Category Archives: Lenses

35mm f/3.5 Leitz Summaron RF

Cameras, Lenses

Some quirks.

When Leica released the revolutionary M3 body in 1954 the viewfinder could show correct framing for three focal lengths – 50mm (thick frame, always visible), and two thin frames for 90mm and 135mm lenses. The latter two would appear when the related focal length lens was attached or could be previewed with the small lever to the right of the lens throat, viewed from the front.

But Leitz knew that 35mm was a popular focal length so rather than burden the user with a clip on external viewfinder they added ‘goggles’ to the lens itself. These would fit in front of the finder and rangefinder windows of the M3 body conferring the correct field of view, and the lens with this attachment is usually referred to as the ‘RF’ model.

Erwin Puts’s Lens Compendium (free download of all 600+ pages) states the following:




Puts on the 35mm f/3.5 Summaron.

As there’s no record of Puts (no pun intended) ever actually taking a photograph with the objects of his obsession I think we can safely disregard the last paragraph above. For the real thing stand by while Dr. P. puts (ahem) the lens through its paces on the street. As that means film processing is involved, please do not hold your breath.

Now take a peek through the M3’s finder with a no lens attached:


The M3’s finder.See below
for the view through the goggles.

As you can see the thick 50mm frame still has a lot of view outside its boundaries and yes, that pretty much coincides with the field of view of a 35mm focal length lens. So why bother with the goggles, which are easily detached by loosening the thumb screw atop (it’s captive and will not fall out)? Well, sadly the rangefinder is way out when the goggles are removed. A correct distance of 20′ with them attached shows the lens to be focused at 12′ with the goggles removed, which is dead wrong, and significantly so. So using this lens on a later M2, say, with its native 35mm frame and with the goggles detached, is a non-starter. The lens will not focus correctly. On the other hand, attach it to that M2 with the goggles in place and correct rangefinder function is restored, though the view will be rather small given the already lower magnification of the M2’s finder. Seriously, if you want to use a 35mm lens on the M2 or any of its many later variants, buy one without goggles. That way you will enjoy the finder at its best.

Further, there is no infinity lock with the goggles attached – and they can only be removed with the lens set to infinity – the infinity lock comes into play once the goggles are removed and the ball bearing has to be depressed with a finger to allow the lens to focus. That ball bearing also acts as a locator for correct positioning of the goggles on the lens before the thumb screw is tightened. The base of the thumbscrew locates in the divot to the left of the ball bearing, making for perfect alignment. Over engineering at its finest.

Goggles, goggles, goggles. Better pour yourself a stiff one before reading further. The fact that the lens is locked at infinity with the goggles removed is not an engineering error. Think of it as Leitz’s unwritten way of telling the user that the only setting at which the rangefinder is accurate with the goggles removed is infinity. With the goggles installed there is no infinity lock nor is one needed as the goggles provide adequate surface area for leverage (turning moment) when the lens is mounted or removed. By contrast the non-goggles version for the Leica M2 has a conventional infinity lock at the focusing tab which has to be depressed to focus closer. That version of the lens will focus correctly on the M3 body also (the focus cam at the rear of the lens is differently shaped), but you will need a clip on viewfinder for accurate framing as the one in the M3 does not go wider than 50mm. That infinity lock on the non-goggles version also confers leverage when mounting or removing the lens as the barrel itself is rather small for this purpose. Likewise, you can use the goggles version on the M2/M4/etc. with the goggles fitted and focus will be accurate, but the M2’s already smaller 0.72x magnification (it’s 0.91x in the M3) will shrink to something near 0.5x. Not the greatest viewing experience.


The ball bearing infinity lock and locating divot.
Note the superb engraving quality.

Phew! To cut a long story short – and Puts and his ilk seem clueless about all of this likely because they never actually use the hardware they pontificate about – the only way to get correct focus with this lens is to leave the goggles in place. Sure, you can remove them to stash the parts in small pockets but use the lens without the goggles and your focus accuracy will be shot. In later goggled lenses – the 35/2.8, 35/2 and 35/1.4 – Leitz attached the goggles with a couple of machine screws and while you could remove those screws to detach the goggles the same wrong focus anomaly surfaced. I know because I used the f/2.8 version for over three decades, detached the goggles to try using the lens on my M2 and got the same error. No book knowledge here.

In 1958 Leitz added that f/2.8 version of the Summaron with an identical optical design and I can testify to its optical quality, so there’s reason to be optimistic about the f/3.5 I just acquired. Plus, at $550 with a fresh Cleaning, Lubrication and Adjustment, the f/3.5 is half the price of the f/2.8. Over $500 more for half a stop does not solve in my book. And try and beat that price for a used wide angle Leitz lens. As for that CLA, it’s pretty much essential for a lens that is now almost 70 years old, as the chances that the lubricants are dried out and the lens has haze and fungus are high. Don’t believe me. Check the eBay listings.

My lens is in absolutely mint condition. Not that easy to find. And it most certainly did not come from an ethically challenged eBay vendor. The serial number on mine dates it to 1956 and I have no reason to believe that anything changed qualitatively during the lens’s long production run.

Even with those clunky goggles, an M3 with the lens attached is still small. Compare with current full frame DSLRs and you will see what I mean.


Small.

Some ‘experts’ aver that the goggles present a distorted view of the scene. If there is any distortion its very minor barrel distortion and is barely noticeable on straight building lines in use. Leitz cut no corners in the optical design of the goggles as this image taken through the M3’s finder with the goggles fitted testifies. The color fringing is from the iPhone:


Viewfinder image with goggles fitted.

Well, I’m ready to hit the street but first, seriously, have you seen a more physically beautiful machine this side of one of Pininfarina’s Ferraris?


Ready for the street.
Note the rapid rewind crank.

The 39mm UV protective filter ran me all of $8 at Amazon and is even multi-coated. No need to waste money on Leitz or B+W branding. And note the protective Scotch tape in the region of the right hand side of the top plate where the wrist strap is attached and in the area of possible contact with the rewind crank in the area of the ‘Leica’ engraving on the top plate. I use an AppStore app for light measurement using the iPhone – there are dozens available, some are even free, and mine agrees with the meter in the Nikon D800. It takes me 12 seconds to rewind a film using the aftermarket crank at modest, not crazy, speed.

I use Sharp Photo in Wisconsin to process and scan the film, opting for the higher quality Noritsu 30mb scans. I will see how these compare with Nikon D800 ‘scans’ when I get the first batch of M3 negatives back.

About that lens cap: In the 1970s as a new Leica user I joined Circle 8 of the Leica Postal Portfolios. This was the large black and white print group, limited to ten members. You had a week to critique others’ prints and replace yours with the latest masterpiece, mailing the large box to the next member on the list. An engraved lens cap, the ‘L.P.P. Mirfield Award’ was given annually to the member voted as the best photographer by the group. I won it in 1976 and though they got my initial wrong it remains an object of pride. Keeping it on the lens is not a good idea as Murphy’s Law dictates that you will forget to remove it and will be rewarded with a blank roll of film!

Rokinon MFT 7.5mm f/3.5 MFT fisheye lens – Part I

Lenses, Micro Four-Thirds, Photography

Exceptional and cheap.



The Rokinon 7.5mm fisheye for MFT. Click the image to go to Amazon.



Garden cranes at sunset. There are no halos from the sun. Uncorrected original at f/8.


Corrected in Fisheye-Hemi from Imaudio. Graded darkening of the sky added in LR.

At $218 the Rokinon MFT fisheye lens costs less than a third of its Panasonic counterpart; it sacrifices AF and full EXIF data for truly outstanding all metal construction and resolution to die for. I have not tested the Panny FE but reviews disclose that the Rokinon is a far better optic. The 7.5mm fisheye is the only true MFT lens listed by Rokinon on its USA site; all others are either APS-C or full frame adapted to the Panny/Oly MFT bayonet mount and are, accordingly, huge and out of proportion on an MFT body.

I have no interest in the gimmickry of fisheye perspective but I am very interested in having an ultrawide prime. I first experimented with de-fishing images from my Canon FF fisheye here, concluding that defished images were almost as sharp as those from a very costly Canon 14mm prime and came in at 12mm effective focal length. That’s considerably wider.

While there are many fisheye profiles to be found in Lightroom, none does a great job and there is not one tailored to this lens. Some fishing around (sorry!) on the web disclosed that there was an outstanding plugin for LR from Imaudio for $30 and after testing the trial version, which watermarks the processed image, I sprung for it. There is no loss of edge definition unlike with the stock LR profiles and the image is considerably wider, less being lost. Look carefully at the above images and you will see that content loss really is negligible.

In keeping with the MFT aesthetic, the lens is tiny, unlike your FF or APS-C fisheye with an adapter.

Manual focusing:

The Rokinon is a manual focus optic. However the great depth of field means that careful focusing is really only needed at close distances and large apertures. Otherwise at, say, f/8 (the aperture ring has half click-stops except between f/16 and f/22) the focus is set at the hyperfocal distance (just short of infinity, like in the first image above) and you bang away, happy as a clam. When careful manual focus is required, using the relatively stiff focus collar, Panny MFT cameras come with the best focus aid in the business. Having first set ‘Shoot w/o lens’ on the last page of the third menu to ‘Yes’, allowing the lens to be recognized, you push the left quadrant rear button once, then the Set button. The center of the image is magnified allowing easy critical focus. On the GX7 you can vary the magnification using the knurled wheel around the shutter release button. I have mine set to maximum magnification.

When focused the group of lens elements extends within the confines of the petal, non-detachable lens hood. The total extension is around 1/8″. The rear glass moves forward a like amount suggesting that all the elements are being moved in unison during focusing. There is no way to attach filters and the deep, provided lens cap must be correctly oriented to clip on and lock in place. In practice the lens hood’s petals do a fine job of protecting the front glass. A rear lens cap is also provided and fits well.

The same lens appears to be marketed under a variety of brand names, including Bower and Samyang. Buy the cheapest. I much prefer chrome finish lenses and the Rokinon comes in a chrome variant; however, I have read that the chromed focus ring is plastic whereas the black one is very much metal, so I opted for the latter. The weight is just 6.2 ozs (176 grams). As I stated above, it is tiny, easily accommodated in a trouser or jacket pocket.

As I only ever use my GX7 bodies in aperture priority auto-exposure mode, correct exposure is guaranteed with the Rokinon, despite the absence of any communication mechanism between lens and body. Of course, one of the most appealing bits of magic of the MFT format comes into play here: as the aperture is changed the finder image remains the same brightness, for the finder automatically adjusts to the change in aperture. The only variable which visibly changes is depth of field.

Along with the outstanding 12-35mm f/2.8 Panasonic pro zoom and the small GX7 Panny body the user has a full frame equivalent lens range of 12mm to 70mm. The size:performance equation here seems to be impossible to improve on.

More in Part II.

There’s one born every minute

Lenses

A fool and his money ….


Click the image for Lomography’s site and hang on to your wallet.

Lomography specializes in selling plastic crap cameras to photographers idiots who desire to take crap pictures. It’s a winning combination, one must admit. The two are made for one another, proving yet again that not only is a fool and his money easily parted, but also that there are lots of fools.

Now the ‘anything to be different’ crowd who need technology, even if distinctly retro, to excuse their total lack of creativity and imagination can blow $600 on a lens first designed in 1840. This comes complete with the most ghastly rendering of OOF areas, dizzyingly bad, and with a set of drop in aperture stops because, let’s face it, for that sum of money who could possibly expect an adjustable iris diaphragm. (“Hang on love, gotta stop down. Dang, just dropped the stop in the cow patty.”)

Of course, if you dare use this on your digital Canon or Nikon, the self-combust device kicks in and your prized DSLR melts. You understand this is intended for film users only? But of course.

Canon 100mm Macro-L with IS

Lenses

The Macro finally gets IS.

While I find Canon’s announcement of yet another APS-C camera, the 7D, underwhelming – who needs yet another ‘me too’ DSLR? – this did catch my eye:


The new 100mm f/2.8 ‘L’ IS Macro

I have had nothing but good experiences with the existing (non-L, non-IS) macro which seems almost impossible to improve on optically, but the addition of IS is a welcome feature. Price is rumored to be around $1,000, or twice that of the non-IS lens. If your macro photography is tripod-based, I would find it hard to see spending twice as much on this lens, as IS is wasted in tripod work. Further, from a definition perspective, I find that making razor sharp 18″ x 24″ prints from my non-IS macro is trivial and see no reason why these would not scale just fine to 30″ x 40″, based on what I am seeing on the screen of my 24″ iMac.

So the new lens may be better on paper, but how much better than my experience can you get? Worth thinking about. Some recent snaps with the non-IS Canon macro (using Helicon Focus) appear here.

DPReview has the scoop.

Getting closer

Lenses

Small, yes, but is it fast?

The Olympus Digital Pen is an exciting prospect for those of us interested in an affordable alternative to the ridiculously priced digital Leica M8, whose cost of entry with a lens is well north of $7,000.


The Olympus Digital Pen wit the 17mm (=34mm) non-zoom lens

At $900 for the body with the 34mm wide angle and optical viewfinder it is affordable as a street snapper but as yet there’s no indication what the shutter lag is like; auto focus with a lens this short is not important as pretty much everything will be sharp all the time, but what the world really needs is a pocketable high quality camera with a decent sized sensor without the interminable shutter lag which makes just about very point-and-shoot out here useless for street photography.

Thank goodness Olympus has had the good taste to release the body in chrome. The more amateur it looks the less visible the photographer becomes.

One other thought – the Pen is smaller than the M8 in every dimension without a lens, and much smaller with the 17mm fitted compared to, say, a 28mm lens.

Check the Comment for some preliminary feedback on shutter and focus lag.