Summar=f=5cm lens trial

[kenneth]

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A friend kindly loaned me the above lens circa 1932- 79 years old. I attached it to my M6 circa 1998 and shot part of a roll of Pan-F Plus 50asa. I processed the film last evening and the results are truly astonishing given the age of the glass which appears to have some fungus. This however has not shown on the negatives. Now that is what I call compatibility and longevity rolled into one. Although I shall not be around in 79 years time I bet you will not be able to achieve the same with an M8

[luigi bertolotti]

Probably not... but could be that in 79 years there still exist a camera that can use that Summar of '32...

[earleygallery]

The Summar was my first Leica lens, came with my lllf (not the correct match as I later found out). It was a hazy example and gave unusual soft if not unpleasant results.

 

I since found out that a nice clean example is actually a pretty sharp lens - they have a reputation for 'softness' which is often misunderstood. The glass they were made from is 'soft' and easily marked through over zealous cleaning. Many examples are now rather scratched in addition to the usual dust/haze and give that overly soft vintage look.

 

Get a nice example and it will surprise you! I'm lucky, I've found two so far. I did see an absolutely mint/boxed one at a camera fair once, but the seller knew he had a real rarity and priced it accordingly!

 

This was from the original hazy example which I still have and keep for 'special effects';

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And this from the clean one;

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[UliWer]

A friend kindly loaned me the above lens circa 1932- 79 years old. I attached it to my M6 circa 1998 and shot part of a roll of Pan-F Plus 50asa. I processed the film last evening and the results are truly astonishing given the age of the glass which appears to have some fungus. This however has not shown on the negatives. Now that is what I call compatibility and longevity rolled into one. Although I shall not be around in 79 years time I bet you will not be able to achieve the same with an M8

 

Good to know that there are more Summar-users around. I hope you are going to post some examples of photos taken with the lens. I am using mine with the Leica II, the IIIf and the M8 as well. I am not ready for the M9, though I think it will reveal some more of it's character and that will help to publish the results, giving historical lenses more space than they presently have.

 

I think, the lens is a "Diva". Even if you get a good one, which is much rarer than the number of still existing Summars, the lens is sometimes just boring, muddy contrast, low resolution, bothered by the scarcest hint of flare. But if it has a good day, it reveals more three dimensional look than any other Leica lens I know, new or old.

 

What worries me is your mentioning of fungus. You should take care of that, otherwise it will ruin the Summar and may even infect other lenses.

[chris22479]

Hi there,

I´m using a clean summar from 1939 and I´m abslolutley facinated by sharpness and contrast even at f/2 see example below

 

Porsche 356 - Leica III Summar 5cm on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

 

in the negativ even the numbers of the speedo are sharp

to me its a great lens

[Yogibear]

(Welcome Chris!)

 

Mine is from 1936 and I use it on an M8, examples here