01maciel Posted October 11, 2021 Share #1 Posted October 11, 2021 Advertisement (gone after registration) all this shows my recently acquired Summar 5cm f=2, year of production 1938 under a magnifier. I suspect it contains normal amount of internal dust particles and minor cleaning marks which will not affect photos when the sun is behind me. There are tiny spots on the glass but all parts are work correctly which is amazing after such a long time. I took a photo with M10, the sun in front of me without a lens hood (in lack of) to get flares and in order to make the scratches and haze more visible. I think the haze seems to be a bit too strong in difficult light condition. Does anyone know what Leica charges for a decent clean up to get rid of the haze? 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! 1 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/325289-summar-dust-haze-and-scratches/?do=findComment&comment=4290459'>More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted October 11, 2021 Posted October 11, 2021 Hi 01maciel, Take a look here Summar: dust, haze, and scratches. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
romanus53 Posted October 12, 2021 Share #2 Posted October 12, 2021 AFAIK Leica does not service any old lens but other specialist will do. You may unscrew your Summar to get some dust off and try again - some post-processing if shooting digital will help to improve the performance but keep it's character. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitroplait Posted October 12, 2021 Share #3 Posted October 12, 2021 Even a clean Summar will not do well contre jour. Leica made that ungainly dedicated hood for a reason. I asked a similar question a few month ago, which you may want to look at: 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
romanus53 Posted October 12, 2021 Share #4 Posted October 12, 2021 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! uncoated Summar with 36mm-screw-in-hood, stopped down to appr. 4.5 and some pp in C1 3 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! uncoated Summar with 36mm-screw-in-hood, stopped down to appr. 4.5 and some pp in C1 ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/325289-summar-dust-haze-and-scratches/?do=findComment&comment=4290886'>More sharing options...
01maciel Posted October 12, 2021 Author Share #5 Posted October 12, 2021 vor 11 Stunden schrieb romanus53: You may unscrew your Summar I tried unsuccessfully. The front element seems to be too tight. I don't want to dig up my gaspipe pliers for this job. Any idea how to unscrew it without damaging the lens? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerzy Posted October 13, 2021 Share #6 Posted October 13, 2021 if you cannot unscrew the front group with rubber gloves than let specialist do it, he has tools. Otherwise, there is a tiny screw on the black, front rim, when removed you may unscrew the first element. Again - rubbber gloves or specialist with clamp tools. But before you do it check which surface is affected - very often this is the outer surface of first element and for this you do not need to open the lens. And to the spots in elements - it could be black paint peeling off the edges of optical elements or, if spots are round, these are air bubbles within the glass. You cannot do anything with it, but they are irrelevant for image quality. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
romanus53 Posted October 13, 2021 Share #7 Posted October 13, 2021 Advertisement (gone after registration) i looked at this and had some success with mine, at least on the front part Cleaning E. Leitz Wetzlar Summar Haze | TunnelBlog! (tunnel13.com) 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
frame-it Posted October 13, 2021 Share #8 Posted October 13, 2021 On 10/11/2021 at 11:33 PM, 01maciel said: all this shows my recently acquired Summar 5cm f=2, year of production 1938 under a magnifier. I suspect it contains normal amount of internal dust particles and minor cleaning marks which will not affect photos when the sun is behind me. There are tiny spots on the glass but all parts are work correctly which is amazing after such a long time. I took a photo with M10, the sun in front of me without a lens hood (in lack of) to get flares and in order to make the scratches and haze more visible. I think the haze seems to be a bit too strong in difficult light condition. Does anyone know what Leica charges for a decent clean up to get rid of the haze? 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! gorgeous Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
01maciel Posted October 13, 2021 Author Share #9 Posted October 13, 2021 vor 1 Stunde schrieb romanus53: i looked at this and had some success with mine, at least on the front part Cleaning E. Leitz Wetzlar Summar Haze | TunnelBlog! (tunnel13.com) Thanks for the link. I didn't know the web site. Very helpful. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
01maciel Posted October 13, 2021 Author Share #10 Posted October 13, 2021 vor einer Stunde schrieb frame-it: gorgeous seriously? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
frame-it Posted October 13, 2021 Share #11 Posted October 13, 2021 1 hour ago, 01maciel said: seriously? yesss i love old lenses with flares..a nice organic feeling..not clinical like an apo 50 ;) 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
roydonian Posted October 14, 2021 Share #12 Posted October 14, 2021 Back in the 1950s, when it was near-impossible for people in the UK to buy new Leica hardware, getting a scratched front element reground was a drastic but acceptable way of making a damaged lens useable. I still have my father's 5cm Summar, and the job-related correspondence from the company that refurbished it. There must be few folk still alive who commissioned or even carried such procedures. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik van Straten Posted October 14, 2021 Share #13 Posted October 14, 2021 gelatin silver print (summar 50mm f2) leica III Erik. 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! 1 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/325289-summar-dust-haze-and-scratches/?do=findComment&comment=4292461'>More sharing options...
wizard Posted October 14, 2021 Share #14 Posted October 14, 2021 vor einer Stunde schrieb roydonian: I still have my father's 5cm Summar, and the job-related correspondence from the company that refurbished it. I am sure you have used that lens, too. From your experience, does it perform as it should after the regrinding job? And was the front surface recoated? Or was is an uncoated specimen anyway? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik van Straten Posted October 14, 2021 Share #15 Posted October 14, 2021 Originally all the Summars were uncoated. However, after the war a quite large amount of unsold (and uncoated) Summars were found somewere at the factory. Quite a few were coated and sold. Usually the coating is blue, but sometimes Summars (usually nickel ones) with a pink coating are found. This pink coating is very soft. Cleaning without damaging it is practically not possible. So when you find one of those, put a filter on the lens to protect the coating. Erik. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
roydonian Posted October 15, 2021 Share #16 Posted October 15, 2021 I don't use the Summar. By the time I inherited it, I owned a dual-range Summicron. I have tried out the Summar, and at the wider apertures its performance is similar but slightly inferior to that of my f/1.5 Summarit. It was uncoated, so my father had it coated by the UK company that did the regrinding job. I can't help wondering whether getting lens front elements reground was a practice largely confined to the UK, and caused by its severe postwar restrictions on expensive imports. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wizard Posted October 15, 2021 Share #17 Posted October 15, 2021 vor 9 Minuten schrieb roydonian: I can't help wondering whether getting lens front elements reground was a practice largely confined to the UK, and caused by its severe postwar restrictions on expensive imports. I guess it all depends on what is available and also more economical at any given point. As long as (coated) lens elements for replacing worn or damaged lens elements are available from e.g. Leica, it would seem to be the better option to simply replace a damaged lens element (and this is what Leica have traditionally done, although coating services including repolishing of the lens elements were offered after WW II, as discussed elsewhere already). But once replacement lens elements are not or no longer available, the only option is to restore a damaged lens element by regrinding and recoating. This applies even today, and there still is a company in my hometown offering recoating and regrinding of lens elements, cf. https://www.pstechnik.de/services/lens-service Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik van Straten Posted October 17, 2021 Share #18 Posted October 17, 2021 gelatin silver print (summar 50mm f2) leica m2 Erik. 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! 1 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/325289-summar-dust-haze-and-scratches/?do=findComment&comment=4294601'>More sharing options...
iphoenix Posted October 21, 2021 Share #19 Posted October 21, 2021 (edited) On 10/15/2021 at 3:56 AM, Erik van Straten said: Usually the coating is blue, but sometimes Summars (usually nickel ones) with a pink coating are found. Erik, would you know the difference in results of the two coatings? Edited October 21, 2021 by iphoenix Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik van Straten Posted October 21, 2021 Share #20 Posted October 21, 2021 The pink coating is very soft, it looks like a kind of syrup. The blue coating is hard, but scratches easily. These are my own observations. When the coating is in good condition, it works good. This one is shot with a pink coated Summar. gelatin silver print (summar 50mm f2) leica mp Erik. 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! 1 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/325289-summar-dust-haze-and-scratches/?do=findComment&comment=4296858'>More sharing options...
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