Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/08/08

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Subject: Re: [Leica]summitar performance at f2
From: "jan schuller" <janschuller@hotmail.com>
Date: Tue, 08 Aug 2000 16:34:27 CEST

>Jan,
>Leitz released the Summar and later the Summitar not to be used wide
>open, just because it had (for its time a relatively large f-stop), but
>to use it only, when the light situation demanded it. Leitz in their early
>literature states this. They also warned, that these lenses, when used
>fully open, should definitely be used with the correct lens hood.
>Often, you can read on the LUG complaints about the flare problems with
>this lenses. This however is minimized when the orrect hood is
>used. By correct, I mean, the one specified by Leitz.
>
>I do own all the above lenses. An uncoated and a coated Summar, and
>the Summitar.
>I really did not have any problems with flare, unless the sun shone
>right in to it. Most other lenses have problems under this circumstances.
>I believe, that later lenses scatter a lot less light inside the barrel.
>This probably helps to increase the contrast, but it does not make the
>earlier lenses unusable. Both the Summar and the Summitar especially
>perform very well at about f 4 and smaller. I am even not so sure, if
>the edge sharpness is always so extremely important or in some cases so
>desirable. The most important part of your composition is normally in the
>centre of the picture.&nbsp; If you glance at a large print, it actually
>takes some effort to look to the edges of the print. I can see the need
>for this extreme sharpness over the whole of the print for example in 
>industrial
>use or some advertising. However I don't think the Leica is the camera
>for this type of photography anyway.
>
>Regards, Horst Schmidt

Horst,
thanks for your comments on the Summitar question.
Soon I will post some results from photo safaris through murky bars at 
nighttime on my photo page. Most of these were taken at f2 with the
Summitar with a beermug (preferentially the tall ones for wheat beer) as 
tripod if necessary.
Cheers
Jan

www.unizh.ch/~schuller/page1.htm

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