Dan Kerin

 Leica 50mm F/2 Summitar

The 50mm Summitar was an early fast 50 from Leica designed for use on their screw mount cameras. Released in 1939 and produced until 195. The Summitar is often an overlooked lens in Leica’s historic lineup as its replacement the Summicron gets all the attention. The lens was designed by Max Berek and has 7 elements in 4 groups with a collapsable design. Early lenses were not coated and featured 10 aperture blades, while later lenses while being coated had only 6 aperture blades. Many people opt for the earlier ones as rendition is more similar to the collapsable Summicron which succeeded it. I was fortunate enough to have two copies to test an earlier 10 blade version and a later 6 blade version.

Before using the lens, I noticed a couple of unusual quirks. The lens has a click less aperture which while didn’t bother me too much while shooting it does make you resale the benefits of having aperture clicks especially in changing lighting conditions. The lens also uses a very odd 36mm filter. This is recessed so finding filters can be difficult but you can use the SNHOO adapter to use more common 39mm filters. This is something to keep in mind, as this being an older lens and the earlier ones not being coated you may wish to use a filter to improve contrast. Another oddity with this lens is the hood. The lens uses the SOOPD/ SOOFM hood which is a bulky rectangular hood. While I found the more common IROOA hood to fit (albeit a little loose) I decided to go hoodless for this review.

In practice the lens balances well on the camera and is noticeably lighter than most other 50mm’s due to its collapsible design. I first shot with the 6-blade variant which I paired with a yellow filter to aid contrast control. It was a lovely sunny day in London so many of the shots were taken between f4 and f8 showcasing that while this is an old lens it can still perform well. I found the lens to render in a classic way which is no surprise given its age. This is something to consider, personally I much prefer the way older lenses like this render as they can often provide a dreamy timeless look compared with modern lenses but this is all down to personal preference.

Switching to the 10-blade version this performed very much the same and with this lens I shot without a filter. Without a yellow filter its noticeably less contrasty, but not lacking as much as I initially thought. The out of focus areas are a tiny bit cleaner due the aperture being more rounded. Before doing this comparison, I had read that people strongly advise going for the 10 blade over the 6 blade but in usage unless I was mainly shooting portraits I did not feel there was that big of a difference between the two and some really good deals can be found on the 6 blad versions.

Overall, this lens really took me by surprise and in my opinion is a hidden gem. For me this lens blends old world charm with usable results when stopped down. At the time of writing, I am on the lookout and wanting to get my hands on a very clean collapsible Summicron which was the lens that superseded the Summitar however a nice Summicron is around three times the price of the Summitar and from what I have seen online they render quite similarly, however that will be a review for another day.