Posts Tagged: leitz

Gear — 2 Comments
9
May 12

Removing Haze from Leitz 35mm F/3.5 Summaron Lens

As mentioned in my previous write-up, my Leitz 35mm F/3.5 Summaron was plagued by haze on the internal elements which caused fairly bad flare in images taken with it, particularly when shot toward any bright light. It’s a common ailment with this particular lens, and can ruin what is otherwise an excellent performer. With this in mind, I decided to tackle stripping down and cleaning the lens myself. Fortunately, the whole process turned out to be relatively easy.

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Gear — 3 Comments
30
Jun 11

Leitz Summaron 35mm F/3.5

Launched as a screw-mount lens in 1949, and in M bayonet mount in 1956, the 35mm F/3.5 Summaron is a beautifully made lens and, although it can’t compete in performance with later Leitz 35s, it is still capable of producing very pleasing results.

Leitz Summaron 35mm F/3.5

My 1958 copy is in pretty nice condition cosmetically, and is the M3 version with ‘goggles’. The viewfinder on the Leica M3 only has frame lines for 50mm, 90mm and 135mm lenses, so this viewfinder attachment corrects the field of view to match that of the lens and allow accurate framing.

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Gear / Photography / Portfolio — 5 Comments
22
May 11

Angelique Photoshoot and Leitz Summitar Review

I had a photo shoot recently with the lovely Angelique in and around downtown Knoxville and I decided to only use one lens on my Leica M3 for the entire session; a 1946 Leitz Summitar. This 50mm F/2.0 optic has a rather unique set of properties that I thought would enhance the images from this particular shoot.

Summitar shoot (Legacy Pro 100)

Production of the Summitar started in 1939 and, apart from adding lens coating to the front element in 1946, it remained largely unchanged until it was replaced by the Summicron in 1955. Unsurprisingly, it exhibits a definite old-school look in the images it produces, and it requires some care in use to get good results. It is prone to flaring (a lens hood is absolutely required), is soft in the corners, and has all kinds of crazy aberrations, especially when shooting wide open.

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Gear / Photography — No Comments
8
May 11

Getting to Know the Leica M3

90mm Elmarit

I’ve had my 1957 Leica for about six weeks now and I think I’m finally getting to grips with using a rangefinder camera after years of shooting SLRs. I have found that it really requires quite a rethink of shooting style, focusing technique, etc. to get comfortable with using one.

I took the M3 with me to meet a few friends at a local hostelry this weekend and I think it all finally clicked into place! Focusing seemed natural, and shooting speed (framing, etc.) all came together very well.

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