lenses

[dpalace@sunland.gsfc.nasa.gov (Dick Palace)]

=From jeff@eng.umd.edu Thu Apr  9 09:46:06 1992
=To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
=Subject: lenses


=I too have been looking for a good Summicron in screw mount.  Does
=anyone have a real quantitative idea of how good this lens is?  That
=requires testing a few with real charts and averaging the results.  Then
=of course the results would have to be compared with similar tests
=on other lenses.  Japanese magazines used to print beautiful contour
=maps of resolution over the 24 X 36 frame for various lenses.  Trouble
=was, they only tested one lens of each type.  Now, if I could only find
=those articles of thirty years ago....

=I always thought my 2.8 collapsible Elmar was a terrific lens, although
=I never tested it in the recommended manner.  Any experiences, then,
=with the 50/1.4 Canon, 50/1.8 Serenar, 50/2 Cooke, 50/1.4 Nikon, 50/2
=Nikon?  Is the Summitar really comparable to the Summicron?

=Jeff

Back a ways, I don't remember the issue, in Popular Photography,
under Collecting Cameras by Jason Schneider, he touched on just
about every len available for screwmount Leicas.

I'll condense it for you. 

The 50mm f/3.5 Elmar (coated version) and the 50mm f/2 Summitar
(predecessor to the legendary Summicron) are very good performers. A
good 50mm Elmar is and outstanding lens by any standard, and most
Summitars perform splendidly when stopped down two or three stops.

The least desirable Leitz optic is the old 50mm f/2 Summar, which is 
soft and low in contrast at the first few aperatures, not bad from
about f/5.6 on down.

The 50mm f/2 Summicron and 50mm f/1.4 are extraordinarily good and
excruciatingly expensive. 

The 50mm f/2 Nikkor and the 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor are extremely good.

The 50mm f/1.8 Cannon is usually placed between the Summitar and
the Summicron.

The earlier collapsible Cannon 50mm f/1.9  performs on a par with
the Summitar.

A better performer is the Cannon 50mm f/1.4.

Another lens he mentions is the Cannon 50mm f/3.5, which he calls a
sleeper, but not other info except to say that it is as lovely to
look at as to shoot through.

I bought my Leica IIIF with 50mm Summicron lens new, back in 1954 when
I was stationed in Germany (long ago ). I look over B&W negatives and
slides that I made with that lens and even with the films back then
the negatives are sharp and contrasty. My Summicron now has lens
seperation, so I don't use it any more. I tried to buy a replacement,
but a good one is hard to find and also very expensive. I got real
lucky and got ahold of the Nikkor 50mm f/2. This is a beautiful lens
that has sharpness and real good contrast. I had it cleaned and
lubricated and now it is my #1 lens. I also have a 50mm f/1.9 Cannon
that I take out when there is a possibility of damaging the lens, like
when raining or snow or the beach. That lens is good stopped down.

That's about it, hope it helps.

Dick