Summar Lens

[john341]

Do you own a Summar lens? Most I have seen are in pretty poor condition given that (age) and the soft glass have contributed to a loss in negative quality. I had one years ago which produced ok images but last year I found one in the UK which was in pristine condition and produces sharp but somewhat dreamy-looking pictures. Anyone have any comments on the fabulous Summar?

 

[coelacanth]

I had one before but it was quite bad copy, the images were just simply cloudy.

Then there was a pretty darn good looking one popped up in Classifieds just about an hour ago. I pulled the trigger in a heart beat. I'll shoot a roll or two and report back as soon as I receive it. 🙂

I remember our very own Helen did some fantastic job with her copy. (I think hers had some scratches, but nowhere as bad as the one I had)

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

I've had one that was the worst ever and one that justified all the hype about them, until the Summitar came along.

I guess it's luck, given their age.

Regards, David

 

[taskoni]

I have one with a lot of scratches on the front element but I love it. It delivers the dreamy look and I was after that look anyway when I bought it. I love that lens 🙂

 

[John Lawrence]

I've had a few of them: one I sent to Optical Instruments in Balham (sadly no longer trading) to have it cleaned and sorted out. They did a superb job at a very reasonable cost and the lens was like new. I sold it to a dealer last year - so there's just the remotest of chances you may have my old one!

John

 

[Brian Legge]

I purchased a very clean one which had been DAG CLA'd a few years earlier. Its one of my favorite lenses. It isn't quite as sharp wide open as the Canon 50mm 1.8 but the images it produces are awesome.

Nice low contrast example shot around f/4:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cannelbrae/5779402553/

Around f/2.8 if I remember correctly:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cannelbrae/5519435494/

Stopped down to around f/16:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cannelbrae/5521439663/

 

[brainwood]

I have been lucky enough to borrow a very nice example from Jesse1dog and have found it a joy to use. Its sharp and produces images with a decidedly vintage look to them. Wide open it it has a very unique look.

Heres some shots i posted a few weeks ago taken with it

This ones a good one with No scratches. The Rollei Retro 100 adds to the vintage feel.

 

[StaaleS]

I have one, rather long in the tooth (1936-vintage, non-coated of course) and the front element isn't what it once was. It does have a certain something though; colour photos can come out wonderfully pastelly. I used it just this night actually, for a jazz concert.

 

[Melvin]

I have one with clear glass and minimal scratches. It's also "bloomed". I paid top dollar for it, but I love it.">

 

[dogberryjr]

Yeah, sometimes they don't age so well:


IIIA-1010245.jpg by dogberryjr, on Flickr