50mm Summarit Issue

[gib_robinson]

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We just came back from a trip up the north coast of California and on the trip I was very aware of my 50mm Summarit’s loose aperture ring. It spins quite freely with barely a hint of the indents that should hold it to the chosen aperture. It's very disconcerting to have to check all the time to make sure the f-stop hasn’t changed. Has anyone else experienced this problem? Is this a design/build issue? I certainly hope it can be satisfactorily repaired.

 

Thanks,

 

--Gib

[01af]

The same happened to my Summarit-M 75 mm lens three years ago. It used to be alright, then all of sudden, for no apparent reason, the aperture ring started spinning freely. The aperture blades kept following the ring properly, only the click stops were gone.

 

Leica Customer Service fixed it the issue free of charge. The aperture ring now solidly clicks as it is supposed to. I'm fairly confident it won't happen again.

[Ecar]

The same happened to my Summarit-M 75 mm lens three years ago. It used to be alright, then all of sudden, for no apparent reason, the aperture ring started spinning freely. The aperture blades kept following the ring properly, only the click stops were gone.

 

Leica Customer Service fixed it the issue free of charge. The aperture ring now solidly clicks as it is supposed to. I'm fairly confident it won't happen again.

 

Same lens, same issue (except that the blades weren't moving in my case), same resolution. Has worked flawlessly ever since it came back from Solms.

Something to do with the Summarit mechanical design perhaps? But it can be fixed.

[TomB_tx]

I picked up a used 35 Summarit with this issue - an I noticed the front part of the lens was loose - would wiggle relative to the main body. Checked the retaining ring that holds the optical (front) section to the focusing mount (at the rear of the lens), and that ring was loose enough to move with a pencil point. So, to my camera bench where a pin spanner happened to be set to the exact size of the ring. I tightened the retaining ring, which secured the optical section wiggle-free, and the click stops were again firm as they should be.

So likely the base issue is loosening of the retaining ring that secures the optical section, and likely the ball-detent is between these parts, so a loose ring causes both issues.

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[gib_robinson]

I picked up a used 35 Summarit with this issue - an I noticed the front part of the lens was loose - would wiggle relative to the main body. Checked the retaining ring that holds the optical (front) section to the focusing mount (at the rear of the lens), and that ring was loose enough to move with a pencil point. So, to my camera bench where a pin spanner happened to be set to the exact size of the ring. I tightened the retaining ring, which secured the optical section wiggle-free, and the click stops were again firm as they should be.

So likely the base issue is loosening of the retaining ring that secures the optical section, and likely the ball-detent is between these parts, so a loose ring causes both issues.

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Exactly the issue with my 50mm Summarit. I didn't have the tool to fix it, but my primary dealer (Camera West in California) had both the tool and the wit to fix it, saving me a trip to Leica.

 

Problem solved. Thanks to all who contributed to this thread.

 

--Gib

[stickan1]

The same happened to my Summarit-M 75 mm lens three years ago. It used to be alright, then all of sudden, for no apparent reason, the aperture ring started spinning freely. The aperture blades kept following the ring properly, only the click stops were gone.

 

Leica Customer Service fixed it the issue free of charge. The aperture ring now solidly clicks as it is supposed to. I'm fairly confident it won't happen again.

 

Same thing happened to me with a 90 mm Summarit two years ago, but I had to pay for the repair!