[Leica] 50mm ZM C-Sonnar

[wanderjan at gmail.com (Jan Decher)]

Chris,
I had put my e-mail in the B&H notification last year and the lens became
briefly available (in chrome)  in February, but I could not move having
just bought a used 500mm Tele-Tessar for my SL66.  I heard the Tsunami was
to blame, although I could not find detailed information on the situation
at the Cosina factory online (anyone read Japanese here?).
Friends who are currently in Japan for a year confirm that all aspects of
life there are still affected by the catastrophe with resulting power and
other supply shortages and fear of food contamination etc.
Cosina used to put out a new classically styled lens every few months
(usually refllected on Stephen Gandy's Cameraquest offerings) but there has
not been much in months now.   I surely hope they are working on a digital
"Zeiss Ikon" as an alternative to the M9 for some of us "lesser
folks"...;-).
Jan

From: Chris Crawford <chris at chriscrawfordphoto.com>
To: "Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org>" <lug at leica-users.org>
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2012 19:59:52 -0400
Jan,
No one has the C-Sonnar in stock. B&H, Adorama, and Popflash are all out
of stock and have been for a very long time. There are a couple on ebay
selling for a lot more than mine. Eventually, hopefully, ZM lenses will
become easy to find again, but for now this lens is damn near impossible
to get in the United States :D~
--
Chris Crawford