35mm 2.5 summarit any good for film?

ericdan · Apr 25, 2014

Hi,
i read online that the 35mm summarit f2.5 lens is a low cost general purpose lens designed for Leicas digital rangefinders.
Is this lens not really suitable for film range finders then?
I am thinking of using it on my M6.
Thanks.

pen s · Apr 25, 2014

I don't know that I'd call a $2K lens "low cost", but I'd say that with Leicas general rep for making quality optics it would be fine for a film camera. If that lens is indeed low cost then my CV 35 f2.5 PII must be positively bottom of the barrel.

Xmas · Apr 26, 2014

It is a film lens and the MTFs are on Leicas site.
But the cosina LTM and M /2.5s will give similar performance.
Reduced bragging rights though.

chip j · Apr 26, 2014

Some people prefer the Summarits to the regular Leica line.

250swb · Apr 26, 2014

The basic difference as widely accepted is that the Summarit's give a bit more contrast over a Summicron, which you can either find irritating or nice. I like to add contrast if necessary, it's harder trying to reduce it. Despite my love of Leica lenses I am also looking for another 35mm and it's the CV f/2.5 that I'm looking at, not for its price but because I love those small Skopar's, they punch well above their price and compete directly with the nearest Leica equivalent lenses.

Steve

Xmas · Apr 26, 2014

Cosina do three /2.5s identical optics their line up in 35mm was

classic LTM
pancake LTM
M

an asph /1.7 LTM

a SC /1.4 M
same in MC

a /1.2 type I M also asph
type II M

The fit to your hand is more important than speed, IQ, or $, cause if you fumble and miss a shot the eg IQ is immaterial?

ericdan · Apr 26, 2014

Good point. The fit is very important and the voigtlander 35mm 2.5 was actually too small for my hands. I ended up getting the zeiss 35mm 2.8 T* ZM
its a but slow but I never really shoot below 4 anyhow so that should be OK.
I hope that lens will work out for me.

Richard S. (rich815) · Apr 26, 2014

ericdan said:
... but I never really shoot below 4 anyhow.

Why?

E. von Hoegh · Apr 26, 2014

ericdan said:
Hi,
i read online that the 35mm summarit f2.5 lens is a low cost general purpose lens designed for Leicas digital rangefinders.
Is this lens not really suitable for film range finders then?
I am thinking of using it on my M6.
Thanks.

I read online that the entire British Royal Family are lizard-type aliens in human guise. Really.

pdeeh · Apr 26, 2014

Ah but that's one of the few things you'll read on the interwebs that it 100% accurate, EvH ...

E. von Hoegh · Apr 26, 2014

pdeeh said:
Ah but that's one of the few things you'll read on the interwebs that it 100% accurate, EvH ...

Oh no! The current bunch are actually transplanted Germans, so that means Kaiser Willy was really...

Edit - It's worse than I thought. http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sumer_anunnaki/reptiles/reptiles35.htm

ericdan · Apr 26, 2014

Yeah lizard-type aliens are pretty cool.
Hard to believe you didn't know that about the royal family.

E. von Hoegh · Apr 26, 2014

ericdan said:
Yeah lizard-type aliens are pretty cool.
Hard to believe you didn't know that about the royal family.

Oh I've known that since the late 90s. See above.

ericdan · Apr 26, 2014

Richard Sintchak (rich815) said:
Why?

Why do you shoot at f4?
no answer to that question I guess. I just don't.

ericdan · Apr 26, 2014

E. von Hoegh said:
Oh I've known that since the late 90s. See above.

I have no problem with aliens.

mnemosyne · Apr 26, 2014

for me personally, the biggest strength of the summarit is its resistance to flare, its biggest weakness its noticable distortion (not a big issue if you shoot digital). it is a very sharp lens indeed.

the skopar in comparison is prone to flare and ghosts, a bit softer at large apertures but nevertheless excellent value for money. just make sure you geet a good copy. i prefer the slight stiffness of zhe focus on the skopar and thought about having the rit relubed with some stiffer kind of grease. i found the speed rating of the skopar flattering, when shooting slides side by side the skopar pics are noticabley darker than those of other 35s.

that being said, the 35 i use most of the time is the cron iv for its extra half stop or so of speed and its imperfections.

daleeman · Apr 27, 2014

I have one of these lenses. It works fine on my M2 and my M8.2. Only odd thing I find it that my copy fits a bit tighter on the M2 than the M8.2.
I got it used from popflash.com for $800.

35mm 2.5 summarit any good for film?

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