Which 50mm Summicrons DO NOT have infinity locks?

[Biggles]

I just picked up a pretty nice collapsible 50mm Summicron from another forumner. Great transaction, but I'd never handled one of these before, and the damned! infinity! lock! is going to drive me bugf##k! I can feel myself beginning the departure ritual already...

I am going to need a relatively fast Leitz fifty, though, sans lock. When did those catch-happy Teutonoptic freaks stop putting these wretched things on their Summicrae? I think the (unaffordably-priced) fourth model black one I handled a couple of months back was lockless, but are there others?

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

All collapsible Summicrons have an infinity lock (all intact ones, anyway). The rigid, 1968 and "current" Summicrons don't have the infinity lock.

 

[Biggles]

Ah. Thank you, sir.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Gabriel, the so-called rigid has an infinity stop. I know, I had one. Now, the ones issued in the early sixties (I believe, from looking at Sartorious's book I learned something, but not too well) came without lock. I believe it's the fourth version, which also came with a tab. The newer version did away with the tab (why, oh, why? :sad: ) and added a built-in hood.

I guess you win some things, you lose some things... 😉

Biggles... you'll learn to love that lock! I did too! 😀

 

[Biggles]

Thank you, mister Orange Cat.

... you'll learn to love that lock! I did too!

Mister heretic, crack-addled, in-the-clutches-of-an-infinity-lock-cult Orange Cat...

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Wow! What was that?

Some people who love to hate the infinity stop use superglue to cement the little piece together, so it wont catch the focusing ring. Others go and perform a little surgery, removing the spring that helps the lock catch the latch.

Just suggestions, so you can keep your classy Summicron.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Gabriel, the so-called rigid has an infinity stop. I know, I had one. Now, the ones issued in the early sixties (I believe, from looking at Sartorious's book I learned something, but not too well) came without lock. I believe it's the fourth version, which also came with a tab. The newer version did away with the tab (why, oh, why? :sad: ) and added a built-in hood.

I guess I've never seen a rigid 'cron with an infinity lock, then; I did not know that, you do learn something every day!

You know, it's interesting, I didn't like the tab on my 'cron at first; I found it really odd. Now I wish all my lenses (well, those that could have it) had the concave tab. I know my Summilux sure could use one (I guess that's why they put it on the ASPH).

The infinity lock is rather nice on the older lenses. Eventually you grow to like and appreciate why they came up with it; those engineers knew what they were doing back then.

 

[Biggles]

Wow! What was that?

Just a little cult-lens possession humor. I assure you that I actually like orange cats and regularly support their causes.

...The infinity lock is rather nice on the older lenses. Eventually you grow to like and appreciate why they came up with it...

Uh, why did they come up with it? Serious question.

 

[rover]

The collapsible, and Type 1 rigid have infinity locks (I kind of like them too). The DR and subsequent models do not.

This is always a nice reference.

http://www.kbcamera.com/summicron50m.htm

 

[former member]

The infinity lock makes it much easier to unscrew the lens.

Than somebody said "Hey, we went to a Bayonet Mount." Big laugh around the optics lab, and they dropped the infinity lock a few years later.



And the Infinity Lock on the Nikon S-Mount and Contax Mount?

MAKE THOSE PEOPLE USE THE WHEEL! Punish them for grabbing the 50 and turning it.

 

[Biggles]

Thank you, gents, for the explanation and link. I should have specified mine is M-mount; this may explain why I could imagine no use for it.

 

[jaapv]

I wonder if a tab could be added to tab-less lenses? I would love to have one on my tri-elmar (which probably has the worst focussing-ring of all M-lenses)

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Biggles, I use the infinity lock in my collapsible 'cron as a kind of tab. I too wasn't too crazy about tabs... and now I wish my 'cron 50 (non-collapsible, recent version) had it. If you really don't like it locking, just superglue the button and it won't lock on the catch when you focus to infinity.

Thanks, Rover! I didn't know the DR had abandoned the infinity lock. Since my first 'cron (the first rigid version contemporary with the collapsible) had it, I assumed it had stayed until the early 60s.

 

[rover]

Due to the unique dual fucusing zone on the DR in my eye there is no way that they could have put a lock on this lens. I bet they wanted to.