1951 Summitar - M240 - first photos

[brusby]

Whether 6 blade is better or worse seems to be down to personal preferences -- less focus shift vs slightly different star shape. But I frequently see people obsess over small details while overlooking the big ones. The big picture for me is the amazing image quality coupled with bargain prices.

I'm just so happy to have found this lens. In my initial tests it's at least as sharp as the collapsible Summicron, Rigid and Dual Range, maybe even sharper in the center, while maybe very slightly behind in the corners. I'll take center sharpness any day. Plus it's collapsible, which makes it easy to lug around and more likely actually to be with me when I need it. The only negative for me is lack of detented click stops. But that's soooooo minor.

 

[brusby]

Nice pics Raid. Very sharp and 3d feel in the pier photo.

I think for bokeholics, the 10 blade would probably be a good bet. But, as much as I used to love nice bokeh, it seems so overdone these days, often devolving into just a blurry mess, that I'm wanting to go in the opposite direction and have more things in focus -- hence the look of the photos posted above.

 

[Schuter]

Love your work, Brusby...

I have one of each. The only tell-tale signs are the number of rays on the sun stars and the shape of the OOF highlights. I would consider those to be differences in character, not quality. It's a beautiful lens either way. Both are surprisingly sharp, although for me, sharpness is secondary to character when I reach for old Leitz glass.

 

[KoNickon]

I have one with the six-bladed domed aperture -- needs collimation, and hopefully someone here can offer pointers on how to do that? Works fine with my Olympus E-M10 though. I understand the wildly complex aperture blade design is a carryover from the Summar -- Leitz had some of those assemblies left over and used them in the earlier Summitars.

As for your pictures, yes, really great. I love the canoes in particular.

 

[brusby]

Love your work, Brusby...

I have one of each. The only tell-tale signs are the number of rays on the sun stars and the shape of the OOF highlights. I would consider those to be differences in character, not quality. It's a beautiful lens either way. Both are surprisingly sharp, although for me, sharpness is secondary to character when I reach for old Leitz glass.

Yes, they're addictive haha. I just bought a second one after seeing the results from this one. And we are in complete agreement about character vs sharpness. I'm just glad it was sharp enough to see clearly the details in the young girl's face in the third photo. It's kinda my fave, not because of any photographic factors, but I just love her very slight, modern, Mona Lisa'esque smile and the wonderful feeling of friendship her look radiates.

I have one with the six-bladed domed aperture -- needs collimation, and hopefully someone here can offer pointers on how to do that? Works fine with my Olympus E-M10 though. I understand the wildly complex aperture blade design is a carryover from the Summar -- Leitz had some of those assemblies left over and used them in the earlier Summitars.

As for your pictures, yes, really great. I love the canoes in particular.

Is yours front or back focusing? Mine was spot on so I didn't have to adjust it. I've adjusted focus on some other lenses like Canon F1.2 ltm (not collimation cause don't have that equipment, but just adjustment by trial and error). But in that lens the entire focusing block is in one piece and can be moved by adding a shim or changing the thickness of the existing one. The Summitar is different. Lemme give it some thought.



Thank you both so much for your very kind comments. It means a lot.

 

[Bingley]

The Summitar is a brilliant lens. I have a coated version from 1949, and a pristine uncoated sample from 1939. The coated Summitar:

The White Place by bingley0522, on Flickr

Asilomar Beach, June 2020 by bingley0522, on Flickr

And the uncoated version:

Balboa Ave. by bingley0522, on Flickr

Connections by bingley0522, on Flickr

 

[raydm6]

Very nice work with the Summitar. They would share nicely in the "Summitar the star..." thread: https://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65248&highlight=summitar+star

Leica IIIf | 5cm f/2 Summitar (10-blade) | XP2


Canon - Carter Park, Leominster, MA by rdc154, on Flickr

 

[David Hughes]

I have always thought that they got it nearly right with the uncoated late 1930's version and then coating improved it and then the next tweak to the first Summicron meant they were right on target.


Just my 2d worth


Regards, David

 

[raydm6]

I'd love to see examples of improved image quality from 10 blade Summitars. Feel free to post below.

Not sure if there is improved image quality as your photos are outstanding. But here's another 10-Blade Summitar shot with smooth OOF areas.

Leica IIIf | 5cm f/2 Summitar (10-blade) | Kodak BW400CN Chromogenic (IIRC)


Sign #1 by rdc154, on Flickr

 

[Benjamin Marks]

Beautiful renditions! Would not have pegged these images came from a mid-century single coated lens. Very nicely done.

 

[helen.HH]

Summitar magic on film...




It was there... The Light drew Me in by Helen Hill, on Flickr

 

[helen.HH]

Dear 'brusby'

LOVE your 240/Summitar photos
Beautifully sharp, lovely character , YUM !

 

[helen.HH]

Summitar gets a glimpse of Me...





conditioning the locks by Helen Hill, on Flickr

 

[helen.HH]

in the Distance... by Helen Hill, on Flickr

 

[brusby]

Love all the images and comments. Thanks for contributing, everyone.

And special thanks to you, Helen. Beautiful what you're doing with this lens on film. Hope to post some with the lovely collapsible Summicron you sold me. Soon as I get time to get out and shoot with it. Thanks again!

 

[Benjamin Marks]

@brusby: your images made me want to dig mine out and see what it could do on this cloudy Vermont Thanksgiving day. Mine is a 12-bladed version with a serial number starting in the 7's. I bought it directly from Sherry Krauter about 10 years ago. The following snaps are pretty prosaic, but show it to be a really nice performing 50 with great transition to out-of-focus areas.

All snaps at f:2.8 on the M9 , ISO:400. Here is one, and a crop, showing close focus. Focus is on the raindrop:

and the crop:

I feel like you can see a hint of flare due to the bright, diffuse, high cloud cover behind.

Here's a classic depth of field test to show bokeh at f:2.8:

and a conversion of the same into b&W; Silver FX Pro2 Neopan 400 conversion:

The classic barn side:

And color (not much change):

And finally, full-rez of my son forging his first sword:

Quite a performer!

 

[Shac]

This is with a 1946 coated Summitar (round aperture S/N 620XXX). Handles colour pretty good as others have shown.

 

[brusby]

Wonderful rustic setting Benjamin. You're so lucky. Would be perfect for portraits. In fact it reminds me of some shots I did of a former girlfriend's sister when I was in college many years ago. Rays of late afternoon sunset streaming across weathered boards can make for a stunning backdrop.

These are scans of an old contact sheet from the original 2 1/4 Hasselblad film negatives from my youth. Wish I had easy access now to such great photo opportunities as you have.

H. West - plantation - from scan of Hasselblad contact sheet by Brusby, on Flickr

H. West - plantation 2 - Hasselblad contact sheet by Brusby, on Flickr

 

[Benjamin Marks]

LOL. Well, we all want what we don't have. I grew up in NYC and really prefer an urban setting for my photography. I don't really use the natural world here as a backdrop or subject, except in really exceptional circumstances.

Mostly, though, I create a set-up to take subjects out of the "natural" environment:

Those last two aren't Leica images, but today's exercise showed that the Summitar is capable of some great stuff. I should spend more time with the classic lenses in my cabinet. I have a Summarit with which I sometimes get lucky . . .

 

[gb hill]

Not bad at all for color but exceptional in B&W. Nice.