Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/10/21
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Folks - Just when you thought you knew (or at least have heard) all there is to be said about the various 50 Summicrons I have a question about a possible contemporary variant. A highly regarded authority has told me that if you get a collapsible 'cron with a squeaky-clean front element it's very likely that it's been replaced with a new one which "may not match the original optics". Whether this means that the glass and/or its curvatures are different from the original or that Leitz may have done more component-to-component matching in the days of yore I don't know. I have such a lens, which I use for my daily knockaround rig, and I'm quite happy with the results (at f4 and smaller, anyway). My questions are as follows: 1. Does anyone know the specifics on this issue? 2. Do we think the replaced element might have a harder coating that the original, thereby freeing me to ditch the dreaded UV filter that's been living on this thing? I suppose I could send it off to John Van Stelton, who I'm sure would have some pretty definitive answers. But instead of being without my everyday eye on the world around me for an unknown period of time, I hereby query the LUG at Large... Bob Palmieri