cv 35 or summaron

A

ambientmick

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I will soon be buying an M mount 35mm lens and want a compact, quality lens mostly for b+w street shooting. I have the chance to get a summaron 35mm f2.8 in pretty good condition for virtually the same price as a new voigtlander 35mm f2.5 color skopar classic. Which would you buy and why? BTW it will be mounted on an Epson R-D1S. Thanks for reading.
 
Well, the Skopar is really nice, but if you can get a Summaron in good condition for the same..., no, get the Skopar.

Now, where did you see this Summaron for this reasonable price?
 
rover said:
Well, the Skopar is really nice, but if you can get a Summaron in good condition for the same..., no, get the Skopar.

Now, where did you see this Summaron for this reasonable price?
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A local store here in the UK.

In what way is the Summaron better? Apart from the manufacturer.
 
The Summaron f2.8 is selling for around $600, being the precurser and very close to the performance to the very expensive 35mm Summicron f2. So, get the Skopar and tell me the name of that store!:)
 
Leica lenses made in the 50s and 60s are of an entirely different quality to those made today. Not to say anything bad about modern lenses, but they don't hold a candle to the classics.

Optically I think the biggest difference you will see from these two lenses is in the amount of contrast. Both are very sharp, but the Summaron draws a very "old fashioned" looking image, lower in contrast than the modern Skopar. You will find very few negative comments about the Skopar it is an excellent lens. It does offer high contrast though and on an R-D1s a lower contrast lens is more desirable no?

I personally really like the images I see taken with 35/2.8 Summarons. They generally sell for @$500 US. If you can find one for the price of the Skopar it is a very good buy if it is good condition. I am sure if you go to flickr and search tags for Summaron you find a number of photographs taken with this lens. If so, you can see if it produces anything particularly attractive to you.

Also, I purchased a Canon 35/2.8 which produces images similar to the Summaron. It can be found though for less than $150. A Jupiter 12 would be similar too, but not a fit for your R-D1s due to the large rear element.
 
FrankS said:
The Summaron f2.8 is selling for around $600, being the precurser and very close to the performance to the very expensive 35mm Summicron f2. So, get the Skopar and tell me the name of that store!:)
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CV are known for great value and Leica for great quality but very expensive so getting the Summaron seems obvious. However I want to actually use the lens rather than collect so views on the difference between a lens made 'today' and one made in 1960 would be useful. And the name of the store will remain the secret of myself, the store owner, the person that sold the lens to the store and everyone else who has been in the store;)
 
Oh, okay.

The biggest difference is that the modern Skopar is much contrastier. Almost to a fault. Sharpness-wise they are pretty equal, with the edge to the Summaron, I'm guessing. The thing of it is, if you buy the Summaron and don't like it, you can easily sell it and get a Skopar. Not so if you buy the Skopar first. If they are about the same price, this is an annomoly and you should take advantage. The Summaron is an older lens, so check for condition: cleaning marks and haze.
 
rover said:
Leica lenses made in the 50s and 60s are of an entirely different quality to those made today. Not to say anything bad about modern lenses, but they don't hold a candle to the classics.

Optically I think the biggest difference you will see from these two lenses is in the amount of contrast. Both are very sharp, but the Summaron draws a very "old fashioned" looking image, lower in contrast than the modern Skopar. You will find very few negative comments about the Skopar it is an excellent lens. It does offer high contrast though and on an R-D1s a lower contrast lens is more desirable no?

I personally really like the images I see taken with 35/2.8 Summarons. They generally sell for @$500 US. If you can find one for the price of the Skopar it is a very good buy if it is good condition. I am sure if you go to flickr and search tags for Summaron you find a number of photographs taken with this lens. If so, you can see if it produces anything particularly attractive to you.

Also, I purchased a Canon 35/2.8 which produces images similar to the Summaron. It can be found though for less than $150. A Jupiter 12 would be similar too, but not a fit for your R-D1s due to the large rear element.
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Thanks. I took your advice and checked flickr. Looks good. I think i'll get the Summaron but what should I check for? I've heard that fogging can be an issue. Having seen the lens only briefly i'm not sure if this is an problem with this one so any suggestions as to how to check it would be gratefully received. Thanks again.
 
Actually the Jupiter works fine on the R-D1.

rover said:
Leica lenses made in the 50s and 60s are of an entirely different quality to those made today. Not to say anything bad about modern lenses, but they don't hold a candle to the classics.

Optically I think the biggest difference you will see from these two lenses is in the amount of contrast. Both are very sharp, but the Summaron draws a very "old fashioned" looking image, lower in contrast than the modern Skopar. You will find very few negative comments about the Skopar it is an excellent lens. It does offer high contrast though and on an R-D1s a lower contrast lens is more desirable no?

I personally really like the images I see taken with 35/2.8 Summarons. They generally sell for @$500 US. If you can find one for the price of the Skopar it is a very good buy if it is good condition. I am sure if you go to flickr and search tags for Summaron you find a number of photographs taken with this lens. If so, you can see if it produces anything particularly attractive to you.

Also, I purchased a Canon 35/2.8 which produces images similar to the Summaron. It can be found though for less than $150. A Jupiter 12 would be similar too, but not a fit for your R-D1s due to the large rear element.
Click to expand...
 
Personally I would prefer the Summaron but then I like both the build quality and the results available from classic lenses. I am sure the CV is fine on the other hand and will do the job well as they are good lenses too. But there is something to be said for sticking with the original lenses. I own the 3.5 summaron 35mm and although it is acknowledged to be not as good as the 2.8 it produces nice results.
 
Just out of curiosity, have you considered the Canon 35/2.8? Search for images and comments here, it may well split the difference for you.

William
 
Okay I got the Summaron :D It's actually in better condition than I remember especially after a bit of a clean - the lens is in excellent condition and the glass seems to just have a few specs of dust inside. And for £195 - not bad. All I need now is a lens cap. Anyone got one for sale?
 
Does it take 39mm filters? There is a guy who sells reproduction metal Leica lens caps on ebay, they are pretty nice. Or, I buought a couple plastic generic ones for a couple of my lenses.

Congratulations.
 
rover said:
Does it take 39mm filters? There is a guy who sells reproduction metal Leica lens caps on ebay, they are pretty nice. Or, I buought a couple plastic generic ones for a couple of my lenses.

Congratulations.
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Yes 39mm. Do you have a link or name for the seller? Thanks.
 
ambientmick said:
All I need now is a lens cap. Anyone got one for sale?
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I have a dealer friend who is selling new copies at GBP7.00 each - I could get one for you if you don't want to pay for a genuine part.
 
john neal said:
I have a dealer friend who is selling new copies at GBP7.00 each - I could get one for you if you don't want to pay for a genuine part.
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Thanks. Sounds great and in the UK. How do I get one?
 
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