Summaron 3.5cm f/3.5 question

[Xícara de Café]

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Yes, I loosened them very easily with a screwdriver so I think it must have been opened before. The only real problem (I still haven't tested it with film) is that it can't be used wide open.  Thanks

[oldwino]

Send it back. There are plenty of properly functioning Summarons out there to be had. If you figure in repair costs, it’s not such a good deal. 

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[Xícara de Café]

17 hours ago, oldwino said:

Send it back. There are plenty of properly functioning Summarons out there to be had. If you figure in repair costs, it’s not such a good deal. 

I may yet do that. Perhaps labour costs are cheaper here. Usually having a lens serviced costs no more US$85 and I'll have a perfectly clean lens. Turns out I have until Friday next week to return the lens, so I'm going to send it to São Paulo for a quote. Not to the Leica specialist but to another well-know tech who also works with Leica. I think the price will be better. I also forgot to mention that it's very risky importing things here (things can go missing or get sent back) and there are extremely heavy duties on imports.

[Xícara de Café]

Made a test, i think the lens looks good: 

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[luigi bertolotti]

On ‎5‎/‎14‎/‎2019 at 7:17 PM, Xícara de Café said:

….

Ah, perhaps it will need a service, i just noticed something. While the aperture ring moves well and opens up to 3.5 with nice clicks along the way, it closes down only to f/16 and not f/22. While f/16 does show a tiny aperture, f/3.5 still clearly shows the blades of the iris, a bit like in the first photo (and this may well be at f/3.5). So it looks like the aperture ring is out of place by a stop, where f/3.5 is really f/4 and  f/16 is really f/22....

 

 

 

 

I did wait a little to answer, because I wanted to inspect some of my Summarons 3,5 (it's a lens I love…  I have 7 of them, all differnet…) :

I can confirm that in a normal Summaron 3,5 A 36, when lens is wide open at 3,5, you do not see blades (this is not a general rule for Leitz lenses) ; so you do perceive a movement, showing the blades, when moving 3,5 to 4

Also,  f22 must be reached : in some of my items, you can also make a very little-not clicking movement above f 22...  another small tolerancing which also you perceive in other Leiz lenses of that era… but anyway, the closest f stop MUST be possible to set.

So, at the end I think yhat your lens ought to be adjusted… it can work fine, in optical terms, and your image looks good, but a wrong disphragm setting is annoying ; up to you to decide if return or spend some money in a fix (they are simple items… not a delicate job, but MUST be made by an expert repairer) ; personally, I would return it, but is your decision : for use, it can be acceptable and you can get accustomed to set correctly the real aperture (which can be not coincident with the "readable" one)

Edited May 17, 2019 by luigi bertolotti

[wlaidlaw]

If you can get the lens serviced for just $85, I would keep it but make sure that the technician is capable of adjusting the aperture settings. Some of the older Leica lenses have horrible diaphragms to work on, the two worst probably being the 50 Summarit and 85 Summarex. I find all old lenses are improved by a good service. If you go back to the 50's and 60's when these lenses were made, most adults were smokers and the tar from the smoke gets into lenses. I bought an 80-200/4 Vario-Elmar which stank of cigarette smoke and it was hugely improved by a service. Also the more volatile components of the lubricant on the focusing  helicoid and aperture/diaphragm mechanism, evaporate and re-condense on any air/glass surfaces in the lens. This near invisible film increases flare and veiling glare but reduces contrast. If you are going to have the lens serviced anyway, you might as well stick with the lens you have, as you know its performance. I always factor the cost of a service into the price when buying an older lens. In the UK this generally costs around $120. 

Wilson

[Xícara de Café]

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A happy ending to this Summaron story. The shop in São Paulo, Medaglini Digital, fixed the alignment of the aperture ring without charge and preferred not to open up the lens for cleaning, there being only a little internal dust and no fungus. The lens arrived back by post today. I'll add details to the Repair Specialists thread above.