TheMapleLeafForever
Established
I finally got around to testing my Summar. I put it on one of Fuji's new mirrorless cameras. I'm not really the best photographer around - just wanted to ask you experts here if you notice anything off (or good) about the image quality of my Summar. What do you all think? Did I manage to score a good Summar?
LINK HERE: https://imgur.com/a/I4KEtgV
LINK HERE: https://imgur.com/a/I4KEtgV
Erik van Straten
Veteran
Ken, I can't see your pictures!
Here is one of me.
gelatine silver print (summar 50mm f2) leica III
Erik.
Here is one of me.
gelatine silver print (summar 50mm f2) leica III
Erik.
raid
Dad Photographer
I cannot see them too.
p.giannakis
Pan Giannakis
Very nice landscape Erik.
TheMapleLeafForever
Established
Still trying to get the hang of putting pictures on. Try refreshing guys!
In the meantime, I'll see if I can produce a link or something.
In the meantime, I'll see if I can produce a link or something.
helen.HH
To Light & Love ...
Summars have a glow all their own... Soft and round in rendering and sharpness ... my copy was haze free 1938 uncoated
ones Belongings....
by Helen Hill, on Flickr
ones Belongings....
by Helen Hill, on Flickr
helen.HH
To Light & Love ...
helen.HH
To Light & Love ...
TheMapleLeafForever
Established
Alright I have a link now!
https://imgur.com/a/I4KEtgV
Just a few misc. shots from the garden.
Also really lovely photos Helen and Erik.
https://imgur.com/a/I4KEtgV
Just a few misc. shots from the garden.
Also really lovely photos Helen and Erik.
Erik van Straten
Veteran
Thank you, Pan, the landscape is in Zuid-Limburg.
Thank you, Ken. I saw your pictures. Very nice pastelshades. I guess your Summar is uncoated.
Erik.
Thank you, Ken. I saw your pictures. Very nice pastelshades. I guess your Summar is uncoated.
Erik.
TheMapleLeafForever
Established
Thanks Erik. Yeah it is uncoated and I specifically got it for that reason. My Elmar and Summitar are coated. How could you easily tell my Summar was uncoated?
Erik van Straten
Veteran
When a lens is coated the contrast between the dark and light tones the lens produces is more pronounced. Summars are usually uncoated because they were made in the 1930s. Coating was not applied until after the war. Some Summars are coated. Not many. A coated Summar is hard to find.
The front glass of a Summar is made from very soft glass, scratches easily. Whe soft glass is coated, the coating scratches easily too. So pristine coated Summars are very rare.
Erik.
The front glass of a Summar is made from very soft glass, scratches easily. Whe soft glass is coated, the coating scratches easily too. So pristine coated Summars are very rare.
Erik.
TheMapleLeafForever
Established
Thanks for the explanation. Because of the soft glass you mention, a pristine Summar (coated or not) is pretty hard to find in my experience.
So nothing really sketchy about my Summar then? It was sold with very light cleaning marks.
Erik van Straten
Veteran
Summars have a very soft front lens. They always have cleaning marks. When you use the lens digitally, you can add some contrast. When you use the lens on film, you can develop the film a bit longer than normal. Then the contrast increases. Or you can make split-grade prints from the negatives. That does however require some printing skill. Or look for a coated one. But you can't expect miracles from coating. Even coated Summars deliver low contrast images.
Tips: Never touch the surface of the front lens. Blow the lens clean from dust with a bicycle pump.
Erik.
gelatine silver print (summar 50mm f2) leica mp
TheMapleLeafForever
Established
I'll try those suggestions, thanks Erik.
So it is a contrast issue then? I was just a bit concerned - is that haze or fogginess or just that famous "Leica glow" that you find in Summars
I am finding that the B&W pictures I often like better.
So it is a contrast issue then? I was just a bit concerned - is that haze or fogginess or just that famous "Leica glow" that you find in Summars
I am finding that the B&W pictures I often like better.
Erik van Straten
Veteran
Beautiful pictures, Ken!
I don't know what people mean with "Leica glow". After forty years using Leicas, I've never seen it.
A Summar is just an uncoated lens made with 8 air/glass surfaces with a front element that is made from very soft glass (that easily scratches) made about 85 years ago. Some of them are coated after the war.
Use a shade, I prefer a FOOKH.
gelatine silver print (summar 50mm f2) leica III.
Erik.
I don't know what people mean with "Leica glow". After forty years using Leicas, I've never seen it.
A Summar is just an uncoated lens made with 8 air/glass surfaces with a front element that is made from very soft glass (that easily scratches) made about 85 years ago. Some of them are coated after the war.
Use a shade, I prefer a FOOKH.
gelatine silver print (summar 50mm f2) leica III.
Erik.
raydm6
Yay! Cameras! 🙈🙉🙊┌( ಠ_ಠ)┘ [◉"]
brusby
Well-known
For a point of reference, here is a test image I made with an uncoated Summar right after decades of crud were cleaned off the elements. There are just two sources of light used for the photo; the lamp -- which I included in order to see how much "glow" is created by a strong light source in or near the frame -- and a simple flash located camera right.
If a Summar image has much more haziness or "glow" than this, I would suspect fog, haze or worse on the elements.
I apologize for the mundane nature of the photo. It was intended just for my own testing purposes.
Uncoated Summar @ f/2
M2407058 by Brusby, on Flickr
If a Summar image has much more haziness or "glow" than this, I would suspect fog, haze or worse on the elements.
I apologize for the mundane nature of the photo. It was intended just for my own testing purposes.
Uncoated Summar @ f/2
M2407058 by Brusby, on Flickr