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2.8cm f6.3 Hektor


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Has anyone used this lens on a Leica Standard or IIIf?

 

I'm doing 1 month safari with clients in Africa next week and along with my 2 M9s I'm taking my 1939 Leica Standard with a 35mm f3.5 Elmar. I was thinking of buying a 2.8cm Hektor to take along as well, I've found one in very good condition. I'm not worried about the f6.3 lens aperture as light conditions should be good with plenty of bright/harsh light in the Namib Desert and Masai Mara.

 

I'm planning to use Fuji Velvia 100, which has high colour saturation and high contrast to compensate for any loss of contrast or flatness with the older lenses.

 

Any feedback & suggestions would be welcome and appreciated.

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I have one, and was my first 28 on my first Leica (a IIIc... 1983...) : it is pretty usable, keeping it always in the f8-f11 range (it has the old "Elmar style" f stop inner ring... uncomfortable... so is anyway easy to decide to change aperture almost never). I remember that vignetting was NOT an issue on film, while general contrast and sharpness were so-so : by the way, the Summaron f 5,6, which too I have, is a significant step-up, almost as compact as the Hektor (fantastic in this sense) and with a "modern" f stop ring : if you find a Summaron for a price not too higher, it is a better buy, undoubtly (I often use it on my M8 too, E39 filter with adapter).

Keep also in mind that most of the Hektors are uncoated (afaik, all the items with old style f/stop values...postwar items with scale to f 22 are rare and valued as collectibles).

Edited by luigi bertolotti
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I saw a lot of photos of this lens; tried it just once. My grandfather had one. Just marvelous.

 

Don't care about coating; it is not so important as some believe. Just makes the imge "different". But you will need a sunshade - and this is os some importance. I use a lot an Elmar 35mm from 1932 - and it is my favourite. Of course, no coating.

 

Martin

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I saw a lot of photos of this lens; tried it just once. My grandfather had one. Just marvelous.

 

Don't care about coating; it is not so important as some believe. Just makes the imge "different". But you will need a sunshade - and this is os some importance. I use a lot an Elmar 35mm from 1932 - and it is my favourite. Of course, no coating.

 

Martin

 

And that's a problem with the Hektor :) ... the original can cost almost as the lens itself... SOOHN is a rare bird... ;)

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Gentlemen- Thank you for the feedback, I really appreciate it.

 

Luigi- I was also looking at a 28mm Summaron f5.6 & lens hood. It's rather pricey, the lens is around EUR850- & the hood is around EUR400- !

 

The other option is a mint Voigtlander 28mm f3.5 Color Skopar incl. hood for around EUR520-

 

I'm tempted to go for the Voigtlander......

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Gentlemen- Thank you for the feedback, I really appreciate it.

 

Luigi- I was also looking at a 28mm Summaron f5.6 & lens hood. It's rather pricey, the lens is around EUR850- & the hood is around EUR400- !

 

The other option is a mint Voigtlander 28mm f3.5 Color Skopar incl. hood for around EUR520-

 

I'm tempted to go for the Voigtlander......

 

Frankly, I think that in user term is the best option...

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Hi

 

The little CV is multi coated and is ok with the mini hood bundled with it, but of you like contra jour or night or use uncoated filters, I'd also get the optinal LH1 hood, as well. It makes the dinky lens much larger, but you only need it in extremes. For street shooting I use the mini hood and a coated UV.

 

I'm happy with mine even at f/4 - But I don't do brick walls.

 

If I have room (in gbag) I'd take the Elmarit ASPH but don't often have room.

 

Noel

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Also consider the 25mm snapshot skopar, great little lens, comes with a finder.

 

Funny you should mention this. It's exactly what I did this morning, I found a new C/V 25mm Skopar for EUR230- incl. finder and bought it.

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And that's a problem with the Hektor :) ... the original can cost almost as the lens itself... SOOHN is a rare bird... ;)

 

Well, of course is good to use an all-original equipment; I like it. But when it is impossible, we always have how to do something to solve the problem. Here in Brazil we call this as "gambiarra" - a quick solution for a problem. But it IS a solution...

 

Martin

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  • 7 years later...

I have a 28mm Hektor and it is much sharper than I was expecting, used on both screw and M bodies. I have made 12x16 prints that look as good as you might expect from much newer lenses ( black & white, FP4 in Rodinal). There is falloff in the extreme corners of the negative but that saves you burning them in on the print ! I also have a voigtlander 25mm snapshot Skopar which is very sharp, but in a more modern way.

 

This is the first post I have made, and to a rather old question.

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I have a 28mm Hektor and it is much sharper than I was expecting, used on both screw and M bodies. I have made 12x16 prints that look as good as you might expect from much newer lenses ( black & white, FP4 in Rodinal). There is falloff in the extreme corners of the negative but that saves you burning them in on the print ! I also have a voigtlander 25mm snapshot Skopar which is very sharp, but in a more modern way.

 

This is the first post I have made, and to a rather old question.

Welcome to the Forum !!! A people who uses a Hektor 2,8cm surely can enjoy our community... :)

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I have both the Hektor and the Summaron. I have used the Hektor for an illustration I did in an issue of Viewfinder. I was quite surprised at how well the Hektor performed with the Monochrom. I re-acquired the Summaron this past summer. It was flaring like mad and I thought it might need to have the outer surfaces cleaned, which I did with a lens pen. This helped quite a bit, but I think the lens could benefit from a professional cleaning. Very hard to see because of the small lens elements, but with a bright light looking through it there appears that there is some crud that needs to be cleaned out. Not surprising on a lens that is over 60 years old!

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Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

This is my first attempt to add a picture to a post. Taken with my pre-war uncoated 28mm Hektor, on my 3g, on FP4 in Moersch Tanol, 125th at f16-18, scanned from an A4 size darkroom print, the whole negative printed Cartier-Bresson style with the film margins showing.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I'm a big fan of the 2,8cm Hektor. Mine's a late version, coated (blue) with an aperture scale that goes to f/22. Yes it can flare if a strong light source is in or just outside the frame, but there's a cheap Chinese hood one can buy for a few US dollars (including, incredibly, shipping) which helps. There's some fall-off in the corners but not to an extreme amount. And what I like is that it is really quite sharp from 'wide' open. Here are a few examples.

 

Philip

 

 

29996945956_fa6824ddc6_b.jpg

Flickr

TTL Velvia 100

 

27757528083_ab722dc1ff_b.jpg

Flickr

Leica II Velvia 100

 

36328943846_f5ef887283_b.jpg

Flickr

TTL Velvia 100F

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  • 1 year later...

Quite surprising to read such a long discussion without any illustration! To complement, here are the ones I choose in my collection's archives, inclusive one with the quite unusual location of the number and one with the SOOHN shade. And why not adding images of the Summaron 28 - either scaled in meter or feet -, since it is also discussed?

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

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My review of the original Hektor from 3 years ago. It is a great lens. A hood of some kind is recommended not only for flare, but also to avoid fingers getting into photos. I have the expensive, but rare and lovely SOOBK hood. Even with the hood I sometimes managed to get my fingers into the frame.

https://www.macfilos.com/2016/05/24/2016-5-20-leica-28mm-summaron-f56-little-old-guy-goes-modernperhaps/

William

 

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