Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/09/05
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>From: "Doug Williams (R)" <dwilli19@ford.com>
>Just
>purchased a DR Summicron! Should arrive today! At first, was not sure which
>Summicron to get, the newest design or the older DR Summicron. From what I
>have
>been reading, the newest one is tack sharp-one of the best. Most people seem
>to
>prefer the older Dr/rigid Summicron in spite of the reputation of the newer
>one.
>I was wonder if you have any more info, or could point me in the direction of
>any more info regarding the DR Summicron? I sure would be grateful. Thanks!!
I have both a rigid 50 Summicron from around 1960 and newer (1983) Canadian
version. The rigid Summicron has the same optics as the DR, and I have to
say that I prefer it for B&W work. It has less contrast than the newer lens
(which I believe is the current optical design), but that's usually not a
problem in B&W if you know how to control contrast through development
time/developer concentration/temperature changes. For color work, and
especially for those who love snappy, saturated colors, I believe that the
newer versions work much better. I have to say exactly the same about the
35 Summicrons. I have one form around 1959 (first version) and another of
current production, and again, and for the same reasons as above, I like
better the older version for B&W work.
Regards,
- Juan
Dr. Juan F. Sanz Cervera
Visiting Professor of Chemistry at Colorado State University
Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
jsanz@lamar.colostate.edu jsanz@uv.es
http://www.uv.es/~jsanz/photo1.htm (on-line B&W photo gallerie)