[Leica] Old and cheaper lenses

Wed Apr 1 07:40:34 PDT 2015

 I pulled out my half century old 50 mm Canon f1.2 lens and took some pictures with it on an equally old M3 Leica. The Canon lens surprised me because it is almost a match for a first edition Summicron at smaller apertures. It is extremely difficult to tell which lens took which picture at f4.0 and down. The Summicron is better than the Canon at f2.0 but not by much. Both are clearly better than the Elmar, Leica's mainstay for several decades. Naturally lenses bearing the Summicron name have improved since the '60s and the results of my informal tests have decreasing relevance today. Except for the conclusion that the Canon f1.2, while not a Noctilux, is not such a dog as some photographers make it out to be.

Some Leicaholics find it hard to admit that Canon RF lenses function superbly on screw mount and M series Leicas and are available at about one third to half the price of comparable used Leica lenses. Canon, as you will recall, was one of the four professional quality RF camera makers during the early post WW2 period; the others being Nikon with the SP3 & 4, Contax with the IIa & IIIa, and, of course, Leica.? During this period the yen was cheap and the Canon importer, Bell and Howell, flooded the professional market with high quality equipment at a low price in an attempt to overtake Nikon. All Canon RF lenses, except the 50mm F.95, were equipped with 39 mm screw mounts and rangefinder cams which coupled with Leica rangefinders. When fitted with screw to bayonet adapters, they all work on the M series cameras. The lenses were manufactured to the highest specifications and most were quite sharp, even by today's standards.?

Here are my personal Canon lens favorites:
25mm F3.5 - This is a unique Gauss-type lens similar to the Zeiss Hologon and uses a special optical glass plate to minimize falloff and distortion. It delivers crisp and sharp results to the edges of the negative. Use any LTM to M adapter since you will have to get an accessory finder. One came with my lens but any superwide finder will do. It is hard to find but worth the search.

35mm F2.8 - This older lens is similar to the Summaron and produces results almost identical to the Leitz optic. I use it on both screw mount Leicas and a CL. The full frame of the CL finder matches the lens picture area pretty well. Use a 35mm adapter. Canon also made a 35mm F2 and a 35mm F1.5 which I never tried. I have heard that they are both quite good though.

50mm F1.4 - I bought this lens when I couldn't afford a Summilux. I've never compared side by side enlargements with the Leica lens but I have matched it with a seven element F2 Summicron.? From F2 to F16 the results are almost identical with the Leica lens having the edge only on enlargements greater than 11x14. For half the price and the extra stop, this lens is a great buy for the Leica user.

50mm F1.2 - I was given this saucer sized piece of glass by a colleague who had his Canon 7 body stolen. Most users (me included) have a love/hate relationship with the Canon 50mm 1.2. This mammoth sized optic has a screw mount but the lens is so wide that it is visible in the view finder of the M camera. It is fairly soft at full aperture, but sharpens up nicely at f4. It is not quite as good as the F2 Summicron but better than the 50mm Elmar. At F1.2 it gives a mysterious quality to the image, a sharp core with a soft halo. It takes very flattering low light portraits and makes an excellent natural light wedding lens since everyone looks beautiful. Available light photos, for which this lens was intended tend to be very contrasty and the full opening softness is suitable. It is a BIG hunk of glass to hang on your camera and it is impressive as hell mounted on an M3. The M2, M4, and .72 viewfinder M6 don't have enough RF equivalent baseline to critically focus this lens at short distances (under 2 meters). The screwmount Leicas do, however.

100mm F3.5 - This is my favorite short telephoto, bar none! It is razor sharp and beats every similar focal length Leitz optic I have tried. It is also extremely compact. If you need a short telephoto, beg, buy, or steal this lens. I use it with both M series and the CL. Its picture area is fractionally smaller than the M finder field but matches that of the CL perfectly. It and the Leica 40mm make a great travel package for the CL. Use a 90mm adapter.

135mm F3.5 - This is a solidly built telephoto that weighs almost a pound. It works fine with my M3s but is a bit too much focal length to focus accurately with later models. It is sharp to the edges and has little flare. Use a 35mm adapter on the M3.

Larry Z