The Summarit: Dreamy Photos or Haze?

[Gabriel M.A.]

Ohhh...I missed that (it was buried there) these are at f/5.6

Yeah, I expect this performance on a few at around f/2, but f/5.6, you should look into it. If there isn't any haze, look to see if there is any separation in the rear elements.

 

[FrankS]

Gabriel, PLEASE post THAT shot of the woman taken with a Summarit!

 

[raid]

Must be a "good one", Frank!

Raid

 

[Ronald M]

Don`t screw around if there is haze inside. It will not work no matter what.

Mine is quite nice and not soft. It out performs any `lux I compared it to except the latest one.

contrast is a little low, but for 1.5 in the low light, I find it perfect.

 

[xayraa33]

here is an example of the softish look of a Summarit.
this is at f1.5

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Gabriel, PLEASE post THAT shot of the woman taken with a Summarit!

🙁 Sorry Frank, I think I know which one you mean. It's a Summitar I used for it. No problems with haze on that lens 😀

It is this one you mean, right, Frank? :

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=9676&cat=500&ppuser=1505

(again, it's a Summitar (f/2), not a Summarit used for that shot).


BTW, the following is with a Summarit (f/1.5). Lots of scratches on the front element:

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=19267&cat=500&ppuser=1505

 

[FrankS]

Yes, that's the one! Thanks. Sorry everyone, I thought that Gabriel had taken this shot with a Summarit. Great shot, eh? 🙂

 

[raid]

Yes, it is.
What do I do with my Summarit?
Load it with B&W film and test it again?

Raid

 

[FrankS]

Yes, it is.
What do I do with my Summarit?
Load it with B&W film and test it again?

Raid

Yes a short roll of b+w just to see how much better it looks when it comes back from its cla. 🙂

 

[raid]

Frank:I took a light source and let it shine through the lens, but I could not see anything abnormal. Maybe I need an expert to give me an opinion for a CLA. I have many 50mm lenses and I don't actually "need" this lens.

The big question now is: Should I get the lens CLA'd or selll it for $100~$125?
If getting a CLA, who does a good job for about $50?

Raid

 

[FrankS]

I'm sure the big two, DAG or Sherry Krauter, could do wonders. The lens is basically in 2 parts, the focus helical and the opical block. I know Sherry charges about $50 to cla one or the other and $90 for both halves. You may only need to have the optical half cleaned up. I'd get the cla done, retest the lens, and then decide whether to sell or not. They can be very good lenses, perhaps not as a single, general purpose lens, but you and I both have a selection of lenses to choose from for different applications/results. I would not give up on it too quickly.

 

[FrankS]

Raid, there are 2 Summarit shots in this thread by B_Algood:

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=361840#post361840

 

[raid]

Raid, there are 2 Summarit shots in this thread by B_Algood:

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=361840#post361840

Frank: It is clear to me that a clean Summarit can be an excellent lens. These are two very nice photos by B_Algood. I will then contact either DAG or Sherry.


Raid

 

[IGMeanwell]

Raid .. some people pay big money for soft focus lenses

of course this is an unintentional softfocus (haze) ... but it still could be useful

but you should be able to clean it up?

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

OK, Raid, I just processed half a roll that's giving me a pain (because they cut the negative although I always ask them not to).

Here's a (boring) shot I thought might interest you: bright sun. f/2.8. The only thing I can find "wrong" with my copy is that there is one tiny spot of coating missing in an element inside, and some weird coating recession at the very edge of the same element. Does not affect the image at all, as far as I can tell.

(the second one is a 100% crop -- modem users, warning: large files)

 

[richard_l]

In spite of legends perpetrated either by people who have defective Summarits and don't know it or people who are repeating what they have heard or read, a good Summarit should not be that fuzzy at f/5.6. Shine a really strong flashlight through it and take a look. Sometimes haze doesn't show up under an ordinary light. Of course, it might be a focus problem or a misalignment of a lens element.

Richard

 

[aad]

I have Gabriel's old Summarit-it has character, and a dreamy look, but I think at 5.6 those shots should be a bit clearer. I do notice it is a bit colder with some films. I generally use it open, because that's why I got it.

 

[richard_l]

...that there is one tiny spot of coating missing in an element inside, and some weird coating recession at the very edge of the same element...

Let's hope that's not deterioration of the glue between two elements. That's the problem with mine, and it ain't cheap to fix.

Richard

 

[raid]

I will not spend a fortune on this lens. If it has lens separation [which I doubt], I will not fix it.

Raid

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

I have Gabriel's old Summarit-it has character, and a dreamy look, but I think at 5.6 those shots should be a bit clearer. I do notice it is a bit colder with some films. I generally use it open, because that's why I got it.

That's my guy! Believe it or not, I still miss that Summarit and its look. I developed two more rolls after I sent it off to you, and I kicked myself a number of times. This new one, when I saw it, I looked and looked, and saw what I just said about the coating, and just when I was going to pass it up, they gave me an offer I could not refuse: a free Summarit shade. 😀