Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/09/05

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Subject: Re: [Leica] How's your 50/2 M-Hexanon ?
From: Dante A Stella <dante@umich.edu>
Date: Tue, 05 Sep 2000 19:21:12 -0400
References: <1243936221-25690528@eco-tec.com>

I am using the 50/2 Hexanon that came with my Hexar RF.  Nice lens.  Very nice
lens.  Nothing lacking in its performance, even against Summicrons.  The nice
thing about it is the bokeh, which is lovely.  Light bulbs in the background
don't disk-out.

Plusses:
40.5mm filters (means you can put cool Zeiss-Ikon filters on it)
nice aperture ring with good bearings
heavy-duty (and heavy) all-metal construction (exc. shade)
low, low price (like free)
well-sized to balance with the camera (this was intentional)
sharp as hell
better grip surface

Minuses:
plastic pullout lens shade
doesn't say Leica
isn't f/1.4

On the whole, if you played with a Hexanon and with a 50/1.5 Voigtlander
Nokton, the Nokton feels kind of cheap (not that it's not a nice lens).  It's
just that the Hexanon is heavier, feels better and balances better.  My 35/2
Summicron also feels like something of a toy in comparison.

From what I understand, it's a previous-generation Summicron clone.  I have
not seen any performance drop since switching to it, and just about every
reviewer has put its performance in the same class as the Leica product.

William Gower wrote:

> Hello LUG'ers
>
> As a periodic LUG subscriber, I've probably missed the critical analysis
> posted regarding the M-Hexanon. But the archives were surprisingly thin on
> the subject.
>
> Who on the list is currently using (or has tried) the 50/2 M-Hexanon ? What
> did you think ? Optically, mechanical, etc.
>
> Anyone out there in LUG-land got one for sale ?
>
> Thanks
>
> William

- --
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dante Stella
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~dante

In reply to: Message from "William Gower" <wgower@eco-tec.com> ([Leica] How's your 50/2 M-Hexanon ?)