Opinion wanted on 50mm F1.5 Summarit

[Kim Coxon]

Hi,
I have come across a 50mm F1.5 Summarit in LTM which seems to be in reasonable condition. I need to follow up on the condition but the asking price is £175 (about $300). Can anyone offer any views on the lens and approx price.

Kim

 

[Sonnar Brian]

If it is clean, and does not have haze and heavy cleaning marks, it is a good price. If it needs a cleaning, factor in another $80 or so, that puts it "up there" in price. It is an under-rated lens, perhaps because of the Summarit Fog" that often does not get cleaned out every 20 years or so.

 

[Kim Coxon]

?So how does it compare with the Canon 1.4. I am really tempted by Joe's lens and that is "in house". However, if the customs sees the Canon, it could cost me an extra $100 in tax, handling charges etc whereas the Summitar is in the UK so no danger of extra charges.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Adding to what Brian already said: it's a very unique lens. Finding one without scratches is difficult. I got the 50 Summilux, and found that the "creaminess" rendered on skin is about the same; it is derived from the Summarit, which itself is derived from the Xenon, which is derived from another formula. Very underrated, will not give you "sharp" results until you stop it down until about f/5.6, but then again, why have an f/1.4 or f/1.5 if not to shoot it wide open?

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

There's no comparison between the Summarit and the Canon f/1.4 LTM. The Summarit is low contrast, the Canon has a nice contrast. The Summarit flares easily, the Canon, I've been told, does a little, but is not bad at all; I have no experience with the Canon.

The Summarit renders colors with a rather muted touch, the Canon renders colors very nicely.

 

[FrankS]

Kim, is a Summitar or a Summarit? You mention both.

As for the diff between either of the above and Joe's 50 f1.4, the Canon lens gives a more modern , sharp result, with corner to corner sharpness. Both of the older Leitz lenses will be softer wide open, and softer in the edges and corners than the Canon.

 

[Kim Coxon]

It's a Summarit. Been reading too many threads recently and not up on Leica 😕

Kim

 

[jlw]

I used to own a 50/1.5 Summarit, and one of my most-often-used current lenses is a 50/1.4 Canon.

The fact that the Canon is the one I kept should tell you something: By objective standards it's a much better-performing lens, especially at wide apertures. It's more like a modern lens in terms of its ability to produce uniformly sharp, contrasty images.

The Summarit has a more "vintage" look, with flarey highlights and soft corners; sometimes that's a very nice look, but make sure it's what you want. Another way of looking at this is to say that the Summarit has a definite personality that it stamps on your pictures, while the Canon pretty much keeps out of the way.

Here's a link to a picture in my gallery in which I think the Summarit's personality DID contribute to the effect; as you can see, though, the highlight flare is pretty dominant:

Link to gallery photo

One more thing about the Summarit: The one I owned seemed to be a bit dodgy in terms of construction for a Leica optic. The focusing ring barrel seemed to be quite thin -- probably in an effort to keep the weight down -- and if you squeezed it firmly while focusing, it would deform enough that you'd feel a definite "drag." Others have told me they experience no such effect with their Summarits, so maybe I just had a "thin-skinned" example, but...

 

[Andrew3511]

Ho hum...well, I have just got the 1st film back with the Summarit and I have to completely disagree with the reputation. Mine is a late version (S/n 130xxx) with perfect optics. Yes, it's a touch lacking in contrast wide open but stopped down to f4.0 it's really hard IMHO to see much difference between it and the Summicron and it has the same wonderful gradation of tones and colour. With a lens hood (a 40.5mm article I had knocking about fixed with a layer of insulating tape) it doesn't flare that badly, certainly it's not like a lens 50 yrs it's junior but it does not deserve the spanking it gets in reviews. £175 well-spent say I for a lens only a little larger or heavier than the 1st rigid 'cron and probably lighter than the DR

 

[FrankS]

Thank you for your review, Andrew! You agree with Brian about this being an under-rated lens. Can't wait to get some results with mine.

 

[OldNick]

I would have to agree with JLW on construction of this lens. The one I had was worn to the point that the aperture ring was very loose. I eventually traded for a Summitar, which, in my opinion, is a much more useful lens.

 

[xayraa33]

I just have started to use a Summarit after selling my original one 28 years ago. It's too early for me to make up my mind yet, if I like it better in my old age than I did that many years ago. I posted a photo taken with the Summarit, and the (1) comment made by an RFF member, seems to make alot of sense the more I think about it..... We have a lot of wise members at this forum, I hope some of that wisdom can come my way.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

The Summarit is one of my favorite lenses. Once CLA'd, it is very sharp and has "pleasing" contrast. What amazed me about the lens is how much detail it preserves in an image; fine gradations that are usually clipped by my Nikkors.

Finding filters for it is a bit tough. I scored a Skylight for it at a camera show yesterday for $10.

 

[Andrew3511]

In which case you did much better than me Brian as I ended up paying £20 for a Leitz screw-in UV filter. There is a bayonet fit yellow in another local shop for £19 but I haven't succumbed yet.

I have only been back into this Leica thing for about 3 months, have already sent at least a film a week through the M2 and spent over £1000 on camera, lenses and bits and pieces. Reading this forum doesn't offer much hope for my bank balance.

 

[FrankS]

Abandon all hope....

 

[Andrew3511]

Thanks so much...

Anyway I will try and post 2 of yesterday's shots taken with the Summarit, yellow umbrella at about f 5.6 and the strongly backlit shot of the tree (sun only just out of frame) at f 8.0 I think

 

[aad]

The Summarit's a great lens, but I don't think it's a good "only" lens. It really works well on C41 black and white film.

 

[pshinkaw]

Here's a sample from my Summarit on an M-2. Fuji Superia 100, 1/250 @ f5.6. It's not as nice shooting into the sun with or without a hood, but under optimal lighting conditions it can be quite nice.

-Paul

 

[lido]

Very nice shot Paul, and very crisp.

 

[Benjamin Marks]

I've got to say, I love the look of the Summarit. Sure, it is prone to flare. Sure, there are sharper, more sophisticated optics out there. But it was my first Leica lens and I regret selling the first one I had. I actually bought another (example from that second Summarit attached). This image was made on Tri-X, developed in XTOL 1:1. Happy snaps,

Ben