LEITZ SUMMICRON C 40mm F2
Review and Photo example of the SUMMICRON C 40mm F2.
Table of contents
Gallery
- The sample photo were taken with the LEICA M-P typ240
Review
The Summicron-C 40mm was a prime lens released for the Leica CL (film camera) in 1972.
Its focal length is 40mm, shorter than the conventional Leica 50mm. The focal length of 40mm was chosen because the CL film camera had a short baseline length, which indicates the distance between the distance window and the viewfinder window, to achieve a compact body, and it was thought that a 50mm lens would not be able to achieve the focusing accuracy required.
It is almost the same lens as the Rokkor 40mm for the CL, which was released by Minolta at the same time, but the filter diameter is different, so it seems that the molds for some parts are different.
The 40mm and 90mm are basically said to be lenses exclusive to the CL, because the helicoids of both lenses are single helicoids to reduce costs, and the rangefinder linkage cam is an inclined cam (if you search for inclined cams, you will find a lot of explanations, so if you are interested, it is worth looking into it). Because of this, it is said that focusing accuracy cannot be guaranteed with cameras other than the CL film camera, so I was a little wary when using it with the LEICA M digital, but fortunately with the body I had, it seemed to be within the range of error and I didn’t notice any particular problems.
Confusingly, the Rokkor 40mm for the Minolta CLE uses a standard parallel cam, so there are no problems with using it with a digital Leica.
I didn’t notice any problems when using this either, but the latest Summilux 50mm ASPH. and others apparently use an inclined cam, which is one level brighter at full aperture so there may be some cameras where this causes problems, but I never noticed any problems when using it.
Specification
| Items | SUMMARIT | SUMMICRON C | ROKKOR for CL | ROKKOR for CLE |
| Focal length(mm) | 40 | ← | ← | ← |
| Max aperture | 2.4 | 2 | ← | ← |
| Min aperture | 16 *1 | 16 | ← | ← |
| Lens Construction | 6elements in 4groups | ← | ← | ← |
| Leaf blade | 12 *1 | 10 | ← | ← |
| Min distance(m) | 0.8 *1 | 0.8 | 0.8 | ← |
| Lens length(mm) | 21 *1 | 23.5 | 22.5 | 24.5 |
| Max diameter(mm) | 49 *1 | 50 | 51 | ← |
| Filter Size(mm) | 37 *1 | 39 | 40.5 | ← |
| Hood | Cylindrical screw-in hood (provided by Ms-Optics) | Rubber trumpet-shaped screw-in hood, 12518 | Rubber trumpet-shaped screw-in hood | ← |
| Helicoid and Cam | ? and parallel cam | Single helicoid and tilt cam | ← | Double helicoid and parallel cam |
| Release date | 1995 *2 | 1972 | 1973 | 1981 |
| Production number | 120,000 *2 | 54,350- | – | – |
| Weight(g) | 54 *1 | 120 | 125 | 105 |
*2: The numbers are for compact cameras, Leica MINILUX. It is estimated that several dozen Ms-Optics modified products were manufactured.
Reference links
- Leica wiki 40mm f/2 Summicron-C
- Akagi Koichi’s “Akagi Camera” No. 23: Re-examination, Leitz Minolta CL
- Camera Repair Shop’s Whimsical Blog: Questions about Current Leica Lenses
Update
- 2024.06.02
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