively budget modern leica lens.  The vm heliar f2 & f3.5 also have unique character that will compliment the m262.

All the best

[wda]

37 minutes ago, cboy said:

An honorable mention is 50 f2.8 elmar-m. Its a gem of a lens. A relatively budget modern leica lens.  The vm heliar f2 & f3.5 also have unique character that will compliment the m262.

All the best

The 50 mm Elmar is a highly under-rated lens, often passed off as 'the poor man's solution'. I recall a former Leica tutor choosing this one lens to shoot weddings when he suffered serious back injuries. He could no longer carry his usual camera kit. The results were excellent and were published in LFI about ten years ago. The lens is merely one f/stop slower than the more popular Summicron, but is more compact and lighter and less expensive. For those keen to find this story in LFI, just search for 'Brett'.

[pedaes]

4 minutes ago, wda said:

just search for 'Brett'

Who's claim to fame (usual 'kit') is shooting weddings with a Noctilux wide open!

[a.noctilux]

I was very happy with the unique Elmar-M 2.8/50mm.

But I've found older LTM Leitz Elmar 3.5/5cm much cheaper and " better " in many cases like the round aperture (in place of hexagon in M Elmar), I know that is not the only one for me.

Why not the Summarit-M 2.5/50mm which has nothing less than the Elmar-M ?

And the Summar 5cm  or old Summarit 1.5/50 and so on with Canon LTM lenses (I have 1.2/1.4/1.8 very nice but some flaws to know), etc.

[wda]

11 minutes ago, pedaes said:

Who's claim to fame (usual 'kit') is shooting weddings with a Noctilux wide open!

I did qualify the situation as an illustration of what could be achieved with a more modest lens.

[pedaes]

32 minutes ago, wda said:

I did qualify the situation as an illustration of what could be achieved with a more modest lens.

Wasn't challenging the point, David, but trying to reinforce the Elmar-M's capability! 

[insideline]

8 hours ago, pedaes said:

Wasn't challenging the point, David, but trying to reinforce the Elmar-M's capability! 

I concur the Elmar M is a wonderful extremely compact lens that is very capable especially now with the high ISO capabilities of the newer Leica M bodies. Full retail for a mint silver IE: lovely milled from brass construction is around $925 and less for the alloy black copy. 

[pedaes]

1 hour ago, insideline said:

lovely milled from brass construction

The chrome is defiantly the version to have. To quote our recently passed friend Erwin Puts " ..the lens combines nostalgia with high performance and that is a proposition many Leica aficionados cannot resist".

[Theory033]

On 3/22/2021 at 7:07 AM, a.noctilux said:

Why not the Summarit-M 2.5/50mm which has nothing less than the Elmar-M ?

The Summarit-M 2.5/50mm is my favorite 50mm lens: Small, light, so easy to focus, and the image quality is wonderful.

The Zeiss lenses are nice too, but I didn't ultimately like the colors, which I found to be too punchy. While I love my Summilux 50mm pre-ASPH, the Summarit is generally the one that stays on my camera.