Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/03/16

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Subject: RE: [Leica] Summarex 85mm f/1.5 -- info!
From: "B. D. Colen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net>
Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2000 13:30:07 -0000

No!...Marc, you mean the Summarexes and Hextors were named after a
dog?!...So what or who was Elmar, dog, cat, or child?

- -----Original Message-----
From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
[mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of Marc James
Small
Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2000 4:04 PM
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us; leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: Re: [Leica] Summarex 85mm f/1.5 -- info!


At 06:10 AM 3/16/2000 -0500, Andre Jean Quintal wrote:
>Would someone care to tell us about this lens ?
>When was it made?
>What were its relative merits for the time?
>How does it compare to the current models ?

Developed during the War as a military surveillance lens for tactical use,
it was originally called a "Summar" until Max Berek renamed it after his
'other' dog (he had two canines, Hektor and Rex).  Surprisingly, given its
intended use, all Summarex lenses were coated, and all bore the
International Aperture Scale, the first Leica lenses to do so.  4,342 of
these were made to 1960, when it was replaced by the 2/90 Summicron.  The
catalogue code-word was SOOCX.

The performance was, well, marginal.  The lens is today a collector's item
only, and generally sells for Real Money.

Marc

msmall@roanoke.infi.net  FAX:  +540/343-7315
Cha robh bas fir gun ghras fir!