Re: Re: [Leica] How good is the 50mm Summitar?

[ShadCat11@aol.com]

The first Leica lens I ever used was a Summitar.  I was thrilled with it, 
although that was in the context of just getting started in photography and 
knowing next to nothing.  When I acquired some (shaky) technical 
underpinnings, I found at least this sample to have been a decent performer 
at all but the wider apertures, but that was not a big issue with me because 
if I were using the lens at f2, it was usually at 1/10 sec. hand-held, 
necessary with the max EI 320 possible with films of the time.  Deficiencies 
in sharpness and contrast were somewhat offset by increased shadow detail, a 
"benefit" under some lighting circumstances.

I agree with Howard you'd be better off with an Elmar or a Summicron, a much 
better wide aperture performer, and I, too, had a high regard for the Summar, 
which had a character all its own.  Our experiences seem to concide on these 
matter.

Allen Zak 

In a message dated 07/14/2001 12:31:51 AM, you wrote:

<< I had a coated Summitar (50mm f/2, not to be confused with the 
50mm f/1.5 Summarit) for a while. I wasn't impressed with it. The
one I had didn't have that indefinable Leica look that we all
know when we see it, and it had quite a bad tendency to flare,
even with the barndoor shade on it. Maybe flare isn't the right 
word, but I was using it to take pictures around twilight one 
evening, as street lights were coming on, but with plenty of 
light from the sun left. There were lots of "ghost" images of the
street lights in the pictures.

   Of the older lenses, I think the Elmar's probably the best. It
doesn't have as much glass in it as the faster lenses, which is 
probably why even uncoated ones have pretty decent contrast and 
low flare.

   If you really need the two extra stops, why don't you spring 
for a Summicron? Frankly, I even prefer the Summar I have to the 
Summitar I got rid of, though Summars are almost universally 
despised. (The Summar does lose lots of contrast in any 
backlighted situation, though--be warned. However, they're dirt 
cheap because no one wants them.)

                        Howard Sanner
                        flagstad@mindspring.com
>>