SUMMICRON C 40mm for CL
Review and photo examples using the Leica Summicron-C 40mm with the Leica digital rangefinder camera LEICA M-P Typ240
Table of contents
Gallery
- The sample photo were taken with the LEICA M-P typ240
Review
1．Overview
The Summicron C 40mm was released in 1972 and was developed jointly with Minolta as a lens exclusively for the LEICA CL and LEITZ MINOLTA CL film cameras.
The main specifications are as follows, with details shown in the table below.
Aperture: F2
- Lens construction: 6 elements in 4 groups
- Aperture blades: 10
- Minimum focusing distance: 0.8m
- Leica M rangefinder camera rangefinder coupling: 0.8m
- Hood: 39mm screw-in rubber hood
The lens that came with the camera sold by Minolta was the Minolta-manufactured M ROKKOR(QF) 40mm, which has the same lens construction as the Summicron C 40mm. However, the ROKKOR filter diameter is 40.5mm, which is different from the Summicron C.
2．Usage
I used the SUMMCIRON C 40mm with a LEICA M typ240 digital camera, not a LEICA CL.
Although it is an old lens, it produces images with high contrast and sharpness. Depending on the scene, the background blur may be noisy, so it is a good idea to understand this habit and avoid it when shooting. I hardly ever took pictures in backlight, so I don’t know how well it performs in backlight.
When using it with a LEICA M typ240, I was concerned about the focus accuracy due to the inclined cam unique to this lens.
With my body, there was no difference between the focus position due to the double image and the results of focusing with the electronic viewfinder using the VISOFLEX, so it could be used just like a normal Leica M mount.
The lens has a small amount of helicoid movement when focusing, so it allows for quick focusing and is suitable for improvisational shooting, and it was also useful when photographing animals whose movements are difficult to predict.
Most M-type rangefinder cameras do not have a 40mm viewfinder frame, so you either have to shoot outside the displayed 50mm viewfinder frame, or you have to compose your shot using an external 40mm viewfinder sold by the Voigtlander or Rollei brands.
3．Summary
To sum up the Summicron C 40mm, it’s not particularly high performance, but it’s compact and easy to use for snapshots.
The lens was designed by Leica, so if you’re looking for a genuine Leica Summicron series lens, it will cost about 2 to 3 times as much as the Minolta version.
If you just want to use the lens, you can get a cheaper option by looking for the M ROKKOR (QF) 40mm.
The ROKKOR 40mm F2, released at the same time as the Minolta CLE in 1981, has almost the same lens construction and uses a standard parallel cam, making it easy to use as it doesn’t have the issues with the rangefinder on M-type Leica cameras.
・Digression side note
The focal length of the SUMMICRON C is 40mm, which is shorter than the 50mm that was the standard lens for Leica cameras.
This is probably because there are many M-mount lenses for 35mm and 50mm, and it was decided that the focal length of 50mm would be too narrow for users who left the lens attached at the time of purchase. It can also be said that this is the same reason why compact cameras with built-in lenses adopted 40mm as a universal focal length.
This lens uses a Leica M mount, so it can be attached to other M-type Leicas, but the helicoid of both lenses is a single helicoid to reduce costs, and the rangefinder linkage cam uses 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 film camera LEICA CL.
I also did not notice any problems when using this lens, but the latest Summilux 50mm ASPH. and others use inclined cams, but I have never noticed any problems when using them.
Specification
There are a relatively large number of 40mm focal length lenses for Leica L39 and M mount, including the following representative lenses:
- Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.4
- Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.2
- Voigtlander HELIAR40mm F2.8 Aspherical
- Rollei Sonnar 40mm
- M ROKKOR 40mm(CLE)
- M ROKKOR-QF 40mm(CL)
Comparing the SUMMICRON C 40mm with the Rollei SONNAR, the lens size of the ROLLEI SONNAR 40mm is slightly larger than that of the SUMMICRON C 40mm.
The lens configuration of the SUMMICRON C 40mm is a Gaussian type, while the ROLLEI SONNAR 40mm is a Sonnar type. The difference is mainly seen in the arrangement of the rear lens.
- The lens construction diagrams are quoted from each company’s materials, and the sizes have been adjusted by us, so they are not exact.
| Item | SUMMICRON C | Rollei SONNAR LSM |
| focal length(mm) | 40 | 40 |
| Maximum aperture | 2 | 2.8 |
| Minimum aperture | 16 | 22 |
| Leaf blade | 10 | 10 |
| Lens configuration | 6 elements in 4 groups | 5 elements in 4 groups |
| Minimum distance(m) | 0.8 | 0.7 |
| Lens length(mm) | 23.5 | 30.5 |
| Lens max diameter(mm) | 50 | 51 |
| Filter type | 39 | 39 |
| Weight(g) | 120 | 172 |
| Hood | 39mm screw-in rubber hood ・12518 | Special food |
| Release date | 1972 | 2002〜2006 |
| Price | -54,350 | – |
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
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