One Lens That Didn't Make It Into Whole Lotta Leica Last Year - Leica LTM Summarit 5cm f1.5

Autumn Color, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Summarit 5cm f1.5 LTM Lens

iso 200, f6.7, 1/60 sec

 

One of the lenses that didn't make it into my monthly feature of Whole Lotta Leica (WLL) last year was actually the second Leica lens I ever owned. Come to think of it, my first Leica lens, the 90mm f4 Elmarit didn't make it either. Both of these lenses are in great shape, but have a little haze that needs to be dealt with.

 

Here's my Summarit:

Leica Summarit 5cm f1.5 LTM Lens (ca. 1953)

 

These lenses are notorious for coming with lots of "cleaning marks," aka scratches, on the front element. The coatings were apparently quite soft, and they are easy to scratch. Mine has essentially no marks on the elements, but does have some haze. I have hesitated to send it for cleaning, worried that it will come back with scratches. So, I live with the haze. The lens renders very interesting images, with lots of center sharpness and wonderful bokeh (out of focus areas).

 

For me, the Summarit is a special lens, not one I'd want to rely on every day. However, it can produce some very special results.

 

What got me thinking about this? A post on Rangefinder Forum, by member "tester."

(Click Here) to read tester's thoughts on the lens on Rangefinder Forum, and see some very nice example images shot with his (her) Summarit.

 

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