Why I love my Summicron 50

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. :D

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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Yes that really is an amazing picture that Richard posted. I use a label on my 0.85 mag cam to distinguish it from the other one.

 
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.
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 gather that Roger Hicks finds all those 50mm photographs of HCB "boring". Perhaps you should revisit this focal length 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 :D

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.....
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.

The only thing with the DR summicron is that I won't be able to use it the way it was intended :D 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 :D I'm using an R3A and not *gasp* a Leica :)
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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