Recommend a 50mm below 1000$

I think the current Zeiss lenses are out of your budget range, unless you want to look for used copies. The Zeiss ZM Planar 50 is listed at B&H at $999, and the C-Sonnar 50 is over $1300 USD. These are terrific lenses, but if you are looking for something under $1K USD you will need to look elsewhere ... and seriously consider buying used.

Apart from price, what camera are you using? What "look" do you want from a lens? Are you looking for a lens that is sharp sharp sharp... or for one that is sharp enough but also has some other qualities that fit your photography.

Voigtlander's recent lenses look really impressive, and some are w/in your budget. See some of the responses above. As a regular user of Voigtlander lenses, I think the quality of construction and optics are first rate... best bet if you want to buy new. In the last year or so, I've acquired the new Heliar Classic 50/1.5 (admittedly, a kind or unique lens), and the Heliar 40mm f2.8 in LTM mount; both retail new for under $1K. The new Voigtlander Nokton and APO Lanthars I have not tried, but others, including in this thread, highly recommend them. From what I see, recent Voigtlander rangefinder lenses just keeping better and better.

If you're willing to explore the used market, and include "vintage" lenses in your search, my list of top 50mm lenses for under $1K (in some instances, well under...) include:

-Voigtlander Color Skopar 50mm f2.5

-Canon 50s, including the f1.4 and f1.8

-Nikkor-HC and -SC 50mm f2.0 (the HC is LTM; the -SC is S-mount, but usable on any LTM or M-mount camera w/ an adapter)

-Leitz Summitar 50mm f2.0 (made from 1939 to the early 1950s; the post-war lenses were coated)
 
Bille said:
I lost track of all the lenses released in the last couple years.

Is there a consensus on what is a really good affordable 50mm lens for Leica M (new or used)?

Was thinking to get a Planar 50/2 ZM but there may be better options from Voigtländer or the new Chinese brands.
Click to expand...

Hard to go past the Voigtlander lineup in that price bracket. All of their current 50mm options come in under $1000usd except the 50/f1.0 Nokton.

The ‘best’ really comes down to personal preference - do you want fast, compact, modern, classic, multi or single coated etc…?

Ultra-modern - 50/f2 APO-Skopar
Classic - 50/f1.5 and f3.5 Heliar
Middle-ground - 50/f1.2 and f1.5 Nokton

The v1 50/f1.5 Nokton also makes a great used option.
 
If you are not a fan on the sonnar lenses and don't want to go for the older ones like the canon 50mm 1.4, jupiter etc then it will be between the zeiss planar 50mm f2, nokton 50mm1.5 or the APO Voigtlander. Chinese brands are OK but these three are better. I didn't have the budget for the APO so went with the nokton ltm for film. If I had a digital M then I would have gone with the planar and if I had digital and your budget the APO.
 
You posted for "under $1,000"- what is your actual budget?

Canon 50/1.4: very prone to having damaged glass behind the aperture, have a return privilege.

Jupiter-3 is a 50mm F1.5, wide variation in quality and most must be shimmed to work on a Leica. Buy one that has been adjusted and after seeing images from it.

Under $1000 USD: The Voigtlander 50/1.2 Aspheric is Fast, not too big, and sharp.

Under $500 USD: Used Voigtlander 50/1.5 in LTM. These lenses are 20 years old now, as with any used item- needs to have been taken care of.
 
I thought this might be useful...

I made an album on Flickr.com containing test shots with the Leica Summicron-M 50mm and the Voigtländer Color Skopar 50mm of a static scene (my bookcase, room light only) at all apertures. I set the camera and bookcase at an angle so you could see the depth of field change both near and far in a modest range, and the primary focus distance is about 5.5 feet. The image title shows what lens and aperture was used, the comment field says whether the lens profile was turned on (only for the Summicron) or off.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/gdgphoto/6T90482Ho0

Enjoy! G
 
All in all, the output of the CV 2,5/50 LTM has consistently been the most pleasing to my eye. Erik has posted many samples here of his gelatin prints. That would be my vote for <$1000.
 
james.liam said:
All in all, the output of the CV 2,5/50 LTM has consistently been the most pleasing to my eye. Erik has posted many samples here of his gelatin prints. That would be my vote for <$1000.
Click to expand...

Hard to argue with this. I agree it’s a terrific lens with outstanding build quality.
 
Bille said:
... potential headaches with used gear

...
Click to expand...
This is where your problem is.


Latest Elmar-M 50 2.8 is under 1K USD and it is zero issues used. I had one. One of the best Leica M lenses I ever had.
Safest bet is local classifieds and just able to wait for good deal. And ebay is not bad either.

But.
New Nokton 50 1.5 II is hundreds $ well bellow 1K USD even new. And even previous version was totally fine @1.5.
Same for ZM 50/2. Prices went down. New now is as much as I paid for used five or so years ago.
 
james.liam said:
Why did you sell?
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I'm not into 50 lenses. Leitz lenses used to be more affordable, I just tried most of them and sold. It was about see how they were build, Leica rendering, but not a lot of use, comparing to 35mm lenses.

Now I have 50 1.8 Canon LTM from Helen Hill and J3 with help by Max Aleshin. Both lenses are optically clean, I shimmed, CLA'd them and it is enough.
 
I chime in with the Industar 61 ld 50mm 2.8. I bought it with two lens caps (aka Fed 5b) for 20 Euros. If you don‘t like it, just use it as a body cap. I can assure you that it is a stellar lens, just replace the organic lubricant with synthetic grease.
 
With that budget, you're basically spoilt for choice, especially if you buy used. The good thing about this forum is that for any given lens, you can usually find a thread with loads of image samples. As nickthetasmaniac said, it comes down to your preference. Not everyone has the same definition of "modern" or "vintage/classic", so I find image samples really helpful in evaluating for oneself. For example, a lot of the Voigtlanders mentioned have threads that are stickied in this subforum:
https://www.rangefinderforum.com/node/95

And here are a couple threads for the Canon LTMs mentioned:
Canon 50mm f/1.8 LTM
Canon 50mm f/1.4 LTM
Canon 50mm f/1.5 LTM (Sonnar design)
 
Thanks everyone, I sent a price offer for a demo / like new Classic Heliar 50/1.5 and got a good deal with 10% voucher on eBay. I understand it´s a "two-trick pony" with a unique vintage signature at 1.5, which I like, and good sharpness stopped down when needed. Worst case I could return for a refund and try something else.

The Heliar reminds me a lot of the 1960s era Canon FL 50/1.4 I. It´s a lens often overseen. Canon replaced it soon with the improved FL 50/1.4 II which was basically the formula for all modern Canon 50s up until the EF 50/1.4.
 
I realized I hadn't used the Voigtländer Color-Skopar 50mm f/2.5 on the M10 Monochrom yet, so today I went for a long walk with it. I fitted a deep green filter, set the lens to f/3.5 and the camera to AutoISO, Aperture priority, and made 90 exposures.

Looking at the photos afterwards: It is a TERRIFIC lens! In some ways, I like its rendering qualities even more than the Summicron 50.

A sample photo:

Ground Cover - Santa Clara 2022
Leica M10 Monochrom + Color-Skopar 50mm f/2.5
ISO 320 @ f/3.5 @ 1/180
​
​
It may well become my 'standard' 50mm lens after this experiment! :)

G
 
Godfrey said:
I realized I hadn't used the Voigtländer Color-Skopar 50mm f/2.5 on the M10 Monochrom yet, so today I went for a long walk with it. I fitted a deep green filter, set the lens to f/3.5 and the camera to AutoISO, Aperture priority, and made 90 exposures.

Looking at the photos afterwards: It is a TERRIFIC lens! In some ways, I like its rendering qualities even more than the Summicron 50.

A sample photo:
Ground Cover - Santa Clara 2022
Leica M10 Monochrom + Color-Skopar 50mm f/2.5
ISO 320 @ f/3.5 @ 1/180
​
It may well become my 'standard' 50mm lens after this experiment! :)

G
Click to expand...

That's gorgeous. Very 3D rendering.
 
Another with the Color-Skopar 50mm ...

Bats and Spooks - Santa Clara 2022
Leica M10 Monochrom + Voigtländer 50mm f/2.5
Green Filter
ISO 160 @ f/3.5 @ 1/160​
 
Only one choice, the 50mm f1.4 nikkor-sc in ltm mount. Better made and more useful the Zeiss zm it was based on

It will technically close focus down to near .5 meters boot
 
Still more, shooting with the M10 Monochrom fitted with a Color Skopar 50mm f/2.5 and a deep Green filter...

Looking Down - Santa Clara 2022
Leica M10 Monochrom + Color-Skopar 50mm f/2.5
Green filter
ISO 250 @ f/3.5 @ 1/125


Looking Down - Santa Clara 2022
Leica M10 Monochrom + Color-Skopar 50mm f/2.5
Green filter
ISO 320 @ f/3.5 @ 1/180


Looking Down - Santa Clara 2022
Leica M10 Monochrom + Color-Skopar 50mm f/2.5
Green filter
ISO 160 @ f/3.5 @ 1/250


Looking Down - Santa Clara 2022
Leica M10 Monochrom + Color-Skopar 50mm f/2.5
Green filter
ISO 160 @ f/3.5 @ 1/125


Looking Down - Santa Clara 2022
Leica M10 Monochrom + Color-Skopar 50mm f/2.5
Green filter
ISO 160 @ f/3.5 @ 1/180​


Enjoy! G
 
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