No Love for the Summitar?

Some have mentioned that the Summitar is a close relative of the Summicron. It can be virtually identical if you luck out on a very late production Summitar which should be , from what I have read, a sort of pre release of the Summicron. Not bad company at all.

Bob
 
If one has a cloudy Summitar, send it to Sherry! Mine is most improved. Does anyone know if anyone makes a screw-in shade for this? I know it would be difficult with the odd thread. Please advise.
johne
 
I enjoy shooting with mine. It definitely has its own look, which I think of as "soft sharpness". It has an extremely shallow depth of field when wide open.

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Nikon Bob said:
Some have mentioned that the Summitar is a close relative of the Summicron. It can be virtually identical if you luck out on a very late production Summitar which should be , from what I have read, a sort of pre release of the Summicron. Not bad company at all.

Bob
Click to expand...

Those "early Summicrons" were sold as Summitars which had a "*" in the serial number.

Jim N.
 
"Does anyone know if anyone makes a screw-in shade for this? I know it would be difficult with the odd thread. Please advise."

Leica made an adapter, coded SNHOO (I think) that would permit fitting 39mm accessories to Summitars. They occasionally appear on fleabay, but sell for much more than a run of the mill step up ring. B+W makes 39mm collapsible hoods, but the ones that I like the most are sold by heavystar (can't remember his exact seller name) on ebay. I think 39mm hoods are also available on Cameraquest.

Another option is a Series 6 to Summitar adapter ring, and by coincidence, I am about to sell one in the classifieds.
gerry
 
In Praise of the Summitar

In Praise of the Summitar

Summitars are bitching lenses and the are not soft f4 and above where they are superb. However, they exhibit curvature of field like 35 (which I LOVE).
They did not age gracefully and quality from lens to lens varies greatly. The best are the coated '47 through '49 without the old hex Summar iris. A good one kills the early Summicrons. They do NOT flare as bad as commonly reported and are not any worse that any other lens for flare of the era. However, the slightest haze will make them a flare monster. With low contrast negative film or black and white killer contrast can be had in the dark room or Photoshop. Scanned they make for perfectly noise free images. That ability has made them born again.
The best hood is a Series VI Canon 50mm from the era.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7663238@N04/2060621642/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7663238@N04/2060620602/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7663238@N04/2059840587/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7663238@N04/2060620060/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7663238@N04/2060618170/
 
gerry

Lifa brand round screw in lens hoods for the Summitar can sometimes be found.

Bob
 
I LOVE my Summitar!

emillyflappercolor.jpeg


The beautiful Emilia Maria
shot here on Fuji color 100ASA @ 500/sec f2.0 *wide open* using a uncoated "wartime" 1940 Summitar on a 1945 Leica IIIC "Kugellager" ball bearing shutter -non K stamped serial number camera

I`ve tossed around the idea of selling this lens, while it needs new felt in the barrel (it knocks around a bit) and needs a general CLA, but the perfomance really has me hooked .....this one`s a "keeper"
(the uncoated "warttime" versions of the Summitar are pretty rare and not easy to find like this one is.......having minty glass)

Enjoy!

Tom
 
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my Summitar came with a lovely IIIc ... it does not seem to be worth enough to sell it - it's uncoated ... and I love the vintage colour and pictorial quaility . A Fed Elmar coated copy [ ''free'' with a Fed 2b ] is a sharper and '' brighter '' than my Elmar and Summitar , but when i buy a more modern 50mm , they will all find a place on my M 8 ...
dee
 
My clean and coated '46 Summitar came with my IIIf RD. I haven't used it a lot, but so far I'm pleased with the "soft sharpness" that Vince referred to. I plan to get an adaptor to use it on my M6 TTL. I want a collapsable 50mm for that, and until I can get an Elmar, it might keep me happy.

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Yep, lots of love for the Summitar.

It was my second Leica lens (my first is the tabbed 50mm Summicron). It's gonna be a long-lasting affair...


Leica M6 + 50mm Summitar @ f/2 / Ilford XP2
 
So what's the rank of your Summilux Gabriel? I've already told you: if you don't know what to do with it, I know a new home for it ;-)
 
Marc-A. said:
So what's the rank of your Summilux Gabriel? I've already told you: if you don't know what to do with it, I know a new home for it ;-)
Click to expand...
He he. Riiight. Well, I wasn't ranking them, it was just an "order of appearance" comment. I think my Summilux was my... mmm... 20th? RF lens acquisition.

I use that one most of the time; it hardly ever stays home.

My most loved lenses are the Summilux, Summitar, Summarit and Summicron (all 50mm). I think if I had an M-mount or LTM Zeiss Sonnar, it'd be at least right above the Summarit. I like my C-mount 50mm f/1.5 Sonnar a lot; the mount is an inconvenience (even with the adapter).
 
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