Leica LTM Collapsible Summicron

Leica M39 screw mount bodies/lenses

Collapsible Summicron

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raid

raid

Dad Photographer
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What are your thoughts on the qualities of a clean collapsible 50mm/2 Summicron?

It came after the Summar and Summarit and before the rigid Summicron, so where does it "fall" optically?

Does it have a "signature" [whatever this word means] of its own?

Is it a lens that is meant for B&W film more than color film?

Is the collapsibability a myth of an advantage or or is a pocketable camera worth consideration?

Is such a lens in M mount worth between $275-$375 these days?

Is a rigid Summicron different optically from a collapsible Summicron?

Is a collapsible Summicron in LTM different optically from the lens in M mount?

There are so many questions on my mind.
 
Dan and John: Thanks for the reminder. I took another look at the chart information. So it is $250-$400.
 
$200 to $240 for a user with cleaning marks; $500 and up for mint sample with perfect glass especially if LTM version.
 
Hello Raid:

While it is a matter of taste and opinion the last version is of higher contrast and gives full field resolution. Hence "clinical". The earlier Summicrons fail gracefully towards the edges, the current version has fewer faults.

yours
FPJ
 
FPjohn said:
Hello Raid:

While it is a matter of taste and opinion the last version is of higher contrast and gives full field resolution. Hence "clinical". The earlier Summicrons fail gracefully towards the edges, the current version has fewer faults.

yours
FPJ
Click to expand...

John,

When you say "last version", do you mean the last version of the collapsible Summicron? It was only made for 3-4 years according to the chart by Dan.

I guess, you mean the last version [rigid] Summicron.
 
I had one, loved the compactness when collapsed, loved the bokeh wide open, pretty damn sharp stopped down. Sold it with my M4-P, I think the M mount Elmar might be a good replacement.

Todd
 
Collapsibility is definitely a desirable feature for me. It reduces the thickness of the camera enough to fit into some pockets making it more carryable.
 
I have an article on the Summicron 50 from Shutterbug magazine which might answer some of your questions. It is a 44.3 KB PDF file, too large to be attached. Will send to anyone who writes to uthappam at gmail dot com.
 
I bought one from a fellow RFF member recently. Even w/ the big cleaning marks and the loss of coating on the rear element (all of which I knew about before hand), it takes pics w/ that classic Leica look. It's not a Dual Range, but nice. It's a little low on contrast, but sharp enough. Photoshop is the great lens equalizer anyway.

I am not crazy about the handling, as the aperture is inconvenient to change because the knurled thing you grasp to turn doesn't go all the way around the lens, but I guess you would get used to that. Here's one w/ Tri-X, scanned w/ a Dimage Scan Dual III that I also bought from a fellow RFF member. Thanks guys!
 

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Mine was $280, around two years ago, from Roland I think. I downsized from an Elmar-M, which went for $490. Now that the Elmar has gone up to $600 or so, I think a Summicron for $300 would be a bargain.

(Interesting, by the way, that these generally fetch no more than comparable Elmars, which must have been the budget model at the time)

I think if you use a wrist strap, these lenses make an M3, say, a wonderfully compact camera. I love the collapsible aspect... the whole camera, complete with lens, nestles in your hands as you walk the streets. I love also that, being a vintage lens, the odd scratch won't matter compared with a new one. I only use mine for black and white and for one reason or another seem to get more satisfactory results than i did with the Elmar.
 
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Is a Summarit or Summar a more popular lens here than a collapsible Summicron?
Many people praise the optical performance of the Summarit.


corrected: I mean the Summitar and not the Summarit
 
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The collapsible Summicron is worth having. The early version was different optically, used thorium glass. It was also constructed a bit differently. The glass and the coatings changed on it through the run. A very clean one is hard to tell from the Rigid Summicron performance-wise.

I have several collapsibles, a type I Rigid, and a type 2 Rigid. Except the thorium lens, They are all featured in my lens test. That one is also quite sharp. It was "Sun-bleached" to get rid of most of the yellow.
 
Brian Sweeney said:
The collapsible Summicron is worth having. The early version was different optically, used thorium glass. It was also constructed a bit differently. The glass and the coatings changed on it through the run. A very clean one is hard to tell from the Rigid Summicron performance-wise.

I have several collapsibles, a type I Rigid, and a type 2 Rigid. Except the thorium lens, They are all featured in my lens test. That one is also quite sharp. It was "Sun-bleached" to get rid of most of the yellow.
Click to expand...

Brian,

Which serial numbers are for the early versions of the collapsible Summicron? I guess, they were all LTM lenses.
 
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