35mm Summicron pre-asph wide open aperture blades

[Hosermage]

Hi,

I bought this V4 Summicron and noticed that the aperture blades doesn't fully open. By that, I mean I can't open it all the way to a full circle. I'm not sure if this is normal? At least I've never seen that in my other M lenses, but I've never had one this old. I have a few days left to return, so any confirmation will help. Thanks!

 

[Hosermage]

Well, to answer myself and perhaps others who are interested... It seems to be normal.

Reference: Bokeh King is Naked: repairing Leica Summicron 35 - A Camera Apart

When you open it to f/2, blades are still visible in the ring; it's normal.

 

[Ario Arioldi]

In my sample, s.n. 364xxxx, when viewed at 90°, the blades are not visible at f:2. What i see in your pic should correspond raughly at f:2.4.

 

[Hosermage]

Hrm... I think we have a problem then... That sucks.

Here's an image of it, wide open :-/

 

[Ario Arioldi]

May be not. There are a lot of undocumented variants in Leica world.
I would check first if the blades close down regularly each half stop from f:2 down to f:16 or viceversa.

 

[jonmanjiro]

Nope, that doesn't look normal. I'd say about f/2.4 as well.

 

[Hosermage]

Does yours look like this??

Nope, that doesn't look normal. I'd say about f/2.4 as well.

 

[quadtones]

I just checked. Mine is a v4 35mm Summicron, 3397xxx. Mine looks exactly like yours, and was recently adjusted by DAG. I should mention that the diaphragm ring will [barely] rotate past the f2 clickstop, which then makes the blades disappear, but this was recently recalibrated, at the same time it was 6-bit coded, so I suspect it's within spec. When set at f2, the blades are just barely visible.

 

[SKueh]

Same here. Mine is a V4, s/n 3613xxx. Serviced by DAG couple of years ago and 6-bit coded and checked by Leica NJ last year.

 

[250swb]

Even on the 35mm Summicron ASPH the aperture blades are still visible at f/2 so I would say to ignore any doom and gloom prognostications of armageddon.

Steve

 

[Hosermage]

Thanks guys, I think it's a keeper, then

I've been taking lots of shots with it, and I find that I'm still able to get perfect round highlight bokeh circles during the day time, slightly worst at night. It's strange that I've never seen this on a ZM or CV lens. It's stranger that this is not well documented some where given its reputation and all.

Looks like google has already indexed this thread, though, since I keep finding my own pictures while searching