Legacy Lenses 4 - Leica Leitz Summicron-R 50mm F2

The Summicron 50 is a very successful design from Leica and it's around since 1953, appearing first in Leica 39mm thread mount (39mm LTM). There are so many versions of this lens that it's beyond the purpose of this post to discuss them. The important thing is that this lens is available in LTM, M and R mount. LTM and M are for Leica rangefinder lenses and the R version for SLR.

The original Summicron LTM/M from 1953 was a 7-elements/6-groups design then changed to a 6/4 formula and again to an 8/5 formula for the aspherical version. There is also an APO (apochromatic) version, but I'll stick with the R version I had.

Leica Summicron R 50mm F2

Like ALL Leica lenses, the construction and the optical standard are top-notch. This lens is extremely sharp from edge to edge even at F 2.8, with excellent contrast and very high resolution.

I used it firstly with my Leica R6 and then as a mid-telephoto lens on a Sigma SD15 camera (APS sized sensor). The combination of the Foveon sensor and the "Cron 50" was a killer. My SD15 was converted from the Sigma SA mount to the Leica R mount by installing a custom-made mount from Sigmacumlaude.com.

I also used it for a while with the Pentax K5-II, by changing the lens R mount for a Pentax K mount from Leitax.

I sold this lens some years ago. Today I wonder how would it perform with my Sony A7-II...