Summicron-C 40mm Action

[dacaccia]

a yesterday's shot with my new RD-1 and Cron-C 40:

 

[thafred]

OMG I totaly overlooked this thread! The Cron-C was my everyday lens for quite some time now.
It is my only Leica lens and I allways thought highly of it. however the focus action is very stiff and if I need to refocus it isn´t manageable in fast situations...that´s why I got a VC Nokton 40mm..still trying to figure out if the Nokton can hold a candle to the Cron-C (at 1.4 there´s no contest but at smaller apertures and medium distance I doubt the Cron-C can be bettered!)

I use the M6 and filed my Lens mount down to get the 35 Framelines. never had a problem with that combination. Now I shoot with my M4-2 and the FL fit nicely too!

my Flickr stream is full of Summicron-C shots but here are some of my faves:

the detail and rendition of tones is simply amazing IMHO.
Which lens gives me the same rendering but better mechanics? guess I have to go for a Summicron-M?! but which version? (VI?!?)

 

[chikne]

Nice shots!!!!!

What body do you use ? I have a M3 and double up the thickness of the 50mm lines help 😀 Or shooting too much with it so you can immediately recognised its border ( I did it that way, waste quite a bit of film though)

I use an M4 .

 

[chibaken]

Superb - a decent discussion about these lenses at last. I have the 40/2 Summicron-C and it's the only RFF lens I've ever used - it's outlasted 3 bodies and counting - a Leica CL, a Bessa R3A, and now it's on an M7 (hopefully the last body it will sit on now!), and it was the only lens I used on a recent round the world trip.

The only problem I have is that I find it hard to justify buying a 35mm or 50mm lens to complement it - I mean, is 5mm wider worth it?

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2249/1878911021_bc5b689080.jpg

 

[Palaeoboy]

the detail and rendition of tones is simply amazing IMHO.
Wich lens gives me the same rendering but better mechanics? guess I have to go for a summicron-M?! but which version? (VI?!?)

The Summicron-C's do have stiff focusing, it seems a trait of this lens. The CLE Rokkor which has a similar rendering and a conventional M cam have very light focus so you may like to switch to one of them instead.

You mentioned you had the 40mm Nokton already? Well in fact at f2 to 4 you should notice that the Nokton has greater resolution and contrast. I would give it a good try before swapping your Summicron for a CLE Rokkor.

 

[thafred]

thank you very much for the advice Joel!
I have the Nokton for a month now and haven´t had the chance to use as many fine (slow) films with it as with the cron (about 20 rolls with the nokton but mostly 400-1600, only two 50asa) so I´m still searching for the texture the cron gave me in the Nokton shots.
The handling of the nokton is perfect for me so I really hope you´re right and that it´s as excellent as the Cron (or even better you say! 🙂 )
Rokkors are very rare in Europe but I seriously think about them! the Cron-C´s size and weight with my home made Lens cap is soooo right!! the perfect lens for me except focus...I´ll have an eye on the next rokkor crossing my path 🙂
thank you again
fred

p.s. just noticed you write CLE rokkor..do CL rokkors focus as stiff as the Cron-C?

 

[ferider]

The Summicron-C's do have stiff focusing, it seems a trait of this lens.

True. I just got a like new one, that was stiff since in the box and unused
since many years, and relubed it. Pretty straight forward if
anybody wants to know how ...

Roland.

 

[Palaeoboy]

p.s. just noticed you write CLE rokkor..do CL rokkors focus as stiff as the Cron-C?

Yes the first Rokkor has a firmer focus as well.

 

[photogdave]

My 40mm Summicron's feels pretty smooth without being too loose. Quite perfect really! Here's some images:

 

[enochRoot]

all of the 40 summicrons i have owned have also been very smooth and easy to focus.

it is one of my all time favorite lenses!!

these were all shot w/ a dark red filter. films were neopan 1600, t-max (i think 100), and konica infrared (just the building shot w/ black sky).

 

[Paul T.]

Great photos.

I will never part with my Summicron C. The best result have been with black and white on the CL or M3 - with which it works well if you use the whole VF frame. Didn't like it quite as much on the R-D1, as it's the FOV I really love, but all the same...

 

[Krosya]

Yes the first Rokkor has a firmer focus as well.

Not in my case - I have had both Rookors CL and CLE and they both focus the same - very smooth!

 

[Palaeoboy]

all of the 40 summicrons i have owned have also been very smooth and easy to focus.

The firmer focus of the Summicron over the CLE Rokkor should not be confused with being rough or unusable, in fact they focus smoothly and silently just in Comparison with the CLE Rokkor which if anything is a bit too light.

Not in my case - I have had both Rookors CL and CLE and they both focus the same - very smooth!

Again its not a question of not being smooth just the amount of effort required to focus both examples. If your CLE 40 is not lighter in its focus than your CL Rokkor then I suggest it need a simple lubrication. I have owned and handled dozens of examples and all the CLE examples were almost feather touch to focus, the CL version although smooth were always firmer. I quite prefer the firmer action actually but each to his own.

 

[Ororaro]

Been a long time since I posted something... Here is one from a month ago.

 

[maddoc]

That looks very cold .... Is it taken same time as your snowstorm photos ? Great BW photo !!

BTW, my Summicron-C 40 is on the way 😀🙂

 

[alfcnka]

Minolta 40/2 Rokkor

Minolta 40/2 Rokkor

I have both the summicron and rokkor. But somehow i prefer the 40/2 Rokkor. Maybe it's the lens cap of the summicron. Here's some pics by the Rokkor.

 

[alfcnka]

somemore...

 

[chikne]

Alf, I like the landscape a lot!

 

[maddoc]

Alf, some very good BW photos you have there !! From the second series, I like the left one. Where was it taken ?

Cheers,

maddoc

 

[alfcnka]

and one more at a fish market....