summarit and iiif questions - help

[harmsr]

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Well, I was surprised when my wife got me an almost perfect 1953 iiif RD and its' original summarit 50/1.5 for christmas.

 

The lens seams reasonably sharp, has beautiful OOF rendering, nice textures, and focuses smoothly. The iiif seems almost new, with everything working perfectly. The VF, RF, speeds are all just fine.

 

I realize that the Summarit will have less contrast than my modern lenses but what is this lense really like. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if I'm really getting its true measure yet as it has some internal haze but no scratching. It is going off for a CLA with Sherry Krauter.

 

I would appreciate it if those of you who have used this lens can post some sample photos or state how it draws/renders when working properly.

 

This is pretty exciting to me, as I have never owned a Leica LTM before. The charm and mechanical feel of this camera is amazing. I realize that it is not as easy or quick to work with as my M's, but the nostalga and experience here is very nice.

 

Thanks,

 

Ray

[thomasw_]

i do not have a scanner yet...but when i do i would love to share some of my successes and, more often, some of my 'learning experiences' with my IIIc and summitar. these following two galleries are very fine examples of a IIIc and summitar in the hands of one 'in the zone'.

 

lesgediman.com

 

btw, if you don't have a film trimmer for your barnack, you ought to get one. it made loading the IIIc much easier for mir. but probably you knew that already:)

 

good cheer and congratulations!

 

thomas

 

///sorry i misread your lens, assuming it was like mine...

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[harmsr]

Thomas,

 

Not a problem on the confusion. Mine is a summarit.

 

I actually have loaded it sucessfully by just free hand cutting the leader, (no template). I basically took the same type of leader cut as it has but just extended it to be 4" long. (Worked fine for several rolls so far.)

 

I like your other Leica also. My M5 is my favorite film camera ever.

 

The new to me iiif is something that I have always wanted to have and shoot, but just never justified it when compared to my M5. Now I don't have to justify it, just enjoy it.

 

My main wonder here is what can this summarit do when clean without the haze. It has to be affecting the details, flare, and contrast. Even with the haze it has such a charming old signature, that I'm really curious as to what it can properly do.

 

Best,

 

Ray

[jlancasterd]

Well, I was surprised when my wife got me an almost perfect 1953 iiif RD and its' original summarit 50/1.5 for christmas.

 

The lens seams reasonably sharp, has beautiful OOF rendering, nice textures, and focuses smoothly. The iiif seems almost new, with everything working perfectly. The VF, RF, speeds are all just fine.

 

I realize that the Summarit will have less contrast than my modern lenses but what is this lense really like. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if I'm really getting its true measure yet as it has some internal haze but no scratching. It is going off for a CLA with Sherry Krauter.

 

I would appreciate it if those of you who have used this lens can post some sample photos or state how it draws/renders when working properly.

 

This is pretty exciting to me, as I have never owned a Leica LTM before. The charm and mechanical feel of this camera is amazing. I realize that it is not as easy or quick to work with as my M's, but the nostalga and experience here is very nice.

 

Thanks,

 

Ray

 

Hi Ray

 

My first Leica was a 1960 M2 fitted with a screw-thread Summarit on an M-adapter. It was a lovely lens - somewhat soft at full aperture and lacking the biting contrast of the Pentax lenses I used later in the '60s, but I took some excellent shots with it. The moderate contrast was actually an advantage when taking photos of railway subjects, helping to retain detail in the shadow areas around running gear, etc.

 

I'm attaching a shot scanned from a Kodachrome-X (or possibly Kodachrome II) slide taken in 1962. The scene is Porthmadog Harbour in North Wales - before the old slate storage sheds were swept away and when the local Walls Icecream agent was still using a Trojan van to service his little depot on the wharf...

 

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[harmsr]

John,

 

Thanks for the relpy and the beautiful photo.

 

If those are the results that I can expect from this lens after a CLA, this little camera is going to be very fun.

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

Do you have any more? (Especially with people)

 

Best,

 

Ray

[jlancasterd]

John,

 

Thanks for the relpy and the beautiful photo.

 

If those are the results that I can expect from this lens after a CLA, this little camera is going to be very fun.

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

Do you have any more? (Especially with people)

 

Best,

 

Ray

 

Hi Ray

 

Here are a few more from the early 1960s (I sold the Summarit around 1967 when I went SLR) Remember that this *is* early 1960s film stored for about 40 years in less than ideal conditions before being scanned (the scans were done on a Nikon scanner about 5 years ago) so the colour is somewhat faded. All are from the period when I was at university and spent my summers working trains on the Ffestiniog Railway.

 

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Schoolfriend Alan Heywood - he eventually became FR General Manager in the 1990s - Agfacolor 50ASA

 

Derelict narrow-gauge/standard-gauge crossing at Blaenau Ffestiniog - Kodachrome II(?)

 

'Linda' fetching locomotive coal from Minffordd exchange sidings - Kodachrome II(?)

 

Triple-header leaving Porthmadog Harbour Station - both of the steam locos were short of steam and the little Baldwin diesel was doing most of the work - Kodachrome II(?)

 

'Linda' being serviced in Boston Lodge Works Yard - Kodachrome II(?)

[wizard]

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Ray, congrats on your "new" IIIf and Summarit, and on your wife for making this kind of gift!

 

I inherited a IIIf plus Summarit lens from my father, and have used this combination from the early 70ies when this was still my father's Leica. You will especially like this lens when doing B&W. It is IMHO not so suited for color photography, as its color rendition is somewhat subdued, certainly if compared with modern Leica glass, but also in relation to say a red scale Elmar 50 lens of its day.

 

Fully open the Summarit is of low contrast and clearly shows a lot of optical abberations, such a as heavy coma in the outer zones (visible on night shots with e.g. light bulbs located in the outer zones). Closed down (f4 and further) the lens gets very sharp and shows high resolution while contrast stays relatively low. It does produce loads of that famous 'Leica glow' and so is in my view especially suited for B&W work.

 

One word of caution: The internal coatings of the lens elements will go away when cleaning them. Unless the haze in your lens is truly severe, I would not have the internal lens surfaces cleaned. While cleaning means the haze will be removed, the same is true for the coating, and the net effect will thus be questionable. Mine has developed a visible amount of haze, but I do not feel that this has degraded the optical performance significantly, not even when shooting at night. Of course it would be possible to recoat the inner lens elements, but you would have to truly love that lens to justify the costs.

 

Cheers,

 

Andy