Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/01/01
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]On Fri, 26 Dec 1997, Joebikes wrote: > Greetings, LUGers, I am new. I have another question about the f2 50 mm > Summicron. How does it stack up against older 50 mm lenses, especially the 5cm > summarit f 1.5. I have the Summarit and use it, but often wonder if I would > see a difference with the modern f2 lens. I would like the idea of a lighter > lens. The Summarit weighs a ton. Joe Stephenson. I use a Summarit a lot. These lenses have some problems, but I do like mine. The front coating is very soft, and mine looked like someone had been ice skating on it, so I had it redone by John Van Stelten, with great results. My lens also needed an internal cleaning. I agree with Roy Zartarian that the lens is prone to flare, especially at the widest apertures. It also suffers from reduced contrast at the widest apertures. But stopped down to f/2.8 or f/4 it produces sharp, beautiful images with very smooth out-of-focus regions, and one has the widest apertures available for emergency use. The 50/1.5 Jupiter may have a better optical design, but in the three that I have used the build quality was poor enough to really bother me -- loose rings, poor engraving, etc. If these are still produced, perhaps a recent one would be of better quality. The Summarit is of course beautifully made, and built like a tank. - -Patrick