Re: 90mm Summicron Question

[captyng@vtx.ch (Gerard Captijn)]

>Can anyone tell me the difference between the old 90mm Summicron and the
>newer one?  I recently acquired a circa 1960 chrome example in beautiful
>shape. It is, however, huge and heavy and the diaphram turns in the
>opposite direction to the arrows in the M6 viewfinder.
>
>Neither of these is a show stopper, but if the optical quality of the
>smaller newer one is as good or better (ie. will I see a difference on an
>11X14 print) I may see if I can talk a local camera store into a trade.

The recent 90mm Summicron-M is much smaller but not much better than the
first version. Like the first version, the new Summicron-M is rather soft
wide open (which could be nice for portraits) but needs stopping down for
reasonable contrast.

The first 90mm Summicron had a good reputation, based upon comparisons with
competitive glass of the period (1958-1980). As the optical performance of
the Summicon-M remained basically at the level of the first version and as
quality of lenses improved during the last 20 years, the 90mm Summicon-M has
become one of the weaker performers within todays Leica lens range.

You won't see much difference between 11X14 prints made from negatives made
with the old and the new Summicron. If you don't use f/2.0 often, go for the
actual 90mm Elmarit-M, which is substantially better than both Summicrons.

Gerard Captijn,
Geneva, Switzerland.
E-mail: captyng@vtx.ch
Fax: +41 (22) 700 39 28