Quest for a 50mm!

Stu :) · 01-29-2004

ARRGHHH! I give up...

Any suggestions for a cheap non-collapsing 50mm 2.8 or faster lens to mount on a Bessa R?

There is a CV 50mm1.5 Nokton on eBay right now for $200, but with 6 days and 13 hours to go, I doubt it will stay at $200 for much longer...

A Jupiter-3 looks ok...
(http://www.davidde.com/articles/zeisscopies.html)

Currently I'm tempted by a new black Jupiter-8 with 92XXXXX serial number!!!
At $50NZ it seems pretty good, but I've heard that the Jupiter-8 doesn't click stop on the aperture ring (pain in the 'back seat' for rapid shooting).

Stu

PS. Yes I've heard the horror stories and the great romances about Russian optics... however I own a Horizon 202 and the optics seem great, I use to own a Kiev 88 with a 80mm and 150mm and they seemed fine (as long as you focused beyond 8 feet!) and a Lubitel 2... well it's not a Carl Zeiss, but hey it was free, and gives nice "classic" look to B+W prints.

taffer · 01-29-2004

Hi Stu !

I own the LTM version of the Jupiter-8 (chrome, or maybe the word is aluminium finished) and even though it has some small scratches on the front element I've found it to be a really good performer. CV users will give you more detailed information about this lens on the Bessa R, I'm using it with my LTM Russian cameras.

As you said, for $50NZ you won't lost too much. And the same goes for the J-3, in fact you can even find a good deal for a Jupiter with some FSU camera attached

Think of it as a huge rear lens cap, and who knows you may even catch the infamous Russian camera bug !

Oscar

PS: btw, I was born in 1976 too ! October 11th !

SolaresLarrave · 01-29-2004

Besides the Russian glass... have you considered the affordable Canon lenses. They're fairly fast and they'll do the job without taking you to the poorhouse. Also, depending on your funds, how about them Leica Summarits? Some were collapsible, for others weren't, and they're relatively fast at f1.5 (forerunners of the Summilux, which goes to f1.4).

You definitely don't want a collapsible, and it must be a 50mm, right? There's lot of choices, don't despair... Look up Canons and Nikons on eBay, as they tend to surface and they're reputable and very usable.

But, if I were you, I'd try a Summaron. The only problem I find with it is that your camera has no framelines for 35mm... That's a pity! But rangefinders work wonders with wide-angle lenses. Good luck in your search!

rover · 01-29-2004

I have a serious want for the Nokton myself. Good news in the US, I believe that B&H has them back in stock for less $ ($340)than the two US importers are selling them for ($399). There is the smaller CV 50/2.5. There are a lot of good reviews of this lens, and some less favorable ones. I haven't made a decision about this lens. I do have the J-8, a black one (paid $20 for this little gem). It is a nice lens, very small. I haven't used it a lot, but the results have been good. It is a little quirky to use with the stepless aperture ring like you say, and the aperture scale is reversed (f/16 is to the left of the scale, not right). The Canon lenses are supposed to be pretty good, and are fairly priced. I read somewhere that the 50/1.4 was the sharpest version, and that the 50/1.8 was also very good.

SolaresLarrave · 01-29-2004

Rover, hold your horses look up Central Camera in Chicago, as they have it for a very favorable price... and free shipping!

I didn't mention this to you, stu, because you're in Auckland and probably you'd get stuck with some shipping charges, but you, Rover, in your Northeastern corner still get the lens shipped for free.

rover · 01-29-2004

I don't THINK I am going to be purchasing, but Central Camera was out of stock last time I looked. For B&H their web site allows for an email alert when a back ordered item comes in stock. I got notice earlier this week, but have not purchased.

SolaresLarrave · 01-29-2004

So, are these lenses suddenly becoming scarce? Now that I remember, Delta claims not to have the Ultron 28/1.9 in stock either...

rover · 01-29-2004

Cosina has no formal distributor in the US. Steve Gandy at Cameraquest and Photo Village in NYC are the only two direct importers and I assume, actually apparently, they have full stocks of the products. Other retailers do not have direct channels of supply. The salesman for Central Camera told me that Cosina is having issues setting up a relationship with a Canadian distributor.

lars · 01-29-2004

Stu, I use the Jupiter 8 with my Bessa R and I find the stepless aperture ring to be somewhat annoying. It shifts aperture sometimes which my CV lenses do not. I don't know if you guys still use Imperial measurements down there but I still think in feet, although Canada is officially metric. The Jupiter 8 only shows meters on its focus scale which really bugs me.

So, if you know you want a 50 then I'd suggest a Canon, CV, or something else. I went with the Jupiter because I wasn't sure I'd use a 50 very much so for USD$28, it was a harmless purchase.
My CV 35 is my main lens. If the 50 was, I would probably buy a CV 50/2.5 because of its price, performance and small size.

...lars

back alley · 01-29-2004

lars,
are you in canada?
whereabouts?

joe

lars · 01-29-2004

Quote:

Originally posted by backalley photo
lars,
are you in canada?
whereabouts?

As far as I know, I'm the only west coast Canadian here. White Rock, BC. (Technically I'm in Surrey)

...lars

back alley · 01-29-2004

i'm in edmonton myself. dated a woman from white rock a long time ago- talk about a long distance relationship...

we have a fair number of canadians on this board, good thing eh?

joe

GeneW · 01-30-2004

Quote:

I still think in feet, although Canada is officially metric. The Jupiter 8 only shows meters on its focus scale which really bugs me

Made me chuckle, Lars. (btw, I live in the Toronto area). I'm the same. I'm getting the temp in Celsius okay, and I can grok kilometers pretty well now, but short distances are feet and inches to me :)

I have the same problem with an old 1929 Voigtlander 6x9 folding cam. No rangefinder on board -- I have to manually guess and set the distance, in meters. I generally try to convert from yards :)

Gene

taffer · 01-30-2004

Grew up using meters, so my problems are with feet !

Stu :) · 01-30-2004

A good Canon? Yes, but they are hens teeth! Any suggestions of max price to pay for 50mm 1.8 Canon?
Lars you said it. I'm not to sure if 50mm is going to be a focal length I'll use that often, I didn't use the 50mm all that much on the Canon EOS's, in fact my standard lens was the 20-35mm.
I've got a funny feeling that the CV 35mm Pancake lens I've ordered will become my standard lens.
And just today a 90mm Elmar showed up on the door step... without click stops. ARGH! However I don't think I've seen such an old lens so clean.

And 'pah! Postage costs. Let me tell you about postage costs...
My other hobby is Wargaming and 99% of my supplies come from England. So imagine the postage cost or ordering 200+ lead alloy figures from the other side of the world. We're use to it. Also our NZ$ versus your US$ is good right now, so good that postage almost seems free with a discount to boot.

Stu

rover · 01-30-2004

You are right about the Canon 50s, you have to wait for a good one on ebay. How about KEH.com..., nope, none there. I think the Canon 50s go in the $200 range on ebay for good ones. I often check the ebay UK site, and have gotten a couple good deals there. My Konica Auto S3, as new in original box for less than $100 US! My Minolta Himatic 9 came to me from Greece.

Stu :) · 01-30-2004

OK... would you beleive it, I've just found a Canon 50mm 1.8 for sale. The seller wants $150 (US$) or best offer for it. Any suggestions for a 'best offer'?...

Stu

wierdcollector · 01-30-2004

I see we have more Canadians than I originally thought. Thunder Bay, Ontario here. And like most, I wasn't educated in metric so I still convert back from metric constantly.

lars · 01-30-2004

Quote:

Originally posted by Stu
Lars you said it. I'm not to sure if 50mm is going to be a focal length I'll use that often, I didn't use the 50mm all that much on the Canon EOS's, in fact my standard lens was the 20-35mm.
I've got a funny feeling that the CV 35mm Pancake lens I've ordered will become my standard lens.

On my SLRs, 50mm was never a focal length I used much. Like most people, I only kept it because it was fast and cheap (and they all seem to produce pretty good image quality).

But on the rangefinder, the 50 sees more use partly because of the limited minimum focus ability of these cameras. Because I can't always get in as close as I'd like, I have to switch to a longer focal length.

...lars

rover · 01-30-2004

Depends on the condition. How far does it sound like the seller will go down? $150 sounds fair to me if it is in excellent shape. I wouldn't buy it at any price if the glass is not clear or if there are any other issues.

rover · 01-30-2004

Is it silver or black? The black ones are newer and suposed to be more desirable. I forget what the difference is, probably coating. I will have to get my Canon Rangefinder book out if my son will let me and read again about the differences.

rover · 01-30-2004

Canon Rangefinder Cameras 1933-68 by Peter Dechert, "Canon's finest 50mm optic, the F1.4, was introduced in 1959..." I remember a comment somewhere, I thought it was in this book, specifically recommending the Canon 50/1.4 and 1.8 for LTM cameras. Steve Gandy recommends both, http://www.cameraquest.com/ltmlens.htm. The black lenses are more recently introduced lenses than the chrome ones, I don't know specifically what changes were made optically. The 50/1.4 replaced the 50/1.5 so these two obviously are different optic designs.

rover · 01-30-2004

No extras included. You have to read the description of this lens.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=30063

Brian Sweeney · 01-30-2004

The Canon 50mm F1.4 is a Xenon formula lens; the Canon 50mm F1.5 was a Sonnar copy. I have the 50mm F1.4 on a Canon 7; it is sharp but lower contrast than a Nikkor of the same period. I do not have the F1.8; but I was told my the person who sold me the F1.4 that the F1.8 was a bit sharper. The F1.4 lens is the only 6-element F1.4 that I know of; most were 7 element designs. Canon started using a lot of new glass in the late '50s to reduce the number of elements in their lenses. I love my old optics books.

Brian Sweeney · 02-01-2004

Here is a shot from the Canon 50mm F1.4 at F4, on a Canon 7.