Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/05/01
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Mark Eban wrote: > have been offered a collapsible 50mm Summicron no. 1117503 for GBP130. >Does anyone have any comments on the usability of this lens?. I admit I >have been rather spoiled by a 35 1.4 asph and although the 50mm does not >sound expensive, I would hate to be dissapointed by what it produced. It is a great lens in terms of compactness and portability. When you have the lens in the collapsed position, there is only a minimal protrusion from the body. It is like carrying around an M6 with no lens... absolutely great. It is reasonably sharp wide open, although it suffers from a lack of contrast that persists until f/4 or so. That does not mean that f/2 and f/2.8 are not highly usable, however. The lens I used had a scratched front element which caused flare in bright lighting, but middle aperture performance was very good, however. If you manage to get a lens with a good front element, I would put a filter on it to prevent further scratches from cleaning (to which this lens and other older ones are vulnerable).