I am on the market for a 50 mm and am looking for opinions to help me decide on my purchase. The whole thing is that I am bit short on money :( Here's the deal : Elmar or Summicron. I know the summicron's "better" but it's almost 1200 dollars here in France. The elmar is around 720. Is the summicron worth the extra 500 dollars. I have a canadian Leica R 50mm and am highly satisfied with the lens. Does the elmar deliver something close. Then you have the older lenses. The collapsible summicron here sells for around 500 and the elmar for 350. What about the quality between the older vs new. Is the new elmar worth the extra 370 in terms of optical quality ? And the collapsible summicron ? Thank you all.

-- Hemant Gurung (hgurung@libertysurf.fr), October 26, 2001

Answers

Hemant

I agree the R 50mm is an excellent lens. Most Summicron 50s are pretty good. I have used the late 60s chrome version, the dual range and the latest version and all are excellent. The latest one and the model before with the focussing tab and the clip on hood are more contrasty than the earlier versions, but all produce delightful images by any standards. Bearing this in mind, I would look out for an earlier Summicron secondhand and save yourself some money. Good cheaper ones would be the black Summicrons made in the seventies. Some people argue that the dual range Summicron is the best of the lot. The modern Elmar is also very good, but I do not think it worth buying as there are so many cheap Summicrons on the market secondhand. The modern Elmar is a lot better than the original 2.8 Elmar as it uses new glass - it approaches but does not improve on the current Summicron.

I have no personal experience of the collapsible Summicrons, but as these are the first generation they have lower contrast and are more prone to flare. A lot depends on whether you are looking for raw impact and punch in your shots or a gentler lower contrast look (at wider apertures). There is much to be said for either approach. When I had my 1968 chrome Summicron and my M3 I was completely happy with its performance, even though the current one may be technically a better lens.

-- Robin Smith (smith_robin@hotmail.com), October 26, 2001.

Hemant: I own and have used both Summicron 50mm lenses. The first I purchased was a 50mm collapsible made some time in the 1950's. An excellent performer. I also own a 50mm riged lens which is also excellent. The older lens is "softer" but produces pleasing images. The newer Summicron from the early 1970's is "sharper". I believe that no one lens is any better than any other, they are all just different with different characteristics. Good luck with your choice. The 50 makes an excellent choice as a first lens.

-- John Alfred Tropiano (jat18@psu.edu), October 26, 2001.

Hemant:

I find the new and used prices on Summicrons and Elmars to be very close... You can find used Summicrons regularly on Ebay for around $500, while used new-style Elmars run about the same.

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), October 26, 2001.

Hemant:

You can buy a new Leica M 50mm/f2 lens from www.deltainternational.com for $706 plus postage from NY, USA. They sell gray market items, which is why their prices are much lower than authorized Leica dealers in the USA. Since you are in France, I would also look at Leica dealer Robert White's UK website. Their prices should be much better than those of Leica dealers in France.

The new Leica lenses are significantly better than the lenses of the 1950s and 1960s in every respect. I have the latest 50 Summicron (for both M and R cameras) and it is a wonderful lens even at f2. The new Summicron is also better than the new Elmar. I would recommend that you buy the new Summicron. It is one of the best lenses in the Leica lineup!...........

-- Muhammad Chishty (applemac97@aol.com), October 26, 2001.

Hemant,here is a lens for sale on ebay that might be the right answer for you. By chance, I just received a Canon-P from him in almost mint condition. He is very easy to deal with. 50mm

-- Gerry Widen (gwiden@alliancepartners.org), October 26, 2001.

You can buy Summicron 50mm brand new lastest version on Ebay for little over $500, the Summilux 50mm will cost around $1200.

-- Mitchell Li (mitchli@pacbell.net), October 26, 2001.

Thank you all for the suggestions. The summicron seems the big winner here. I did own the new summicron before selling all my leica gear for a change to linhof technikas. Now I am back to 35mm and regret my leicas. Learnt my lesson here : never sell Leica M ;) Merci beaucoup encore.

-- Hemant Gurung (hgurung@libertysurf.fr), October 27, 2001.