Summicron Dual Range Love?

[canerino]

Greetings all!

I've been out of the Leica game for a while. I owned a m6 in 2008 and then another in 2010. I owned a zeiss zm 35 f/2 both times.

I just picked up a very great condition, one owner M3 + summicron DR that was just CLAed by Sherry.

I shot my first roll and sent it off for developing. Cant wait for the results.

In the meantime, what are you doing with your summicron DR? I see lots of threads for other lenses, but seems the DR gets only a little love. Show your shots!

 

[x-ray]

I owned one in the mid 70's and it was a good lens. I don't care as much for the DR as I do the ridged and V3 especially. IMO it's a makeshift way of doing close ups where an slr would work much better. It's from another era there SLRs were not as popular.

 

[Vics]

I liked mine, but it seemed awfully heavy, so I went back to the collapsible. Here's one from 2010.
Pau 11 by Victor Ross, on Flickr

 

[mfogiel]

The DR has a special charm in B&W - if you are a B&W shooter, this lens can really enchant, in fact I think it is the best 35mm B&W normal lens ever made.


2008051219 by mfogiel, on Flickr

 

[Emile de Leon]

Still have mine..super high resolution..and lower contrast...best on sunny days as a contrast tamer..nice bokeh
Was the only lens that could really show what tech pan at 25 asa could do..at 11x14 on 35mm..
Luv dat lens..

 

[x-ray]

Let's see how good everyone is here. Tell me what lens or lenses were the v2 Summicron 50. I argue that the final result is more the film/developer and technique than the lens itself. Certainly some lenses have more contrast, coma, flare and are sharper but overall the technique or lack of has a greater influence.

 

[x-ray]

Two more choices.

 

[Silva Lining]

Let's see how good everyone is here. Tell me what lens or lenses were the v2 Summicron 50. I argue that the final result is more the film/developer and technique than the lens itself. Certainly some lenses have more contrast, coma, flare and are sharper but overall the technique or lack of has a greater influence.

I reckon D & E 🙂

 

[anu L ogy]

All of my favorite 50mm shots were taken with that lens. It is my favorite.

 

[x-ray]

I think the V2 summicron is a fine lens but there are a lot of really fine lenses. I'll give the results tonight.

 

[N.delaRua]

All of my 50 mm shots are taken with it as it is the only lens I have! However, I do love the character it has, and its "dual" personality. I especially like in when shooting black and white film, not so much for color as it requires a little bump in both contrast and saturation in post to get the colors right.

 

[Dektol Dan]

Now I feel REALLY old!

Now I feel REALLY old!

Here's a Dual Range shot I made of Cafe Tacuba, with the M6 and Fuji 1600 about seven years ago. I bought the lens with the M4 I still have and bought new. I'm not a 50mm guy, so this lens has only shot maybe three rolls of film. The frustrating thing is I can't use it on my Monochrome!

 

[x-ray]

OK, here are the lenses I used.

A- V2 Summicron

B- V2 Summicron

C- 50mm Rokkor 1.4 on a Minolta SRT101

D- Nikkor millenium 50mm f1.4

E- Canon 50mm 1.8 SSC

 

[peterm1]

I ended up selling mine when I moved from film to digital because the lens does not fit on digital Ms (at least the early ones - not sure about the situation now) without physical modification. I used it for a number of years on an M3 and M4P.

But its sale was something I struggled with for a long time as I loved the lens. It is superbly built and handling it is like handling a jewel. Absolutely the pinnacle of lens build - a joy to use and behold. I loved its heft in the hand and boy was it hefty. In use I found it to be sharp but very noticeably low contrast compared with, say, the Summicron version 4 which I also own. Of the two I think I preferred the DR. It is a shame that the lens is incompatible with Leica digital cameras without modification (which I was unwilling to do as I thought this fine lens deserved not to be "mutilated") as its low contrast rendering is perfect for digital imagery which struggles with high contrast situations. By flattening the image contrast before it reaches the sensor this problem can be ameliorated by a low contrast lens like this. And it is safe to say that the lens is wonderful for black and white photography - it gives a beautiful "old-world" low contrast effect that is superb.

Incidentally I found this lens when travelling in central Europe and its price was right so I bought it. A few months after returning home I found a pair of DR goggles in an old camera store which sold them to me for $35 (they looked a bit rough but just needed cleaning). They matched and while I really never bothered doing close range work it was nice to have the complete lens and goggles kit just for the joy of owning them.

In short I loved this lens but was convinced to sell it because I could no longer use it with my new gear and because money from its sale would help me buy a digital M. I recently bought a lovely Summarit lens in fine condition and now use this as my low contrast lens on my digital M. It is not as versatile as the Summicron however but still fun to use in the right situation.

The DR 50mm Leica lens is a lens that is worthy of love.

 

[Roninman]

My first lens and still my favorite.

 

[mkorabo]

love it on the GXR

love it on the GXR

I have had this lens for about five years and found that i had to be careful because it had a tendency to flare if the sun was anywhere in the composition. In recent months i have been using it as portrait lens and a close up and love the results.

 

[x-ray]

In the day the v2 was made coatings weren't nearly as effective. Now we hand excellent multi coating that almost totally stops flare. A good example is Zeiss glass. I think Zeiss has the best coatings overall for M lenses. Another factor is lens design. Some lenses are prone to flare and others aren't. Also baffeling and the internal black paint has a great deal to do with flare.

 

[hans voralberg]

To me the DR excel where it was designed to, close range. It really adds the extra capability to Leica.

Baby wondering by Bach Tran, on Flickr

Cuppa Cappuccino by Bach Tran, on Flickr

091025-RR100-Test-013.jpg by Bach Tran, on Flickr

 

[Justin Viiret]

I keep the DR pretty much welded to the M3 nowadays, and shoot B&W with a yellow filter. It's a wonderful lens ... I too wish I could use it on the M9, and I've been idly looking for a cheap-ish rigid 'cron for a while to scratch that particular itch.


Guardian of Hong Kong by inaudible, on Flickr


Marble Madness by inaudible, on Flickr


Lucia by inaudible, on Flickr (close focus with goggles)

 

[Richard G]

With the M9



Waterhouse Camellia by Richard GM2, on Flickr