Elmar on Hexar

[Shadrash]

Hi All, sorry iif this has been asked before, I did a search and could not find anything. Can the Leica 50mm f2.8 Elmar (modern) be fullly colapsed on the Hexar RF?

Been thinking of this lens for a while, think it would be a nice package with the Hexar RF.

Thanks

 

[laptoprob]

Welcome Shadrash,

If the modern Elmar collapses as much as the old Elmar 90, it will not fully collapse into the body.
I haven't tried the old Elmar 50's yet but I think they are small enough.

So, figure out how much the new Elmar 50 collapses...

cheers, Rob.

 

[Huck Finn]

Shadrash, I don't know the answer to your question. However, I think that it would be "yes." Consider the following:

1. On his website, Stephen Gandy indicates that the modern 50 Elmar is fully collapsible on the Bessa R2.

2. The body of the Hexar RF is deeper than the body of the R2 (35 mm vs 33.5 mm).

3. Because the motor-driven shutter of the Hexar RF resets itself instantly, it does not need or have a second set of light protection shutter curtains that the Bessa shutter does. This means that there is even additional room in the Hexar RF body because the shutter isn't as thick as the Bessa shutter.

4. In his discussion of the Hexar RF on his website, Dante Stella addresses the issue of collapsible shutters - although not this one. Both the collapsible 50 Summicron & the 50/3.5 Industar collapse fully. He just warns not to jam them in & that the Industar stops very close to the shutter assembly.

5. Finally, the older 50 Elmar does have a problem collapsing on some bodies, but the current Elmar does not, so it does not collapse as deep into the body as the older one does.

You can get a definitive answer to this question by contacting Greg Weber, Konica repair, specialist via e-mail (gweber@webercamera.com). His website is www.webercamera.com.

Huck

 

[Jason Sprenger]

I'd be wary of depending on the collapsibility of the Elmar M in a non-Leica camera.

I have the new Elmar M 50/2.8 and on a Bessa R2a and it almost collapses completely. It's so close that I thought it wasn't touching the back until after some weeks riding in my bag, I noticed paint on the interior wearing away in a tell-tale pattern.

Taking the lens and putting it on the fabulous Leica M2 that I got from ferider here, I could quickly see that it collapses just a hair more on the M2 than on the R2a.

I'm thinking if I put a buffer on the lens barrel like an elastic band gals use on their hair, the lens would collapse fine without rubbing on the inside.

Whether you choose to collapse it or not, the Elmar M is a nice, sharp, flat field lens, modern but not in contrasty way.

All in all, I bought the Elmar M for collapsibility but I'm keeping it for the look.

 

[wlewisiii]

I'm thinking if I put a buffer on the lens barrel like an elastic band gals use on their hair, the lens would collapse fine without rubbing on the inside.

That's what I do to keep my Elmarski (I-22) from collapsing too far on my CL. It works quite well and still gives most of the benifit.

William

 

[KoNickon]

The 50/3.5 Heliar collapses fully on my Hexar, seemingly with room to spare. I'd be surprised if the Elmar couldn't collapse the whole way too.

 

[Shadrash]

Hi, thanks for all the replies. I will send a quick email to gweber@webercamera.com, but I think I will go for the Elmar... I really don't need another 50mm, but looking at the pics by members of this forum, and the actual look and feel of the lens are both selling me on it.

 

[wlewisiii]

That should be a pleasant lens for you to use. When you get it, open the back and use a cable release to lock the shutter open on B (unless you're lucky and the Hexar has a T function like my Canon 7 🙂 ) and then mount the lens fully extended. Then slowly collapse it watching to see if it hits anything. If it does, get an elastic hair band and wrap it around the barrel appropriately. If not, you're home free like me with the I-22 on the 7 mentioned above.

Good luck and have fun!

William