Elmar-M 50mm 2.8 II

shawn said:
Interesting, any idea how this varies over the production run of the lenses? My silver 1994 Elmar-M has rear elements that are coated.
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The serial number of my Elmar-M is: 36684XX; the serial number of my Color-Skopar is: 92210XX. The reflection of the uncoated elements is white; the reflection of the other elements is brightly colored.


Erik.
 
LeicaM3/Elmar-M50mm/2.8/TMY400/IlfordMGFB

Erik.

50204112993_eba0a831fd_b.jpg
 
Erik van Straten said:
It is an extremely sharp lens.
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Certainly seems to be; but can it really be as sharp as the best of the Summicron versions, or the Carl Zeiss Planar? After all, since they have more elements, they ought to be more highly corrected. (Then again, the Elmar is a stop slower, so easier to correct.)
 
This was one of my 1st images w/ver 2..
I was amazed how saturated the color was right out of A7..and that it is good in closeup too..
Just the right amount of resolution and punch..
amcy3ZS.jpg
 
Owing in part to the best work on this thread, I acquired mine in recent horse trading with another RFFer. I have mostly used it with film, but am a year behind in development (but determined to do it in my Lab Pro (also recent).

Thanks for the inspiring work. Here’s an example from a farm museum, M246.

med_U45148I1581261773.SEQ.0.jpg
 
I mostly shot black and white film with this lens, but it renders color and digital beautifully and gracefully as well.

M1004919.jpg


M10 with Elmar-M 50/2.8.

Erik,

Interestingly, my copy from 2001 has a very neutral reflection tint on the rear element. Ever so slight warmer tone maybe, but nothing purple, blue, green like other coated elements.
 
coelacanth said:
I mostly shot black and white film with this lens, but it renders color and digital beautifully and gracefully as well.

M10 with Elmar-M 50/2.8.

Erik,

Interestingly, my copy from 2001 has a very neutral reflection tint on the rear element. Ever so slight warmer tone maybe, but nothing purple, blue, green like other coated elements.
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Mine too; it seems to be uncoated. My Color-Skopar 50mm f/2.5 has the same. I presume this is done to keep the contrast moderate. Too much contrast is good for nothing. I sold my Summicron 50mm v4 because it was too contrasty.
Or else it is a kind of colorless coating, I've never heard of such a thing, but anything is possible. Strange that both lenses, from different manufacturers, have this ...
Beautiful picture, Sug.

Erik.
 
I don't suppose any lens could have more contrast than was present in the original scene. You never see an MTF graph that has more than 100% contrast on the Y axis, at which point what comes out is the same as what went in. But evidently what the version II has, is optimum contrast. Optimum, for what? For black and white film, where too much contrast might exceed the film's dynamic range? Or that of the paper?

But then color film, and camera sensors, have dynamic range limitations too. Still, higher contrast lenses are said to be preferred for color photography, with the explanation that they can separate subtle differences in colors. In my mind, that somehow clashes with the fact that color transparency film is more limited in dynamic range--latitude--compared to black and white films. Our monitors have that limitation too, and yet shots taken with the Version II Elmar always look fabulous on my iMac, whether color or black and white.

Maybe the lens's signature is due to something elusive and hard to measure or describe. Like one's preference for a certain speaker or amplifier that measures no better than a less preferred one.

Whatever. I do like the photos I see that were made with this lens. I will probably get one.
 
Erik van Straten said:
Some Elmar-M lenses, mine for instance, have the rear elements uncoated...Erik.
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Interesting observation, Eric.

My lens is number 37272xx. When I shine a strong light into the rear element the largest reflection is strong cerise with a secondary, smaller reflection of blue, exactly the same colours and characteristic as the front element.

If your observation is correct that some 50mm Elmar-Ms had uncoated rear elements I would be interested to learn when this was in the lens’ manufacture.

As I understand it production was from 1994 - 2007, beginning with #3668031 (Leica Pocket Book 8th Edition). Alas, I can’t find the production total.
 
Brian Atherton said:
If your observation is correct that some 50mm Elmar-Ms had uncoated rear elements I would be interested to learn when this was in the lens’ manufacture.

As I understand it production was from 1994 - 2007, beginning with #3668031 (Leica Pocket Book 8th Edition). Alas, I can’t find the production total.
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Mine is 3668458, so a very early one.

The observation that the rear element is not coated, is also made by others.

When you look in the lens from the front, you'll see that the deepest reflection, a very large reflection of the window, is not colored (it shows its natural colors), and when you look from the rear, you'll see that the uppermost reflection is a very small reflection of the same window, but in its natural colors too.

Erik.
 
Compared to Summicron (don't know about APO), Elmar-M (II) is extremely flare resistant from my personal experience, but you do need to be picky about filter choice if you use one.
 
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