The GetDPI Photography Forum

Great to see you here. Join our insightful photographic forum today and start tapping into a huge wealth of photographic knowledge. Completing our simple registration process will allow you to gain access to exclusive content, add your own topics and posts, share your work and connect with other members through your own private inbox! And don’t forget to say hi!

Zeiss 50 planar or leica 50 summarit

kuau

Workshop Member
Last lens I want to get for my m9 kit is a 50
I wish I could afford the 50 summicron but it's more then i want to spend
So that leaves with the Zeiss planar or leica summarit
I can buy a used zeiss for 500 or a demo refurb summarit for 1100
Any advice?

Thanks

Steven
 

thrice

Active member
I would prefer the size of the Summarit... which is very sharp. Depends if you want the extra 2/3 stop or the small size.
 

mathomas

Active member
At half the cost and all the performance and 2/3 stop more speed, it would be a no-brainer for me. I do have a Planar and find it to be a fine lens.
 

Paratom

Well-known member
As much as I like the Leica lenses I think 600 € less + 1/2 stop faster I would probably go for the Zeiss.

However it also depends which other lenses you use. Mixing Zeiss and Leica lenses might lead to images with different signature.

Another option which I would consider is maybe a CV50/1.5 - I find its nice to have a fast 500m lens.
 

pgmj

Member
I'd go for the Planar. The CV 50/1.5 is great (I have one), but the close focus limit of 0.9m is troublesome for me.

As noted before, if size is important the Summarit is smaller than the Planar. How much smaller depends on whether you will have the hood on or not.
 

thrice

Active member
It hasn't been mentioned, but if you can find one the Voigtlander Color-Skopar 50/2.5 is a GREAT lens.
 

thrice

Active member
you don't have to code most 50's but I coded my 50/2.5 CV on the LTM-M adapter to help with sorting in Lightroom. And as you might be able to tell, I incorrectly manually selected 35mm when I took that shot above because I was using my uncoded 35 lux asph.
 
Last edited:

Double Negative

Not Available
The 2/50 Planar ZM is something else on the M8/M9. Very sharp lens, even wide open. All the usual "Zeissisms" for a very reasonable price. You don't have to code it for either camera, but it doesn't hurt - and at least shows your focal length in the EXIF.

M9 test, wide open at f/2, focus on head:
 

dseelig

Member
Till I got a 50 lux asph I had a 50 voigt 1.5 and a 50 f2 planar hated the voigt and loved the 50 planar. The summarit is noce and small by planar is a great bargain. Though th focus on it sometimes is not in the same league as a leica lens.
 

kuau

Workshop Member
Thanks everyone,
I ended up going for the Leica 50 summarit, I found a used one for 875.00 so went for it..
So I have the 28,35,50, and 75 mm summarit's
I always wanted to keep my m9 kit as small and light as possible and since I never shoot wide open I didn't need the faster more expensive lenses anyways.

Steven
 

Double Negative

Not Available
^ A bit late now, but the CV Color Skopars (LTM versions) are great little lenses. They were my choice for ultimate portability. I have the 3,5/28, 2,5/35 and 2,5/50. All three are roughly the same size; which is to say - tiny. Pretty good IQ too, contrasty with nice bokeh even wide open. Finally, they're relatively inexpensive - I got all three for <$1k.
 

piblondin

Member
I would go for the Zeiss over the Summarit, but you should decide which look you like better. I think the Zeiss is very, very sharp—too sharp for some.

Also, why not consider a Summicron? You can get one used in between the prices you listed for the Zeiss and the Summarit.
 

kuau

Workshop Member
Update,
Well I have been shooting with my 50 Summarit, and so far not as sharp as I had hoped :wtf:

hmm, when compared to my 35 summarit, the 35 smokes my 50,
Not sure what to do, I have been shooting the 50 at 5.6-f8, just not feeling it.
Not sure if I have a "bad" copy or pilot error which is probably the case.
I went with the summarit because of it's size and I hardly ever shoot wide open.
I wonder if I should send the lens to Leica and have them check it out.

Any suggestions??

Steven
 
Top