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Ah, yes, thanks! Would the FOKOS rangefinder also be appropriate?

 

Cheers, Allan

Yes but more protruding being vertically

the HFOOK is a FOKOS with a support that leaves it horizontally with free access to speed selector by turning it on a pivot.

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Edited by jc_braconi
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Thank you JC, I'm now in the process of looking for one! Incidentally, I bought back the Leica II from the dealer (at a greatly reduced price) as I have found a facility locally that can repair it. Thanks again, Allan

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...
Any suggestion between Summar, Summitar and Summicron? These last are overpriced!

 

Pay the money and get the Summicron. That way you will not be disappointed. If however you are only going to take black and white, a Summitar is fine. I find mine often gives a strange blue tint to colour, which I don’t think the Summar does. I certainly don’t recall my father’s slides having a blue tint, all taken with a Summar. In modern terms, the Summar is very soft wide open, a bit like an F1 Noctilux wide open. It was an old design even in the 1930’s, owing a lot to an older Taylor Hobson design and that was an era where design was changing rapidly.

 

It may be a personal preference but I think the rigid Summicron is better than the collapsible, maybe solely because the lens cell is always at perfect right angles to the film. OTOH, the collapsible looks better on an LTM.

 

Wilson

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Thanks Wilson!

 

I'm over one of these, for my little IIIF. don't know if on a wet print which one delivers an acceptable to a great quality. I also have the 35 summaron e39 (is there any hood for it, or it's even necessary? the lens is like inside some cm down the filter thread).

 

Is the Summarit as good as the Cron? I shot mainly black and white, 90% I should say.

 

Thanks again.

 

PS: I found here in London in reddotcameras and other shops but man, 500-550 pounds for a Collap Cron? and is not with perfect glass!

 

EDIT: Sorry I meant the Summitar.

Edited by bruniroquai
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Any suggestion between Summar, Summitar and Summicron? These last are overpriced!

Don't ignore the 50/3.5 Elmar, which although a little slower is an excellent, tiny little collapsible lens for very little money.

 

Pete.

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I have Summitars from 1939 and 1948. The 1948 was purchased same year by my aunt and is exceptional: seems as sharp as my v1 Summicron and good color. I also have a 1934 Summar with clear glass which is quite sharp, but is yellow compared to modern lenses. Perhaps intentional for B&W film?

Note that only the Summicron of these 3 has click stops!

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I have Summitars from 1939 and 1948. The 1948 was purchased same year by my aunt and is exceptional: seems as sharp as my v1 Summicron and good color. I also have a 1934 Summar with clear glass which is quite sharp, but is yellow compared to modern lenses. Perhaps intentional for B&W film?

Note that only the Summicron of these 3 has click stops!

 

I have a slight suspicion that my Summitar is a bit of a Friday one, which may be colouring my views on all Summitars. It is the late “cheap” hex diaphragm model, bought new by my father in 1953. At f2 it is not a patch on my contemporary Zeiss Opton Sonnar stopped down to f2 and at f3.5, it is not as good as my pre-war Elmar 50, but rebuilt and coated post war. I have had it checked to make sure there is no fungus and as it has had virtually no use, it has no cleaning or other marks, so it can’t be improved.

 

Wilson

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  • 1 month later...

Ok, my Leica I Standard and II pairing is taking shape, both in full operating condition (the Leica II repaired courtesy of Youxin Ye); on display is the I Standard (182533) with the FOKOS rangefinder and a 50/3.5 Elmar, the II (83494) with the VIOOH viewfinder and the 35/3.5 Summaron:

 

14930161716_1b18d53a11_c.jpg

 

I'm putting them through their paces, I'll be posting some images soon! Cheers, Allan

Edited by cobbu2
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My guess is the 50 summilux would be the same (too big to work well).

 

Earlier in the thread, I posted a photo of my Leica II with the Summilux 50 pre-asph LTM mounted. It is a little bit unbalanced but not in such a way as to make it difficult to use. In fact, it is a very nimble combo because the camera body is so small. In my hands it feels less unwieldy than an M body with a Noctilux, for instance.

 

Is the [summitar] as good as the Cron? I shot mainly black and white, 90% I should say.

 

As some may know I am a Summitar fan for both colour and b&w. Puts writes in his “Leica-Chronicle” | iBooks that "The Summitar was a very good performer, especially after the application of coating-layers." Mine's a 10-blade aperture 1950 coated copy that does perform well, much better than I expected.

 

Optically-technically, however, the collapsible Summicron is a better lens. Puts's writes:

 

"The original Leitz documentation gives this lens the highest praise: “With the Summicron we have created a small-format (35-mm) lens of the highest possible performance, uniting in the most happy way the progress in glass research and the newest insights of the optical design department”. A more sober verdict might be that the lens, while better than the predecessor at maximum aperture, still shows a low overall contrast with good definition of the finer details. It has excellent color correction with good recording capabilities of the subtle color nuances."

 

The Summicron does have a fairly soft front element which scratches rather easily, so that is something to bear in mind. Plus it makes it more difficult to find copies in good condition. I've seen Summicrons for sub-300GBP, which is a good price, and Summitars for 200GBP in similar condition. It all depends on the dealer, but it seems to me that the Summicron is a lens which some dealers like to sell for closer to 400-500GBP.

 

Philip

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I love the 28mm for its miniscule size as well as its classic rendering. I have, however, noticed that it is very contrasty, and will probably start slightly reducing the development time in order to dial down the contrast. Anyone else experienced this? Anyone know where I can get a "user" lens cap for this lens?

 

Hi Adam

 

I have the 2,8 f/6.3 Hektor and have considered adding a 2,8cm f/5.6 Summaron because it is a more contrasty lens. The Hektor renders nicely, and is a pretty good performer under the right circumstances, but it is a low contrast lens in my experience. So it is interesting and helpful for me to read about your experience that it is almost too contrasty.

 

As for a cap, I believe both lenses have the same front diameter and use the same A36 filters. I have used the bakelite cap from my 9cm f/4 Elmar which fits over the entire front lens assembly. It works well enough for me. Peter Loy in London has one in stock at the moment.

 

Philip

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Have to say that my 1951 Summicron 5cm Collapsible impresses me with its performance. Bought last year from Leica Shop Wien and has been on my 1957 IIIg ever since (whilst my lovely little Elmar sits forlornly on the shelf...). Example below from the Summicron on Agfa Vista 200.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hullo!

 

I'm James and this is my first post (hopefully of many).

 

I have just taken delivery of my first Leica - a Leica 1 that has been heavily upgraded (see here for pics: Share.Pho.to | This photo set was shared via Share.Pho.to). The story I got from the previous owner is that the rangefinder and slow shutter (and presumably chrome) were added in 1935. The Summar lens is from 1937. It's essentially, then, a leica iii (F) with a 5-digit serial number. I'm just learning, but I gather these upgraded, frankenleicas are quite common...?

 

As for condition, twas serviced approx 2 years ago and the number (allegedly, but I have no reason to doubt) checks out inside. The lens is excellent. The shutter speeds sound about right, but have yet to see. Slow shutters are definitely pretty accurate. The only niggle is that the shutter speed dial doesn't QUITE match up with the arrow; don't suppose anyone knows if this is an easy fix to remove and swivel round?

 

Got it's first film in now (Kodak tmax100) and will let you know how it goes. Attached to this post are some quick snaps I took of the camera (w/ my fuji). Please do comment and let me know what you think - as I say, I'm very new to the world of historical Leicas.

 

Cheers!

James

 

Photos of camera are here:

Share.Pho.to | This photo set was shared via Share.Pho.to

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Should be fun, and capable of nice images. Looks like it is now a model III with a Summar - Leica's first f2.0 lens. Last year I picked up a later 30s III with a '34 Summar, and the lens is much better than I expected, but low contrast. I also have IIIc, IIIf, and IIIg, but the slightly smaller size of the III and Summar feel great to use. Many great pictures have been taken with that combination.

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Excellent find! It appears this camera will provide years of enjoyment and also open the path to learning the fascinating history of your camera and Leica cameras, lenses, etc., and in general from the many resources available.

 

Interesting attachment to the shutter speed dial by the way, that's something I've never seen before.

 

Check out this link, especially the notes at the bottom of the page listing the conversion options which it appears your camera is the result of. Good luck, have fun and looking forward to seeing some posted photos! Regards, Allan

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