35 Summicron (1st Ver) and M4

Hi all

 

I just bought a 35 summicron off eBay (a 1st gen w infinity lock). It arrived today and I'm having 2

problems with it.

 

1) I can't get it to mount on my M4. I lined up the red dot but I can't get it to turn all the way till it clicks

into place. I've tried this with both the infinity lock on, and off, neither method works. BTW, I also use the

M4 w a 1st gen 50 summilux and a 90 Rokkor with no problems.

 

2) min. focus on the 35 summicron is supposed to be 0.7m. I can't get the focus tab to turn so that the

0.7 lines up with the arrow. It only goes to slightly less than 0.8.

 

Photos of the lens are available at the following links.

 

www.flickr.com/photos/86306610@N00/1377332986

www.flickr.com/photos/86306610@N00/1377334932

www.flickr.com/photos/86306610@N00/1377333590

 

I'm quite new to Leica and photography in general so I'm getting a bit worried. Please help.

 

Much thanks

Tim

Tim, I don't know if it's just the photo but the bayonet on the far side looks to be out of round - it has a diagonal abrasion there, too, which suggests it's had some rough treatment. I have not looked at the Flickr pics but it sounds very suspect - a lot of tampering goes on with lenses to make them look good, to sell - I have one or two which were expensive mistakes to buy.

Are there any screw heads standing slightly proud, or any small burrs on the lens mount? Maybe a good thorough clean of the lens mount will help?

I can`t get flicker to show, but I have some tolerence stack up problems with brand new lenses that work on 10 bodies and hang on one. Different lenses hang on different bodies.

 

Have a repair person adjust the camera mount and/or lens. Assuming no damage, it is not serious.

 

Be causious on evil-bay. My computer does not know even know where it is.

If the focus tab doesn't go all the way to 0.7 meters, almost certainly some nincompoop assembled one of the two helicals in the lens on the wrong start. That might also explain problems mounting it on the camera, the rangefinder cam may be sticking out too far. (It should never go into the camera more than 6.5mm from the mounting flange.)

 

If the glass is good, and the lens isn't a "mutt" of parts of lenses with different serial numbers, a $75 clean/lube/adjust by DAG or Sherry Krauter should have it in shape. But if it's a real hack job, it may have been rendered a useless lump of coal.

Tim,

 

I compared your photos to my V1 summu. Adrian is right! Maybe it fell on the bayonet flange. The scratch seems to indicate someone tried to bent it back using a pliers or such. That certainly didn't help as it's clearly out of round. If you paid a lot for it, I would try to send it back to the seller. If you got it really cheap ($500 at most) it may be worthwhile to get it fixed. The seller does NOT deserve your positive feedback on that item!!

 

Sorry for the bad news.

BTW, I just checked whom you bought it from and not for cheap either!! I had the lens still in my "ended" items list. The accompanying photos are the same as yours, same lens number and the same bent and scratched flange. The seller sells a lot on Ebay and has a high feedback score. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he missed the obvious items with this lens. He'll probably won't object taking it back and return your money.

Gents

 

Thanks very much for your help. The flange is indeed bent and even has a small hairline

crack (masked in the photo) which supports Adrian's and Huub's theory that it was

dropped or banged on that flange. I have contacted the seller for a return and full refund.

Hope it works out.

 

In any case, I have learnt alot, and I am indebted for your help. Much appreciated.

 

Tim

 

PS - i chose the v1 cause i like the "look" of photos from the older lenses. I can't explain it

technically, but softer seems to be a good description. And yes, I did pay a pretty penny

for it. My experiences on eBay have been positive so far. I hope this one doesn't turn out

to be too bad.

You shouldn't buy v1 if you want a softer lens. It is tack sharp except at f2 where it is quite

soft. But the characteristics are very nice. It is my favourite lens, I bought it in times when it

was much cheaper and not a collectible yet.

Didn't the first version Summicon come with goggles for the M3?

Roland, maybe soft is my wrong choice of words. I like sharpness, but not like digital sharp. I find my v2 50 summilux gives me that sort of characteristic but sometimes I do like it to be a bit sharper.

 

But talking in terms of softness, what would you recommend?

 

Raid, v1 came in an M3 version with goggles, and an M2 version without goggles that brings up the 35 framelines.