Does any one know...

[leica M2 fan]

when this Carl Zeiss 50/1.5 in chrome was made: 18864xx? I just came across it at a reasonable price. It's in tremendous shape and I'll be shooting with it tomorrow. 🙂

 

[leica M2 fan]

I did some searching on this same site and I believe the year was 1936. For 73 years old this lens is in fantastic shape. It is coated, probably after market since the lens doesn't have the Red "T".

 

[ZeissFan]

Is this a 5cm lens or a 50mm lens? Is it marked Carl Zeiss or Carl Zeiss Jena? And what's the aperture range? Also, what's the physical construction -- what does it look like?

 

[leica M2 fan]

Mike, thanks for your response:

The lens has 50mm inscribed and marked Carl Zeiss. The aperture range is 1.5- 16 with no click stops and has 11 leaves in the diaphragm. The lens is chrome and very solid and heavy.

 

[dexdog]

ZeissFan asked the questions needed to ID the lens. Lenses marked Carl Zeiss are post-WW2, made in Oberkochen, West Germany. They are not engraved with a red T because at this point in time, all Zeiss lenses were coated. Also, the switch from 5cm to 50mm focal length is a post-war thing. The change from lenses marked Zeiss-Opton to Carl Zeiss happened in 1954, so yours is later than this date. I am away from home, so can't look your lens up in my copy of John Keesing's book to see if the date of manufacture can be narrowed down.

 

[leica M2 fan]

Thanks Dexdog for your input. It would be good to know when this lens was made and where. Thanks again.