Old Summaron 35mm f3.5 ltm

[david strachan]

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It's built in 1951, and has some veiling flare, and glow, off contrasty edges.  It improves a bit with smaller apertures.

 

Is this just a characteristic?  I expect so, as it's uncoated.

 

 

I've had a careful look and it looks clear and bright inside...no haze etc.

Do you think a CLA would be worth it?  Or just learn to love its character?

 

I have LR 5.7 & CS4...are there tricks to get a better image...I suppose contrast & clarity slider??

 

Any comments, except "buy a new lens", would be much appreciated....

 

Thanks

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[TomB_tx]

I have had one for years, but mine is clearly coated. I've used it only on film on a IIIf, but I've found it to be a good lens. I used it on the IIIf as a carry-around camera in the army '69-71.

[microview]

I had one for a short time on an M8 and found it rather nice apart from the infinity lock which I disliked. Everyone told me I should have the 35 2.8 Summaron as this was vastly superior and the 3.5 was rather prone to flare: solved by the screw-in cylindrical Leica hood for E39s. Older Summarons didn't have a threaded outer, of course.

Edited April 25, 2016 by microview

[pippy]

FWIW I had my '54 3.5cm f3.5 (M) CLA'd and it transformed what I thought to have been a previously "flare-prone" lens into a fantastic performer - both in terms of sharpness and contrast.

 

When I took it into the dealership they were able to check it out prior to my 'commiting' and found invisible-to-the-naked-eye fungal growth.

 

I'd recommend having yours checked-out without a second thought.

 

If you would care to see some 'before and after' I'd be delighted to oblige.

 

Pip.

[Adrian Lord]

I love mine  - apart form the hateful infinity lock. Work well on Monochrom.

[willeica]

Here is a photo taken with the f3.5 LTM Summaron on an M9. It is a great compact 35mm lens.  A lens from 1951 should be coated. Perhaps your lens has some fungus or other material that needs to be removed as part of a CLA.

 

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William

[james.liam]

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I love mine  - apart form the hateful infinity lock. Work well on Monochrom.

 

 

The bane of using these old lenses. Someone remind me why they put it there in the first place?

[david strachan]

William...thanks for the image.  My Summaron would have worked in that setting too, and been nice and sharp, etc.  It would not have suffered the flare problem I am having, as there aren't any really contrasty sections in the image. There are no coatings on my lens...no colours at all on the surface.

 

Pip...I've looked very carefully with a x10 lens in sunlight...and can see no evidence of haze or fungus.

 

Microview...yes, I use the slip on lens shade made for the lens.

 

Thanks everyone for your answers...I'll take it along to my Leica Technician next visit, and have a chat with him too.

[TomB_tx]

Yes, have an optical tech check it. My 90 TE (fat), developed very low contrast, yet looked fine. Finally it went to Gus Lazzari who noted a rear element or group was spaced wrong. (No cause was apparent.) Since he adjusted on an optical bench it is great!

Since the Summaron started production in 1949, I would have expected them all to be coated. With the soft coatings then maybe the coating was damaged in use and polished off. 

[willeica]

You can use old LTM/M adaptors with a cutaway which should help with the infinity lock but may give rise to 'no lens' issues on more recent camera models. When you are at or near infinity the lock issue should not have a major effect on focus as everything to infinity should be in focus anyway. The thing is just 'cludgy' to use. The main advantage of using old lenses on digital is the different look they give like these ones taken wide open with a Summar on an M8. The bokeh here cannot be found on more modern lenses. There is a touch of El Greco about the effect that they give. The purpose here is to utilise what some might regard as faults in the lens to give a different look to the super saturated, sharp and often boring look of modern lenses.

 

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William

Edited April 26, 2016 by willeica

[willeica]

On second thoughts the second photo above was taken stopped down a bit, as I can see highlights showing the shape of the aperture blades. It still has the swirly bokeh, however.

 

William

[pippy]

Very nice pictures, William. Very 'Painterly' indeed!

 

 

Just to show another aspect of these great lenses here is one direct out-of-camera file and a full-size crop from the same.

The picture was one of several taken literally a minute or so after I picked my 3.5cm f3.5 up after its CLA (as mentioned in my earlier post) and was taken purely as a 'test' frame to see whether there was any improvement in IQ; no artistic intention whatsoever so bear with me! Also bear in mind that the lettering is printed onto a mesh fabric...

 

Shot on M9-P, 3.5mm f3.5 Summaron (of course) 1/350 f10 @ ISO 16.

All settings (contrast, colour etc.) medium. Camera set for "35mm Summicron IV".

 

Full image;

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Crop of lettering on mesh screen;

 

FWIW have a look at how well the lens handles the subtle greys behind the mesh screen.

 

Pip.

[jaques]

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[david strachan]

You're getting more out of the lens than I can Jack.  And so are other images here.

Thanks everyone.

Dave S

[jaapv]

The bane of using these old lenses. Someone remind me why they put it there in the first place?

On LTM lenses? To be able to screw them in and out easily without the travel of the focusing ring complicating the operation.

With the (removable) goggled Summaron? To lock the lens at infinity automatically, that being the only focus distance that is correct with the goggles removed.

[pippy]

On LTM lenses? To be able to screw them in and out easily without the travel of the focusing ring complicating the operation...

 

It's not just the LTM lenses which benefit.

My 50mm collapsible Elmar has lost it's lock-button and getting it off a body has exactly the same issue as jaapv mentions above.

 

Pip.

Edited April 27, 2016 by pippy

[Ernstk]

All my Leica lenses have infinity lock (35 lux, 35/2,8 Summaron, 50 Summicron).

 

I've never found it to be a problem in any way...

 

Ernst

[james.liam]

On LTM lenses? To be able to screw them in and out easily without the travel of the focusing ring complicating the operation.

With the (removable) goggled Summaron? To lock the lens at infinity automatically, that being the only focus distance that is correct with the goggles removed.

Does make sense on the LTM lenses but for my M 50 Rigid and Summaron ƒ/2.8 it is more annoyance than an aid. Have to remind myself to unlock it.

 

I imagine on these early M's it was a vestige of the old line that many still had.

Edited April 27, 2016 by james.liam

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[david strachan]

The lock is on many thread-mount lenses...Canon lenses, etc.  It's as Jaap says.

Personally they never worry me.  It's just the way these lenses work.

 

I'd rather feel infinity, than some new electronic lenses with infinity all over the place.

Sometimes it's better to work with the system, rather than against it....as I've learnt over my short years with Leica...

Edited April 27, 2016 by david strachan

[spydrxx]

The infinity lock really annoyed me when I first used a lens with one. I had a Japanese lens which had the lock and spring removed and I thought at first it was great, but then realized that I had grown used to the lock and didn't often finely focus in that small space between when the lock first begins to engage and firmly seats itself. So, I found a spring in my parts box and mounted the lock pin, and have enjoyed it ever since. I guess it is what you get used to.