Is there an M (or LTM) lens that 'renders like' the Zeiss 45mm/f2 Planar for Contax G-series?

Erik van Straten said:
Just look for a nice looking Summar.

gelatin silver print (summar 50mm f2) leica ll

Amsterdam, Museumplein, 2020

Erik.

View attachment 4826809
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Good photo! 😃

While I don't have a Summar, I do have a Summitar (which I've not taken out for a while, but will soon) and have an awfully nice collapsible Summicron which I have taken out recently:


I have M-Hexanon 50mm/f2 and Elmar-M 50mm/f2.8 lenses I really like, too. (Plus, I've just bought this 45mm/f2 Planar conversion...)

For "fast" 50s, I have a ZM C-Sonnar 50mm/f1.5 and Canon 50mm/f1.4 in LTM. Further, and if I really want to work with shallow depth-of-field, I can use my good old (big old) 75mm/f1.4 Summilux (the Mandler-designed one).

Those are the reasons I'm not (especially) looking for an expensive new fast 50mm. On the 35mm front, I have an excellent 35mm/f3.5 Summaron (in LTM, with converter) and also a Konica UC-Hexanon 35mm/f2 (LTM, with converter) and M-Hexanon 35mm/f2. So it's not as if I'm short of decent 35mm lenses. I just don't have one faster than f2 - which I'm half-thinking of using as "my excuse".

...Mike
 
Freakscene said:
That’s very nice, but good Summars are rarer than converted Contax G Planars. By a good margin.
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mfunnell said:
Good photo! 😃

While I don't have a Summar, I do have a Summitar (which I've not taken out for a while, but will soon) and have an awfully nice collapsible Summicron which I have taken out recently:


I have M-Hexanon 50mm/f2 and Elmar-M 50mm/f2.8 lenses I really like, too. (Plus, I've just bought this 45mm/f2 Planar conversion...)

For "fast" 50s, I have a ZM C-Sonnar 50mm/f1.5 and Canon 50mm/f1.4 in LTM. Further, and if I really want to work with shallow depth-of-field, I can use my good old (big old) 75mm/f1.4 Summilux (the Mandler-designed one).

Those are the reasons I'm not (especially) looking for an expensive new fast 50mm. On the 35mm front, I have an excellent 35mm/f3.5 Summaron (in LTM, with converter) and also a Konica UC-Hexanon 35mm/f2 (LTM, with converter) and M-Hexanon 35mm/f2. So it's not as if I'm short of decent 35mm lenses. I just don't have one faster than f2 - which I'm half-thinking of using as "my excuse".

...Mike
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Then you have enough stuff to shoot for many years! Yes, the collapsible Summicron is very nice, but clean, unscratched ones are rare as hen's teeth!

gelatin silver print (collapsible summicron 50mm f2) leica mp

Athens, 2006

Erik.

1694789197371.png
 
mfunnell said:
I am contemplating (without committing to) one or more latest-and-greatest Summilux lenses. I don't think I can charge my residual work enough for those :unsure::eek:😂

I think I've given away my idea of an M Monochrom (of whichever generation) as a way of spending some funds I might be receiving. So I've moved my thoughts on to lenses. While the converted G-Planar I've just bought is expensive enough, it doesn't even come close to modern new Leica pricing.

I've also been running through my stable of 50mm lenses and wondering: "just what, exactly (!!) would a modern Summilux do for me that isn't done almost as well by a lens I already have?" To which my only rational answer is: "very little". So I think a 50 is off my list. At least if I pretend to rationality.

However: I don't have a faster-than-f2 35mm - so I'm allowing myself to be tempted by the latest Leica 35mm/f1.4 ASPH, despite the eye-watering price-tag. That might well be my next irrational purchase. (If the funds come through, and if I depart enough from sanity.)

...Mike
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A Summilux 35mm f/1.4 (v2, circa 1972) is probably my most-used lens on both M10-R and M10 Monochrom. It has a beautiful look from wide open to fully stopped down; it's tiny; and it has an excellent clip-on hood that carries a filter as needed (so I can pop it off when I need that extra stop or two of light in a hurry). While not the world beating resolution and 'accuracy' of the current generation ASPH lenses, I love its rendering and size. Very very sharp from f/5.6, beautiful look of a light Zeiss Softar filter wide open. ;)


Surprised - Sunnyvale 2015
Leica M-P + Summilux 35mm f/1.4 (v2)
ISO 200 @ f/2 @ 1/90​

No, it's not for sale... :D

G
 
mfunnell said:
However: I don't have a faster-than-f2 35mm - so I'm allowing myself to be tempted by the latest Leica 35mm/f1.4 ASPH, despite the eye-watering price-tag. That might well be my next irrational purchase. (If the funds come through, and if I depart enough from sanity.)

...Mike
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While it isn't a lens with a modern rendering, why not get a Voigtlander 35mm ƒ/1.4 Nokton? If you get the second generation, you don't even have to deal with focus shift! It's meant to be a copy of the V1 Summilux 35 and you can get it single or multicoated. Only issue if it matters to you is its barrel distortion.

For a 35mm with a more modern rendering, look into the Zeiss ZM 35mm ƒ/1.4 Distagon.
 
mfunnell said:
I'm just wondering whether there's a Leica RF-mount lens which renders like the Zeiss 45mm/f2 Planar AF lens I have for my old (now much unused) Contax G2. If there is, could someone tell me?

While I am talking at the moment (elsewhere on RFF) about B&W only, here I'm more thinking of colour rendering (though rendering with B&W matters too). I can recall really liking the 'look' I could get with colour photos from my G2/45mm combo.

Now, the (very) obvious answer to this might well be "the ZM 50mm/f2 Planar, of course". If that's so then tell me - I've not tried that lens, thus I've no idea if it renders like the one for Contax G-series or not. Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't, and maybe there's something else similar or closer. Who knows 🤷‍♂️ Certainly not me.

I was hunting around for something to illustrate the 'look' I'm thinking of, and the only photo which came readily to hand was this:
View attachment 4826160

Also of course, that 'look' very much depends on the film used (Portra 400 VC for this one), the development, the scanning, whatever post-processing I did or didn't do etc. (For example, a later shot, of the water cannon, from the same day - 16 freakin' years ago! - was from Portra 400 NC: a different scan from a different film etc. That one needed correcting for a nasty yellow-green colour-cast so isn't a good way to illustrate what I'm after.)

Any answers will be much appreciated :)

...Mike
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I have both. In fact once it was clear that Kyocera was never going to even service the G cameras, I decided to go back to Leica, went out and started replacing my core G lenses with ZM equivalents, which I use for both film as digital shooting.

Are they exactly the same? Is that even a useful question? They are excellent in the same ways. I do know that I like them a lot, they let me feel confident in what gets onto the film plane.

(Snap: this one was shot w/50 planar & scanned through a plastic negative sleeve and yet is still imo pretty snappy, which is what I love about the Zeiss lenses for G or M)

bjorke_MonoQuick_LKAB6169.jpg
 
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mfunnell said:
For "fast" 50s, I have a ZM C-Sonnar 50mm/f1.5 and Canon 50mm/f1.4 in LTM. Further, and if I really want to work with shallow depth-of-field, I can use my good old (big old) 75mm/f1.4 Summilux (the Mandler-designed one).

Those are the reasons I'm not (especially) looking for an expensive new fast 50mm. On the 35mm front, I have an excellent 35mm/f3.5 Summaron (in LTM, with converter) and also a Konica UC-Hexanon 35mm/f2 (LTM, with converter) and M-Hexanon 35mm/f2. So it's not as if I'm short of decent 35mm lenses. I just don't have one faster than f2 - which I'm half-thinking of using as "my excuse".
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If you have enough space to take 1-3 steps back, the 75 Summilux is a much better lens than any spherical M mount 50mm lens.
1694829324357.jpeg
If your main aim is to use the 35 with live view the pre-fle 35 Summilux ASPH is lovely. But the focus does shift quite a lot between f2 and f4. Depth of field catches up by f5.6.

1694829398419.jpeg
 
mfunnell said:
I am probably madder than a meat-axe for doing this, but I've just ordered the lens you referenced. I can only🤞that it will deliver what I'm after.

I received some more money than I thought I would for recent (and somewhat difficult) work in my "semi-retirement", so it won't bust my budget. We'll see how it all works out...

...Mike

P.S. "semi-retirement" isn't proving to be as "semi" as I'd prefer. Still: any money I receive from that work I can treat as "free cash" to do with as I will. So it has it's benefits as well.
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An update on this: I have now received the lens (just this morning). Some quick test shots show it focuses well with my camera, so now I just need the opportunity to see how it works with my M240. An indulgence, true, but one I look forward to indulging :)

...Mike
1698293041575.jpeg
 
@mfunnell Congratulations! I'm wondering if this needs shims to calibrate exact focus on a specific body? Fingers crossed that this works for you, the Contax G lenses have a lovely, unique rendering. They are in part why I got the Zeiss Ikon and Zeiss ZM lenses backin 2008, I wanted a rangefinder experience with current Zeiss lenses. Happy shooting!
 
Hello,
I am the former owner of the lens and had used some of the provided shims during conversion to have this 45/2 lens exactly calibrated on a calibrated digital Leica M.
I also tested the lens on a M3 .

Best regards, Jean-Marc.
 
So you ended up going for a converted 45mm ƒ/2 ? I can't tell from the picture.
mfunnell said:
An update on this: I have now received the lens (just this morning). Some quick test shots show it focuses well with my camera, so now I just need the opportunity to see how it works with my M240. An indulgence, true, but one I look forward to indulging :)

...Mike
View attachment 4828336
Click to expand...
 
I've barely had a chance to 'play' with this lens properly, but I did manage to go into central Sydney today, and will go through the photos to see what I can find. But until I've done that, here's the first photo I took this morning, trying to get an idea of how it renders the colours of a Jacaranda by a house near my local train station. My first impression is: "it renders them pretty well":
1698469615993.jpeg

I'll go through the rest of today's take in a little while, but thought I’d put this in as a placeholder.

...Mike
 
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mfunnell said:
I've barely had a chance to 'play' with this lens properly, but I did manage to go into central Sydney today, and will go through the photos to see what I can find. But until I've done that, here's the first photo I took this morning, trying to get an idea of how it renders the colours of a Jacaranda by a house near my local train station. My first impression is: "it renders them pretty well":

I'll go through the rest of today's take in a little while, but thought I’d put this in as a placeholder.

...Mike
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That certainly looks decent. Now that you have a proper Planar 45 for your M240, you might like to use some reference photos and adjust the M240 colours until they are as similar to your film photos as you can get, then create a preset with those settings.
 
mfunnell said:
I've barely had a chance to 'play' with this lens properly, but I did manage to go into central Sydney today, and will go through the photos to see what I can find. But until I've done that, here's the first photo I took this morning, trying to get an idea of how it renders the colours of a Jacaranda by a house near my local train station. My first impression is: "it renders them pretty well":
View attachment 4828420

I'll go through the rest of today's take in a little while, but thought I’d put this in as a placeholder.

...Mike
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Some of the photos I took today (including the one above) are on Flickr at:
www.flickr.com

First shots with Zeiss G Planar 45mm/f2 lens converted for Leica

These are some of the first shots I've taken with a Zeiss G mount Planar 45mm/f2 lens converted to Leica M mount (a lens I've just recently received).
www.flickr.com www.flickr.com

...Mike
 
I’ve just been reflecting on the, um, international flavour of all this:

A German-designed Zeiss 45mm/f2 Planar lens for the autofocus Contax G-series rangefinder system (made in Japan after Yashica was bought by Kyocera) converted to the Leica M manual focus system with a kit from Hong Kong based Funleader, bought from a Paris camera store on consignment from the guy who did the conversion, who lives in Brazil, by someone in Sydney who has now mounted it on his German-made camera.

Somehow that seems like .. something 🤷‍♂ :unsure:

…Mike
 
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