Leitz 35mm Summicron M advice needed.

Black · 06-23-2010

Hi all,

I'm looking to move up from a Jupiter 8 to a Summicron or a Nokton and have seen a Leitz branded 35mm Summicron M for a nice price (£599). Its serial number is 2295859.
Trouble is, I'm having difficulty identifying the year and version of the lens and, well, whether its a more or less desirable version of the lens, or whether I should just be plumbing for a 35mm 1.2 Nokton?

Cheers in advance.

edit - My apologies, I seem to have curiously started this thread in the wrong sub-forum.

FPjohn · 06-23-2010

1968, Summicron, Ist version according to my Leica Pocket Book.

yours
FPJ

david.elliott · 06-23-2010

See here as well: http://www.antiquecameras.net/35summicronmlenses.html

Black · 06-23-2010

Thanks for the replies. If this is the first version (which it appears to be), how is this comparable to v 4, which I'm assuming if its reputation is correct, is the most popular version of the pre-ASPH lens?

Oh, and better this or the Nokton? Sorry for the inane questions

david.elliott · 06-24-2010

I would be hesitant to say one is better than the other. They are all just different. Everybody has his or her own preference. If you want to see samples from each lens, go to the flickr m-mount group and browse the tag listings.

ferider · 06-24-2010

If clean, the non-googled version of the 1st Summicron has usually high price on the used market. Watch for haze (use a flash light when you inspect it).

Not all of us love the 35/1.2. It's huge and hides much of your view through a Leica.

john battaglia · 06-25-2010

you posted this in the CL part of the forum, so you have the 40mm frameline, have you thought of the summicron 40mm or the vc 40mm 1.4? they are both great small alternatives to an older summicron and feel nice on the CL.

It sounds like thats a killer deal for a v1 summicron, you may want to pick that up and flip it!

Black · 06-25-2010

Jon, (and everyone) thanks for the reply.

Yeah, I did post this on the wrong subforum, as I mentioned in my original post. Sorry about that - I shoot with an M6, not a CL. Advice appreciated, all the same