50mm

Nikon Nikkor 50mm F/1.8 Longnose Lens Review – The Forgotten Favorite 

1800 1013 Hemant Chatterji

A brief review of the Nikon Nikkor 50mm F/1.8 Longnose standard prime lens. With sample photos, history, and specifications.

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A Year with the Leitz Summicron R 50mm F/2 Lens

2200 1467 James Tocchio

Made to fit Leica’s R mount SLR cameras, Leitz R series lenses don’t enjoy the fanfare heaped on their M mount brethren. No surprise; Leica shooters skew toward rangefinders, and sticker shock keeps kids looking…

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The Schneider Kreuznach 50mm f/2.8 Lens – Or Why I Love To Hate the Kodak Retina Ib

2200 1238 Chris Cushing

In the world of cameras and optics, few companies are as storied as Leica and Zeiss. Founded in 1846, Zeiss is one of the most enduring manufacturers of anything mechanical anywhere in the world. Leitz…

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Are Canon’s Ultra-fast 50mm F/1.2L and 85mm F/1.2L II Worth All That Extra Money?

1967 1106 Jeb Inge

“Significant” is a word I would use to describe the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM and Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM; in aperture, in weight, in prestige and price. That last metric, price, is…

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The Underdog Nikkor-S 50mm F/1.4 F Mount Lens, and Why it’s My Favorite Lens

2200 1238 Josh Solomon

I know what you’re thinking; “Do we really need another 50mm lens review?” I don’t blame you. A quick glance through our archive shows write-ups on fifties from Minolta, Pentax, Canon, a shootout between Zeiss’ two best fifties,…

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Leica’s Worst Summicron 50mm F/2 is one of the Best (and Priciest) Legacy Fifties Around – Summicron V3 Lens Review

2000 1125 Josh Solomon

Longtime readers of the site will know that I’m far from a Leica fanboy. I generally prefer Japanese manufacturers and often champion their products’ value over their pricier, hyper-mythologized German counterparts. Considering my aversion to…

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Pentax Super Takumar 50mm F/1.4 M42 Mount Lens Review

2000 1125 Chris Cushing

Eight elements. Eight. The original Zeiss Planars got by with just six, the Planar T* of the 1970s used seven. Minolta, Canon and Nikon all used seven elements in their fifties. Pentax themselves reverted to…

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Zeiss 50mm F/1.5 Sonnar versus F/2 Planar – a Film Shooter’s Opinion

2000 1125 Dustin Vaughn-Luma

When it comes to M mount 50mm lenses the choices are plentiful, and quite often the costs are high. Single coat, multi coat, ‘crons, ‘nars – the overwhelming abundance of choice is enough to send…

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Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm F/1.4 C/Y Mount – Lens Review

2000 1125 James Tocchio

Today’s lens review isn’t going to change the way you take photos, and if you’re already shooting a fast fifty don’t expect to be surprised. Today’s lens review, while certainly worth reading (don’t you dare),…

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Canon FD 50mm F/1.8 Lens Review – The Original Nifty Fifty

1280 720 James Tocchio

In previous weeks we’ve talked about some noteworthy lenses, including a Minolta fish-eye and a Nikkor ultra-wide. Today, we’ll talk about a more standard focal length, a focal length that many consider to be the standard,…

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