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IF U HAVE A 50MM DO U REALLY NEED...

SYGTAFOTO

New member
Yes, I was just giving my perspective of the pricing based on its capabilities in case someone was comtemplating between zeiss 35mm f/2.8 and Leica 35mm f/2.8.
I based my opinion on the pics, how much these lenses sell for on E-bay and my personal experience. Regardless of price, it is a sweet lens.
 

ashwinrao1

Active member
Would agree with much of what's been said. The 35 mm f/2.8 Summaron is a FANTASTIC lens, a stellar performer for its time. It's also a lower contrast lens, with a heck lot of clarity, and does perform better than the legendary V1 summacron, at the cost of some speed. Build quality is stellar, and the lens is often as mechanically sound as it was 30+ years ago.

Some copies have fogging of the front elements, and coating variability lended itself to slightly different contrast through the lens lifecycle. I have been told by folks in the know to try to snag lenses with serial numbers > 200***.

It's a great daylight, midday shooter, due to its size, aperture, and its image rendering properties
 

seakayaker

Active member
Certainly if I was in the market and the lens was in great shape the $1000.00 may be reasonable. My estimate was based on three factors: I picked up four Leitz LTM lens, Leitz Wetzlar - Summitar 5cm f2 (1951); Leitz Wetzar - Summaron 3.5cm f3.5 (1954); Leitz Wetzlar - Elmar 9cm f4 (1957); and a Leitz Wetzlar - Hector 13.5cm f4.5 (1960) and all four cost me about $1100.00; the second is the great reviews the Zeiss 35/2.8 has received from various sources; and the third is the quality of the pictures and lack of serial number to determine the age of the lens. Since it was manufactured from 1958 to 1974 it is between 53 and 37 years old.

The true value of a lenses is what someone is willing to pay and I do respect everyones opinions regarding how they see the value of lens. Normally I would not comment on someones selling price, but the question was asked and my response was just my opinion. Hopefully Moonshine finds a buyer at his selling price.


Edit Note: Robert thanks for providing the link to the article on the lens testing it was an interesting read and certainly one could use to justify spending a high price for a 35mm 2.8 Summaron.
 
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Moonshine

New member
i paid $975 for it and bought it here on this forum a couple of months ago..i guess i'll drop it to that price..
from what everyone is saying it seems like a really good lens and one to keep but i never really use it as i always prefer the 50mm..
 
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