[Leica] Summaron 3.5 or Jupiter 12?

[Jim Shulman]

As they say in the diaper business, it all Depends...

1) Depends on the quality of the Summaron 3.5, particularly if there was
separation (which sometimes occurs), and if the lens had been
professionally cleaned during recent times (Leica used a lubricant during
the Summaron 3.5 era that was known to spread to lens elements, affecting
sharpness and contrast.)

2) Depends on the quality of the Jupiter 12, especially whether it was a
heavy vodka day at the factory, or whether the lens had been checked
out/adjusted by a specialist.  I've had a few J-12s, and they varied
greatly; it was a sensational prewar Zeiss design, with modern coatings.

So, go and shoot with them and see if you like them.  Borrow a modern
Leica lens (such as ASPH 'cron) from someone (or rent one from a place
like B+H) and see if you really need the difference.

Enjoy, and welcome back to the big L!

Jim


-----Original Message-----
From: LUG [mailto:lug-bounces+jshulman=judgecrater.com at leica-users.org] On
Behalf Of Kyle Cassidy On The LUG
Sent: Friday, October 3, 2014 10:21 PM
To: lug at leica-users.org
Subject: [Leica] Summaron 3.5 or Jupiter 12?

Let's say -- for the sake of discussion that you recently realized that
you ought to have a 35mm lens -- and so you started looking on line at
summiluxes and zeisses and then while bumbling around in the closet you
found a box marked "35mm leica lenses" and in it was a summaron 3.5 and a
jupiter 12 (f 2.8) from another life and you think "oh ... I already have
a 35mm, I should start using it"....

That obvious answer to my question is "use them both for a while and are
what you like" but I'm inherently lazy and so seek your expertise. Is the
jupiter' faster aperture worth what it loses in a better f stop ring, non
protruding rear element and build?




Sent from my iPhone plz excuse the typoss keyb0ard is reaLly small.

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