Skyllaney remount of 42mm Micro [repro] Summar

[pgk]

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There has been recent discussion about this lens as it was one of the original lenses used by Barnack when working up his prototypes. I have just received the following information from Skyllaney about their prototype remount of it:

"We [Skyllaney] call it the Barnack Omnar… it is the 42mm Repro Summar rehoused into a prototype Omnar lens. The lens is native M mount, can focus from 0.67m to Infinity, and supports full RF coupling. This one (see images) is a prototype, however we will be opening up a waiting list to perform batch conversions for the 42mm repro summar in Q1 2022.  What this means is, we will ask everyone who wants there 42mm Summar converted, to send their lenses in to us, so we do them together as a batch.

The body used, is a solid brass Omnar lens designed and manufactured by us here in the UK.  We had Camerakote of Staffordshire paint this one for us in Gloss Black English Coach  Enamel…. however, other colours like Black Chrome and Silver Chrome are available also."

One thing still to be determined is what frame lines this lens should trigger?  Perhaps suggestions could be made here.

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[Guest]

If this was intended for repro photography, why not use it on a bellows?

[pgk]

Just now, Studienkamera said:

If this was intended for repro photography, why not use it on a bellows?

Because Barnack used it at infinity when prototyping his camera. It is one of the original lenses and of historical interest used as a standard lens.

[Guest]

That is indeed a good reason.

[Guest]

12 minutes ago, pgk said:

Because Barnack used it at infinity when prototyping his camera. It is one of the original lenses and of historical interest used as a standard lens.

Then I would suggest activating the 35mm frame. At infinity, a 35mm lens would capture more of the object than the frame suggests. Thus the 35mm frame might be a decent approximation of the actual object size that is covered by this 42mm lens at infinity.  

[willeica]

1 hour ago, pgk said:

There has been recent discussion about this lens as it was one of the original lenses used by Barnack when working up his prototypes. I have just received the following information from Skyllaney about their prototype remount of it:

"We [Skyllaney] call it the Barnack Omnar… it is the 42mm Repro Summar rehoused into a prototype Omnar lens. The lens is native M mount, can focus from 0.67m to Infinity, and supports full RF coupling. This one (see images) is a prototype, however we will be opening up a waiting list to perform batch conversions for the 42mm repro summar in Q1 2022.  What this means is, we will ask everyone who wants there 42mm Summar converted, to send their lenses in to us, so we do them together as a batch.

The body used, is a solid brass Omnar lens designed and manufactured by us here in the UK.  We had Camerakote of Staffordshire paint this one for us in Gloss Black English Coach  Enamel…. however, other colours like Black Chrome and Silver Chrome are available also."

One thing still to be determined is what frame lines this lens should trigger?  Perhaps suggestions could be made here.

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I'll be a customer when this goes into production. I have used this lens on a Leitz bellows with an M10, but I could only get close ups with lovely colours and beautiful bokeh. I have posted  photos of my rig and the results here before. I am looking forward to seeing what this lens can do at longer distances and at infinity. The photos taken by Barnack and Ernst Leitz with this lens look pretty good to me.

William 

[George Furst]

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If you go to “Working UR Camera?” On this forum topic you will see more pictures taken recently with this lens. These pictures really highlite the excellent performance of this lens. I have been using it for the last 5 years in my UR Replica that is being manufactured here in South Korea by a camera mechanic named Mr.Kim. Yes, this is the lens that is in the UR Leica located in the vault at the Leitz Works in Wetzlar, Germany. I have included a photo of this lens installed in the UR Replica.

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[George Furst]

2 hours ago, pgk said:

There has been recent discussion about this lens as it was one of the original lenses used by Barnack when working up his prototypes. I have just received the following information from Skyllaney about their prototype remount of it:

"We [Skyllaney] call it the Barnack Omnar… it is the 42mm Repro Summar rehoused into a prototype Omnar lens. The lens is native M mount, can focus from 0.67m to Infinity, and supports full RF coupling. This one (see images) is a prototype, however we will be opening up a waiting list to perform batch conversions for the 42mm repro summar in Q1 2022.  What this means is, we will ask everyone who wants there 42mm Summar converted, to send their lenses in to us, so we do them together as a batch.

The body used, is a solid brass Omnar lens designed and manufactured by us here in the UK.  We had Camerakote of Staffordshire paint this one for us in Gloss Black English Coach  Enamel…. however, other colours like Black Chrome and Silver Chrome are available also."

One thing still to be determined is what frame lines this lens should trigger?  Perhaps suggestions could be made here.

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 an excellent lens. I originally used it on my microscope while doing research in a manufacturing company. When I found that this was the lens that Oskar Barnack used on the UR Camera first made in 1913-4, I decided to do research on this lens. It is a double gause lens, first designed by Metz around 1898. It has a diaphragm that varies from f4.5 to f11. I have had a number of these lens and one closed down to f16. It is the same design as the legendary Zeiss Planar lens. I will include a picture taken from the book by Emil Kellner “The Leica Story” September 1988. This diagram shows the original Leitz Mikro Lens available for purchase and a cross section showing the design of the lens.

[willeica]

8 hours ago, George Furst said:

If you go to “Working UR Camera?” On this forum topic you will see more pictures taken recently with this lens. These pictures really highlite the excellent performance of this lens. I have been using it for the last 5 years in my UR Replica that is being manufactured here in South Korea by a camera mechanic named Mr.Kim. Yes, this is the lens that is in the UR Leica located in the vault at the Leitz Works in Wetzlar, Germany. I have included a photo of this lens installed in the UR Replica.

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I have seen your lens on your camera, George, and I have taken photos of you with it at Barnack's grave in Wetzlar. You showed us photos, taken with your Ur Replica, in Wetzlar in 2018 and everyone present was very impressed. I know the lens is a good one, having seen your photos, but a lot of people would like an easier way of using this great lens. Even my solution  of using this lens on a Leitz bellows with an adaptor made in Portugal, which was mentioned earlier, was not that easy. This solution which Paul (pgk) has shown looks like a much easier one for photography at 'normal' distances.

William

[nitroplait]

How common/collectable is this lens?

[willeica]

39 minutes ago, nitroplait said:

How common/collectable is this lens?

They are not uncommon, but they have not yet entered the minds of collectors. I have one from the period 1910 -15, which was the period of the UR-Leica. I believe that collectors should look out for early ones as they real examples of an essential part of the very beginning of what became the Leica. There was only one Ur-Leica ( it was not called that back then as it predates the use of the word 'Leica') and if the only one which exists was sold it would probably fetch an 8 figure sum. There are many copy examples of the camera made by Leica and others, but with an original 42mm Mikro Summar you have a real piece of history. Some of the copy cameras are quite expensive, but collectors can, however, get an original example of the lens for maybe 50 -70 Euros. It is a truly significant part of Leica/Leitz history and , therefore,  very collectable, in my opinion. Later examples are all black, but my one has a combination of brass and black parts which is correct for examples from its period.

William

[Ambro51]

Here’s a recent shot from my UR with the 42mm Summar.  Mine is coated, 

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[George Furst]

On 8/7/2021 at 8:09 AM, willeica said:

I have seen your lens on your camera, George, and I have taken photos of you with it at Barnack's grave in Wetzlar. You showed us photos, taken with your Ur Replica, in Wetzlar in 2018 and everyone present was very impressed. I know the lens is a good one, having seen your photos, but a lot of people would like an easier way of using this great lens. Even my solution  of using this lens on a Leitz bellows with an adaptor made in Portugal, which was mentioned earlier, was not that easy. This solution which Paul (pgk) has shown looks like a much easier one for photography at 'normal' distances.

William

Yes William, I absolutely agree with you about an easier way to take pictures with this lens, and a less expensive holder for the lens than the UR Replica. I have documented on this forum much about my taking pictures with the UR containing this 42 mm Mikro Summar lens. Historic but not an easy camera to use especially since it must be loaded in the dark. Also the UR has a limited number of shutter speeds available and no longer exposures are possible. I think a holder that facilitates the use of this lens on the Barnack screw mount or M cameras is a great idea. I for one would be interested as I love the pictures made with this lens.

Yes, I remember well our visit to the grave site of Oskar Barnack. Remember how long  it took us to find  him? We hunted for a long time! You were very gracious to take pictures of me hanging the UR Replica onto the large stone of his grave. Mr Kim has that photo that you took on the wall over his workbench. He told me that the picture is a real inspiration for him. Thank you so much for taking it! 

 

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[willeica]

On 8/9/2021 at 8:00 AM, George Furst said:

Yes William, I absolutely agree with you about an easier way to take pictures with this lens, and a less expensive holder for the lens than the UR Replica. I have documented on this forum much about my taking pictures with the UR containing this 42 mm Mikro Summar lens. Historic but not an easy camera to use especially since it must be loaded in the dark. Also the UR has a limited number of shutter speeds available and no longer exposures are possible. I think a holder that facilitates the use of this lens on the Barnack screw mount or M cameras is a great idea. I for one would be interested as I love the pictures made with this lens.

Yes, I remember well our visit to the grave site of Oskar Barnack. Remember how long  it took us to find  him? We hunted for a long time! You were very gracious to take pictures of me hanging the UR Replica onto the large stone of his grave. Mr Kim has that photo that you took on the wall over his workbench. He told me that the picture is a real inspiration for him. Thank you so much for taking it! 

 

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Thanks George. Indeed, it is a privilege for me to have my photo on Mr Kim's wall. You correctly recall how long it took to find Barnack's grave. I asked some local people who knew where the Leitz Family grave was, but they never had heard of Barnack. Eventually, one of our group who had wandered down to the far end of the graveyard let out a shout and then we then found the grave of Berek, followed by that of Barnack. I think I sent you my photo of Jim Lager listening to your talk. Both he and Lars Netopil were greatly impressed with the photos which you had got from Ur-Leica replica. Dr Kaufmann was also impressed with the black Korean Leica Club badge which you gave to me. He was amazed when I told him that they had 11,000 members.

William