Leica LTM what's the difference between "nickel" and "chrome" old elmar 50 3.5 LTM

Leica M39 screw mount bodies/lenses
roundg

roundg

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what's the difference between "nickel" and "chrome" old elmar 50 3.5 LTM

I saw some so called "nickel 11o'clock "on ebay asking for 400+ usd. What the specialty of these version?

I have an un-coated elmar. It produces very vintage look which reminds me the pictures taken before 1950's. Is it the charming factor of this lens?
 
If you're asking ahout the plating specifically, nickel plating has a warmer look to it, where as chrome plating is a cooler, more neutral color. I'm pretty sure a nice nickel elmar would be quite uncommon.
 
The nickel Elmar, being an early lens, is uncoated. The "11 O'clock" designation makes an Elmar the earliest of the early. It means that the infinity position of the focusing tab rests closer to the top plate than to the bottom plate. A nickel Elmar is desirable for use on an early Leica, such as a II, in order to match the nickel plated finish on the camera's controls, such as the winding knob. Thus they are nice for collecting purposes. From a user standpoint, an older lens can be used to contribute to the impression of a photo taken some years ago. People use both uncoated and older coated lenses, such as the Elmar, Summarit, Xenon, Summar, and so on for this purpose. The extent to which the appearance of a photo from the '40's or '50's can be mimicked is somewhat limited by the films and papers available now, being not the same as those from an earlier time. But the effect is nevertheless real, as you have discovered through your own observation!
 
Thanks for the detailed info, my friends, especially to Rob-F.

Now I know my elmar is an early uncoated version, but not the nickel. My experience with the lens is that it's bit soft when wide open and it does produce a very vintage looking picture.
 
What's the cosmetic difference between the nickel and chrome one?
Say if I want to get one from eBay, how do I tell the elmar is an uncoated nickel?
 
The 11 o clock elmar doesn't work well on M cameras, because the focus lock won't clear the lens mount release button on the camera. It will work but you would have to set the focus, before mounting the lens, to either close or far range.
$400 is way too much. I paid ~$260 with a nice Leica II attached.

Mine has a small "O" engraved next to the focus lock, the focus lock knob is finely knurled, and the dof indicator ring is brushed nickel, the rest of the lens plain nickel. Stops from f3.5 to f18. Scale in meters, "mtr".
 
Optically, no difference with other uncoated Elmars. I have one, but it very worn. Must have been dropped at some point, the helical is loose and the RF couplng is affected. Came with a Black Leica III that I picked up for $15.
 
I've only got a Nickle 35mm Elmar, but no early Leica to go with it. A Leica I or Standard will probably be the next on the list of things to get :p
 
axiom said:
What's the cosmetic difference between the nickel and chrome one?
Say if I want to get one from eBay, how do I tell the elmar is an uncoated nickel?
Click to expand...

You can tell by the patina of the metal. Just as a silver spoon looks "warmer" than a stainless steel one, Nickel is warmer than chrome.

Nickel Elmars were available up to about 1936. Early Elmars were not marked, at least not externally, with a serial number. My Nickel Elmar has no serial number. That's not to say that none of them do. Jim Lager's book shows two with serial numbers: an 11 O'clock # 122694; and a 7 O'clock # 187569. The serial number on an Elmar is easy to miss: it's engraved (if there is one) on the thin dark ring surrounding the front element.

Happy Collecting!

Rob
 
Word to the wise - The " 11 o'clock Elmar " ( and probably the 2,5 Hektor too ) don't work well on the Leica III: the focus tab will not lock at "Inf" due to clearance problems with the slow-speed knob.

This is ( one of the reasons ) why the Inf lock was moved down to "8 o' clock" ...

The 3,5 - 4,5 - 6,3 - 9 - 12,6 -18 f-stop scale was "standard", once upon a time, on the European continent... it is more commonly known as the "Continental scale".

I have an 11 o'clock nickel Elmar (s/n 99xxx) that came with my Leica D (s/n 77xxx). Nice old lens.
 
All I need to know is which is the cheapest uncoated Elmar... ;) Ah, well, I'll find one I can afford someday :D

William
 
Melvin said:
Works fine on a III f, though.
Click to expand...

Really ?

I never thought to try my "11 NE " on my IIIf....

I tried it out on my black III, thinking "how cool"... which quickly changed to "aw, nuts ! " ;)


So, I would guess that the 11 o'clock lenses should also work on the IIIc Leica ?


Thanks Melvin !

LF
 
Hello,


I was wondering if someone can tell me whether the lens I have is a nickel or chrome Elmar. The photo is below. Thanks!
 

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    Elmar_35.1.jpg
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Looks like nickel to me... typically a 'warmer' color than the silvery chrome finish.
 
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