aw614
Well-known
I am not sure where to put this and my thoughts are kind of scrambled trying to type this out, but here goes...
Found a cheapish Summitar on ebay (Price was good and I am waiting for my local camera store to see if they can fix 1946 one that is focusing past infinity issue). I did buy it b/c it looked to be uncoated and had a six blade aperture which just seemed really weird.
Serial number is 552742 which puts it at 1940 range, but it has six bladed aperture on it. Based on the info online, that should have been on a newer 50s era Summitar? Additionally the aperture from F2 to F16, I thought all earlier summitars go from f2 to F12.5? Did early 40s models have the distance markers in feet or meters? This summitar is in feet.
The upper part of the glass, seems uncoated, but I i think the glass closer to the mount flange area is coated. Like i think the front half of glass of the lens and housing is off an early model, but the rear portion I might be a off a newer one, which might explain the six blade aperture model
Has anyone every gotten something like this? the other issue is the aperture won't line up with the aperture indicator dot. When the lens is wide open, it lands on between F2.8 and F4. If it focuses right...I'd like to fix the aperture scale to be accurate.
I don't think its worth asking for a refund as the glass is in usable shape for its age and I'd like to use it. Doing a quick check on ebay, feels like this could be expensive to fix...
Some pictures of this:
Found a cheapish Summitar on ebay (Price was good and I am waiting for my local camera store to see if they can fix 1946 one that is focusing past infinity issue). I did buy it b/c it looked to be uncoated and had a six blade aperture which just seemed really weird.
Serial number is 552742 which puts it at 1940 range, but it has six bladed aperture on it. Based on the info online, that should have been on a newer 50s era Summitar? Additionally the aperture from F2 to F16, I thought all earlier summitars go from f2 to F12.5? Did early 40s models have the distance markers in feet or meters? This summitar is in feet.
The upper part of the glass, seems uncoated, but I i think the glass closer to the mount flange area is coated. Like i think the front half of glass of the lens and housing is off an early model, but the rear portion I might be a off a newer one, which might explain the six blade aperture model
Has anyone every gotten something like this? the other issue is the aperture won't line up with the aperture indicator dot. When the lens is wide open, it lands on between F2.8 and F4. If it focuses right...I'd like to fix the aperture scale to be accurate.
I don't think its worth asking for a refund as the glass is in usable shape for its age and I'd like to use it. Doing a quick check on ebay, feels like this could be expensive to fix...
Some pictures of this:
dexdog
Veteran
I think it likely that Sonnar Brian has experience with this kind of situation.
wlewisiii
Just another hotel clerk
Do you have a digital camera to see if it can focus at infinity as is? It may simply need a shimming if the front element is screwing in too far.
Summar, made of mismatched parts. New front group from a $60 lens with no aperture blades to replace an even cheaper one with scratched front element.
Wide-open, photo of a display.
I've done the same with a Summicron, now sold.
I've used the rear group from a Nikkor 5cm F1.4 to replace a bad group on a Canon 50mm F1.5, both Sonnar formula lenses.
Wide-open, photo of a display.
I've done the same with a Summicron, now sold.
I've used the rear group from a Nikkor 5cm F1.4 to replace a bad group on a Canon 50mm F1.5, both Sonnar formula lenses.
wlewisiii
Just another hotel clerk
I remember you mentioning the Summar. I keep thinking about trying my luck that way 😉
Images from the Canon-Nikkor Hybrid Sonnar, on the Leica M8. The hard part was getting the spacing between front and rear section correct, meaning the focal length is close enough to 51.6mm for the RF calibration to hold across range.
Single shots at F1.5
Pairs at F1.5 and F4.
Single shots at F1.5
Pairs at F1.5 and F4.
aw614
Well-known
I don't have digital full frame, but I do have digital APS-C and m43. I put the lens on my ltm to-sony e adapter and while most of my other lenses wide open focus to a little past infinity (cheap adapter), this lens isn't reaching infinity when shot wide open. Stopping down seems to be fine. Unsure how that will work on film. W
The other ltm lenses I have, cv 50mm 1.5, Canon 50mm 1.8 all focused just a little past infinity with my adapter. On film they all produced images that are fine.
I took some photos, wide open and 100% crop
This is stopped down at 100% crop
Uncropped images:
aw614
Well-known
If I remember from other threads, if you are focusing way past infinity, you need to add a shim, on the rear element to bring it back to the sensor/film plane correct? Or you can add a shim on the front element and space it further out?
But in my case, if i am having hitting infinity then I need to do something else like bringing the front element closer? or do summitars have a shim inside that I need to take out?
But in my case, if i am having hitting infinity then I need to do something else like bringing the front element closer? or do summitars have a shim inside that I need to take out?
wlewisiii
Just another hotel clerk
Whelp, I'm glad the expert is here because my small bit of knowledge went off the cliff already 🙂
On a more serious level, good luck getting it to proper spec. The Summitar I had remains the single best Leica lens I have ever used, much less owned. I have used some fairly expensive much more modern fancy lenses from them but for me there remains something very special about the Summitar when used wide open that was lost when they went to the Summicron's design (and never had in the faster lenses). That's just my odd ball opinion and it's worth what you paid for it - nada 😉 - so I'll simply hope you are able to enjoy the lens.
On a more serious level, good luck getting it to proper spec. The Summitar I had remains the single best Leica lens I have ever used, much less owned. I have used some fairly expensive much more modern fancy lenses from them but for me there remains something very special about the Summitar when used wide open that was lost when they went to the Summicron's design (and never had in the faster lenses). That's just my odd ball opinion and it's worth what you paid for it - nada 😉 - so I'll simply hope you are able to enjoy the lens.