Leica Showcase Leitz 50mm f/2 Summitar

Of course, when no blades intercept light, there is no effect then.
Do the extra blades give a better looking OOF effect?
 
10-bladed war-time Summitar, Hawkeye traffic film

"Mom"
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The colors are more saturated in this shot- The grain still looks digital to me. Interesting.

The late-run Summitars reverted back to the Hexagon shaped/double set of aperture blades of the Summar. The only advantage that I can think of: reduce focus shift due to spherical aberration. My speculation- same reason that Zeiss Opton moved to the oddly shaped aperture shape.
 
The switch was somewhere in the early 1950s. I kinda figured it was because they wanted to get rid of some left-over stock of aperture parts, possibly from the Xenons or Summars, before introducing their new shiny summicrons.
 
Somme Area in France, earlier this year

1+100 Stand developement Fomapan 100 Classic in R09 "One-Shot". I was not using enough concentrate per roll of film in the tank unfortunately. So these are all rather dark and grainy. You live and learn...or at least you live.

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I just wish I had known about the 1/3rd-2/3rd of a stop sensitivity drop when developing Fomapan in Rodinal before hand.
I would've exposed the film accordingly (Like I did with the Leica IIIb test).
 
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Uncoated, 1939, 10 blades. Fomapan 100 ( Ro9 1+25 6.5minutes)




Coming back to the difference between the hexigonal or more rounded aperture openings. The shape of the 6-bladed design supposedly reduces vignetting at wider apertures.
 
I have a couple of Summitar filters, but I've only used the Y0 (GBOOM)
If I come across them at the Photographica Fair for the right price I sometimes pick them up.
But they're rarely at the right price. 20 Euro is too much in my opinion.

I think I've got a blue and green one lying around. I believe one wasn't even an original Leitz filter. Walz maybe.
 
DAG made me a filter adapter for the Summitar by taking an old Summitar filter with bad glass (which I supplied), removing the glass and gluing in a 39mm female thread. This worked nicely on the M8, where I needed to use an IR cut filter). He warned me that it might vignette on full-frame Leicas. I haven't tried yet. IIRC he recommended making a Summitar to 46mm adapter for film or full frame. This is probably something that any competetent and willing repair person could do.
 
Some Summitar photos from the "September Odyssey 1944-2019" trip last year.

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Getting the low-down from the Top Kick.

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Crossing the field

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Kameraden?

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"Get me that bridge!"

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Gearbox transplant

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Waiting for I&R and our platoon of scout cars. (stitched together from 3 images)

Leica IIIc, 5cm f/2 Summitar (uncoated, 10 blades), Fomapan 100
 
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