M4-P + Summitar Photos

mike goldberg said:
Thanks all... especially Gabor. I especially like the girls and the train. In the restaurant shot, the bananas are very sharp. Yes, that is a pleasing quality to this lens... central sharpness, with
falloff towards the edges.
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Mike, thank you ! Albeit, I have some more "sophisticated" lenses (say "more expensive"), a lot of my photos were taken with the Summitar (and quite a few with the IIIf/Summitar). This is not only because it is small but also for the way it renders.

Cheers,

maddoc
 
Really great shots, and a great experiment too! I like the sharpness -- maybe clarity is a better word -- of the images. I continue to be amazed at what the summitar can do -- in the right hands (including yours)! I think your f.2 project will inspire me to shoot a roll of bw w/ my Canon 50/1.5 using the same approach. Thanks for posting and keep posting more.
 
Hi, Maddoc. Excuse me for the delayed answer. The Leitz Summitar was build from 1939 to 1955. Was the first coated lens, from 1945. My memory was wrong: mine Summitar was build in 1952. If you want know the building year of your Summitar, tell me the matriculation number.
Ciao.
Vincenzo
 
I found my M-mount / LTM adapter again and gave this combo a try. My aim was to shot one film complete at f/2.0 to see how the lens performs wide open under different conditions. Also my first roll developed in D76 (I usually use T-max dev. or HC-110)

Thanks for the photos. Proof that good ideas and good equipment, well-handled, can produce good work. The latest and greatest toys are no substitute for initiative, technical skill and a good eye.
 
I have a Summitar with the hexagonal aperture, and it has the same swirly bokeh. I was hoping the wild bokeh was related to the aperture, and was thinking about replacing this Summitar with one with more aperture blades. In any case, your images look great, and they inspire me to do more black and white work.
gerry
 
I wouldnt agree that all summitars have that swirly bokeh. I had one with hex aperature and it was really extreme, now I have two with circular blades and its much less pronounced in both of them. I doubt that the blades themselves have a whole lot to do with this (especially considering there is a significant difference to be seen at max aperature) so Im more inclined to think that the lens formula might have slightly changed when they switched from the hex to circular blades, think the glass is "better" in the later lenses.
 
rumbliegeos said:
I have a Summitar with the hexagonal aperture, and it has the same swirly bokeh. I was hoping the wild bokeh was related to the aperture, and was thinking about replacing this Summitar with one with more aperture blades. In any case, your images look great, and they inspire me to do more black and white work.
gerry
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WoolenMammoth said:
I wouldnt agree that all summitars have that swirly bokeh. I had one with hex aperature and it was really extreme, now I have two with circular blades and its much less pronounced in both of them. I doubt that the blades themselves have a whole lot to do with this (especially considering there is a significant difference to be seen at max aperature) so Im more inclined to think that the lens formula might have slightly changed when they switched from the hex to circular blades, think the glass is "better" in the later lenses.
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It all depends on the background and the aperture. If the background is leafy, and you shoot wide open, then the bokeh will be swirly to very swirly. Otherwise, no problem with the Summitar bokeh.


Swirly not swirly?

Swirly

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Not swirly

attachment.php
 
again, if you compare the two generations of the lens at the same aperature with the same background, I would predict slightly different results. Thats my experience doing clinical tests with a few lenses to determine the keeper... Comparing one lens at f4 to another at f2 is not a comparison afterall...

someone earlier was asking about differences between the summitar and summarit and in my experience the summarit boks more consistently than does the summitar, as illustrated above. My work with either lens really doesnt suggest that they have a whole lot to do with each other though.
 
Maddoc, nice shots! What LTM to M adaptor did you use? I have a summitar and an M4-P on the way and would like to try this combo as well.

Thx.
 
direwolf101 said:
Maddoc, nice shots! What LTM to M adaptor did you use? I have a summitar and an M4-P on the way and would like to try this combo as well.

Thx.
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direwolf101: Thank you !! I use a Cosina Voigtlaender 50/75 LTM-M-mount adapter, the cheapest one I could find in a near-by shop.

Cheers,

maddoc
 
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