Which 50mm lens for Leica 246 Monochrom?

[thelivingyears]

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I’m about to buy my first Leica M camera. It should be a monochrom camera. Not sure if the M-system will suit me. All (short) manual lenses trials on different systems have not worked out. However, there was always the change to shoot with autofocus which isn’t the case here.

 

I keep on reading about the great sensor of the Leica 246. And pricewise it seems at least doable to me…

 

I want to add a 50mm lens for general shooting and also (predominately?) casual portraits. Which lens would you recommend? As I found out it’s important to also connect emotionally to my cameras (that’s why since I have left Pentax for Sony I hardly take pictures anymore, unless I “have to” (events, family, vacation)… 

That means I’m not sure it one can get emotionally attracted to a Voigtländer lens? Not sure, but if the results are comparable, maybe it works out. I would like to have a lens that renders nicely and fascination. What would you suggest to make the M246 Monochrom shine?

 

Maybe I will not add another lens, so this should be the one that shows the magic this system/camera can do

 

 

[jaapv]

My absolute favourite on a Monochrom is the Voigtländer Nokton 1.5/50

 

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[a.noctilux]

On 9/24/2023 at 1:01 PM, thelivingyears said:

Maybe I will not add another lens, so this should be the one that shows the magic this system/camera can do

The magic of the system can be seen only by you.

No system has magic inbuilt, only using it can tell.

[sometimesmaybe]

On 9/24/2023 at 7:01 PM, thelivingyears said:

I keep on reading about the great sensor of the Leica 246. And pricewise it seems at least doable to me…

 

I want to add a 50mm lens for general shooting and also (predominately?) casual portraits. Which lens would you recommend?

portrait shooter here, but im not a 50mm guy, so i dont have much to add other than some high level comments

you dont need a fast glass on the 246 unless you want the shallow DOF - images even at ISO 10,000 looks good to my eyes. the trade off with fast glass is size and weight - just bear in mind the 246 has all the ergonomic features of a brick...

if you want fast glass have a look the CV 50mm f1.2 (the 35mm version is glued to my 246)

 

 

[kivis]

On 9/24/2023 at 5:26 AM, jaapv said:

My absolute favourite on a Monochrom is the Voigtländer Nokton 1.5/50

 

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I have this lens in Nickel (very cool looking) and I love it, but my gut cries out for the "Cron Ver 6 50mm f2.

[jaapv]

Yes,  I have the Bicolor. and it looks really good

 

 

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good.

[Milan_S]

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I am a big collector of 50mm lenses and the following are some of my favorites on the Monochrom series:

• Summicron Collapsible 50mm f2 (radioactive)
• Summicron 50mm Rigid f2 (v2)
• Light Lens Lab 50mm Elcan
• Zeiss Sonnar 50mm f1.5
• Noctilux-M 50mm f1 E58 
• Noctilux-M 50mm f1 v4
• Noctilux_m 50mm f1.2 (original and reissue)

[jayroon]

The Summicron 50 Rigid is fantastic paired with a M246 Monochrom! Got one a little while ago and it really renders beautifully! Mostly shooting 35mm, got a 35 2.8 Summaron for that. The lower contrast of these older lenses work well with the Monochrom sensor I feel. 

[ramarren]

In the past, I had the Voigtländer Nokton 50mm f/1.5, when I was shooting with the Leica M9. It was a good lens, but I didn't like its rendering until it was stopped down to f/2.8. I bought the Voigtländer Color-Skopar 50mm f/2.5 to try it out ... a nice, small, relatively inexpensive lens! ... and found it excellent. I still have (and use) it. 

The M9 gave way to an M-P 240 when the M9 sensor went bad, rather than paying for the sensor replacement I took Leica's offer. The Color-Skopar 50 worked just as nicely on the M-P 240 sensor; I still had the Nokton 50 but no longer used it. I sold the Nokton 50 (the guy who bought it is delighted with it) and went for a second-hand current series Summicron-M 50mm f/2. There's a reason this lens, with this optical formula, has been in Leica's catalog for decades: it's simply a superb lens, a baseline against which I can measure any other lens. 

I tried to buy an M 246 for most of a year but no one had any to sell me; I bought a Leica SL. I had an M-D 262 for a time (regret selling it), sold the M-P 240 (nice, but I was moving on), used both the Color-Skopar and Summicron 50s on the SL and a CL as well as an M4-2. Both lenses perform wonderfully, with somewhat different character. In 2022, I went for it and bought an M10 Monochrom, a year later added an M10-R and sold the CL. The Summicron-M 50 works brilliantly on both the M10-R and M10 Monochrom: 

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Dining Room Now Open - Santa Clara 2023
Leica M10 Monochrom + Summicron-M 50mm f/2 + Green filter
ISO 160 @ f/2.8 @ 1/250

 

 

White Window Frame - Santa Clara 2023
Leica M10-R + Summicron-M 50mm f/2
ISO 100 @ f/4 @ 1/2000

... and the Color-Skopar 50mm does too: 

Looking Down #2 - Santa Clara 2022
Leica M10 Monochrom + Color-Skopar 50mm f/2.5 + Green filter

IMO, you can never go wrong with a Summicron 50, and the Color-Skoper 50 fits the same description.

G

[Stuart Richardson]

If you want a taste of what Leica is about, it is probably hard to go wrong with a 50mm Summicron of more or less any vintage. They are all still excellent optically, going back to the 50s/60s, and there were a lot of them, so they should be easier to find than many other Leica lenses. They are compact, sharp, easy to handle, widely available and more reasonably priced than most Leica lenses. They were the gold standard of Leica lenses for decades, so it is a very good place to start. There are no shortage of excellent Voigtlander and Zeiss lenses available in M mount, including at least one that will outdo the summicron optically (the 50mm APO Lanthar), but if you want a 50mm in the Leica stable, I think the 50mm Summicron makes the most sense unless you have the financial flexibility to buy the 50mm Summilux ASPH.

Edited October 11, 2023 by Stuart Richardson

[RexGig0]

On 9/24/2023 at 4:01 AM, thelivingyears said:

I’m about to buy my first Leica M camera. It should be a monochrom camera. Not sure if the M-system will suit me. All (short) manual lenses trials on different systems have not worked out. However, there was always the change to shoot with autofocus which isn’t the case here.

 

I keep on reading about the great sensor of the Leica 246. And pricewise it seems at least doable to me…

 

I want to add a 50mm lens for general shooting and also (predominately?) casual portraits. Which lens would you recommend? As I found out it’s important to also connect emotionally to my cameras (that’s why since I have left Pentax for Sony I hardly take pictures anymore, unless I “have to” (events, family, vacation)… 

That means I’m not sure it one can get emotionally attracted to a Voigtländer lens? Not sure, but if the results are comparable, maybe it works out. I would like to have a lens that renders nicely and fascination. What would you suggest to make the M246 Monochrom shine?

 

Maybe I will not add another lens, so this should be the one that shows the magic this system/camera can do

 

 

Yes, one can become emotionally attached to a Voigtlander lens. I will return to this, at the end.

The M Type 246 Monochrom sensor does not please everyone, but, I like it. Its ability to perform well, in low light, at crazy-high ISO settings, is quite notable.

https://www.reddotforum.com/content/2020/05/bw-iso-showdown-2020-leica-m10-monochrom-vs-m-monochrom-typ-246-vs-m10-p-vs-sl2/

The article, in the above link, helped me to persuade myself to remain faithful to the 246 in early 2021, and again in early 2022. In each case, I was contemplating buying a new M10 Monochrom. In 2022, especially, the money I did not spend on an M10 Monochrom enabled me to buy lenses that I really like, so, no regrets. Eventually, I acquired a spare pre-owned M Type 246. My wife is an avid photographer, and has starting dabbling with long-exposure IR. I believe that when she tries IR with a 246, it may well become “her” 246. Meanwhile, I keep a favored 35mm on one 246, and the excellent Elmar-M 24mm ASPH on another 246.

Personally, I have tended to use 35mm and 21mm lenses on the 246, while keeping my favored 50mm lens on my M10. The exception was while my M10 was inoperative, after I clumsily dropped it, while I was still a beginner with the Leica M system. That mishap prompted me to “get back on the horse that threw me,” by purchasing a pre-owned 246 that was fortuitously available at the nearest authorized Leica dealer, Houston Camera Exchange, in Texas. So, I am not the best-qualified to nominate 50mm lenses for the 246. I did use my Summilux-M 50mm ASPH on my 246, while my M10 was down, and liked the results. The Summilux ASPH is never a mistake.

I will also nominate the Summicron-M 50mm, any version. If choosing the first through third version, be sure to do the homework, on selecting such vintage lenses, and their care. The Version IV was introduced in 1979, designed by the legendary, prolific Walter Mandler and his design team. This lens evolved into what many users term the Version V, with the same optical glass elements, but more-modern coatings. I have only used a Summicron made during the Version V time frame, but, not yet on my 246. Collectively, there are plenty of these Versions IV/V available on the pre-owned/used market, so, prices tend to be reasonable. Choose for the somewhat-vintage or more-modern coatings, and whether a focusing tab is your preference.

Finally, back to Voigtlander: Can one become emotionally attached to a Voigtlander? Yes! Cosina Voigtlander knows how to make most excellent lenses. Cosina has manufactured lenses for Carl Zeiss, including SLR lenses to which I developed emotional attachments, before I started using the m system, and the excellent Zeiss Distagon 35mm f/1.4 ZM, which LIVES on my first* 246. The leadership of Cosina are passionate about the Leica M system. The recent best Cosina Voigtlander lenses are as good as anything made anywhere in the world, and some less-recent Cosina Voitlander lenses are favored by some of the best photographers in the world, for various reasons

 

[pedaes]

On 9/24/2023 at 10:01 AM, thelivingyears said:

the magic this system/camera can do

Leica launched the APO-Summicron to compliment the Monochrome sensor, but you need to be commited to both the Monochrome and rangefinder photography before making an investment of that size.

[a.noctilux]

Lastly, I can say that MATE (Tri-Elmar-M 28/35/50) is really magical with M246, even set at 50 which is the less performance setting.

Taking this "vario" for a trip to Reunion Island as companion of other light lenses was a very good idea.

The other lenses are modest Summarit-M 2.5/50 used by the wife and the nice Macro-Elmar-M 90mm we used less than planned.

[algrove]

Probably too late to the party, but I always try to mount the sharpest M lenses on any Monochrom Leica. Sure to the APO 50 and APO 35. For more character try any early lens designed when film cameras were the only way to go.