There is something about Summar ... appreciation thread :)

I am in luck to own a Summar 5cm/f2 in pristine condition, without any cleaning marks, haze or fog. The longer I use it - the more and more my Summicron 50mm stays at home. Specially I like out of focus area on close and mid range focusing, and how it goes from sharp center to oof areas. I know there are nicer and more pleasing "bokeh" lenses, but there is something about Summar that I like more than other lenses .

I like mine too. Mine was a basket case when I got it - nearly opaque front glass, stuck aperture, internal paint flaking, dirt and haze everywhere. After a full refurb, including polishing the front element with cerium oxide, it's back in service. It does some crazy, swirly things wide open, but from f/4 or so it settles right in.

At some point I had 4 of them, now only 3 remain in the collection.
They're warm to neutral lenses that sharpen up quite nicely at f/5.6. they were designed as a cheaper alternative to the Hektor 5cm.
Their front element is pretty soft and scratches easily. People pay top dollar for clean samples, but I get nice results with marked ones all the same. The summitar, and lately the Hektor 5cm f/2.5 get to spend a bit more time on my Leica bodies.

Leica I, Summar 5cm f/2, Agfa/Rollei Superpan 200, Y2 filter.




I can probably squeeze a bit more out of the negatives these days

Leica IIIb, Summar 5cm f/2, Fomapan 100