Lens Recommendation for new to me M3

[SometimesLostInSpace]

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Good morning. I recently purchased a very nice Canada body M3 without a lens. This is my third Leica but my first M. That said, I'm looking for 50mm lens recommendations for that M.

I am certainly not opposed to a Leica 50mm lens but they easily run to the upper end of my budget.  The Voigtlander Nokton f/1.5 is a modern lens that is of interest to me but I would like something a little more period correct to go with that M3 - Serial number puts it at early 1960.

What am I overlooking?

Edited 1 hour ago by SometimesLostInSpace
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[costa43]

I’d go for a 50mm Summicron v4/v5 if budget allows. If you want a lower cost option then it’s hard to overlook the Canon 50mm f1.4 ltm for something vintage. If you want something from the same era as the m3 then a collapsible Summicron is a good bet.

It could be worth bearing in mind that your rangefinder unless adjusted will focus to 1m so a lens that focuses closer than that may not be as natural to use for you. Some people do not mind but with film, it bothers me when the lens focuses closer than the rangefinder. The M3 can be adjusted though to focus closer if you wish. Or you may be lucky and have one that is already adjusted! If not then the Canon is a nice pairing as that lens focuses down to 1m only and opens up to f1.4.

 

 

Edited 1 hour ago by costa43

[TomB_tx]

Welcome to the club - my M3 is also 1960. I think the perfect lens for it is the Summicron "Rigid" or ver 2, which was a very common pairing at that time. The later Summicron models have incrementally higher contrast wide open, but the Rigid favors resolution over contrast. I also have v3 & 5 Summicrons, but on M3 the Rigid is my favorite. In 1960 the first Summilux model was available, but the Summicron out performs it.

I also use the 50 1.5 Nokton on my later M models, and it is excellent, with the latest version a nice small size as well. On film the f1.4-5 is attractive, but I used my f2.0 Summicron for available light on film Ms for 40 years, so a faster lens isn't essential - more of a status symbol than a need.

Another option is the Zeiss Planar ZM 50 f2.  modern high-contrast lens that is about equal to the later Summicrons, but much cheaper.

Light Lens Labs also now makes a copy of the Summicron Rigid with look, feel, and performance very close to the original. It does focus closer than the original Rigid. I got one and have been impressed by it compared to my 2 original Rigid Summicrons, once DAG adjusted the focus calibration. Of course many wouldn't mate a Chinese lens to a Leica.

Edited 1 hour ago by TomB_tx

[otto.f]

1 hour ago, SometimesLostInSpace said:

but they easily run to the upper end of my budget.

The best price-performance ratio of all Leica M lenses has the Elmar-M 50mm. It's not a modern lens in my view, but if you want it a bit older I would recomand the Summicron 50 iv with the separate hood.

Edited 57 minutes ago by otto.f

[UliWer]

47 minutes ago, SometimesLostInSpace said:

What am I overlooking?

The rigid 50mm Summicron. You may find one frome the same time as your M3 for the price of 1.5 Nokton or not much more expensive. 

When it comes to Canon lenses, I'd recommend to have a look at the 50mm 1:2.2 (yes 2.2, not 1.2). It was made in 1963 in a small series and you will have to look at sellers from Japan to find one. This is a lens smaller than most 50mm lenses  but when I compared it with the rigid Summicron the results from the Canon were better. The 1.4 or 1.8 Canon lenses with 50mm don't show the same resolution as the Summicron.