johannielscom
Snorting silver salts
Hi Marc,
Recently I've grown an interest in acquiring a wartime 35mm lens in Leica thread mount, simply for completing a set of WWII lenses. But, which companies produced such lenses, and were they even delivered to armed forces during WWII? Which 35mm lenses were made during WWII?
Recently I've grown an interest in acquiring a wartime 35mm lens in Leica thread mount, simply for completing a set of WWII lenses. But, which companies produced such lenses, and were they even delivered to armed forces during WWII? Which 35mm lenses were made during WWII?
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johannielscom
Snorting silver salts
Bump. Anybody else that can help me out?
FPjohn
Well-known
Hello:
You might check the Leitz serial number lists and production/sale date information in sources such as The Leica Pocket Book. f3.5 50mm Elmars, 90mm Elmars and Summitars were sold throughout the war.
yours
FPJ
You might check the Leitz serial number lists and production/sale date information in sources such as The Leica Pocket Book. f3.5 50mm Elmars, 90mm Elmars and Summitars were sold throughout the war.
yours
FPJ
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greyelm
Malcolm
I have a 1942 Summitar.
johannielscom
Snorting silver salts
Thanks so far, but I think there's the old 35mm vs 35mm confusion going on here. I'm looking for a 35mm focal length lens, for 135 size film 
sevo
Fokutorendaburando
I was just about to ask. Well, 35mm focal length might be a harder answer - even the experts may have to read that up. Wides were far from common at that time, and it will need a sighting of a actual 3.5cm from a known wartime serial block to positively identify they indeed produced some (vs. selling old stock, or assigning numbers for lenses they never made).
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FPjohn
Well-known
Hello:
The F3.5 Elmar 35mm was sold throughout the war according to the LPB.
yours
FPJ
The F3.5 Elmar 35mm was sold throughout the war according to the LPB.
yours
FPJ
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I have seen a Wartime Biogon 35/2.8 remounted to LTM. It was probably done after the War. The RF cam would not work with a regular pickup wheel on a Canon and others, it was too high. The lens could have been for a camera with a custom pickup. It "seemed" to me to be a J-12 prototype with the German optics module in it. That is as close as I have personally come to an LTM Wartime Biogon.
johannielscom
Snorting silver salts
Oh well, I think I can manage without a wartime 35mm lens. I got a 28mm, 50mm, 90mm in the mail. Nice triplet, right?
Thanks for all your replies!
Thanks for all your replies!
enasniearth
Well-known
Wartime 3.5 cm
Wartime 3.5 cm
Of course the 35 3.5 elmar is the easiest to locate , very few are coated
Most uncoated in meters .number under 600000 . Some in the late numbers delivered post surrender in 1945 and early. 1946
There were a small production run of 35 2.8 biogon in leica screw mount , think in the 271 serial number range , many lenses were contax mount and some remounted for leica .most t coated .
If my memory is correct zeiss biogon in leica screwmount aluminum mount was about 300-500 so rare . Many fakes now look for the shroud covering the edges of the rear elements with serial number stamped . These are the only ones with a chance of being real .
Still use caution with any wartime zeiss lens in leica mount . Lenses 3 mill serial and above are made at zeiss jena , however postwar . Exception is Russian lenses from parts that used similiar numbers . Some lenses assembled from optics genuine zeiss in Russia with aluminum barrels .
Read all posts online if you have an interest in zeiss in leica mount so you know what to look for .
Wartime 3.5 cm
Of course the 35 3.5 elmar is the easiest to locate , very few are coated
Most uncoated in meters .number under 600000 . Some in the late numbers delivered post surrender in 1945 and early. 1946
There were a small production run of 35 2.8 biogon in leica screw mount , think in the 271 serial number range , many lenses were contax mount and some remounted for leica .most t coated .
If my memory is correct zeiss biogon in leica screwmount aluminum mount was about 300-500 so rare . Many fakes now look for the shroud covering the edges of the rear elements with serial number stamped . These are the only ones with a chance of being real .
Still use caution with any wartime zeiss lens in leica mount . Lenses 3 mill serial and above are made at zeiss jena , however postwar . Exception is Russian lenses from parts that used similiar numbers . Some lenses assembled from optics genuine zeiss in Russia with aluminum barrels .
Read all posts online if you have an interest in zeiss in leica mount so you know what to look for .
JohnTF
Veteran
In the OP, you did not mention "only Leica" -- were the Kardons in LTM? I saw one and I believe it had a coated Kodak lens? I never heard of them until recently, but if I could pry one out of Igor's hands, it might join the other LTM in the collection.
One was mint- with a Signal Corps stamp on top. Beauty.
Regards, John
One was mint- with a Signal Corps stamp on top. Beauty.
Regards, John
johannielscom
Snorting silver salts
Thank you guys for posting all this. I'm keeping an eye open at all times to see if I run into something interesting and this is really helping!
EDIT: The Kardon lenses were only made in 1.9 inch, 47mm... and they are a bit expensive too...!
EDIT: The Kardon lenses were only made in 1.9 inch, 47mm... and they are a bit expensive too...!
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JohnTF
Veteran
Beauties though, but I would not bid against a friend-- I thought I recalled they were Kodak?
I think Igor bought all three?
I think I got a Zorki 4 at the last show tossed in with something else, I hear people generally sell the lenses separate and toss the bodies. ;-)
J
I have the 47mm F2 Ektar on a Retina II, made in 1946 according to CAMEROSITY. It is equivalent in performance to the Schneider 50/2 Xenon on my other Retina II. Got the Retina for $20, the way to get that lens cheap.
LeicaTom
Watch that step!
It's not a 35mm lens, but it's worth mentioning......this late "wartime" lens.
This is a lens that's pretty much on the *very rare hard to find scale* a 1945 Jos. Schneider Kreuznach Xenon f1.5/50............this lens along with the CZJ Sonnar T f1.5/50 and the Leitz Xenon f1.5/50 were the three fastest 35mm lenses in the world at that time in LTM.
(if you don't count that handful of f1.4/50 Biotar's Zeiss put out ca. 1932/33 in uncoupled rangefinder versions)
Tom
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JohnTF
Veteran
Brian, the lenses I saw on the Kardon seemed to have a nice looking blue coating, is it the same with the Retina? I have been a bit of a sucker for Retinas as well, which reminds me, I have a later one that needs shutter service.
Regards, John
dexdog
Veteran
I have a T-coated Biogon in LTM that Hartmut Theile's book shows as part of a batch completed in December 1945. Not quite "wartime" but close. I partially disassembled the lens, and found typical Zeiss-style internal number stampings. Also, the number on the rear lens element matches the name ring. All of the engraving on this lens matches the style found on my 1942 Biogon in Contax mount, as well as my other LTM Biogon with a wartime serial number (271XXXX). Mounts without a problem on a leica IIIc stepper as well as various bottom-feeder Canon and Nicca bodies.
By the way, the rear lens elements from the Contax and 2 LTM biogons can be swapped out interchangeably, although the Contax version won't allow mounting on the IIIc, Canon or Nicca. Anyway, this lens has a rear element that looks like the early silver J-12 in LTM. It would be interesting to examine a BK or 1950 J12 for comparison purposes.
By the way, the rear lens elements from the Contax and 2 LTM biogons can be swapped out interchangeably, although the Contax version won't allow mounting on the IIIc, Canon or Nicca. Anyway, this lens has a rear element that looks like the early silver J-12 in LTM. It would be interesting to examine a BK or 1950 J12 for comparison purposes.
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