Summitar separation

[epire]

Hi.
I have found this Summitar for few bucks and couldn't resist ...
It has an obvious separation in the front element.
I haven't tested yet with film. What I should expect in terms of quality/contrast in the pictures?. It will go worse with time?.
Thanks a lot for your help.

 

[john neal]

Eduardo - nice find. I don't think you will notice too much degradation as it is only at the very edge of the lens - might make it even softer wide open, but not a lot

 

[Frontman]

I have an old Canon lens with the same problem, but it doesn't seem to show up in the pictures. You got a good deal.

 

[ZeissFan]

It shouldn't have any effect on sharpness. It could flare more easily, because of reflections between the lens elements. With the Leica barn door hood, you shouldn't encounter any problems.

The hood, by the way, is cool and effective but rather unwieldy and goes against the Leica's compact nature.

 

[maddoc]

I have the same problem with my Summitar, separation of the front element. It got worse after trying to "re-glue" the elements by carefully and slowly heating the front group in an oven to 100 degrees Celsius. As other have said, it won't affect sharpness much but contrast gets lower and the lens is a lot more prone to flare.

 

[Frontman]

Summitars are flare-prone even in good conditions, so a hood is pretty much a must. My Summitar sometimes has flare issues even indoors or on cloudy days.

The barn-door hood is a wonderful bit of engineering, and the camera/lens combo is still pocketable when the hood is folded up. The 12585 M lens hood fits, and works well, but it's expensive, and must be removed when putting the camera in your pocket. A Canon rangefinder S-42 hood is an inexpensive alternative which fits and works well.

 

[epire]

Thank you all for your help. I have a 12585 hood and I see I will use it all the time...