Summars!!!!

[Bill58]

After some months of unsuccessfully looking for one here/ elsewhere, I decided to post a WTB ad on the LUG. Success--one of the kind members gave me a tip that renowned Leica repairperson, Sherry Krauter, had some. Guess what? I fired off an email to her and she replied she had several up to $175. I opted for the upper end one and it's soon to be headed my way. Another LUG member has a hood.

A fitting Christmas gift to myself. I hope to give it a workout....and avoid the dreaded flare of this lens.

 

[MikeL]

Congrats Bill, and think of the dreaded flare as one of it's "charms"🙂
Here's one from the ultimate thread, with face blanked out:

 

[sienarot]

I lucked out. I just put in my signature that I was looking for an uncoated summar and someone on the forums approached me with one! IMO, if you want to avoid flare, then the Summar isn't the lens to get! I bought it specifically for the flare!

Anyways, I just got back my film with some of my first shots. You'll have to excuse the darkness of the photos. Velvia 50 isn't exactly an easy film to shoot handheld at night, even with a rangefinder 🙂

 

[shadowfox]

This lens is the reason I got my iiic (due back any day now from CLA).

I have sharp lenses, I want that vintage look 🙂

Good pictures guys!

 

[sfb_dot_com]

Yup Flare (aka Leica 'Glow') it doth have a'plenty, but also charm and good resolution.😉

Andy

 

[charjohncarter]

Summars were great in 1963:

 

[DeeCee3]

Glad To See It In Action!

Glad To See It In Action!

Nice to see the old Summar's images, Derrick...open up a couple of stops more and you'll have the available darkness stuff nailed!

dc3

 

[NickTrop]

I have a Summar and I love it.

Man, I can't find any of the images on the net (they're there somewhere - saw them not too long ago), but back in 1936 photographer Thomas D. McAvoy did a series of famous candids (and "candids") of Theodore Roosevelt using a Leica with a Summar lens which were brilliant and awe inspiring.

Here are some "letters to the editor" published in Time in 1936 which I did find (obviously) about the series, interesting in and of themselves:
----------------------------------------------------------------

. . . The photographs of President Roosevelt taken by Thomas McAvoy [TIME, Feb. 25] were undoubtedly the best results that I have ever come across and I can understand only too well the technique that must have been necessary during their development to prevent halation, due to the windows in the background. My hat is off to this marvelous achievement in the advancement of photography. . . .

W. RADFORD BASCOME JR. St. Petersburg, Fla.

Sirs:

. . . As a doctor who pursues photography as a hobby, I am naturally curious about two or three technical details in connection with this striking piece of pictorial reporting. . . .

What type of miniature camera did Mr. McAvoy use, was the film panchromatic, how fast a lens was used and at what aperture?

Even serious amateurs have known for years that ammonia sensitization of motion picture film was practical, even if somewhat tricky, and I am amazed that no news photographer has tried it before.

C. D. ENFIELD, M. D. Louisville, Ky.

Cameraman McAvoy used a Leica camera with a Summar f2 lens, worked with the lens wide open at one-eighth second speed. His film was Du Pont Superior panchromatic, hypersensitized to half again its rated speed by exposing it to fumes of the strongest ammonia obtainable in a closed box for four minutes. Caution to novices: Film so treated should be used within eight hours. After that period it will not only lose its extra sensitivity, but may deteriorate below its original condition.—ED.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,883229-4,00.html

 

[sienarot]

Nice to see the old Summar's images, Derrick...open up a couple of stops more and you'll have the available darkness stuff nailed!

dc3

Haha, yeah I'm loving the Summar Drayton! Thanks again for the great offer!!

And these photos were already shot wide open 🙂

 

[sienarot]

I have a Summar and I love it.

It was actually your comments in the "Poor man's Leica" thread that made me take notice of the Summar! Got any more budget recommendations? Haha

 

[raid]

The vintage lenses, such as Summar, Summarit, Elmar, and Summitar need to be carefully used to avoid flare.

Here are some of my favorite images of my children taken with a Summar:

 

[LeicaTom]

Still the only standard vintage Leitz lens that I`m NOT using at the moment, I sold a Mint one like 2 months ago for $100, I should have kept it, but I did`nt want an early lens (pre 1938)
I`m looking for a Summar in the 490xxx to 500xxx serial number range (1939) to match up with some other equipment I`m putting together, so if anyone has one in this range with mint glass for $150 or less let me know.......

Tom

 

[Marsopa]

I bought one to a RFF member... I'm not using it a lot but I like it very much:

 

[photobizzz]

Yea, that was my previous Summar marsopa, kind of missing it actually. I may pick up another as I like the flare or "glow" in some instances, espically for female portraiture.

 

[charjohncarter]

NickTrop, that article is great, just like using the internet but slower.

 

[Keith Cocker]

Summars were great in 1963:

And women were lovely then too! Great picture.

 

[charjohncarter]

Keith Cocker, she will appreciate that. I'll tell her when I see her.

 

[NickTrop]

It was actually your comments in the "Poor man's Leica" thread that made me take notice of the Summar! Got any more budget recommendations? Haha

Well, I'm honored, sir. I'm a "frugal photographer" (that is, I'm "cheap") and have nothing "but" budget recommendations! 😛

Best budget "Leica-like" RF? Konica Auto S3. Hands down. Tiny, killer (and I do mean "killer") lens. Black, shutter priority (no manual mode - who cares) Bright rangefinder. I'll take this camera over a Hexar AF, The Contax Yashica "G"'s - any of them. Some patience to find on the 'bay, setchya back about $150 for a decent sample. 1/2 the price of a digital POS - er, PnS, a fraction of the Hexars, G's, Leicas, and Zeisses - stealthier, smaller, easier to handle, no superfluous electronics, whisper quite shutter, easy controls, great flash system, and I'll put the quality of the lens up against any of them.

 

[raid]

Nick,

Have you seen anywhere a side by side comparison of the Konica Auto S, S2and S3? I read rave comments on the lens in the S2 and even more raving for the lens in the S3, but is there anywhere a report on the lenses in these cameras as used side by side?

 

[shadowfox]

Summars were great in 1963:

John, that is a stunning photo!