[jlstrawman]

There are a LOT of ~50mm (50-58mm) lenses out there. What is your favorite?

Mine is currently the S-M-C Takumar 50/1.4

The only 50 I own: A50 f1.4. Purchased new by me in the early 1980s.

[Pentax Syntax]

No love for the FA 50 2.8 macro? Sharpest lens I have ever owned and very versatile. Of course I love my FA 50 1.4 also.

[timw4mail]

No love for the FA 50 2.8 macro? Sharpest lens I have ever owned and very versatile. Of course I love my FA 50 1.4 also.

Too much love for faster lenses, I guess.

[Kerrowdown]

Is it really worth the 5x cost premium over a 1.4 lens?

Absolutely.

[Wheatfield]

I just knew someone would list a 1.2.

Is it really worth the 5x cost premium over a 1.4 lens?

Nope, but that doesn't stop me from liking it. To be honest, the A50/1.4 is the better lens.

[Madaboutpix]

smc PENTAX-DA 50mm F1.8

Dirt cheap, yet so capable it puts a smile on my face whenever I look at the images I'm getting from it.

[mwilky55]

+1 for the FA 50 2.8 macro. Love the FA 50 1.7 too.

[stevebrot]

Dang! This is hard! I have more than 20 lenses in the range of 50-58mm. Each has its own character and only one is truly bad. Hmmm...those that are highly favored depends somewhat on kit...

APS-C Digital:

• KMZ Helios 44M 58/2
• First runner-up - Auto Rikenon 50/1.7 (M42)
• Second runner-up - DA 50/1.8 simply because it is fun

Below is one of my favorites taken with the Helios 44M on the K10D...




35mm Film SLR:

• Pentax-M 50/1.7, Pentax-K 55/1.8, Super-Takumar 55/1.8 (take your pick)

The base of Vernal Falls at Yosemite. Pentax-M 50/1.7 with Ricoh XR7, Kodachrome, 1989...




35mm Film Rangefinder:

• Arsenal Helios 103 53/1.8 (Contax/Kiev)
• Runner-up - KMZ Jupiter-8 (Contax/Kiev)

Here is an example from the Helios 103 on the Kiev 4A, Legacy Pro 400 (Fuji Neopan 400)





Steve

[Digitalis]

The SMCP-K 50mm f/1.2 - I have had this lens and worked with it for years, I know the optical proclivities of my own copy of it and find the lens to be easily in my top 10 50mm lenses ever made. I use it often as it is an excellent lens for portraiture not just because of its speed, but when it is stopped down it produces the "soft-sharpness" that some of the older generation of sought after large format lenses produce. The SMCP-K 50mm f/1.2 it isn't as bitingly contrasty as some of the later and current FA and DA primes*, but it also doesn't have the same degree of optical aberration. In fact, the Pentax 50mm f/1.2 has measurably less axial CA than the late versions of the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 - not too shabby for a lens designed in the mid 1970s.

With Rangefinder lenses I have a preference for the Leica Noctilux 50mm f/1.0 - the omission of an aspherical element in the optical design leads to uncorrected spherical aberration which leads to its unpredictable love it or hate it optical qualities. The Leica Noctilux 50mm f/0.95 is sharper but it does not have the signature of 50mm f/1.0 Noctilux. When I don't have enough space in my bag for the noctilux, I pick the Leica pre-asph summicron 50mm f/2 [ which has similar optical properties to the sans ASPH Noctilux] which gets paired with a Leica APO-Summicron 90mm f/2.


Pentax K5IIs - SMCP-K 50mm f/1.2 ISO 80 1/6400th@f/1.2

*which is one of the primary reasons why I don't think Pentax will ever produce an AF 50mm f/1.2 lens due to the inherently low contrast such lenses tend to have. The AF on the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 I and EF 85mm f/1.2 II lenses are distinctly slower and less accurate than their slower cousins even on the top-of-the-line Canon 1DX.It has also been said the Fujinon 56mm f/1.2R isn't exactly a speed demon either.

[Cabessius]

For sharpness, the SMC Pentax K 50mm f/4 MACRO. Like a knife.
For bokeh and crazy stuff, the very early Helios 44.

[Dice]

Love my Voigtlander 58 1.4. Wonderfully dreamy and love the rendering when wide or near wide open. And is sharp as a knife soon after that.

[normhead]

FA 50 macro..... because it does macro.

[clickclick]

In the 50mm range, it would be my CZJ Biotar 2/58. Just love the way this lens renders and the bokeh. Also a joy to use - the feel of focus and aperture controls is so smooth. Use a large Kodak Series 7 period lens hood on it, and the combo looks great to boot.

[paulpines]

I have a few 50s. I have 2 favourites: My A 50 macro 2.8, and F 50 1.7.

[gabriel_bc]

There are just so many good 50s out there, and we Pentaxians are blessed with an abundance...

When I want a MF 50, I reach for my K50/1.2. I could not justify spending market value on one, but (obsessive?) craigslist stalking netted me one for cheap. This lens is a gem.

The M50/1.7 is another fantastic lens, and an excellent value.

In m42 mount, the Fujinon EBC 50/1.4 was a favourite, followed by the S-M-C Tak 50/1.4.

For an AF 50, I have a soft spot for the F/FA 50/1.7 - excellent performance wide open.