Advice for 50mm

[lct]

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48 minutes ago, jacopastorius said:

have you ever tried the sonnar?

Yes i own one too. It has not the relative harshness of the Planar and it is more compact than the latter. It has the same size as the Nokton 50/1.5 if you see what i mean. I like the Sonnar very much actually but mainly in LV mode as it suffers from focus shift in RF mode. I find this effect less annoying on the M11 than on the M240 though, i don't know why.

[Robert Blanko]

If I would have to make a decision for a single 50mm lens within the budget of about 1k€, I would go for the Voigtländer 50mm Nokton 1.2 which has already been mentioned in other posts above.

The Zeiss 50 Sonnar is a mixed bag. Slightly more busy bokeh at 1.5 which softens at 2.0. It has more "character" than the Nokton and focus shift can also be an issue. I would not select the Sonnar as first and only 50mm lens.

[jgeenen]

There are some websites that extensively discuss mid-priced 50mm lenses for Leica. If you don't know them already, it might be worthwhile to take a look:

Focus shift: a street photography blog — 47 Degrees

50mm Recommended List – Leica Lenses for Normal People

 

[jacopastorius]

23 hours ago, spydrxx said:

If you're looking for vintage Leica 50s prices you would do well to check completed auction prices (not asking prices) on Ebay. They are pretty representative of used vintage lenses in varying degrees of condition. To me, the questions of greater importance are what subjects do you primarily shoot and what rendering is most appealing to you. Although I have several 50 Summicron versions, I prefer earlier ones. If I want really sparkly shots, I find the 50 Zeiss Planar does the job well, and for a good middle of the road 50 I also enjoy the older Canon Serenar 50/1.8 (LTM with a LTM->M adapter mount), which IMHO surpasses the early Summicrons and is a lot less expensive. Besides using it on my film body and (non-Leica) digital bodies, I can use it on my older Leica Barnack bodies. But, as you can tell from the spread of answers, everyone has their own favorites. Whatever you choose, take a good year to familiarize yourself with its nuances and capabilities to determine if it suits your style and needs. It is hard to go wrong with almost any of the choices in this focal length.

Maybe the canon plus the adapter protrudes into the frame lines of the rangefinder?

Edited July 12 by jacopastorius

[widi5006]

16 hours ago, jacopastorius said:

many thanks for the detailed descriptions! after viewing some recipes and image samples I have to say that I am impressed b voigtlander apo lanthar. I think I have to decide between this and Leica summicron. How can I identify the V5?

The Summicron V5 has the integral hood that pops out and locks in place....the V4 doesn't, other than that I think they are optically the same. it will also depend on what you want to shoot....for landscape, architecture, food & product photography I would pick the Voigtlander Apo for sure....it is basically perfect across the frame. The summicron has more "character", great for portraits and as an all-around lens...and it is smaller and lighter. Depending on where you live the price of a new Voigtlander APO and a used Summicron may not be too far apart...

[sinquerer]

18 hours ago, jacopastorius said:

many thanks for the detailed descriptions! after viewing some recipes and image samples I have to say that I am impressed b voigtlander apo lanthar. I think I have to decide between this and Leica summicron. How can I identify the V5?

I went the other way. I owned the Apo-Lanthar and after that I bought the 50 Summicron V5 which is what I shoot now and my favorite lens of all time. Nothing compares. 

The IQ of the APO Lanthar is flawless, but I got sick of carrying it around (size and weight. A 50f2 shouldn't be that big), and also I wanted a bit more character to my photos. The Mandler lens has that Leica magic. The APO Lanthar is technically flawless but lacks that magic for me.

Edited July 13 by sinquerer

[widi5006]

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11 hours ago, jgeenen said:

There are some websites that extensively discuss mid-priced 50mm lenses for Leica. If you don't know them already, it might be worthwhile to take a look:

Focus shift: a street photography blog — 47 Degrees

50mm Recommended List – Leica Lenses for Normal People

 

I had not seen the "Leica lenses for normal people" website....great read, thanks for sharing !

[LeicaR10]

Jacopastorius,   You might want to consider how the lens renders.  Here is a site that provides many photographs taken with different Leica M lenses and other manufacturers taken with various Leica M cameras and other brands.  It might help you decide on what is best for your genre of photography.  r/ Mark

Try:  50mm Leica Summicron  https://onfotolife.com/lens_sample_photos?lens_id=372&page=4&focal_min=0&focal_max=800&aperture_min=0&aperture_max=32

Try:   https://onfotolife.com/lenses?lens=Voigtlander

Try:   https://onfotolife.com

Edited July 13 by LeicaR10

[jacopastorius]

8 hours ago, LeicaR10 said:

Jacopastorius,   You might want to consider how the lens renders.  Here is a site that provides many photographs taken with different Leica M lenses and other manufacturers taken with various Leica M cameras and other brands.  It might help you decide on what is best for your genre of photography.  r/ Mark

Try:  50mm Leica Summicron  https://onfotolife.com/lens_sample_photos?lens_id=372&page=4&focal_min=0&focal_max=800&aperture_min=0&aperture_max=32

Try:   https://onfotolife.com/lenses?lens=Voigtlander

Try:   https://onfotolife.com

many thanks! great resource. I have to say I like summicron soooo much. I think I'll go for it

[spydrxx]

Although some of the 50s slightly protrude into the framelines, it is negligible until you get into the f/1.4 and larger aperture models, which by necessity have a larger diameter. You just learn ro deal with it.

[Don Flynn]

On 7/12/2025 at 8:45 AM, lct said:

Another vote for the ZM Planar 50/2. Almost perfect lens with less flare and less color fringing than the Summicron but also more contrast, which can be perceived as too harsh for gentle portraits. The Planar has a focus bump and a separate bayonet hood, like other ZM lenses, and it has a short focus throw. It can be pen coded easily the same way as other ZM lenses too.

What he said

[jacopastorius]

I finally decided for sunnicron V5. can anyone confirm that the V5 does not block the viewfinder with the hood inside? and what about when the hood extended?

[lct]

2 hours ago, jacopastorius said:

I finally decided for sunnicron V5. can anyone confirm that the V5 does not block the viewfinder with the hood inside? and what about when the hood extended?

Depends on the focus distance. At infinity no VF blockage when the hood is collapsed and a bit of it when it is extended. At MFD, a bit of it when collapsed and more so when extended.

[pippy]

5 hours ago, jacopastorius said:

I finally decided for sunnicron V5...

I doubt that you will be disappointed with your choice.

Happy Shooting!

P.

[Riccardo.asselta]

Ho ed ho avuto diversi 50mm, che è la mia focale preferita. Secondo me una lente dal rapporto qualità-prezzo interessante è il Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f1,2, fantastico sotto tutti i punti di vista. Dopotutto per essere un f1,2 non è tanto grande. Lo trovi a molto men di 1000 € usato. L’ho venduto per far posto al Summilux. Il Sonnar è una lente fantastica, ma come ti hanno già detto molto altalenante, in condizioni di luce particolare tira fuori autentici capolavori oppure pessime foto. Ho avuto il Summicron V5 ed è una bella lente. L’ultimo acquisto è stato il Summicron Rigid (V2) del 1961 e ora faccio fatica a staccarlo dalla mia M10P a discapito del Summilux, però è molto difficile trovarne uno in buone condizioni. 

[lct]

20 hours ago, Riccardo.asselta said:

[...] L’ultimo acquisto è stato il Summicron Rigid (V2) del 1961 e ora faccio fatica a staccarlo dalla mia M10P a discapito del Summilux, però è molto difficile trovarne uno in buone condizioni. 

Great lens indeed. Hard to unstick my DR from the M11. Good condition Rigid (11818) and DR (11918) Summicron 50/2 copies can be found on e**y from time to time. I got my pristine DR sans goggles for 700 EUR there but the market seems closer to 1,500/2,000 EUR for flawless Rigids sold by reputed dealers.

[catacore]

25 minutes ago, lct said:

Great lens indeed. Hard to unstick my DR from the M11. Good condition Rigid (11818) and DR (11918) Summicron 50/2 copies can be found on e**y from time to time. I got my pristine DR sans goggles for 700 EUR there but the market seems closer to 1,500/2,000 EUR for flawless Rigids sold by reputed dealers.

That DR won't work with @jacopastorius's M10. Can't focus (rotate) past a certain distance (like 3-5m) - unable to reach infinity. Unless the lens will have some filling done....

[lct]

1 hour ago, catacore said:

That DR won't work with @jacopastorius's M10 [...]

Neither with my M240 but i referred to the M11 above.

[Jeff S]

On 7/13/2025 at 10:38 AM, jacopastorius said:

I finally decided for sunnicron V5. can anyone confirm that the V5 does not block the viewfinder with the hood inside? and what about when the hood extended?

The v.5 Summicron is the current version and can be bought new or used.  Be aware that it lacks a focus tab, unlike the prior version but does have the built-in hood, as noted.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[Riccardo.asselta]

18 hours ago, catacore said:

Quel DR non funzionerà con@jacopastoriusM10. Non riesco a mettere a fuoco (ruotare) oltre una certa distanza (come 3-5 m) - non riesco a raggiungere l'infinito. A meno che l'obiettivo non abbia un po' di riempimento...

Per questo motivo avendo la M10P ho optato per la versione Rigid, che ha lo stesso schema ottico, certo la messa a fuoco più ravvicinata sarebbe stato un plus.