LEICA SUMMICRON M 90mm (1st)

Large aperture medium telephoto lens that can be used for VISOFLEX

A review and Photo example of the SUMMICRON 90mm F2.

Gallery

The sample photo were taken with the LEICA M9

Review

Usage
Lens overview
About VISOFLEX

1．Usage

The silver barrel of the Summicron 90mm F2 is a large-aperture medium telephoto lens for the M mount. The lens with filter size E48 introduced here comes in silver and black barrels. The optical part of the lens is screwed into the M mount helicoid, and when you hold the tip of the lens and turn it, the helicoid and the lens separate.

The separated lens part at the tip can be attached to a special helicoid for use with a Visoflex, which allows you to use an M-type Leica as a single-lens reflex camera.

The lens is very heavy, and you can feel the mass of glass and iron. When attached to an M-type Leica camera as an M-mount lens, the lens side is heavy and the weight balance is not good.

Except for cameras with high viewfinder magnification, the 90mm viewfinder frame is small, and focusing with the double image overlap method is difficult. For this reason, this lens was screwed into a Visoflex helicoid and a Visoflex mechanism was attached to an M-type Leica camera to use it as a single-lens reflex camera. In the 2020s, I think focusing is easy if you use the high-resolution EVF of a mirrorless camera. In that case, there is no difference in usability between M mount and Visoflex mount.

In the end, I got rid of my M-type lenses because Leica R lenses are more convenient for telephoto lenses over 90mm. When I was sorting through my old photos, I noticed that the wet depiction has a flavor that modern lenses don’t have. When I was researching lens specifications to write this page, I almost stepped back into the Visoflex swamp that I had been stuck in for a while.

2．Lens overview

The M-mount Summicron 90mm F2 is a medium telephoto lens for M-mount that has been manufactured since 1953.

As is common with old lenses, the history of lens model changes is complicated, and even in books and other publications, there is some inconsistency in the notation of the lens generation. This is likely due to the fact that this lens was released at the same time as the Leica M3, which was also the time when many M-mount lenses were released.

A typical inconsistency in notation is the treatment of Summicrons with a separate hood (hood model number: SOOZI), which is sometimes seen on the second-hand market. There are descriptions that refer to this lens as the first Summicron M, and descriptions that refer to Summicrons with a built-in hood and a filter diameter of E48 (48mm) as being included in the first Summicron.

The notations are summarized in the table below, from 1 to 4, with notation 1 roughly classifying the lens by its construction, notations 2 and 3 by the handling of the Viso option, and notation 4 by its shape.

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	note
Notation 1	without hood+E48+E49	E55			Lens construction
Notation 2	without hood+E48	E49	E55		Visoflex Option
Notation 3	without hood+E48 early	E48 late+E49	E55		Visoflex Option
Notation 4	without hood	E48	E49	E55	lens shape

3．About VISOFLEX

To use this lens with a Visoflex, you will need to prepare a helicoid (focusing adapter 16463, ZOOEP ) that was released during the Visoflex 2 model era. Attaching the tip of the lens to the 16463, ZOOEP, will make it a Visoflex M mount lens.
The Visoflex helicoid, 16463 (ZOOEP, silver), is thought to be for the first Summicron only, as it cannot be attached to the Elmarit 135mm, which will be described later. There is a black version of the lens, but I have never seen the black 16463.
I tried to fit this 16463 onto the lens removed from the Elmarit M 135mm with glasses, but there was an annoying protrusion on the screw-in part and I was unable to screw it in.

The second-generation Summicron M 90mm body, which became the E49, is thought to only be available in black, so to use the second-generation Summicron with a Visoflex, you will need to prepare a helicoid, focusing adapter 16462, black. This helicoid can also be used with the Elmarit M 135mm.

The E49/2nd Summicron and the Elmarit M 135mm with glasses are from the same generation, the Summicron was released in 1963 and the Elmarit in 1962, and both have the same helicoid and can be used with the Visoflex, which is one of the reasons why the first Summicron and the E49 Summicron are separated into generations.

It is a little strange that the adapter model numbers are reversed, 16462 for the second Summicron and 16463 for the first Summicron, but I do not have any information to explain the reason.

The third Summicron had a filter diameter of E55 and a modern appearance. The lens and helicoid were integrated, and the mechanism for attaching it to the Visoflex separately was eliminated. The lens structure is also the same as the Summicron R 90mm. The hood remains the same, being built-in, but the shape of the hood is a simple, single-step cylindrical hood with no steps.

The OUEPO extension tube, which shortens the minimum shooting distance, is available in black and silver and can be used with both the 16463 and 16462 as it is a screw-in type.

The Leica Wiki in the reference link states that when attaching the first Summicron-M 90mm or the Elmarit-M 135mm with glasses to the VISOFLEX, the focusing adapter 16464 should be used, but the 16464 is an adapter used with the Elmar 65mm and cannot be used with the Summicron-M 90mm. In addition, the Leica Wiki also lists a photo of the exterior of the earliest SUMMICRON M90mm silver as a photo of the second-generation Summicron, so I think the Leica Wiki’s description is not complete.

The VISOFLEX mount has a long flange back and can be used with various mount adapters, and if you use a Leica R mount adapter, it can be used with R-type LEICA cameras. I wish there was an adapter that would allow the Leica S (flange back 53mm) to use M-type Visoflex lenses (flange back 69mm, estimated value), but unfortunately only mount adapters for L-type Visoflex lenses have been released. Since there is a gap of about 16mm between the Leica S and Viso M, if no one can make it, I will consider making one with a 3D printer.

Specifications

Item	Value	note
Focal length(mm)	90
Max aperture	2
Min aperture	16
Leaf blade	15
Lens Construction	5elements 6group
Min distance(m)	1.0	linked to camera rangefinder
Length(mm)	110	Distance from mount surface
Max diameter(mm)	66	Not include tripod stay
Filter size(mm)	48	E48
Weight(g)	660
Release year	1953

Reference links

SUMM ICRON-M 90mm F2 -1st @Leica wiki(English )
SUMM ICRON-M 90mm F2-2nd @Leica wiki(English )
Classic Camera Selection Book 19 How to Identify Leica Lenses (Asahi Sonorama)
- It describes the specifications and the differences between the specifications, and there is no mention of lens description.
- A lens configuration diagram is included in the appendix.

Update history

2024.9.8
2024.05.01
2023.06.06

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