Anyone use a Summitar?

[naturepix]

Well, I'll jump in here. Although Ash is not getting a Summitar right now, some might be interested in some images form my first roll (I've been looking for an excuse to post these). I got the lens a few weeks ago from Greg at The Camera Center in Grand Rapids, MI. I like it... here used on a IIIf.

Dave

 

[Ash]

Those shots are amazing! Almost gutted I'm not getting the lens now!

 

[naturepix]

My Summitar is from 1951. The glass is perfect, and I like the results. I feel pretty lucky. The price was right and it came at a time when I was looking for a really good 50 for my IIIf.

Dave

 

[OldNick]

Here are a couple of Summitar photos. Mine is a coated version from 1949. The informal portrait is a blowup from about 10% of a B&W negative.

Jim N.

 

[Ash]

Pretty good for 10% !!

 

[OldNick]

Thanks, Ash. It was shot in a crowded banquet room and I could not get up from the table, so had to grab the shot as best I could.

Jim N.

 

[Xmas]

Ash

About your signature again, you now are keeping it up to date, well done, but where it says 'camera body' it seems to be economical with the truth? Perhaps you need a rainbow for the sequence looking, ordered, in post, film in, for sale and in the post (outbound)...

The Summitar Summicron series are well corrected lens, their only problem was Leitz did not have the Zeiss or later hard coating technology to protect the glass from abrasion and haze.

HCB used an early cron, earlier he had a sonnar.

Enjoy the Contax.

Noel

 

[Ash]

Thanks noel, how was the Brummy meet?

I'll see about the rainbow scheme, it may be confusing though!

 

[Xmas]

Ash

The Venice of the North meeting was amazingly good, Mrs L. Coxon can handle a narrow boat (on throttle and rudder) with more delicacy and less scraping than you or I can mount a J12 on a Contax II. (The locks have about 10" side clearance total and the boat is 18 imp tons & 59' long) - she can cook better, ...

The rail system was terrible getting there and back, weekend maintenance works, reversionary bus broke down etc.

Kim has requested I scan and post, it will be weeks before my scanner reappears...

Edit {and my photog is not as good as yours...}

Noel

 

[Ash]

Sounds fun Noel!! I'm really angry I missed it, I was redecorating my old room for my sister, so that took all day :bang:

 

[Xmas]

Ash

There was Sat and Sun... the rail was terrible on Sunday, I live close enough to commute, during the week but Sunday is impossible.

Noel

 

[Ash]

Saturday I was clearing out the room, Sunday I was decorating! 🙁

That sounds typical. Mother and sister were in London shopping yesterday, apparently it was packed, and they had booked seats and had to stand on the train home!

 

[RdEoSg]

Someone did a thread in here a few months ago comparing 5-6 different 50mm lenses with images comparing the same shot with each lens and such. Can anyone lead me to that thread. I put it in the back of my mind to remember and clearly I put it too far in the back!

 

[David Murphy]

Interesting thread. Well I was not around in the 40's and early 50's, but I can only imagine that the Summitar had a lot to do with establising Leica's reputation as a big league player in camera optics. It is simply an amazing performer for such an old lens.

My guess is that this performance was obtained by empirically by adjusting either select element spacings or possibly the radius of one surface while iterating with a test setup in the factory. I really doubt lens design technology and lens fabrication were good enough to achieve this level of image quality at the time without small empirical corrections made to each lens (I am speaking as a person with optical design experience). It is said Leica camera bodies were (and are?) each hand assembled, so this would be consistent with their overall manufacturing culture.

 

[thafred]

RdEoSg do you mean this thread perhaps: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27210&highlight=pixelpeepshow

apart from my summitar beeing part of the test (and receiving very positive comments) there´s a Summitar photo further down with f/11 and a crop of the door....I´m still amazed by the sharpness of the Print! ( more honest to me than sharpened neg. scanns..) notice the screw in the plate that holds the door-handle! fantastic imho

I love the Summitar and there are several photos on my Flickr page:

LINK to HiRes

Go for it Ash! (at least when the honneymoon with the Sonnar is over 🙄 )

 

[Flyfisher Tom]

Very nice shots !

 

[like2fiddle]

One of the reasons I like the Summitar is it's different "personalities". The first shot below is of my mother, taken wide open. The second shot is taken close up at f8, and the last at f11. It's hard to tell they are taken with the same lens. Even though the quality of my shots is poor, it isn't that hard to see that the lens is soft wide open and fairly sharp with good depth closed down.

Roger

 

[gregg]

Here are a few of my favorite Summitar pics from the last month or two. The informal portrait was shot at 1/60-f2.8, the workshop at 1/100-f5.6 and the steel ducting at 1/30-f2.8. All images shot on a Leica IIIc with Fuji Superia 400.

 

[colyn]

The Summitar was my second Leica 50mm lens and was a great improvement over the Summar.
I still have and use it but my Summicron gets more use.
Although I like Russian glass you will love the Summitar.
I never liked the barndoor hood though... 😱

 

[colyn]

The Summitar will HAVE to wait!! :bang:

I just clicked BUY IT NOW to a £150 Contax II with Sonnar 😱

There goes me overdraft... I'm not sure who's gonna be more angry, the bank manager or my parents!!

Right I'm pretty sure all my FSU camera's are now up for grabs, so make me an offer 😉

I wish I had your bank roll when I was your age..