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Summicron 50 Wetzlar


hammam

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Olivier:

 

The fourth optical generation of the Summicron, which is still the current optical formula dates from 1978. The first of the new design were made in Canada, with later versions being made in Germany. The fourth optical design started after serial number 2.915.800.

 

The lens you are looking at is probably the third design, not as highly regarded as the 2nd or 4th designs.

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There really is no such thing as a 'bad' Summicron 50. They're all very good and the difference between version 3 and the current is rather small and mostly visible below f5.6 when you make very big enlargements.

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There really is no such thing as a 'bad' Summicron 50.

 

That pretty much sums it up. I would even go one step further and say there is no such thing as a 'bad' Summicron. They have always been at the very top performance wise, and while the current models are, of course, better than their predecessors, even the oldest ones if in good condition are still a pleasure to use today. Try yours out, I'd be surprised if you didn't like the quality of the results (labs and the prints they produce differ much, however, so do some slides to really appreciate what these lenses are capable of).

 

Cheers,

 

Andy

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My 50mm Summicron is from 1970. I don't give a rat's @ss what the cognoscenti have to say about it. The lens is truly spectacular. It's razor sharp at all apertures, except for the diffraction effects at f:16, which is certainly not the fault of the optics. Some times I wonder what people have been imbibing when they write the things I read about various lenses.

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