Summicron Itch

V3 is very nice. Labeled with “cheap construction”, something I never understood… until I opened it up. And indeed, the departure from the Rigid V2 is huge: the V3 internal construction is cinsiderably cheapened vs the V2. Basically lotsa aluminum and less brass. But no plastic as with the canadian V4.

The V3 has a very loooong focus throw while the V4’ is very short.
The V4 optics are arguably a big step above the V3, all incremental improvements but very present throughout.
All in all, the V4 is a real upgrade to the V3: a thing proven by its now 50 years strong design.

The V5 corrects the V4’s somewhat cheap construction while keeping the same optical tamed perfection.

In conclusion, as has been said many times: any Summicron is a perfect Summicron.
 
One thing you might keep in account while signing alilua to currently sold lens for"50" years. Beaver Tail one OP has asked is not the same lens you are yapping /your own terminology/ here. 🙂
 
Ko.Fe. said:
Marketing fact you ain't able to accept, it is nothing but cheapest 50/2 sold as new by LCAG.
This is the real reason why it is still selling. Why change something if you could still sell...
Here is nothing special about it. Planar 50/2 ZM is also selling like this.
Click to expand...

I accept marketing fact, but you seem to not understand a marketing fact callled “econy of scale”. Bascially, economy of scale is the more you manufacture a product, the cheaper it gets.

And this explains that: lotsa summicrons manufactured, bringing its price down to an acceptable level.

Same would happen with the new APO: quintuple its production numbers and see its price cut in half.
Would it suddenly become a mundabe peformer because its price would ve 4000 onstead of the current 8000$? According to your logic, yes.
 
Kofe, I understand you may have extra good taste; you seem to see the bad in what is deemed to be the perfect lens (or at least the most well balanced lens) in the whole industry.

We don’t have your eyes, unfortunately.

Buuuut… in general Vodka lovers don’t appreciate wine, a drink they deem are for sissies. What’s your stance on Wines, in general?
 
Ororaro said:
V3 is very nice. Labeled with “cheap construction”, something I never understood… until I opened it up. And indeed, the departure from the Rigid V2 is huge: the V3 internal construction is cinsiderably cheapened vs the V2. Basically lotsa aluminum and less brass. But no plastic as with the canadian V4.

The V3 has a very loooong focus throw while the V4’ is very short.
The V4 optics are arguably a big step above the V3, all incremental improvements but very present throughout.
All in all, the V4 is a real upgrade to the V3: a thing proven by its now 50 years strong design.

The V5 corrects the V4’s somewhat cheap construction while keeping the same optical tamed perfection.

In conclusion, as has been said many times: any Summicron is a perfect Summicron.
Click to expand...
Another thing regarding your remark about me not knowing what I'm talking about.

My initial impression about V3's long focus through was as shallow as yours. "It is too long".

But I'm one of the few who used lenses long enough to have muscular memory for focusing without RF patch and focus scale.
I looked at v3 focus scale closely. The longest through was at minimal focus range distance. Which is not Leica RF lenses are really for. Most common ranges had comfortable spacing. So, I added custom placed focus tab.
Tab at 6PM. Need it far, turn one way, need it closer - another way. Without looking at RF patch and lens scale.
In fact it was even easier than with short focus through.
 
Ororaro said:
Kofe, I understand you may have extra good taste; you seem to see the bad in what is deemed to be the perfect lens (or at least the most well balanced lens) in the whole industry.

We don’t have your eyes, unfortunately.

Buuuut… in general Vodka lovers don’t appreciate wine, a drink they deem are for sissies. What’s your stance on Wines, in general?
Click to expand...
Very sorry, by now you should be understanding, I'm not this primitive.
But since you don't...

I'm traveling, working, living to, in, within different cultures.

The fact what my initial background has nothing but vodka and beer available is in the long past.

I learned wine culture while working, staying in France.

It depends where you are. If I'm closer to Mexican border, I'd rather drink tequila than vodka.
While in Dublin - Guinness. In Prague - 50/50 beer and even Magic eye.

I'm not this Russian tourist you are labeling me - those drink vodka everywhere.

Currently, I'm resident of Wallonia. Which somewhat copy of France. I have access to many very reasonably priced wines with quality via regular stores.
Baguette, camembert et vin rouge...

And I was able to cook choucroute by myself for first time. Something I was missing for decades after eating it with my French colleagues located in Cergy-Pontoise.

So, your homework for today is to figure out which drink goes with choucroute. Hint, it is what Belgium is famous for.

Happy Friday! This is what I learned while living, working in Basingstoke and staying in London. Too bad they have lost local ales and bitters culture at most places by now.
 
Ko.Fe. said:
Hard to explain without seeing darkroom print in real. But even on scans, it was not buzzing. Don't know how to explain it. Good lens on bw film is not just sharp, but has something like microcontrast.
Click to expand...
I appreciate that there are some lens qualities that are subtle and difficult to illustrate on line, but you’re in danger of starting an internet myth that no-one can substantiate.
 
mdarnton said:
If you're shooting your Leica at anywhere near infinity you're using it for the wrong pictures. 😛
Click to expand...
Considering the Leica was supposedly designed primarily so that Oskar Barnack (an asthmatic) could hike up into the mountains and shoot landscapes without taking a giant camera with him... I'm not so sure about that!
 
In my opinion the Elmar-M 50mm f2.8 (in chrome) is the best Leica standard lens for the M-Leicas. The build quality is unparalleled and the optical quality is the best I've ever seen. Bokeh is gorgeous. Don't confuse this lens with the 50mm f2.8 from the 1950s, as that is one of the worst Leica lenses.

gelatin silver print (elmar-m 50mm f2.8 chrome) leica m3

Düsseldorf, 2003; Stolin, 2003; Brest, 2003

1726845089440.png

1726845363486.png

1726845731916.png
 
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Erik van Straten said:
In my opinion the Elmar-M 50mm f2.8 (in chrome) is the best Leica standard lens for the M-Leicas. The build quality is unparalleled and the optical quality is the best I've ever seen. Bokeh is gorgeous. Don't confuse this lens with the 50mm f2.8 from the 1950s, as that is one of the worst Leica lenses.
Click to expand...
May we ask which other Leica 50mm lenses you have used, and what you did not like about them?
 
Collapsible Summicron 50. Some excellent images here;

Collapsible Summicron Image thread??

I didn't see any image threads for this old dog lens, but I have been carrying light lately and find myself using it for daily use when I want a portable 50mm. Mine has minor cleaning marks, and the barrel is beat up, but I'm learning to love her. Since this is a relatively cheap lens, I am...
www.rangefinderforum.com www.rangefinderforum.com
 
raydm6 said:
Collapsible Summicron 50. Some excellent images here;

Collapsible Summicron Image thread??

I didn't see any image threads for this old dog lens, but I have been carrying light lately and find myself using it for daily use when I want a portable 50mm. Mine has minor cleaning marks, and the barrel is beat up, but I'm learning to love her. Since this is a relatively cheap lens, I am...
www.rangefinderforum.com www.rangefinderforum.com
Click to expand...
There is a huge difference between the early and later collapsible 50mm Summicrons. The ones with serial numbers starting with "13" are great. Those with lower serial numbers are usually awful, not better than Summitars. The front lens is extremely vulnerable, if you buy one look for a super clean one. Do not buy a lens with scratches.
 
wlewisiii said:
Get a Summitar instead. Find one with a good front element and use it wide open and enjoy it. Much more fun than a boring Summicron.
Click to expand...
I have a wartime Summitar in mint condition (uncoated), but it isn't sharp, like all the Summitars. I very much prefer the Summar.

gelatin silver print (coated summar 50mm f2) leica lll

Amsterdam, 2022

1726855450287.png
 
I also prefer the Summar over the Summitar. More interesting rendering, slightly more compact, plenty sharp, and uses regular A36 filters instead of the weird Summitar-only filters. Of course, it's uncoated, but I actively prefer that these days. And by the time you get to a coated Summitar, you might as well just have a collapsible Summicron - it's a better lens in every way. But:

Erik van Straten said:
There is a huge difference between the early and later collapsible 50mm Summicrons. The ones with serial numbers starting with "13" are great. Those with lower serial numbers are usually awful, not better than Summitars.
Click to expand...

Do you have a proper reference for this claim, Erik? As far as I know, the formula of the Summicron didn't change during the collapsible run. "Luckily" mine is in the 136xxxx batch, but I've never seen or heard that it was in any way different to the earlier ones (besides the whole radioactive thing, anyway).
 
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