Leica LTM Summitar the star...

[TMLee]

On the same roll of film, here is the same pic taken with the ZM50/2 Planar.
Shot at f2@1/500 +1/3stop as well.

At first glance, this 2nd shot has blacker blacks.

The previous shot above by the Summitar is not as black and is more grey, which is what I want actually. Greater tonality as some have described ?

 

[john341]

Love that Summitar

Love that Summitar

I just returned from Germanyy where I took lots of pix with my IIIa with summitar. The results always surprise me for such an old lens

 

[sanmich]

I have a summitar I believe from 1949 that I use on my M6. I actually had it serviced at Golden Touch and Sherry told that it was her opinion that this lens was Leica's most underrated and sharpest 50mm. When is lens is stopped down boy its damn sharp, but when you open it up the magic starts happening esp with B&W film. Yeah, the lens has a great signature to it that's for sure as by the images shown so far.

Marko

I'm quite surprised about the opinion of Sherry on the Summitar.
One of the most underrated, probably, but one of the sharpest lenses... I don't know.
At larger apertures, my summitar resole slightly less than my coll cron, espescially in the corners. Is there a reason to think that stopping it down turns it into a "super-sharpness machine" 😕

 

[johne]

I got a Summitar as a body cap with a Leica III F. Sherry Krauter transformed it into a pleasing bit of glass. See my gallery site here for recent shots.
johne

 

[David Murphy]

Yes you know I really think the Summitar is really sort of a break point historically where Leica started to catch up to Zeiss optically. The later coated versions are very modern in character, sharp with true color rendition. It's built like a tank too - tremendous value as a used LTM lens.

 

[David Hughes]

Yes you know I really think the Summitar is really sort of a break point historically where Leica started to catch up to Zeiss optically. The later coated versions are very modern in character, sharp with true color rendition. It's built like a tank too - tremendous value as a used LTM lens

Here's a sample with a 40's era Summitar I used to own mounted on a Leica M2 using Agfa Vista 400 color print film:

I'll second that; after the Summitar the improvements seem, well, gradual rather than rapid. It's a great lens and dirt cheap; provided we keep quiet about it.

With hindsight, I should have bought one secondhand when I started out many years ago and then never bother to up-grade until the M6 arrived...

Regards, David

PS I don't like the style and prices of the Summitar lens hood but the cheapo (cast iron and crackle finish) Summarit l/hood will fit if shimmed with a strip of plastic from a black cable tie. Cable ties are like this in cross section "[" and a sharp knife, keen eye and a steel ruler will make it simple to trim to "L" in cross section. Then cut to length and line the l/hood. The "flange" means the bit of plastic sits properly. It gives the period look some of us like, although the modern M hoods would be nicer to use but I've not taken a knife to one yet...

 

[John Lawrence]

Just as a PPS to David's comments above, I use the Leitz 12585 vented hood with my summitar.

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

I had to look that one up and found it at £3-14/6 plus 13/4 purchase tax in 1966. The silly part is that I've one on the M2 but didn't recognise it as as 12585. And we can't do all the NOOKY jokes with numbers...

Regards, David

 

[Ronald M]

Proves you don`t need a bag full of lenses to take great pics.

 

[tooffy]

Oh wow! all very nice guys. Can't wait for mine to arrive🙂

 

[sircarl]

The Summitar is one of my favorite lenses. This taken in London a couple of days ago, by Westminster Bridge, with my IIIf:

 

[Mr_Flibble]

Great shots Melvin & Carl,

I haven't really had much chance to use any of my Leicas for a couple of weeks. Next in a week I'm going to the Ardennes again (for the Bastogne Historical Walk). It sounds like a good opportunity to use my Summitar once more.
Though last year I did not have so much luck with my cameras in the cold. My Kodak35 tore up the film pretty badly.

 

[Mr_Flibble]

Two shots from taken with my IIIc and Summitar. The cold did some weird things to the shutter. It didn't sound consistent. Some pictures have what looks like a lightleak or a curtain-hangup. It appears to be running fine at room temperature though.

 

[helen.HH]

Wow Mr. Flibble
those Shots are Soooo Cool
have that Cinematography FEEL
Love it !1

BTW had to send back that summitar I purchased
way too soft ...something off ... Sadly I have not tred to purchase another but your shots give me that LUST Factor

Best to You - H 🙂

 

[benmacphoto]

Mr_Flibble, Those are fantastic images.

 

[TMLee]

ZI + Summitar.
f2 @ 1/15 Kodak Gold 200

 

[raydm6]

ZI + Summitar.
f2 @ 1/15 Kodak Gold 200

Wow! That is very sharp TMLee!! Wide open and at 1/15 even 😱. Like the diagonal orientation.

- Ray

 

[TMLee]

Tks Ray,
I had help from the bar counter.
Plus the friendly bartender and almost no one else around , contributed to the opportunity.
The point of focus was the white bottle front row 'ABsolut Pears' ...

 

[mauro scacco]

New examples for this fantastic lens

New examples for this fantastic lens

Some news from "Summitar the star" and leica III black
Thx Mauro

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[raydm6]

Lovely shots above Mauro!

I was out strolling meter-less with my IIIf and Summitar yesterday and was guessing exposures. This was 1/100 @f/8 Ektar 100 (color curves adjusted a bit to bring out the red).