Replace Canon 50mm 1.8 with Summicron?

[michaelstevens]

I recently acquired a Canon 50/1.8 ltm and after cleaning out some internal haze and rebuilding the aperture diaphragm (don't ask!) I have a virtually mint lens.

I've heard this lens compared favorably with the Summicron and have always hankered after a collapsible one but I've never managed to find a clean example at the right time and at the right price.

Should I carry on hankering and searching or will my Canon give comparable results all else being equal?

 

[Krosya]

I think Canon is a great lens. Cron may have a bid different signature, but Canon is in no way a worse lens. Personally I like Canon better. For a collapsable I prefer Summitar - for it's own look.

 

[back alley]

have you tried a collapsable lens?
i don't care for the feel of them in use myself...so i would stay with the canon...a fine lens.

 

[Bingley]

My clean Canon 50/1.8 satisfies any desire I ever had for a late '50s/early 60s vintage summicron. I've also got a Summitar, and although it's a very nice lens w/ its own distinctive look, the Canon is sharper wide open and just as sharp (or sharper) stopped down. And, as joe suggests, there are handling issues w/ collapsible lenses (I've blown a few shots w/ my Summitar by not extending and locking it properly).

I'm not bashing the collapsible 'chron, just saying that the Canon holds its own. Dante Stella wrote an article several years ago on Canon lenses for Leica (on his website) in which he found that photos taken w/ the Canon 50/1.8 were indistinguishable from photos taken w/ a summicron of the same vintage. Worth checking out.

 

[paulfish4570]

it is a superb lens. i surely miss mine.

 

[michaelstevens]

Thanks for the input. Looks like my gut instinct (stop worrying about the gear and get on and take some pictures) is being backed up!

People talk of the different "signatures" of these lenses but how would this manifest itself in the photographs? A difference in contrast perhaps?

 

[John Shriver]

The Canon 50/1.8 has a durable hard lens coating. The coating on the Collapsible Summicron is a soft coating, because Leica couldn't violate Zeiss' patent on hard coatings. (Canon could violate Zeiss' patents, as the post WW-II reparations let all other countries use German patents.) So the Canon lens is much more likely to be in good shape than the Summicron.

Yes, the Summar and Summitar have a distinctive look, especially at wide apertures, and it shows in photos. The Summitar is just lovely with B&W film. But contrast is low wide open, of the out-of-focus areas get swirly. If a Summitar is coated, it will have the same soft coating as the Summicron.

Between the soft coating, and soft front glass, Summar, Summitar, and collapsible Summicron can be tricky to purchase in good condition, and require care to keep in good condition. The majority of these three lenses are damaged by now.

 

[Peter Klein]

The Canon 50/1.8 is a very good lens, and its hard coating is likely to hold up better than the Summitar or collapsible Summicron. Canon emphasized contrast in lenses of that era, Leitz emphasized resolution. We're talking about fine points here, not gross differences.

If you compare the Canon with the next Leitz offering, the Dual-Range or Rigid Summicron, the Summicron gives a bit more resolution on slides or slow B&W, less so on Tri-X and other fast B&W films. In color, the Leitz lenses are warmer, the Canon, cooler in rendition. I happen to prefer the Dual-Range Summicron to the Canon, but if I didn't have the Dual-Range, I'd be happy to shoot with the Canon.

It's only when you get to the mid-1960s Summicron v. 3 or the current formula that you get much better results than the Canon, particularly wide open, and in the corners.

The Canon and the older Leitz lenses have a tiny bit of highlight "bleed" into adjacent darker areas. This is a "flaw" corrected in the later Leica offerings. But it's a flaw that can actually make pictures look very pretty in an old-fashioned way, and I often like it.

So I would say shoot away with the Canon, and if you find you want something crisper and more modern, then look for a current-formula Summicron. But don't sell it short just because it doens't say "Leitz" on the front ring. Hope this helps!

--Peter

 

[srtiwari]

The Canon 50/1.8 .... Hope this helps!

--Peter

A bit off-topic, but the link to your website does not work...