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Anyone used a M9 with a Summicron RIGID?

Moonshine

New member
Been searching the forums for pictures or information of this combination but couldn't anything...mostly all i found was the rigid used with film cameras.
Has anyone tried the summ rigid with a M9 for black and white photography? does it get the same results as with film cameras? I find the current summicron too contrasty which is why i was considering the rigid...
thanks
and please post pics too if u have them :):)
 

250swb

Member
Do you mean the rigid version of the old collapsible Summicron?

If so, no I haven't used it, but I agree that some of the later Leica lenses are a bit contrasty for my tastes used 'out of the box', but then that is what post processing is all about, altering it until its how you want it. Its no different to loading a film that has characteristics you prefer over another.

Steve
 

fotografz

Well-known member
To lunch off of the above post ... a nominal investment in Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 can pay huge dividends for lovers of B&W imagery.

Prior to the M8 I personally did all of my B&W in the darkroom, the M8 was pretty decent at B&W, but I found that the M9 with its greater midrange tonal response was more difficult to deal with for B&W ... at least initially. The Nik program changed all of that for me.

It has a huge range of presets and film simulation choices ... which provide very refined ways of dealing with contrast ranges and tonal responses from the same M9 capture. You have full selective brightness, contrast and structure control over spot areas, and very refined grain sliders no matter which film simulation you select.

While I agree that many of the newer lenses are a bit crispy, it depends a lot on what lighting conditions are present at capture. I'm not sure a lower contrast lens would be all that welcome if the ambient conditions are flat.

On the other hand, the more crispy M optics fare very well even in more contrasty conditions when some of the lower contrast Nik responses are employed. It's pretty amazing what can be done with the same M9 capture.

-Marc
 
I don't have the Rigid but the 50mm dual range instead, the glass is the same as used in rigid and I use this lens on my M9-p with great result, before I could use it on my m9, I had to cut off the part off the lens who stick into the camera with an iron cutter and I must admit that I like the glow from this lens even that it has less contrast than my summicron 50mm latest version, the 50mm dr is a bargain and so is the 35mm summaron f/2.8 ..
 

Moonshine

New member
Thanks all :)
Summicron Rigids are available for $1000 or more...since I'm brand new to leica can someone tell me if this price is fair or inflated? Are they only going to go higher??
@fotografz: will get silver efex pro!
 

Peter Klein

New member
I use a DR Summicron on my M8. Like Tommy (Pixelshooter), I had the close-focus portion of the focus cam ground down to make the lens fit and work properly in the normal focus range on the M8. The DR is optically identical to the Rigid, and I've always loved the lens. A fair price for the DR without the clip-on "eyes" is about $450-500. I don't remember how much DAG charged me for the modification, but it was under $100. That still is a far cry from $1000 for a Rigid.

Digital does not look quite like film, but both the M8 and M9 do show the character of the lens. It is very sharp and has high resolution, but lower contrast than the modern 'Cron. Highlights have a way of bleeding slightly into adjacent darker areas, which is technically a flaw but actually looks very nice most of the time. This may be what some people call "Leica glow."

The M9 has inflated used lens prices to insane levels. But people don't always get what they ask for. You can pay the insane prices, wait for somebody to be more reasonable, or wait for prices to stabilize. They will probably stabilize to higher levels than the late 1990s-early 2000s, but I think the current levels are unsustainable.

--Peter

--Peter
 

wjlapier

Member
I think I paid a little less than $1000 for the rigid cron from Schouten Select--shipped. The lens was as close to new as could be. Take that into account when pricing a rigid cron. In fact, I'd look at Schouten's stock of lenses if you want a nice clean copy--no scratches on front element.
 

Moonshine

New member
Thanks. I looked at Schoutens and the mint condition ones are approx $1200. Still high for me. I'll wait I guess..
 

dude163

Active member
I use a Rigid cron on my M8 and it has cleaning marks and a scratch on the front element , but you cant tell on the images it makes , I got it for 400 $ from someone on this forums buy/sell section

Oh my lens is from 1964 btw

if I may, here are a few examples of B+W shots I took with it













Hope those help your decision either way , cheers

Robert
 

dude163

Active member
why dont you post a " Looking for.." thread and see who contacts you? thats what I did

best of luck!
 

ashwinrao1

Active member
Fantastic lens, that I use all of the time. Lovely, classic look. Not as critically sharp as the aspherics wide open, but very respectiable, with a unique, classic rendering. The lens really tidies up at f/2.8 and moreso at f/4, but does well at f./2 as well...
 

ashwinrao1

Active member
Haha, teh very guy who sold me it. Oh yes, it's very much been a keeper lens for me. I simply love the look, and have no sign of tiring of it, 1 year in!
 

larryk

New member
Wow. Some very nice photos. I was wise enough to buy a rigid a year or two ago for around $600, which seemed quite reasonable at the time. It seemed brand new to me when it arrived, mechanically and the glass. I thought I would use it on my M8 for B&W photos. But the M9 and new 50mm Lux Asph put that on the back burner. But I took it along with me to see what it would look like on the M9. After shooting photos of my granddaughter for a while with the 50mm Lux, I switched to the rigid sumicron. I thought I was seeing things at first. Or perhaps didn't switch the lens. It was hard to say which images I preferred. The new one, of course, cost $ 3,000 more. The rigid definitely had the quality that can be seen in the photos above. Now that I think about it, especially the B&W ones. I'll move my B&W project to the M9 now. I would stongly recommend it to anyone who wants a different look than the modern asph lenses or who questions the wisdom of spending thousands of dollars for a newer lens. As a matter of fact, the new ones aren't available anyway. And the old ones are disappearing as well.
 
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