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First Impressions of 75mm Summarit


c6gowin

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I agree with the notion of just shooting for the fun of it and have done a lot of it. I can see how doing lens tests can be boring and tedious, but I actually found the experience enjoyable. I have learned much and gained a new viewpoint for reading lens reviews.

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I picked up my new Summarit this morning and am quite impressed. Haven't really had the opportunity to give it a work out, but first impressions are of a very crisp image quality and it's much more forgiving than a 'lux. By this I mean that it is easier to handhold, I don't think I was ever happy with anything at less than 1/90 if not 1/125 and the lower weight of the Summarit is a real bonus here.

 

Images at 2.5 are very sharp at point of focus and the background blur is quite uniform but to my mind lacks the character of the long 'crons and is just not close to the 'lux at all (thank goodness). Images also seem to lack some colour punch but it could be that I really have not the WB sorted, was a very grey day here today. I need to look at some prints to really make my mind up about the bokeh and will also need to give it a workout on film.

 

I have been really faffing about trying to determine my out and about lens kit and this has really sealed the deal: 24 asph, 35 'lux asph and the 75 summarit. Given that my M7 and old rigid cron are normally to hand this is a 4 lens kit but for the M8 the 3 lenses are really great. I regret that the apo 90 and 75 lux will gather a little dust, but I really dare not part with either.

 

For newbies, I think the 28 elmarit and 35 and 75 summarits look like being a very good way into the M system.

 

Huw

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f2.5, ISO 640 1/25

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Some more people photos taken Thanksgiving Day. The 75mm Summarit of very sharp especially when stopped down a little bit. These photos were shot with a flash bounced off the ceiling and an aperture around 5.6.

 

Crops follow the full frame image.

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I seen a few people post that they have found the 75mm Summarit here in the US. I am sorry I don't have any better availability information. Due to the success of the M8, Leica lenses have been in short supply. Hopefully this will improve shortly.

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I seen a few people post that they have found the 75mm Summarit here in the US. I am sorry I don't have any better availability information. Due to the success of the M8, Leica lenses have been in short supply. Hopefully this will improve shortly.

 

Let's hope so, Mark. Thank you for your comment. By the way, I was convinced by the portrait photos you posted. Very nice!

 

cheers

 

mashu

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I just received mine from B&H today. They show up there once a week or so. If B&H shows it is in stock, it is, so grab it immediately.

 

Just checked out BH Video and they still do not have it in stock. They do not take any back orders so I just have to keep going back. My productivity at work will go down hill until I get one..

 

 

mashu

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Just checked out BH Video and they still do not have it in stock. They do not take any back orders so I just have to keep going back. My productivity at work will go down hill until I get one..

 

 

mashu

 

I saw one in stock at B&H two weeks ago and didn't act fast enough. I tried again last week and this time I got it. By the way, I got my M8 and DLux3 when they were first released by constantly keeping an eye on B&H and striking the instant they were in stock.

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  • 2 years later...

Hi since I am looking for a portrait lens and has read a lot here in the forum, I thought it was time to fetch this old thread and ask all those guys who bought one Summarit f5.2/75 after reading this lens review.

And yes, I know steve huff has been done his own lens review, what is quite nice.

Perhaps you can tell me your experience?

Cheers and happy weekend!

Schmolix

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Great lens at this price point. Tested it alongside the 75 Cron and the difference in IQ at the same aperture wasn't nearly enough to justify the price difference to my eyes. Of course, the Summarit is "only" f/2.5. Contrast is on the high side, so this is really down to your personal preferences, but you can't go wrong if you choose to buy it.

Now, if you really want an amazing 75mm portrait lens, you may want to look for a used Lux 75: it's big and heavy and expensive and has its own quirks, but it renders in a unique way.

One final thing I must add is that the aperture ring on my Summarit 75 got completely loose after a short while - this was fixed by Leica under warranty,

Hope this helps.

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  • 3 years later...
For newbies, I think the 28 elmarit and 35 and 75 summarits look like being a very good way into the M system.

 

Huw

 

I own those three, as well as the 90 Summarit and the 50 Summicron (and an ancient Russian Jupiter 3). I agree completely, the 28, 35 and 75 mentioned above are all small, light, reasonably priced and produce absolutely gorgeous rendering.

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  • 1 month later...

My first impression of the 75 Summarit is that it is a fantastic little lens. I just picked it up this afternoon and think it would make a great part of a two lens travel set of 21-35mm Hexanon and 75mm Summarit.

 

I had a Summilux 75 before and pretty much hated it - it was big and heavy, with ponderous focusing and unpleasant focus shift as you stopped down. I also had a bad taste in my mouth because Leica's failure to detect its collimation problem with my M8 necessitated months of expensive shipping, repairing, waiting, and repeating. This is like a breath of fresh air - and even though it's 1.5 stops slower, it's sharp (to the limits of my M typ 240), focuses quickly and perfectly wide-open, and takes up little space.

 

What I am not so hot on is the obvious (and) inexplicable cost-cutting. The front ring could easily have been engraved, and there is no reason to have used a natural focusing rubber insert that tends to need TLC not to turn white. The lens cap is inexplicable - why not just use a standard 46mm pinch cap?

 

Dante

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