A fine and useful lens for M mount rangefinder cameras. The Carl Zeiss 50mm f2.0 Planar ZM lens

 

It all started out so innocently...

I'm far past my quota of owning various 50mm lenses. I have variations for L mount cameras, including: two different Zeiss versions. I already have a Voightlander APO 50mm for the M. I even have a 50mm lens from Fuji for the GFX camera. Fifties everywhere. But the best laid inventory control plans of gods and men ofttimes go awry. 

Just as an aside, I love the M series lenses that are made to fit on the Leica M cameras. They are smaller and lighter than the lenses made for DSLRs or mirrorless cameras. They are completely manual and well marked so they are pretty much perfect to use at their hyper focus distance settings for very quick street shots and, with adapters, you can put them on just about any great camera. I've had various M mount lenses on my SL cameras and my Fuji GFX camera by using high quality adapters. It's a great way to make a big, hulking "work" camera into something a bit smaller and stealthier. The camera stays the same size (obviously) but the overall package shrinks. In my studio one of M lenses can serve at least three different cameras systems without breaking a sweat.

Anyway. I was informed by house management (B.) that we're getting a new hardwood floor installed in the living room. I acted shocked as though this was the first time I was hearing this information. Seeing right through my attempted subterfuge the house management handed me an 8.5 by 11 inch piece of paper with the agenda for the deconstruction of the existing wood floor and the installation of the new wood floor. I was floored.

I have, listed on the paper,  two jobs, or assignments. Work which I don't remember bidding on or negotiating payment for. I was briskly informed that my "payment" would consist of "getting to enjoy the new floor for years to come." My assignments were alleged to be "simple." 

The agenda strongly suggested that I be on site one day next week to receive the materials for the project. An additional line item even more strongly suggested that it would be strongly appreciated if I cleaned out all the crap from the floor space of my studio/office and then maybe spent a day or so clearing out all of the furniture, bookshelves, hutches, etc. from the living room, the target of the upcoming renovation, and carrying said objects to my office for "short term" storage. I read the fine print at the bottom of the agenda and discovered that we were expecting one full week of demolition of the old floor, followed by another week of the installation, followed by a replacing of the baseboards and trim, followed by painting of those materials. 

Given my poor performances on previous projects requiring planning, hand skills, dexterity and perseverance (or the necessary follow through) I was summarily excused from doing any of the actual construction work. 

I looked around the studio and discovered that I had a small mountain of gimbals for video work that I had not touched since 2020. Also several ungainly and obese video tripods which initially cost a fortune but which were quickly superseded by the aforementioned gimbals. Drat! Video production can be quite the money pit. Especially if one buys the gear and then, after a few miserable projects, decides that one doesn't ever want to do video ever, EVER again. Add in a couple of photography tripods from the forest of tripods tucked under one big shelf and you have, basically, an SUV's worth of stuff to either take to the dump or otherwise dispose of in a more humane way. And with dispatch. 

I called my favorite equipment retail expert and he let me know that they had no interest in offering to take the equipment in trade for fun and juicy new stuff (the purchase of which kinda defeats the overriding purpose- more space) and that the resale value of now ancient gimbals is plummeting towards zero. I asked if anyone needed equipment donations. He does work with several underserved public schools which could absolutely use the gear. I dreaded having to go from school to school making explanations and wasting time so I was thrilled when my expert offered to accept the gear and donate it for me. Problem solved. Floor space revived. Much needed inventory shrinkage accomplished!!! Yay for me. 

I loaded all the stuff in my vehicle and headed north to the photo store. Noel greeted me warmly and looked over the stuff that took four trips from car-to-counter to deliver. He promised he'd get it into the hands of people who could do something good with it. Now I have a place to stick the sectional couch, multiple big bookcases, an assortment of chairs and .......... so much more.

The house management just delivered architectural drawings to me showing how the furniture should be distributed in my space. I will comply.

But I made one critical mistake. On the way out of the camera store I paused for just a few seconds too long in front of a tall but slender glass case. It's the case in which the store displays their used Leica, Contax and Hasselblad cameras, lenses and accessories. And there they were. Lovely, pristine Carl Zeiss lenses for my M series Leicas. I took off my glasses so I couldn't see all the toys clearly. But it didn't help. I put the glasses back on and, in an instant, spied the one lens in the Carl Zeiss ZM system that I thought I wanted and didn't have. 

It was a demure, black, 50mm f2.0 lens, about the size of an old style enlarging lens, sitting quietly, patiently and begging me to be... more interested. I flagged down my contact in the store and asked him to come and unlock the case so I could take a closer look. Maybe I'd find some deal-breaking flaw that would keep me from having to ask for a raise in my allowance. Haze? Scratches on the glass? A crunchy focusing ring?

But no. A close inspection made it clear that the lens was in great shape. The price was less than half of the new price. The lens came with the lens hood that Zeiss charges over one hundred dollars for, as a separate item. Not included in the box with the lens. And then, the tipping point, the lens had a lovely Leica professional filter on the front. How could I justify not adopting the lens and giving it a good, welcoming "forever" home? 

The way I rationalized it was by the trade off of volume. I left with a hatchback full of unwanted gear and came home with something that fit daintily in the cupholder in the center console of my car. It was destined to be. 

The ZM 50 f2.0 is basically Carl Zeiss's version of the 50mm Summicron but retails for less than half the Leica's new price. The Zeiss lenses, as good as they are, don't have the panache and (nod to MJ) the Veblen appeal of the Leica lenses and so they don't hold their resale value as well. I have convinced myself that all of this impulse buying is fine since the cost of the used lens is but a fraction the cost of the new floor.  I pretend to have the fiscal high ground. 

Yes. I tested the new lens. It's almost as good at the Voigtlander lens I already have. But it looks so cool in the shoulder bag next to the matching 28mm and 35mm ZM lenses. I'll stick the Voigtlander on one of the SL2 cameras and pretend it's just for the big cameras. Then all the lenses in the bag will look like a matched set. I might even take them out and shoot with them for a while. Novel, Yes? 

We're in the middle of the floor project and tax season. Blogging may be choppy for the next few weeks but I'll try my best...