M8/M9 with 5cm Summarit 1.5

dave lackey

dave lackey

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Anyone have any images made with either of the M8's or M9 using the 5cm Summarit 1.5 lens? Been looking everywhere but can't seem to find representative images depicting portraits, buildings, etc. Nothing yet.

Thanks in advance...:angel:
 
I have used the Summarit on the M8 and M9- test shots.

I have to admit- preferred the Summarit on Film over digital. I will give it another go on the M9. The Summarit is optimized for F2.8 close-up and infinity for wide-open. The focal lengths on the three Summarits that I've taken apart are all 51.1mm. It's the reverse of the FSU lenses on a Leica, where the focal length is longer than the RF calibration and the focus shift stopping down brings infinity into focus.
 
Brian Sweeney said:
I have used the Summarit on the M8 and M9- test shots.

I have to admit- preferred the Summarit on Film over digital. I will give it another go on the M9. The Summarit is optimized for F2.8 close-up and infinity for wide-open. The focal lengths on the three Summarits that I've taken apart are all 51.1mm. It's the reverse of the FSU lenses on a Leica, where the focal length is longer than the RF calibration and the focus shift stopping down brings infinity into focus.
Click to expand...


That is good to know, Brian.

I am very interersted in how the M8 images compare with the M9! Looking forward to your results.:)
 
m8 and summarit 1.5

m8 and summarit 1.5

dave
here are a few using the summarit on an m8, from a quick sort through older files. notes from memory:
259a is not cropped, f1.5, with min. sharpening in PS
301a no time to focus, probably f1.5
351a focused through car window, f4 or 5.6
this lens is at the top of my list of "wish i hadn't sold it" lenses.
greetings from hamburg
rick
 
Hi Dave, I will have a look to see if I can lay my hands on some for you.

My Summarit is sharper wide open than my 50mm Gen II Lux was, this is the reason why I still have the Summarit and the Lux is gone!

Andrew.
 
Rick, Andrew, love to see as many images as you care to post! My Summarit has been the only lens on my M3 for almost 3 years now. It had a lot more character before the Youxin CLA but now it has a dual character with sharpness actually being one of them.

I am wondering how the lens works on the M8 (with the crop factor) and with the M9 as well. One day I hope to own one of these digital bodies.:angel:
 
On the M8- no IR cut filter so I shot in-camera monochrome.

At F1.5

picture.php


at F4:
picture.php


at F1.5:

picture.php


at F4:


picture.php
 
Brian Sweeney said:
I have used the Summarit on the M8 and M9- test shots.

I have to admit- preferred the Summarit on Film over digital. I will give it another go on the M9. The Summarit is optimized for F2.8 close-up and infinity for wide-open. The focal lengths on the three Summarits that I've taken apart are all 51.1mm. It's the reverse of the FSU lenses on a Leica, where the focal length is longer than the RF calibration and the focus shift stopping down brings infinity into focus.
Click to expand...

I understand...what I have found is that sometimes there is a light cast over the images at 1.5 (cool if you are into that sort of thing), but decreasing the highlights and/or slightly increasing the contrast makes a dramatic difference. Hope you don't mind the edit here:

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Here's a gaggle, in various conditions. I don't take good notes like Brian :(, so your guess is as good as mine, WRT aperture. All on the M8, and none of them are filtered (it's hard enough to just get a lens cap for this lens!). Kind of wish I'd kept mine, now that I look at these again. I'd have liked to try it on film.

Also, apologies for the selfie :)


selfie, with flare (not flair) by mike thomas, on Flickr



selfie, nik silver efex pro by mike thomas, on Flickr




mike by mike thomas, on Flickr



lisa by mike thomas, on Flickr



cherry knolls park by mike thomas, on Flickr



conor by mike thomas, on Flickr



mb at the crossword puzzle by mike thomas, on Flickr



streets of southglenn at night by mike thomas, on Flickr



flakes by mike thomas, on Flickr
 
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dave
three more to finish the story:
* 929brff is pretty much full frame m8, summarit focused on the mirror fairly wide open
* summarithoodrff shows the lens hood and cap i used (both as a set from cameraquest on the leica pages).
* summaritvelviarff was certainly at 1.5, m3, just to see how wild the bokeh goes when 'pushed'
i'm enjoying this thread - and the lens deserves the exposure.
regards
rick
 
There's also a Flickr group for vintage Summarit:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/71035126@N00/

Some of the images posted above are very nice, but my overall impression – from a web search when I considered buying one – was that the elderly Summarits are too soft & flare-y at their larger apertures. The flare seemed to wash out & flatten the image, with not enough differentiation in highlight tones. IMO this look is almost the opposite of what folks call 'Leica glow,' which refers to a more three-dimensional look & a more engaging or sometimes even romantic feeling.

When these lenses were new, many photographers opted for a 1.5 Zeiss, including Robert Frank & HCB (before he fell in love with his Summicron).

I didn't like the 1.5 Summarit's way of 'drawing,' & decided instead on a pre-aspherical Summilux (Type 2), which at large apertures renders light in a subtler way. With less veiling flare, the image doesn't look so flat. This is true for both the 35 & 50 pre-a Summiluxes, whose softness when wide open is due to spherical aberration rather than flare. ( It's actually this aberration that folks call 'glow.')

Another way to go would be the modern Sonnar C, optimized for 1.5 & used (when necessary) with a ND filter.

YMMV, also your tastes; but if any of this makes sense you might do better with a different lens.

Kirk
 
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Thanks for the info on Flickr.

I guess most people don't know that the Summarit is the only lens I use on the M3 just for that look that you don't like. But that is okay because I use the M3 with that lens for a specific character.

I also use a Summicron f2 for sharper, different looks with the R4.

The Leica "glow" is evident in both under certain conditions, so I would not dismiss it. I have a couple of threads on RFF on it. Also, a thread on how the Summarit is actually sharper than my D40. :)
 
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