5cm Summicron

[egpj]

I am looking at a 5cm Summicron collapsible for purchase and was wondering if there is anything specific I should look for. I have handled the lens and it is very clean with no scratches but some dust on the internal elements. Nothing to degrade picture quality though. When I turn the aperture ring I have to be very careful not to turn the whole barrel and take it out of its locked out position. Did not like that but not sure if it is "normal" or not. The blades are dry and except for that little bit of sticking seem fine. They want $475 for the lens but the guy said that he would take $425. It seemed kind of steep so I thought I would ask those with knowledge on the forum what you think. Thanks for any opinions.

Glenn

[Gabriel M.A.]

It sounds a bit on the high end. Are you sure it's dust and not some air bubbles? If it's dust then it's definitively overpriced, you'd have to get it CLA'd at some point. Of course, that's no shipping and no taxes, so calculate that too.

See if you get some sort of 30-day satisfaction guarantee. At that price, some other places would offer the same deal.

[FrankS]

Sounds a bit high. Be patient, keep looking.

[lido]

It does sound high, there was one on evil bay couple of weeks ago that sold for $279. And it was in perfect condition according to the seller.

[egpj]

Thanks for your knowledge guys. I thought that it was high but I wanted to confirm what my gut reaction was. I almost walked out with the thing but something was just not right. When I asked the guy if he had a rear cap for the lens he could not muster one up. That was one other thing that made me just back away from the buy. Being patient sucks but it costs allot less!

[Ben Z]

Originally Posted by egpj

Being patient sucks but it costs allot less!

In the short run and the long run!

[Biggles]

Originally Posted by egpj

When I turn the aperture ring I have to be very careful not to turn the whole barrel and take it out of its locked out position. Did not like that but not sure if it is "normal" or not. They want $475 for the lens but the guy said that he would take $425.

I paid $240 US for mine from a member here, and there was no WAY it was coming unlocked while changing apertures. Believe me, I tried. The one you looked at was both overpriced and overused. Dropping it and backing away was the right move. (There are a half-dozen better ones on the sales board here every month, if you fancy mail-order.)

[pshinkaw]

I paid $450 this past August for a 5cm collapsible Summicron AFTER it had been CLA'd by Sherry Krauter. I know I could have paid less elsewhere, but I wanted the assurance that it would have no additional servicing needed for awhile.

Sherry has on listed for sale now at $450.

http://www.sherrykrauter.com/contact.php

-Paul

[Dan States]

The scary thing about the collapsable summicron is that tons are out there marked "mint-" or 9+ because nobody bothered to shine a really bright light through them.

These lenses are outstanding if absolutely clear, but flare prone and dull if they have the slightest haze. The early ones also can turn yellow! Before you buy be sure to shine the brightest light you can find into the lens and all angles...The sun would be a good start...the haze is often not visible in room light.

A perfect one is worth about 450 usd


Best wishes
Dan