Best 50mm for M3? (Non-Leica)

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kchoquette

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I'm curious as to what the best fast 50mm for my price range ($500 USD) would be!

Screw mount lenses are totally fine as I plan on buying an LTM to M adapter in the near future anyway.

Only requirement I have is that the lens not protrude so much as to not unbalance the camera. Plan on using this as an everyday lens until I scrape together the cash to buy a 35mm in addition.

Thank you, everyone!
 
Ah a nice simple straightforward question, what a pleasant change! :)

The Canon 50mm 1.5 is a lovely lens IMHO. I also thought the CV Nokton 50/1.5 was a really nice lens (low-ish contrast, very smooth out of focus areas) but may be a bigger/heavier than you'd want.

The current 50mm Zeiss Sonnar can be tricky with focus shift and other oddness when used on digital, but is generally okay on film cameras. They are smaller for a fast 50mm lens but more pricey.

You can see Canon LTM lens comparisons here http://www.dantestella.com/technical/canoleic.html

For film I don't think you need to spend the extra on Leica lenses and that's coming from somebody who used to own a Summilux.
 
i like the traditional leica lens on the m3 just to give it a somewhat authentic flavor, either a summicron collapsible or the summarit 1.5 lens though the latter is a bit too big. I also think Bobfrance's suggestion makes a lot of sense, the canon 1.5 is very compact.

raytoei
 
Nokton 50/1.5. I liked it more than my summicron. Perfect size (not too small, not too big) and close to a pre asph summilux in respect of out of focus areas. Simply a very nice and undervalued lens.
 
The Nokton seems to be right in that pocket of being perfectly priced. As I'm entirely new to Leica and rangefinders as a whole, what kind of adapter would I need in order for that Nokton to be fitted to an M3?

Also looks like that Canon f/1.5 is pretty great. It's a shame both of these lenses are so hard to find on the eBay. I'll have to find some place to get them in the future.

Would you say the Canon f/1.8 is a better choice? I can't help but feel like a lot of the bokeh I've seen on these just has a sort of weirdly detailed quality to it--which is exactly what I'm trying to avoid!
 
Bobfrance said:
Ah a nice simple straightforward question, what a pleasant change! :)

The Canon 50mm 1.5 is a lovely lens IMHO. I also thought the CV Nokton 50/1.5 was a really nice lens (low-ish contrast, very smooth out of focus areas) but may be a bigger/heavier than you'd want.

The current 50mm Zeiss Sonnar can be tricky with focus shift and other oddness when used on digital, but is generally okay on film cameras. They are smaller for a fast 50mm lens but more pricey.

You can see Canon LTM lens comparisons here http://www.dantestella.com/technical/canoleic.html

For film I don't think you need to spend the extra on Leica lenses and that's coming from somebody who used to own a Summilux.
Click to expand...

Bob.....Can you elaborate on how a lens renders differently on digital than it does on film? I have only used these lenses on my M3.

Thanks.
 
Canon 50/1.4, Canon 50/1.5, Nikkor 50/1.4, Voigtlander 50/1.5, all in your budget, depending on what look you want. My personal favorite is the Nikkor. It's also the only of the 4 that will focus down to 0.7m.

If you don't mind smaller, slower, and cheaper, the Canon 50/1.8, Nikkor 50/2 and CV 50/2.5 come to mind. Again, different renderings, depending on which flavor you like (classic Planar, classic Sonnar, modern Planar).

Roland.
 
I love the 50 2.5 CV in LTM, plenty of sharpness with a special signature, not too 'sonnar' not too 'aspherical' somewhere in between, a nice modern rendering for sure. and can be had really cheap nowdays (had it up for sale twice) but I decided to keep it for good now for it's amazing compactness
 
kchoquette said:
The Nokton seems to be right in that pocket of being perfectly priced. As I'm entirely new to Leica and rangefinders as a whole, what kind of adapter would I need in order for that Nokton to be fitted to an M3?

Also looks like that Canon f/1.5 is pretty great. It's a shame both of these lenses are so hard to find on the eBay. I'll have to find some place to get them in the future.

Would you say the Canon f/1.8 is a better choice? I can't help but feel like a lot of the bokeh I've seen on these just has a sort of weirdly detailed quality to it--which is exactly what I'm trying to avoid!
Click to expand...


The Canon 50/1.8 is outstanding if you can get a nice copy. It's easier to find than the 50/1.5, much cheaper, and is very very sharp. The. bokeh from this lens is smooth and painterly. Take a look at what Dante Stella says about it. It's a perfect size, IMO, for a Leica M, smaller than the Nokton 50/1.5 (nice lens but I sold mine b/c it was too large) or Canon 50/1.4. It's well within your budget leaving you lots of $$$ left over for film.
 
ferider said:
Canon 50/1.4, Canon 50/1.5, Nikkor 50/1.4, Voigtlander 50/1.5, all in your budget, depending on what look you want. My personal favorite is the Nikkor. It's also the only of the 4 that will focus down to 0.7m.

Roland.
Click to expand...

I can already tell that the Nikkor needs an adapter to fit the M-mount, but for some reason, I can never get the searches for these dang adapters to show up correctly. I keep winding up with M42 to F-mount or vice versa.
 
You can get a great Summitar for that price, if f/2 is fast enough.

kchoquette said:
I can already tell that the Nikkor needs an adapter to fit the M-mount, but for some reason, I can never get the searches for these dang adapters to show up correctly. I keep winding up with M42 to F-mount or vice versa.
Click to expand...
Don't worry about the brand, just search for "LTM M 50mm adapter". LTM adapters are designed to bring up the correct frame lines, but are all the same otherwise.
 
I own two 50s that are period correct for the M3. Either would be perfect on the M3.
Dual Range Summicron from 1961.
Nikkor 5.0cm/1.4 from 1956 (+ or -). I have a Leitz 50mm adapter for the Nikkor. Works perfectly. They aren't hard to find.

Enjoy!

Wayne
 
ferider said:
Canon 50/1.4, Canon 50/1.5, Nikkor 50/1.4, Voigtlander 50/1.5, all in your budget, depending on what look you want. My personal favorite is the Nikkor. It's also the only of the 4 that will focus down to 0.7m.

If you don't mind smaller, slower, and cheaper, the Canon 50/1.8, Nikkor 50/2 and CV 50/2.5 come to mind. Again, different renderings, depending on which flavor you like (classic Planar, classic Sonnar, modern Planar).

Roland.
Click to expand...


This is a pretty good capsule summary of your options. In the end it all depends on your personal tastes since they all render differently. There's certainly no shortage of options in a 50mm. I would also add a 50/2.8 Elmar - a bit on the slow side but it has the perfect look for B&W.

I currently have a canon 50/1.4, Elmar 50/3.5 (from ~1932 or so), Cron v4. I'm covered from a classic look all the way to modern depending on my mood :)
 
hi, get a c-sonnar, small, sharp, very fast...not so expensive...aprox 1000 on ebay.

Or if you don´t mind spee but you want a lens that render colur beautifuly and is also ultra sharp...go for the MS-optical 50mm f3.5 apoqualia...

Bye!
 
Another vote for Canon 50/1.4. I think it's quality is not unlike the Summilux, from shots I have seen from the latter lens.

Randy
 
Get a Jupiter-3 for Kiev/Contax mount and buy an Amadeo adapter for contax to M or screw mount.

The Jupiter-3 is a copy of the Zeiss sonnar, has a very nice F1.5 max aperture, and the Kiev mount version is made of steel and has click stop aperture settings - awesome lens.

Price point for the lens: anywhere from $50 to $120, price for adapter - around $200 if I remember correctly.

Otherwise you can buy an LTM Jupiter-3 for around $150-$300 but it will likely need collimation (Not difficult but some people are scared to get their hands dirty)
 
I've seen some amazing results from the Jupiter 8. Had I not found a sweet deal on a Leica M3 + DR Summicron, I would have probably gone for the J8.
 
My girlfriend picked up a 50/3.5 elmar in LTM mount, it's a little slow, but it's extremely compact when collapsed, it's also extremely sharp, has beautiful swirly bokeh, and a nice little 3D effect on some photos. I picked up a 50/2.8 elmar in M mount after and it performed more or less the same :)

Both are a little slow, but I've been able to successfully shoot indoors with both. They also make my M8 and M5 kit much smaller.
 
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