40/2.8 elmarit-c

[aizan]

check out this pic:

http://www.geocities.jp/dental2l/4129005.jpg

first time i've heard of it. guess it was made for the leica cl.

 

[dcsang]

Ya.. according to this thread on Pnet:
http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00Dcbv

There were apparently only 500 of them made thereby making them extremely rare.

Dave

 

[richard_l]

It doesn't ring a bell. It's probably a CL lens as you surmise. It looks very similar to the 40mm Summicron-C and Minolta M-Rokkor. Maybe somebody with a lens book can help.

 

[rover]

There was a conversation here about this lens at some point. I forget the conclusion, it was a prototype not pursued because

A) Leica didn't want to support the CL/CLE cameras
or
B) Because it was not up to snuff regarding optical quality

I believe it is mentioned on the Cameraquest site somewhere.

 

[Alec]

Yes it is :
"40/2.8 Elmarit-C This was intended as an inexpensive alternative to the 40/2 Summicron for the Leica CL. It was never officially sold to the public. A set of 500 numbers were allocated by the factory, from 2 512 601 to 2 513 100. As the factory finally decided not to market it, lenses already made were sold in 1972 – 1973 very cheap to employees of Leitz (Leica). Information provided by Mr. Horst Braun, Manager of Leica Repairs. "

http://www.cameraquest.com/mlenses.htm

This looks like a pure collector's item ! Pity, as it is really flatter than a pancake.

 

[Roman]

Yes, the same info is in the 'Leica Taschenbuch' (7th ed.) - and a comment by the notorious nudie-Puts, that it was not that good optically (soft at the edges, even stopped down).

Roman

 

[Alec]

Targeted google search is amazingly efficient :
http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=002dMk

(As a side note, I am afraid I'll never fully recover from selling my first generation Summilux Aspherical 35 on the cheap (so to speak) in 1993...)

 

[Graybeard]

The lens is listed in Rogiatti's book on Leica and Leicaflex lenses.

The lens was evidently intended to be a lower cost optic for the CL but was soon displaced by the 40mm Summicron f2.