Help identify this Leitz item?

[Omerhecht]

Can someone tell me what this item is?

 

[Miles.]

Close-up filter for 3.5cm/5cm Elmars.

 

[Omerhecht]

Thanks!

 

[Richard G]

How do you use it?

 

[Coldkennels]

How do you use it?

Screw-in to the front of the Elmar, lock the lens at infinity, ensure the distance to subject is correct for the close-up filter, shoot. Apparently there was once a table that allowed you to translate various working distances to the lens' focusing scale, but without that table, this is going to be your best bet.

There were also some legs that could be fixed to the front of the lens which acted as a stand (for copy work), showed the distance the lens was focusing at when locked to infinity, and defined the area that would be included in the photo. Later setups like the BOOWU swapped to using an extension ring between lens and camera rather than a filter but worked the same way.

Those legs resulted in one of the funniest photos I've ever seen in Leitz pamplets: someone holding a Leica and pointing it at a cat with those legs sticking out of the front for a close-focus shot. Sadly, I can't find it now - but I remember the cat looked as unimpressed as mine did when I tried to do the same with a BOOWU!

 

[Dralowid]

Yes, I looked at this and thought that it was indeed part of one of the kits involving legs of different length to match different close up lenses. Maybe three sets of legs, a clamping ring and three lenses in a nice red box.

Not BEHOO but maybe BEVOR, BEOOY??

Edit: Here we go, No2 lens with BEVOR legs. Set camera lens to 1m use upper index mark on BEVOR legs and picture area is 14 x 21cm.

This kind of information can be found in those old fashioned things called 'books'.

Used to be plentiful and cheap on Ebay

 

[Coldkennels]

Yes, I looked at this and thought that it was indeed part of one of the kits involving legs of different length to match different close up lenses. Maybe three sets of legs, a clamping ring and three lenses in a nice red box.

Not BEHOO but maybe BEVOR, BEOOY??

Edit: Here we go, No2 lens with BEVOR legs. Set camera lens to 1m use upper index mark on BEVOR legs and picture area is 14 x 21cm.

According to the guide I linked to earlier (https://www.cameramanuals.org/leica_pdf/leica_leitz_accessories_3.pdf), they were actually sold separately from the legs - at least in the US - with the code ELPIK for the No. 2 version. It also gives the following information for the No. 2 close-up lens: For distances from 21 9/16” to 15 15/16”, for objects of sizes 8 7/16” x 12 5/8” to 5 5/8” x 8 1/2”.

But I just noticed this isn't a No. 2, but a No. 2*. I know the asterisk denotes something, but I can't for the life of me remember what - and the Leica Accessory Guide on Butkus' site doesn't go into detail on that.
(Although I've noticed that some of the information in there on Focoslide adapters is wrong, so I can't say I'm surprised.)

I think I recall seeing somewhere that the asterisk shows that they were made for the post-standardisation lenses, and not having the asterisk means they should only be used on the fixed-lens Leica I... but I might be making that up.

 

[Dralowid]

Dunno...maybe...it is all lost in the mists of time...

Asterisk on a body after the serial number denoted an early factory conversion. They stopped doing this quite early on. Maybe it was also used on lenses that were originally fixed and had been converted to interchangeable and standardised?

Maybe?

 

[Dralowid]

...and...didn't they use an asterisk on some of the prototype Summitar or Summicron lenses?

Maybe?

 

[Vince Lupo]

...and...didn't they use an asterisk on some of the prototype Summitar or Summicron lenses?

Maybe?

An asterisk denoted a duplicate serial number. No idea what it could possibly mean on this close-up lens - Jo Geier has the ‘3’ version of this closeup lens for sale and it too has an asterisk.

 

[Richard G]

2* is likely 2x. Used in mathematics, in formulae.

 

[Coldkennels]

2* is likely 2x. Used in mathematics, in formulae.

I don't think so, because the filter in question "reduces [the object being photographed] from 8.9 to 6.0 times", and the 1* and 3* filters similarly don't match a "1x" or "3x" reproduction ratio.

 

[Richard G]

Thanks for settling that proposal.

 

[Coldkennels]

Bingo! From early? LTM Diopter -

Early Elmars had a fine filter thread, which was more coarse in later Elmars, after about camera SN 9500. The close up lenses for the later ones should be marked with an asterisk.