Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/12/27
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Bob - Oh how right you are - my wife was once like that also - but she has improved with age. Seriously though, my first Leica was a lllf with a Summarit , bought in 1955 from Bill Orme, the then head of the the Camera Dept. I had it for about 25 years and it never did have any fog in it. Actually I kept it on my desk as a paper weight, as all the photo-journalists that I met at Warner Bros. Studio were using the new Nikkor 50/1.4 LTM lenses, which I quickly switched to. Ironically, I have here in front of me an absolutely Mint Summarit #1358054, which appears virginal, except that the inner elements are fogged up and will have to get professionally cleaned since I know from experience that if the fog is caused by oil condensation, it will eventually come back even after being cleaned. Both Marc Small & Don Chatterton have attributed this "Leica 50's Fog" to the type of animal oils that were used. The Japanese lenses of the same period seem to free from this phenomena. Marc & I probabably have over 200 LTM lenses combined & his experiece is that lenses are less prone to fogging in Virginia than in California --- and all this time I thought that the fog was caused by the hot breath of all the glamour pusses that I have pointed my lens at. Happy New Year, Marvin (Foggy) Moss =========================================================== In a message dated 97-12-28 01:55:23 EST, you write: << Lenses in general are unpredictable. Sometimes one exposure to humidity and condensation can begin a process of deterioration. My Summarit's only problem was that it was made to such close tolerances that it was difficult to focus. I sent it to Leitz some years ago. They either removed some of the lubrication or replaced it with a thinner type and now it works just fine. Bob >>