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About this product
Product Information
Photographers who enjoy shooting with film cameras often like the effects they can achieve with vintage lenses. One lens that gives very characteristic results is the Leica SUMMARIT-M 50mm f/1.5 lens. Leica has a reputation for high quality, and if you want a fast lens for a 35-millimeter film camera, this SUMMARIT model would be a great addition to your gear.Leica SUMMARIT 50-millimeter lenses were made in the 1940s and 1950s. They are manual-focus lenses with a prime focal length of 50 millimeters, which is sometimes expressed as 5 centimeters. Metal and glass give the lenses a great build quality that is apparent as soon as you pick them up. The barrel of this SUMMARIT model has a chrome finish, and the aperture has 15 metal blades. The entire assembly weighs 10.5 ounces and can be attached to a Leica camera with the bayonet-style M mount.The quality optics in this Leica SUMMARIT lens have a single coating. There are seven elements in five groups. A minimum focusing distance of about 1 meter means that this is not a macro lens, but it is more suited for portraits and other subjects at middle distances. The ergonomic design of this Leica lens makes the focus very easy to adjust. All the controls are right where you expect them to be when you reach to make an adjustment. The metal focusing rings also have a locking tab that will keep them in place until you want to move them.When you want to let a lot of light into your camera, this SUMMARIT lens can give you a 1.5 f-stop aperture. It adjusts down to f/16 with knurled aperture rings that rotate in solid, one full f-stop clicks. If you want to control the amount of UV light or you want to achieve special color effects, you can use any E-41 or A-43 filter.The specifications of this Leica lens make it an excellent choice for use in dim light. The wide aperture lets you take full advantage of every bit of available light for great results indoors. Portraits turn out beautifully with just the right sharpness to the subject and a soft bokeh. It is this softness of image that the Leica SUMMARIT 50-millimeter lens with the 1.5 f-stop aperture is known for, and it gives a vintage feel to photos that can be very appealing. There is even a name for it: the “Leica glow.”This Leica lens can produce gorgeous color photos, but it really shines when you use it with black-and-white film. The typical result with the aperture wide open shows the center of the photo in sharp detail with the background almost immediately falling off into the characteristic soft bokeh. If you want black-and-white photos that peg the viewer’s eye to your immediate subject, this lens may be what you are looking for.It is also possible to get special lighting effects with this Leica SUMMARIT lens using flare. While flare is usually considered a negative, skillful use of this lens can deliberately capture this phenomenon to produce artistic, strikingly lit subjects.Product Identifiers
BrandLeica
ModelSummarit
eBay Product ID (ePID)103008815
Product Key Features
Focal Length50mm, Fixed/Prime
Maximum Aperturef/1.5
SeriesLeica SUMMARIT-M
TypeStandard
Focus TypeFixed/Prime, Manual
Dimensions
Weight11.28 oz. Oz
Additional Product Features
ApertureF/1.5
Compatible BrandLeica
Additional Tech CharacteristicsSam
Focal Length (mm)50mm
Camera TypeRangefinder
Camera TechnologyFilm
Product LineLeica Summarit-M
Ratings and reviews
Most relevant reviews
- 31 May, 2016
Great lens
Hard to find lens not many made Character images unlike modern computer designed opticsVerified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned
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