Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Whole Lotta Leica - May's Lens for the M9 is the Summaron 3.5cm f3.5 LTM

 
Leica Summaron 3.5cm f3.5 LTM, ca. 1949-1960
 
This month's pick for my Whole Lotta Leica (WLL) series, where I pair up a different "normal" focal length lens with the Leica M9 is the Summaron 3.5cm (35mm) Leica Thread Mount (LTM).
 
This is one of those sleeper lenses that gets underestimated because of its relative small maximum aperture of f3.5. However, it's capable of great things.
 
I got mine along with an old LTM camera kit I bought on eBay. This was the diamond in the rough in that bag. It is in great shape, and looked pretty much unused, except for some haze on the internal elements. A quick trip to DAG fixed that, and now it's really a great little lens.
 
And by little, I mean little. I compare it to the Nikkor 3.5cm f2.5 that was my WLL pick for February. While my Nikkor is also in beautiful shape and faster, the Summaron outperforms the Nikkor in image quality.
 
(Click Here) to go to my WLL page and see all of the lenses I've used in the series so far, along with results.
 
Here's one of my favorite shots from the Summaron, made with a Leica CL film camera.
Harpers Ferry Train Station, by Reed A. George
Leica CL, Leica Summaron 3.5cm f3.5 Lens
 
This image has won contests and even sold prints.
 
This lens has a great way of handling color, quite warm and subtle. Below is an image I shot in an afternoon project on a business trip to Concord, Mass. It was Halloween, and I shot pictures of the pumpkins around town with my CL and the Summaron 3.5cm.
 
Pumpkins of Concord, by Reed A. George
Leica CL, Leica Summaron 3.5cm f3.5 Lens
 
(Click Here) to see the whole Pumpkins of Concord series.
 
But, this month, we'll see how the Summaron performs with digital sensor technology, on the M9. I'm pretty sure it's going to do great.
 
DMC-365.blogspot.com
 
 

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