If I were going to get Leica glass I would like a Summitar 50mm f/2 collapsible but most I see are in an optically questionable condition and quite expensive even so. I read the front element glass is soft and it's hard to find a good one. True? Is the f/3.5 going to be better? Am I just as good with an Industar at that point?
If I were going to get Leica glass I would like a Summitar 50mm f/2 collapsible but most I see are in an optically questionable condition and quite expensive even so. I read the front element glass is soft and it's hard to find a good one. True? Is the f/3.5 going to be better? Am I just as good with an Industar at that point?
I have a 1939 Summitar, what you said is true for the old ones like mine (also, they usually have 10 blades)...the glass is UNCOATED and gets scratched very easily. Plus, it flares like a maniac.
IMO a good Industar 26m/early 61 is a better performer than an old Summitar (can't speak for postwar ones with 6 blades and coating, though), they are a tad slower tough. The Industar 50 is a Tessar triplet too, f3.5 so more similar to an Elmar in terms of performance, if you can find one of these lenses in good conditions you can take pics like these:
KEH.com has a 50/2 Summitar in BGN condition for $289. In my experience their BGN grade exceeds anything on EBay described as VG or EX. Plus a 14-day return policy and 60-day warranty can't be beat.
The Tessar is not a triplet but a four-element, or "double" doublet design:
QUOTE]
The Tessar is a triplet:
Here I see four elements in three groups, so it's a triplet for me, I don't see a double doublet that for me would be four elements in two groups.
I just won a 1948 Summitar. Hope it's decent. I was really expecting to pay more for the IIIc so I was able to bump up my lens budget a little and get this thing right away, $304.00 US.
I think your Summitar being postwar is already coated and has six blades, so it should better than mine. Still, even soft lenses have their uses..in my case the Summitar arrived with the M3 I had bought and I was disappointed because it was hard to use, plus filters and hoods are hard to find for that size. When I had the money I bought a DR Summicron, a little beated up but does its work well both in B&W and colour:
Still even old glass, low definition and low contrast like the Summitar, Summarit and the J-8s I have for instance have their uses:
This is a good thread on Summitars:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98814
... Speed is the most important to me, then collapsible partly for size and partly for aesthetics. I have 3 Jupiter 8's that came on my Zorki's, two older PT3030's and one PT3100. I really like them but I wanted something to go with the compactness of the IIIc and that was faster than 3.5. I find myself speed limited on my Graphic 35 and Argus quite often, even on my Jupiter-12. I think if I were satisfied with f/3.5 I would have gotten an Industar. ...
The Tessar is a triplet:
...
The Tessar is not a triplet but a four-element, or "double" doublet design:
QUOTE]
The Tessar is a triplet:
Here I see four elements in three groups, so it's a triplet for me, I don't see a double doublet that for me would be four elements in two groups.
A Triplet means 3 elements, it's optically quite different to a Tesaar with 4 elements in 3 groups, next you'll be saying a Tessar is similar to a Dialyte or that a Dagor is a doublet
Ian
A point not touched upon above is the option of using Leitz film cassettes. If you use a larger number of B&W films you can buy longer lengths and "roll your own" . The film still has to be kept cool if stored for longer periods, but the advantage of the cassettes is that once inside the camera they open so that there is never a problem with scratched films (sand on the cassette lip for instance).
The IIIg viewfinder is bigger and brighter compared the earlier versions, but I gave up LTM a long time ago in favour of the Mseries. Bulkier and still somewhat fiddly to load, but very much better view.
p.
On the FED 50mm f/2 that was mentioned earlier; I had never heard of that lens before. I found one on ebay with a quick search. They want as much as the summitars are going for.
A point not touched upon above is the option of using Leitz film cassettes. If you use a larger number of B&W films you can buy longer lengths and "roll your own" . The film still has to be kept cool if stored for longer periods, but the advantage of the cassettes is that once inside the camera they open so that there is never a problem with scratched films (sand on the cassette lip for instance)....
On the FED 50mm f/2 that was mentioned earlier; I had never heard of that lens before. I found one on ebay with a quick search. They want as much as the summitars are going for.
Good point, all LTM and M up to M6? could use these. M can't load the FILCA ones made for LTM but the later can use M ones or FILCA.
The gate of the cartridge opens when you close the hatch at the bottom and respectively closes, when you unlock the bottom.
Oh coated postwar Summitars can flare too
...
A quick question about film loading. The manual makes no mention of this but I saw a video that showed opening the shutter on "T" to load the film and using your finger to move the film into a better position. Will the film not find "home" on its own after you wind it past the leader a couple of times? Is this necessary?
Oh coated postwar Summitars can flare too
My first Leica arrived. Wow, very nice. It's so small. It feels great and the mechanics are very smoooooooth. I like the side by side VF, its easy to focus in the RF then shift to the VF, it's a short trip. I have one of my J-8's on there now. RF seems about 15 cm off the scale of the J-8. In other words when I set a target at 3 m from the camera and set the J-8 to three meters on the scale I have to move the camera about 15 cm closer to get the RF on. The J-8 lens rotates about 3 to 4 degrees further clockwise on the Leica than it does on the Zorki's. I figure this is likely the issue regarding focus offset for the FSU lenses on Leica's I've been reading about and giving the benefit of doubt to the current RF cal. Waiting for the Summitar to come in before I pass judgement on the RF calibration. The only problem I see is that there is a small amount of JB Weld or similar stuff in the tripod threads that prevents me from screwing in my adapter. You'd never know it until you try to screw something in there.
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