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50 Summicron Collapsible Ok?


tangfj

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Hey guys, I'm new here and a new owner of a M240. I've ditched a ton of other camera gear to get it and so far I love it! I currently have it paired with a used 35mm v4 "king of bokeh" Summicron. I don't know if it's gear acquisition syndrome but the handling and use of this camera and lens is really superb.

 

Anyway, I'm in the market for a vintage 50 to mate with my 35 summicron while I save up for the 50 Summilux ASPH. The collapsible v1 50 summicron has caught my eye due to the low(er) prices I can get them at as well as the small size when collapsed. Can it be safely collapsed in to the M240? I've tried searching up and down on google but haven't found anything definitive.

 

Also, are there any other alternatives for vintage 50's out there that I should look in to? I've read about Canon's and Nikon's but would those require adapters to work?

 

Thanks in advance!

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I don't have the lens to which your question refers....it seems like I remember in the manual there's a reference to lenses that are not compatible with the M. You might want to check there. I suppose I'm bit lazy, or I would go look it up for you.

Edited by Jeffry Abt
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I have that lens but I don't recall ever collapsing it. I think I measured the depth once when I had an M8 and figured it would be ok.

 

Interestingly it focused better than a tabbed 50 Summicron I have, which ultimately I had to send in for calibration. Mine happens to have perfect front glass thanks to the fact the previous owner didn't get intimidated into taking the protective UV filter off it, and I have kept one on it myself (a multi-coated B+W glass I transplanted into an original chrome Leitz e39 UV mount). The front coatings of those lenses are quite fragile. Many of them will be found with a latticework of cleaning marks, and often as well a fair bit of internal haze, which will cause a loss of contrast and an increase of flare. Good samples are hard to find but that's what you want to search for. It's actually a very sharp lens. Don't dismiss screw-mount versions (that's what mine is) if you find one with good glass, as they work fine with an M adapter. The only slightly annoying feature of that lens is the infinity lock, but it can be disabled.

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If you like the 35 V 4, you will not like the original collapsible even as a fill in lens. The version 2 is quite different.

 

There is no rule that says you must collapse it. Extended there can be no problem at all.

 

To save money, I would try a Zeiss Planar 50.

 

I have no idea how well an uncoded 35 Summicron will work on the M.

Third party coding is not always read by the M. Manual lens setting should be ok.

 

Also I would not look to upgrade the V4. It is a nice simple lens, reasonably sharp at 2.0 and has little to no distortion. I really wanted the ASPH when it was introduced, but comparing it now I am happy I could not afford it.

 

The optical cell is glued in place and tends to come out. Do not tighten by the lens shade. Use the ridges on the very back.

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I have both my V.3 and V.4 35 Crons DIY coded (milled and filled) and all my M's from M8 through M240 recognized them fine. The 4 is a little trick because there's a screw smack dab in the middle of where the (black) coding pits need to be. I removed the screw, milled around it, replaced the screw and filled it with flat black.

 

I did have the 35 Cron ASPH and sold it in preference of the V.4 which is a little smaller and lighter, and I happen to like the look from it better. Infact I had and sold a 21 Elmarit ASPH, 90 Summicron APO-ASPH and 135 APO-Telyt in favor of their predecessors also. Not sorry they're gone, but definitely sorry I didn't keep them a few years longer given what's happened to their resale value, but who knew?

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The collapsible LTM 5cm Summicron will work (& collapse) fine on your 240, but the Canon 50/1.9 collapsible & 50/1.8 rigids in LTM are also good vintage alternatives & can usually be found for cheaper & in better condition. The LTM 5cm Nikkors (both f/1.4 & f/2) are good, of course, but are based on the Zeiss Sonnars & will provide a different look & will be more expensive.

 

Hey guys, I'm new here and a new owner of a M240. I've ditched a ton of other camera gear to get it and so far I love it! I currently have it paired with a used 35mm v4 "king of bokeh" Summicron. I don't know if it's gear acquisition syndrome but the handling and use of this camera and lens is really superb.

 

Anyway, I'm in the market for a vintage 50 to mate with my 35 summicron while I save up for the 50 Summilux ASPH. The collapsible v1 50 summicron has caught my eye due to the low(er) prices I can get them at as well as the small size when collapsed. Can it be safely collapsed in to the M240? I've tried searching up and down on google but haven't found anything definitive.

 

Also, are there any other alternatives for vintage 50's out there that I should look in to? I've read about Canon's and Nikon's but would those require adapters to work?

 

Thanks in advance!

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… Also, are there any other alternatives for vintage 50's out there that I should look in to? I've read about Canon's and Nikon's but would those require adapters to work?

M39 aka LTM (= Leica Thread Mount) lenses by Canon, Nikkor (early Nikon: The name Nikon, which dates from 1946, is a merging of Nippon Kōgaku (日本光学: "Japan Optical") and Zeiss' brand Ikon. Source: Wikipedia.), Jupiter, Voigtlander, Konica, and Zeiss will fit your camera with the same M to LTM adaptor you would need for your 50/2 Summicron collapsible. In particular I would recommend a 50mm f/1.4 or f/2 Nippon Kogaku Nikkor lens, which should match the vintage look of pictures from your 35/2 v4 Summicron. The Nippon Kogaku 50/1.4 is Nikkor's version of the Zeiss Sonnar lens design and as such it has lovely smooth bokeh and resists flare well. The slight downside with fast Sonnars (ie f/1.4) is a tendency to shift focus they are stopped down. LTM versions of Nippon Kogaku's surface fairly often and fairly cheaply.

 

LTM Zeiss 50mm lenses are readily available through eBay although a good percentage are faked (Russian) Jupiter lenses, so you need to know how to spot the fakes and there is help in this webpage. There is nothing particularly wrong with Jupiter lenses except that the manufacturing plant used an 'interesting' interpretation of the term "tolerance" and often focus calibration is off, which you'll only find when you mount the lens on your camera - not ideal in a web purchase.

 

Pete.

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Welcome to the forum !!!

You have had good alternatives from previous posts; for me, I add that is better to be careful when you find a collapsible Summicron at really good price... they had a coating that is easy to be damaged.... later non collapsible items are safer in this detail... a really fine collapsible is, de facto, not so cheaper than a fixed one.

Speaking of alternatives... and given that there is a Summilux in your future... ;)... why not thinking to an ELMAR as oldstyle 50 ? They are cheap, available, collapsible safely on M240, often in very good condition.... having an Elmar is never a mistake

Edited by luigi bertolotti
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Thanks for all the suggestions guys! After reading about all the different collapsible summicrons and elmars I think I'm going to hold off on those for now. As you said, the coatings on the 50 collapsible summicrons get damaged easily and the one that I did find locally had all kinds of cleaning marks. I was interested also in the 2.8 elmar but I haven't found any definitive information on whether or not they could safely be collapsed in to a M240. I'm too scared to get one only to find out that I can't collapse it or even worse damage my camera...

 

Anyway, I ended up finding a pretty good deal on a Zeiss 50 Planar and Sonnar so I'm gonna try those two out and use them for now. These lenses should keep me busy for a while... :)

 

Thanks again for all the suggestions! (I'll now be keeping my eye out for any canon's or nikkor lenses locally when I'm out)

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Hey guys, I'm new here and a new owner of a M240. I've ditched a ton of other camera gear to get it and so far I love it! I currently have it paired with a used 35mm v4 "king of bokeh" Summicron. I don't know if it's gear acquisition syndrome but the handling and use of this camera and lens is really superb.

 

Anyway, I'm in the market for a vintage 50 to mate with my 35 summicron while I save up for the 50 Summilux ASPH. The collapsible v1 50 summicron has caught my eye due to the low(er) prices I can get them at as well as the small size when collapsed. Can it be safely collapsed in to the M240? I've tried searching up and down on google but haven't found anything definitive.

 

Also, are there any other alternatives for vintage 50's out there that I should look in to? I've read about Canon's and Nikon's but would those require adapters to work?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

If you want collapsible, go with the last Elmar - if its on budget. The older 'crons only focused to 1 meter. Newer lenses like the Elmar go to .7 - much better for portraits.

 

PS: The 50's are all ok to collapse. I wouldn't the old 90

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If you want collapsible, go with the last Elmar - if its on budget. The older 'crons only focused to 1 meter. Newer lenses like the Elmar go to .7 - much better for portraits.

 

PS: The 50's are all ok to collapse. I wouldn't the old 90

 

 

Thanks! I saw a collapsible 50 Elmer locally and tried it on my m240 but I was a bit afraid to collapse it in to the body for fear of damaging the internals of my camera. Good to know that it'd be safe!

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the summicron and elmar can definitely collapse in the M digital cameras. And the collapsible summicron can be a good performer if the glass is clear- though the look is softer than later summicrons. Though many warn of the soft coatings- this can be slightly overstated- I have handled quite a few of these lenses in good condition. Many folks cared for thier lens. There are good ones out there.

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