LEITZ SUMMICRON C 40mm F2
Semi-standard lens for LEICA CL
A 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
1．Overview
The semi-standard lens for the LEICA CL, the Summicron-C 40mm, was released in 1972 for the Leica CL (film camera).
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 has the same lens configuration as the Rokkor 40mm for the Leitz-Minolta CL, released by Minolta at the same time, but the filter diameter is different, resulting in a different shape of part of the lens barrel.
2．Usage
The Summicron-C 40mm is a compact semi-standard lens, developed jointly with Minolta exclusively for the LEICA CL. The telephoto Elmar-C 90mm F4 is also available exclusively for the CL.
Both lenses use the Leica M mount, so they can be mounted on other M-type Leicas, but the helicoids of both lenses are single helicoids to reduce costs, and the rangefinder-linked cam is an inclined cam (if you search for inclined cam, you will find a lot of explanations, so if you are interested, it is worth looking it up). For this reason, it is said that the focus accuracy cannot be guaranteed with cameras other than the LEICA CL film camera.
The lens I purchased was used with a LEICA M typ240 digital camera, not a LEICA CL, so I was a little nervous when I used it for the first time, but fortunately it seemed to be within the margin of error with the body I had, and I was unable to confirm any significant difference in the focus position, whether it was the double image in the rangefinder or when shooting using the EVF.
The amount of helicoid movement is small, making it a lens suitable for rapid shooting, and it was useful when catching cats. With digital cameras, the color tone can be adjusted in any way with the camera settings, but the standard settings produced satisfactory colors, and the contrast was also good for an old lens. I rarely took photos in backlight, so I don’t know how well it performed at that time.
3．付加情報
The Summicron C40mm has almost the same lens configuration as the SUMARIT 40mm mounted on Leica’s compact camera, the MINILUX, but the SUMARIT has a slightly larger maximum aperture of F2.4. Looking at the results of shooting, the depiction is similar.
The Rokkor 40mm for the Minolta CLE was released later as a 40mm lens, but this uses a common parallel cam, so there is no problem using it with a digital Leica.
I also didn’t notice any problems when using this lens, but the latest Summilux 50mm ASPH. and others use an inclined cam, which is a brighter aperture at maximum aperture, so there may be some cameras where this is problematic, but I have never noticed any problems when using it.
There are a relatively large number of 40mm lenses for rangefinder cameras, and the following are some typical lenses.
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
- LEICA SUMMARIT 40mm・Shige’s hobby
- Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.4・Shige’s hobby
- Rollei Sonnar 40mm・Shige’s hobby
- Rollei TORIOTAR 40mm・Shige’s hobby
Update
- 2024.06.02
Affiliate links
- Amazon Affiliate link / Leica lens
- Amazon Affiliate link / Leica digital
- Amazon Affiliate link / Leica camera body
- Amazon Affiliate link / Leica accessory
- Amazon Affiliate link / Leica book
