Leica 28mm f/2 Summicron focuses past infinity?

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hubert

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Hi everyone

First post here. First of all thanks everyone for the great wealth of information here. I am not new to photography, but am quite new to Leica and rangefinder photography in general. So far I love it!

I have recently purchased a 28mm Summicron from a forum member here for my M9. Right away I noticed the lens focuses past infinity. A visit to a local Leica repairsman today confirmed that. I was wondering if this is normal for this lens? The rangefinder in my M9 is spot on, as also confirmed by the repairman.

I was told it would be a tough repair. Could owners of the 28mm Summicron help me with this? Does your 28mm Summicron focus past infinity? Better yet, I was wondering if anyone could send me a raw file shot by the M9 and the 28mm Summicron wide open? I would love to compare if my copy is as sharp.

Thanks very much in advance.

Hubert
 
Hi JSU

Thanks so much for the reply. That's really helpful. I am afraid there is indeed something wrong with my 28mm. Would you care to share a raw file?

Hubert
 
Hi JSU

Thanks again! Anything you can send will be very helpful. It's very much appreciated.

my email is hubert AT hubertphoto DOT com

Cheers!
 
Welcome, Hubert! The 28 Summicron is one of the greats. Mine doesn't focus past infinity, was bought as "new old stock" 6 years ago, ser# 3928xxx. If your tech confirms yours focuses past infinity, then I guess it must. But sometimes we mistake power lines two blocks away as being effectively at infinity, whereas on an M camera the RF is capable of distinguishing between that and a tree on a hill 10 miles away.

Good luck in getting this issue resolved satisfactorily.
 
Thanks Doug. Much appreciated. In my case I was in the workshop with the tech when he showed me how the lens focuses past infinity on one of his test machines. It's quite clear that the lens focuses past infinity by a pretty sizable margin.

Would you have any image you shot with the 28mm Summicron that you might be able to share? I have heard great things about the 28mm. I would like to see how other copies of this lens compare to mine. It's quite worrisome as I feel the lens never sharpens up to the point of my other lenses ( 40mm Summicron, Zeiss 50mm Planar, and M-Haxanon 90mm). I wonder if I am expecting too much of the 28mm?

Thanks again!
 
You can search the RFF Gallery for "Summicron 28mm" and get 50+ hits (a dozen or so are mine), but of course it's not really possible to judge ultimate sharpness in such small-scale images.

If you'd like a couple of full-size jpegs from an M8, PM me an email address... I have no complaints about sharpness with the lens.

You might ask your technician for an opinion on your lens sharpness. As another option, you might send it to DAG for 1) correcting any focusing and sharpness problems, 2) calibrating focus for the digital M, and 3) 6-bit coding for identifying itself automatically on your M9.
 
Hi Doug

Yes it will be great if I could get a couple of full sized jepgs from you. Thanks very much. My email address is hubert AT hubertphoto DOT com.

At this point I have consulted 2 reputable technicians. Their opinions are that the lens is indeed not up to factory spec. I am going to give Leica New Jersey and DAG a call in the morning. Do you know if DAG has the necessary equipment (collimator) to work on the optics?

It's really too bad that the person who sold me the lens here hasn't agreed to take the lens back. I have had it for about a week...
 
I would think it fairly easy to correct a lens that focuses past infinity. I have done it on a couple Lecia M lenses, but not the 28 Summicron. I have been told that there are internal shims to adust the infinity stop, but I have simply added a .001" washer shaped shim between the bayonet and lens body to move the lens group away from the M body. In addition to having perfect infinity hard stop, the rangefinder is very accurate. So, it can be done, one way or another, with the 28 Summicron.

Also, that lens has a simple one group design (not floating element). Focusing past infinity could effect the rangefinder's front/back focus of nearer objects, but it will not effect lens sharpness, unless the lens is defective.
 
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