Why I love my Summicron 50

richard_l

richard_l

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I'm sure there are other 50s just as good, maybe even better, but I can always depend on my Cron to be silky smooth and scary sharp with delightful tonality, unless I screw up. It has a tendency to flare, but nothing's perfect.

I think this is a grape smasher at the Shelton Winery in northwest NC. I was disappointed to learn that they don't do it any more by stomping around barefoot in a big barrel. 😉

Richard
 
Really nice tonality, good looking shot, even with what looks like a white cloudy sky. Those machines are a mental challenge to their mechanical designers, and maybe they still employ some buxom young lasses to convey the grapes to the squeezers!
 
The day was overcast.

In fact, a very attractive buxom lass escorted our small group around the winery, and afterward must have poured me at least $30 worth of wine at the tasting, all for the outrageous sum of $5 for the tour and tasting and souvenir wine glass. They sometimes do things right, here in the foothills of the Blue Ridge in NC. 😀

A shot of the grounds around the winery. I meant to use color film but picked up the wrong camera on the way out. All Leica Ms look pretty similar.
 
> All Leica Ms look pretty similar.

Good reason to memorize serial numbers, or at least the first two digits.

I certainly agree about the Summicrons. I keep the Type I rigid on the M2, later one on the M3 SS, and Summarit on the M3DS. Makes it easier to tell the cameras apart at a quick glance. Also keep a Summarit on the Canon 7, but the Selenium meter is a dead give-away that its not a Leica.
 
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the 50cron is certainly one great lens. i got mine with my m7 in the kit and tried also the new 50lux asph. great lens too but a bit costey.
nice photograph
 
geoset said:
I think maybe you should give the film and processing some credit for the smooth tonalities.
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Fair enough. Ilford XP2 Super rated at 250. Kodak Premium Processing, Fair Lawn, NJ. Negative scanned on an Olympus ES-10 SCSI. Scan was processed in Paint Shop Pro 7 and Ulead SmartSaver Pro 3.0.
 
Can't agree. Sold mine: boring focal length, too slow, and devoid of the magic that so many others praise. Rather have a Canon 50/1.2 (at least it's fast, albeit lousy at wider than f/5.6).

No big thing. Just to show how personal views vary.

Cheers,

Roger
 
I've been tempted by the Cron a couple times - most recently by the collapsible version - I don't know if it's the optics (because, yes, that is ONE of the reasons) but lately it's the build quality that I admire.

That thing felt like a bar of gold in my hands - costs as much and just as dense 😀

Cheers
Dave
 
dcsang said:
I've been tempted by the Cron a couple times - most recently by the collapsible version - I don't know if it's the optics (because, yes, that is ONE of the reasons) but lately it's the build quality that I admire.....
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If it's build quality you want, get a DR Summicron. The optics aren't too shabby either.
 
richard_l said:
If it's build quality you want, get a DR Summicron. The optics aren't too shabby either.
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The only thing with the DR summicron is that I won't be able to use it the way it was intended 😀 I'm using an R3A and not *gasp* a Leica 🙂

Cheers
Dave
 
dcsang said:
The only thing with the DR summicron is that I won't be able to use it the way it was intended 😀 I'm using an R3A and not *gasp* a Leica 🙂
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If I had one, I'd use it without the bug-eyes. Most of them come without the eyes anyhow. Or just get a rigid. Rigids are supposed to be just as good as DRs.
 
Richard is yours a modern or vintage 50 'cron ? Man that is sharp.
If vintage, what year ?
I just picked up a '58 vintage rigid 'cron for under $200 and it is at Focal Point right now getting some haze cleaned out of it.
🙂
 
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