Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/07/18

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Fair Trade Laws
From: Marc James Small <msmall@roanoke.infi.net>
Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2001 22:24:28 -0400
References: <3.0.6.32.20010718191036.008e7bd0@pop.infi-net.mindspring.com>

At 07:45 PM 7/18/01 -0400, Dante Stella wrote:
>
>On Wed, 18 Jul 2001, Marc James Small wrote:
>
>> Gee, maybe someone should write a book about these lenses!
>
>Marc, some old geezer beat you to the punch.  Oh... yeah... forgot!
>
>Any idea how many 2" Amotals or Jena Sonnars were sold after the war?  I
>can't imagine it was too many.  Or someone killed all of those lenses.

Now, that IS a good question.  Some modern researchers believe the Sonnars
were actually assembled in the Soviet Union, from spare Zeiss optics looted
from Jena, but I'm not certain if I buy this tale.  But the total numbers
could not have been great, and the known serial numbers fall all over the
place, indicating sporadic production in LTM, if these were Jena-made.

The tale on the Amotal is that these lenses were mounted in Italy from
lenses made surplus when the Bell & Howell Foton went out of production.
The lens mount is incredibly crude but does work.  Some of these lenses
were also made in Contax RF BM.  I have heard a production figure of 500
lenses but don't know if this is accurate.

Marc

msmall@roanoke.infi.net  FAX:  +540/343-7315
Cha robh bąs fir gun ghrąs fir!

In reply to: Message from Marc James Small <msmall@roanoke.infi.net> ([Leica] Fair Trade Laws)