Summar 5cm F2 blades

Don_ih said:

Adjusting lens elements will generate predictable results. Particularly reversing the rear element will often give you an image that is mostly sharp in the middle and pretty strange around the outside (depends on the design of the rear element).

Most Summitars I have seen are coated. Mine are.

My Summar is definitely not. I got it with a yellow filter on the front that I believe was screwed on when it was new.

You get a particular look from uncoated and scratched Elmar 50 f3.5 lenses. They're still sharp but characteristic.

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Oh, I didn't know that about reversing the rear element. That's good to know, thank you !

I had considered the Elmar too. It gives beautiful results, from what I have seen, indeed. I think I just wanted something a little faster for the 50mm.

Speaking about 50mm, the store has sent new pictures. Everything looks fine to me (see below). For the price, 190 euros, it looks like a good deal. The Jupiter 8 is half that price but... I am still tempted by the Summar. And they also have a very cute Elmar 3.5cm f3.5 at 270 euros, which tempts me more than the Mir 1 for wider angles. Anyway.

The lens looks better in those photos - which may or may not suit your desired results. I can tell you that the Elmar 35 will probably not give you what you want. It's a very reliable lens - sharp and very plain-looking photos. It won't lend much character to your photos.

Don_ih said:

The lens looks better in those photos - which may or may not suit your desired results. I can tell you that the Elmar 35 will probably not give you what you want. It's a very reliable lens - sharp and very plain-looking photos. It won't lend much character to your photos.

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Thank you for the information !
Yes, the Elmar 35mm gives sharp results indeed, even wide open, from what I've seen. It gives lower contrast than modern lenses, for sure, but maybe that's not "enough" for me.
There aren't many choices in 35mm for what I want though. Most 35mm lenses for SLR are retrofocus and generally have busy, unpleasant backgrounds for my taste. The Jupiter 12 and Biogons have a rear element that might damage my camera. There's the Mir 1, Flektogon 35mm 2.8 and maybe some 35mm 3.5 like the Takumars that might do (though it's already quite "tame"), but not a lot of choice here, at least not from what I have found so far. Some Voigtlanders look quite good, but the prices are significantly higher generally. I will keep looking !

Yaeli said:

Ah, so it has more to do with the front element's condition than with the actual optical formula ?
It is indeed very noticeable in the examples you've shared !

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The example I have that is free of any issues of haze or uncoated front element degradation due to the softness of the glass, still show some glow. So, yea, also has something to do with the design of the front element. The Summitar, which replaced the Summar in 1939, doesn't suffer from this issue presumably because of a different front lens and rear group design.

Saganich said:

The example I have that is free of any issues of haze or uncoated front element degradation due to the softness of the glass, still show some glow. So, yea, also has something to do with the design of the front element. The Summitar, which replaced the Summar in 1939, doesn't suffer from this issue presumably because of a different front lens and rear group design.

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Thank you for the information !
It's great to have some feedback directly from users. Watching videos online doesn't always help very much, as too many factors may influence what appears on the screen...