Tiny 50mm

[Olaf_ZG]

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50mm is my most used f/l, have a sonnar, summilux and a planar. The first two for how they draw/render, the latter for its size. The first two are here to stay. The planar is nice, but still…

I recently bought a 28mm summaron. Cause of its size, and suddenly I understand comments of people putting their M in their coat. The summaron is tiny…

In comparison, the planar is big, huge 😇, though so light compared to my silver summilux.

Now, there is this tiny heliar 40mm, which is like a summaron, may be even renders like it, but framelines might not be perfect.

Is there a tiny modern 50mm m-mount out there? 

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[wda]

A modern 50mm Elmarit. Collapses when travelling. 

[a.noctilux]

I had Elmar-M 2.8/50 collapsible

now Summarit-M 2.5/50 not collapsible but "tiny" and very good optical quality from wide open.

https://wiki.l-camera-forum.com/leica-wiki.en/index.php/50mm_f/2.5_Summarit-M

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[Olaf_ZG]

8 minutes ago, Al Brown said:

The summicron 40 is the closest contender.

This one is in my mind, but then, not a 50. Not sure if the framelines will bother me.

[jeri]

Very simple. From the time I got acquainted with the LLL Elcan 50/2, the lens does not 'come off' the camera.

[pgk]

1 hour ago, Olaf_ZG said:

Is there a tiny modern 50mm m-mount out there? 

The Summarit (2.4 or 2.5). Great little lenses now climbing in price secondhand as people are starting to appreciate them (I have the 35).

[FrozenInTime]

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27 minutes ago, jeri said:

Very simple. From the time I got acquainted with the LLL Elcan 50/2, the lens does not 'come off' the camera.

There have been reports of difficulty dismounting the LLL ELCAN  https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1625479/18😉 

[JoshuaR]

I love my tiny 50mm Elmar-M and pair it with my 28mm Summaron for the tiniest M kit. It's awesome to have 28 and 50 in a coat pocket this way. The Elmar-M is quite modern; mine also came 6-bit coded from KEH. It was a very affordable lens. I pair it with the Summaron, even though they don't really go together from a rendering perspective; I suspect that the LLL 50 Elcan would be a better fit, and have been thinking of trying one out, but that would give me two compact 50s, and I don't see myself selling the Elmar-M.

The 40 Summicron is definitely interesting, and would be even faster, but I think I prefer 28 / 50 to 28 / 40 as a pair. The Elmar-M is just slightly fiddly, because you have to extend it. But the Summaron is also fiddly, so I figure that's okay. 

Two non-complicated recent Elmar-M snapshots, with the M10M and M10:

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[rtai]

The smallest great performing 50mm is the Voigtlander 50mm f2.5 Color Skopar. It’s made of brass with black paint and has an ergonomic finger tab. It’s a screwmount lens but there are adapters. It’s long discontinued and at cult status prices.

[dpitt]

My preferred tiny lens (all FL) is the 40mm Summicron, adapted to bring up 35mm frames in stead of the 50mm frames. Fits perfectly for framing on the inside, even better than the 35mm lens, or that is just me who finds a 35mm just a bit too wide. But that might throw you off if you really want something much tighter than the 35mm.

The 40 mm is for me the best alrounder. Fast enough for inside. Wide enough for cramped places inside and outside like in narrow streets. Vintage rendering, but closer to the Summicron 50 v5 than the Summicron v1 and v2. Tabbed (knob) and one of the smallest lenses. Small disadvantage is the strange filter thread. E39 filters fit but you need to carefully tighten them. The rubber hood helps for the tiny classification. I think it is the smallest 50-ish when the hood is mounted, still ready for the coat pocket with the collapsed rubber.

I have the old version 50mm Elmar M. Really good and sharp, but a bit 'boringly good/consistent' for me.
If I need a real pocketable 50, then my choice is the Summicron 50 v1 collapsible. Much more exciting to use, more difference in rendering wide open, compared to stopped down, almost as playful with light as a Summilux wide open and very close to the current Summicron's when stopped down. Could be hard to find one without cleaning marks because the front coating is one of the softest ever. Mine is in very good condition and I put a filter on it after  he CLA 10 years ago. It has never been touched since. I think it is one of the best 50's for portraits, and with current high resolution M's you could easily crop it to 70 or 90 mm.
It can be very sharp if you skip wide open and do some PP.

I think these where wide open with M8+50cron_v1:

Last one is a quite agressive crop (1/3 of the M8 frame)

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Edited December 18, 2023 by dpitt

[muskyvibes]

@Olaf_ZG
 

I would say the LLL Elcan reissue is the best tiny most practical 50mm. The IQ is very nice. 

If you want modern rendering then the VL Nokton 50f1.5 II MC. 

The Summarit 50f2.4. 

Edited December 19, 2023 by muskyvibes

[Brilliant Observer]

I have some tiny 50mm lenses. The best tiny 50mm is summarit F2.5 (same IQ as 2.4 but smaller), it is the seconds sharpest 50mm after apo. LLL elcan is the best third party 50mm, IQ is better than summarit 2.5 in black and white film. 

[Alberti]

This summer I bought an Elmar 50mm f/3.5 LTM. Witha m-adapter. The best: it is the size of a body cap. The good: sharp, colourfull, small. Bad: likes summer. And what about 1000mm vs 70cm? You must accept that as a fact of life.

The Summarit is the most brilliant solution do.

There is also a M-native bayonet version; I use a KIPON adapter from the amazone. 

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[mediumformula]

The Summarit 50 2.5 is a very compact and sharp lens as others have stated.   I also really enjoy the collapsable Summicron v1, and the 50 Summicron v4 is pretty compact as well.   For vintage LTM lenses, check out the 50/2.5 Hektor.  It's about the size of the 3.5 Elmar but is a stop faster.  I use it on my Barnacks.  

[Olaf_ZG]

Thank you all for your feedback. I decided to go for a 35mm instead (a kind of test), so will not yet invest in another 50mm.