DR Summicron eyes

[gosfield@dolphin.upenn.edu]

hi to all

I love my DR summicron, both for color and black and white.  It seems to 
produce images with excellent separation of tones in B & W, and with a 
special kind of contrast and smoothness in color.  Perhaps this is overly 
subjective, but i think other LUG readers know what i mean.

Re:  DR Summicron eyes:  let me warn the assembled populace of the 
following--there appear to be at least 2 models of 'eyes' for the 50 DR, 
which makes sense, since there were at least two series of the lenses.  
The eyes are NOT interchangeable between series of lenses.

I have the 'second' series lens (red distance scale in feet, black
distance scale in meters, no reproduction ratios shown, close up distances
in red inches, removable front cell for ?visoflex use, SN 2140138).  I
separately acquired a set of eyes for the lens, which are secured to the
top of the lens by means of a small ball bearing which is depressed by the
eyes, and fits into a dimple on the bottom of the mounting platform of the
eyes.  On my lens, the ball bearing is smaller than the dimple of my eyes,
so that the eyes do not engage the ball bearing, and thus the secondary
close fucusing scale is not 'freed' by mounting the eyes. 

In my case, i fix this by inserting a small piece of unmelted solder in 
the dimple, which fills it just enough to engage the ball bearing.  It 
has no permanent effect on the 'eyes', and can be removed and replaced at 
will. However--purchasers of separate 'eyes' should certainly make sure 
that there is correct fit between their prospective eyes and their lens.
Of course if anyone out there is similarly inconvenienced, but in the 
other 'direction', i would be happy to work out a trade!

I must admit that for reasons of convenience i usually use (gasp! 
shudder!) a Nikkor 55 f3.5 or 2.8 Micro, or 105 f4 Micro, or 80mm Planar
on SL66, for close up photography.  On the other hand the DR does good 
work, as is evidenced by the "USAF" hand engraved on the bottom of my eyes
viewfinder.  I wonder what they used it for.  Any ex gov't photogs out
there? 

The most satisfying close up use of the DR i have made was some early 
morning shots of frost on raspberry leaves.  The individual ice crystals 
are all clearly visible, which produces a very nice textural effect, and 
the tonal gradation/reproduction achieved by the lens keeps the shot from a 
simple 'soot and chalk' level of contrast.

happy shooting

ted
gosfield@dolphin.upenn.edu