which is best ouf of these 50mm?

[m43baby]

Hello, I'm new to m4/3 and manual lenses and wanted to get a 50mm lens that's sharp when fully open and small in size, quick to focus manually. I have a 40mm Konica Hexanon 1.8 which I really like but it's not sharp at 1.8. Which out of the following would be sharp and great for photos/videos, small in size like the Konica:

Nikon Nikkor 50mm f1.8 Ai or Ai-S
Minolta MD Rokkor-X 50mm f1.4
Canon nFD 50mm 1.4
Konica Hexanon 50mm 1.7

Thank You

[LucisPictor]

Welcome!

Nikkors tend to be pretty sharp wide open. I do not know the other ones.
If you really want an optimum performance on your µ4/3, try to save for an M Summicron 2/50 by Leitz.

[m43baby]

That's too expensive. I'm on a budget of about $120.

[peterqd]

It's really difficult to give you the answer you want because not many people (if any) will own or tried all these lenses. The only one I have is the Minolta 1.4 which I'm very happy with, but I'm sure they're all very good.

To be honest, there aren't many bad 50mm lenses. It's in the corners of a full 36x24mm image where the poorer lenses lose sharpness wide open, and with a 4/3 sensor most of this will be out of the picture.

[ManualFocus-G]

Part of the fun of MFlenses is the character they produce. What might be great for one person, won't be right for someone else. I'd suggest you buy one and if you don't like it, sell it on and try another MF lenses don't seem to lose value, so you can't really go wrong.

[m43baby]

Thanks for the info. Can someone at least let me know which are smallest in length? trying to get one that's close to the Hexanon 40mm which is pretty small and light.

[peterqd]

[estudleon]

ine lenses, of course.

I only used the konica. It's really a very, very good lens.

The better Konica 50 mm that I used was the oldest, first version in AR mount. The newer is more warm color rendering and not so sharp, to my eyes and about my copies.

For the 80's and 90's literature, the nikon 1,4/50 had better glass than the 1,8 version. But it's only theory. I only had the pre ai and it was very good too.


Good luck.

Rino

[krankykraut]

I can recommend the Yashica ML 50mm 1.9 for wide-open and overall performance. It's nice and compact, too. Other than my Summicron-M 50mm, it's probably my sharpest 50mm lens when used wide-open. I am talking about the version with the metal bayonet, not the later "c" version.

[Arninetyes]

The Nikon 50/1.8 is 63mm diameter, 27.5mm long (mounted) and weighs 145g to 170g, depending on which year and where it was made. Most 50 in the f/1.8 range are similar.

[koji]

Nikkor 50/1.8 is small and sharp, also works well on the ext. tube too.
It is called a pancake lens, probably around 3cm from the mount base
to the top of the filter ring. Probably shortest.

Yashica ML 50/1.9 is very sharp and small too. The length is 3.2cm
in the same measure as the above. DSB 50/1.9 is much longer(4cm).

nFD 50/1.4 is sharp but not too short. Its length is 4.6cm, but a good lens!

Minolta MD 50/1.4 (later version, filter size 49mm) is not too sharp
at the wide open, but very sharp when closed down. Relatively small,
the length is just 4cm exactly same as Nikkor Ai50/1.4S (not 1.8 ).

I don't know about Hexanon.

Btw, you should change the title to say "shortest" instead of "best".

[AhamB]

From what I've heard, from Nikon the first version of tha Ai-S is the best one, supposedly coming quite close to the Zeiss rendering style (except for colors). This is the biggest version though. The 2nd and 3rd Ai-S version are much more compact but the 3rd doesn't focus as close (0.6m instead of 0.45m). See http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/serialno.html#50slow
Click at the link at the beginning of the line to see the picture of the lens.
http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/specs.html#50slow for dimensions, weight, etc.

[SXR_Mark]

If you want a compact 50mm, don't forget to add in the length of the adapter for m4/3.

Nikon = 26.5mm
Olympus OM = 26mm
M42 = 25.46mm
Pentax K = 25.46 mm
Contax Yashica = 25.5mm
Minolta SRT (aka MD) = 23.72mm
Konica AR = 20.5mm
Leica Thread Mount (aka L39 or M39) = 8.8mm
c-mount = -2.474mm (i.e. recessed into m4/3 mount throat)

Clearly LTM or c-mount lenses give maximum potential for overall compactness.

Measured from flange face to rim of filter, my Zuiko OM 50mm f1.4 is 39mm and 50mm f1.8 is 31 mm long. My Minolta MD 50mm f1.4 is about the same length as the OM, but will be slightly shorter on the camera due to smaller adapter. All these are good lenses, but work best a one stop down from max aperture. I find most (all?) of my 40 to 50mm SLR lenses give hazy results on 4/3 and m4/3 at full aperture. The Konica 40mm f1.8 (48.5mm long including adapter) is particularly bad in this regard. But all are excellent at one stop down.

The best 50mm lens for sharpness wide open I have is the TV-Fujinon 50mm f1.4.. This is a super lens, but quite long at 73mm including m4/3 adapter (compare to Om 50mm f1.4 plus adapter = 65mm). However, the Fujinon requires no hood due to the very recessed front element.

The LTM Jupiter-8 is 35mm long, making 43mm with adapter. I found it fiddly to use and not sharp wide open (check thread on m4/3 board)

The Industar 50-2 50mm f3.5 already mentioned is only 19mm long in M42 mount, making 44.5mm with adpater. So it is still a bit longer than the Jupiter-8.

Mark

[Arninetyes]

If you're looking for a very compact 50 that still works well, try the Nikon Series E 50/1.8. It works nearly as well as the 50/1.8 Ais, but is much smaller and lighter--this is the 'pancake' lens mentioned earlier.

Even better, there is a little known Nikkor that is as sharp as they get, the 50 f/2.0. It also is very small, compact, and light, and it doesn't have any of the annoying plastic found on many compact, light lenses (like the Series E 50/1..

[SXR_Mark]

Yes, I forgot about the Nikon 50mm f1.8 E, which is only 25mm long. But it requires the largest adapter. Still, a mounted length of 51.5mm is hard to beat. I tested on 4/3 (Oly E3) and still found it not good wide open, like other 50mm in my experience. Actually, I didn't like it on 4/3 so I never use it.

There is a Pentax 40mm f2.8 that is very slim. I don't have one to say how well it works.

The Pentacon Prakticar 50mm f2.4 (PB Mount) is slim at 24mm, and will be only 48.5mm including adapter. Not a great performer though (ugly bokeh wide open in my opinion)

Mark

[SXR_Mark]

I was prompted to take my Nikon E 50mm f1.8 out for a quick test with my Oly EPL1. As expected, at f1.8 there is a strong diffuse halo around edges giving the picture a washed-out and soft look.





At f2.8 the problem goes away and the lens is very sharp and contrasty.



I do find this lens gives quite large shifts in colour balance when stopping down. i found this with my E3 and I found it again with the EPL1. Maybe not an ideal lens to use on 4/3 or m4/3 then?

Mark

[uhoh7]

the nFD 50/1.4 is the most modern lens in your list, light in weight, fast, great coatings.

That speed will give you alot of flexibilty.

Not to say the others are not excellent 50s

but let's say I could use any mount and those are my choices for 1 50.....I think its a no brainer, honestly.

the nFDs are not collector sexy and the mount is difficult to adapt--that's why you see some great values.

the nFD 50/1.2 non-L can be had for just over 200USD btw. Only 318 grams.

[martinsmith99]

Small? Industar 50-2.

[aleksanderpolo]

nFD 50/1.4 is pretty soft wide open.

If you want sharpness wide open at 1.4 and on budget, Nikkor 50/1.4 Ai/Ais or OM 50/1.4 S/N>1.1 M would probably be good choice.

Higher budget, you can get a Nokton 58 or a Zeiss Planar.

If you want the "Best", the latest version of Leica Summilux-M ASPH (I don't own one, but you can look at the MTF on Leica's site, I think there is none that beat it in performance).

Everything is a compromise you know...

[DSG]

[iangreenhalgh1]

If sharpness wide open is important without spending a lot of money, go for a Japanese 1.8/55, either Pentax Takumar, Petri CC, Yashica ML or Fujinon EBC, all are similar, I love my Petri CC 1.8/55, only paid 99p for it and it's sharp wide open with great bokeh:

[m43baby]

Thanks for all this info I appreciate it!
I guess I have to decide what's important to me. I actually will also use my camera to make short films and I think having the lens be a bit soft wide open, will give it a more 'filmic' look which I prefer. I can always save up and get another lens that I'll use just for photography that's sharp wide open.