Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/12/12
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]On 12/12/01 10:17 AM, "Mark Langer" <mlanger@ccs.carleton.ca> wrote: > > > Jeff, > > Different people have different standards about the meaning of a budget lens. > I'll assume that you want something under a couple of hundred dollars. My > choices would be these screwmounts. > > 1) Jupiter 3 50mm f1.5 This is the Soviet knock-off of the classic Zeiss > Sonnar designed for the Contax. As with any Soviet glass, sample variation is > a huge consideration, but if you get a good one, it is a great lens. I used > one as my standard lens on a M Leica until recently > buying a fairly new Summicron. The Jupiter still sees some service. A good > one will set you back considerably under $100 on eBay, and if it doesn't > perform as well as you like, just sell it there for what you paid for it and > buy another one. > > 2) Industar 55. This is a 50mm f3.5 lens that is comparable to a red scale > Elmar. The earlier Industar 22 is a nice lens, but it won't cost you any more > to get the improved later version. It would be hard to spend more than $40 to > get a good example, and often you get a Zorki or > Fed thrown in as part of the deal. So don't just search under Industar on > eBay, but under Fed and Zorki, as the lens alone often sells for as much as > the lens and camera. > > 3) Going a bit upscale, you can't go wrong with a nice clean Summitar. This > is a collapsible LTM lens, although more bulky than the Industar. Performance > is darn close to an early Summicron for a fraction of the price. Downside is > a bizarre tapered filter thread. Make sure that > you get a coated postwar version of this lens that stops down to f16 and not > the wartime version that doesn't stop down as much. You should be able to get > a good example of a Summitar for under $200. > > -- > To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html If you are looking for SM lenses (attached to bodies) I have a couple Fed 3's and a Fed 5 left e mail me thanks Mark mak@teleport.com - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html