A Look back at the Leica 50 f/1.5 Summarit. (Video)
By Steve Huff
Hey guys! I whipped up another video with a look back at the Leica 50 Sumamrit f/1.5 Lens, the vintage classic with swirly bokeh and some glow ; ) Some hate this lens, some love it. I see it as an occasional use “Artistic” lens, if you get a good copy. Sort of in line with the DREAM LENS from Canon which I also made a video for last week.
The 50 Summarit is a lens one can find on e-bay or other used lens avenues, and rages in price from $400 to $2000 depending on mount and condition. You can find it in M mount or screw mount, and it offers a super unique rendering that is 100% vintage. Take a look at the video below with photos and commentary on this cool but interesting lens.
https://www.cameraderie.org/threads/tales-from-the-greasy-side-leica-5cm-f1-5-summarit-optimize-for-wide-aperture.39389/
Not too many people have posted online instructions for the Summarit- I’ve taken apart several, posted some “gotcha’s and tricks”. The Summarit is optimized for F2.8 used close-up. I’ve changed the spacing between groups to optimize for F1.5. The Summarit is prone to haze on each side of the aperture. It’s a 20 minute job most of the time. Sometimes not- as in the latter lens taken apart in the above link. The “Summarit Swirlies” are from some astigmatism, more pronounced than the Summitar and Summar because of the faster speed. The Summitar, and the earlier 5cm F1.5 Xenon, give quite good results when cleaned of haze and free of scratches.
Ryan, how did you adapt to your Sony?
thanks
Hi Brad, I use a LTM 50-75mm screw thread to M adapter then a Kipon Close-focus M to Sony E mount adapter. This allows me to focus upto 12 inches give or take. With a normal adapter it will only focus to one meter.
thank you for the response sir.
Excellent review, thanks !
Steve, you have the M10+ SL now ?
Excellent video. I recently picked up a Summarit for my A7III. What caught my eye is bokeh and smoothness it can have along with the creamy skin textures, glow. It reminded me of large format fast lenses like the Aero Ektar or Pentac. What’s also cool about this lens is when stopped down to f2.8 it sharpens dramatically over the entire image. Digging these video lens reviews especially for this lens. Not much real info can be found on it.
Ryan, how did you adapt it to your Sony?