I want to buy a used Leica 50mm(LTM) lens to put on my Bessa R. I'm not sure which one to look for. I had read where the collapsable one doesn't fit on the Bessa R...is this true.

Any suggestions would be helpful.

-- Jim Tardio (jimtardio@earthlink.net), October 27, 2001

Answers

Real Leicamen shoot Elmars.

-- Bill Mitchell (bmitch@home.com), October 27, 2001.

How about one of the best LTM 50s available--the f1.4 Canon?

-- Michael Darnton (mdarnton@hotmail.com), October 27, 2001.

I have two LTM 50's and am happy with both of them. The 3.5 Elmar and the Jupiter 3 f1.5 Russian lens. The Elmar is just a very cool lens (so ni cely made and compact)besides having good optics. The Jupiter 3 is a gamble, but if you get a good one, they are a lot of lens for the money and f1.5 does come in handy from time to time.

-- Andrew Schank (aschank@flash.net), October 27, 2001.

How about the best LTM 50 available, the 1.5 ASPH Nokton?

-- david kelly (dmkedit@aol.com), October 27, 2001.

Jim

If you're looking for a Leica SM lens, two come to mind. The collapsible Summicron 50/2.0 is probably the best Leica lens (except for the limited edition SM version of the current 50/2.0 made for the Japanese market that is very expensive). Many Leica enthusiasts still use this lens, even though it was last produced in the 1960s. The only downside is that these lenses often exhibit cleaning marks (due to the soft coating) and internal fog or haze due to age. You may be able to find one with reasonably good-great glass for $ 300- 400.

Another good choice is the last version of the 50/3.5 Elmar (the so- called "red scale" Elmar), which is said to be the best. These lenses can cost as much or more than the collapsible Summicron, even though it is 1 2/3 stop slower in maximum aperature.

Interestingly, Leica introduced a new version of the 50/3.5 (called an "Anastigmat" with their limited edition 0 series camera. The reports on this lens say it is one of the best 50s ever made (see Popular Photography and see Erwin's website). Unfortunately, they haven't seen fit to introduce this lens separately, as a compact collapsible high performance 50.

-- Eliot (erosen@lij.edu), October 27, 2001.

Thanks for the suggestions so far.

I thought of the Nokton, but I really want a smaller lens. And I had heard that the collapsable lenses do not collapse all the way on the Bessa R.

I'll have to sort out of the Leica lingo...ie..summicron, lux, elmar etc..!

-- Jim Tardio (jimtardio@earthlink.net), October 27, 2001.

I got the current 50mm f2 Summicron in screw mount, same price as the M mount 'Cron. Hard to beat.

-- Joe Buechler (jbuechler@toad.net), October 27, 2001.

I'll have to sort out of the Leica lingo...ie..summicron, lux, elmar etc..!

With regard to Leica 50s:

Elmar - f/3.5 or f/2.8 Summar, Summitar, Summicron - f/2 Summilux - f/1.4 Noctilux - f/1.0

Godfrey

-- Godfrey (ramarren@bayarea.net), October 27, 2001.

Can anyone confirm that the 3.5 Elmar will not collapse all the way on a Bessa R body? I'd be happy to check it out at the local store that sells the Bessa R body, since I have a lens handy. I can say for sure that it will go all the way in on my Minolta CLE.

-- Andrew Schank (aschank@flash.net), October 27, 2001.

All of collapsable Leica lenses will hit the shutter if collapsed into the Bessa-R. Any coated Elmar will be a cheap, sharp and fun choice for the Bessa-R. The ultimate choices would be the 50/2.8 Elmar and 50/2 Summicron.

-- ray tai (razerx@netvigator.com), October 27, 2001.

So the shutter must be further in front of the film plane on the Bessa R than on the Leica cameras, otherwise how could the lens contact the shutter when collapsed on the Bessa R but not on the Leica cameras that have the same back registration?

-- Andrew Schank (aschank@flash.net), October 27, 2001.

Many Collapsible lenses couldn't be collapsed on the CL because they would hit the meter. An exception was the 50mm Sunnicron. It might work on the Bessa.

-- Bill Mitchell (bmitch@home.com), October 27, 2001.

I asked the same quuestion (will an elmar collapse on a Bessa R) and never got a straight answer. So I went down to the dealer and put an elmar on a Bessa, being careful not to break anything. It would not collapse all the way.

-- John Fleetwood (johnfleetwood@hotmail.com), October 28, 2001.

Thanks John, I think I had read your post in the archives. I see that Voigtlander has introduced a 50/3.5 collapsible but with the "M" mount.

Seems like they would make a screw mount version, too.

For Leica, it sounds like the 50/2 Summicron is what I'm looking for.

-- Jim Tardio (jimtardio@earthlink.net), October 28, 2001.

I would 2nd Michael Darnton's recommendation that you look @ the late (black) Canon RF/LTM lenses like the 50/1.4 & 50/1.8. Carl Zeiss Jena & Nikon also made some nice LTM 50mm's in the 1950s (1.5 Sonnar & 1.4 Nikkor-S, respectively).

-- Chris Chen (furcafe@cris.com), October 28, 2001.

The 50mm f/1.8 Canon (black)is very good; I just picked one up on ebay for $100.

I also like my 50mm f/2 Summitar which is a lot less expensive than the 'cron (but it is a collapsable type). After a couple of rolls through it I sent it to DAG for a CLA. It's due back next week and I look forward to running more film through it.

-- Tony Oresteen (aoresteen@lsqgroup.com), October 29, 2001.

What catagory on Ebay do you guys find these lenses? I always look but don't find much.

-- Jim Tardio (jimtardio@earthlink.net), October 29, 2001.

The new collapsable Voigtlander is in fact screw mount but comes with a M mount adapter with a limited edition Bessa T, its not available seperately. There is also a Konica 50 f2.4 or there abouts thats better then the Leica elmar but very hard to find, a limited Japanese market item i think.

-- Joel Matherson (joel_2000@hotmail.com), December 17, 2001.