elmarit...? Sumicron....?

Elmarit - f/2.8
Summicron - f/2
Summilux - f/1.4

A bit of research and you could have answered it yourself.
 
Gustav, I too found these names confusing when I was new to rangefinders & I didn't know where to look to find the answers. SLR lenses don't use names to designate their maximum apertures.

At one time, lens manufacturers used names such as these to designate a certain lens design. Carl Zeiss is the only company that seems to still do this. So, when you see a name on a Zeiss lens, it does not designate the maximum aperture. For example, you can find Zeiss "Biogon" lenses at f/2, f/2.8, etc. Same thing with Zeiss Sonnars, which can be found at f/1.5, f/2, f/2.8, etc.

Cosina has taken an even looser approach with lens names than Leica. Rather than designating a maximum aperture, the names seem to mean very fast (Nokton), fast (Ultron), moderately fast to slow (Skopar & Heliar) with the actual apertures varying depending on the specific lens.

It sure can be confusing. :rolleyes:
 
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But then, what do the names mean? How do manufacturers come up with these names?

Summicron. Nokton. Biogon. What language is that? Lensish? :D

Anders
 
All of these names do have a history & it's interesting to read about them. Some of the names are frivolous, such as Leitz "Hektor," which legendary lens designer Max Berek took from the name of his dog. In other cases, the name was chosen to convey some characteristic of the lens, for example, Zeiss "Sonnar," which is taken from the word for sun because this breakthrough lens design was so bright. In other cases, it referred to the lens design itself, such as "Triotar," which was a name given to a lens of triplet design.

The name "Summicron" is puported to come from the words "summi" for summit (of lens performance) & "chroma" for color.

The name "Elmarit" is a derivation of "Elmax," which was a combination of the initials E.L. (Ernst Leitz) & the first name of lens designer Max Berek. The Elmax was the original 50/3.5 lens for the first production small format Leica camera in 1925. The lens was replaced a year later with a more cost effective design, also 50/3.5, & to specifiy the different design, the name was modified to Elmar. Later, it became Elmarit to designate a lens of f/2.8 maximum aperture.

Cheers,
Huck
 
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I must admit I only knew the Hektor story. There's a story behind the Leica name, being made up from Leitz and Camera. Am I right? :confused:
 
Right on the money, Solares. :) Lei(tz)ca(mera).

Ooops, I overlooked the fact that Gustav also asked about "Summilux." Same use of "summi" as in Summicron + "lux" for light. Roughly translated, it means "enhanced light gathering."
 
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Wow, cool Huck! O.K., let me try....."Nooky Hesum", Nooky means......ummm....maybe I shouldn't, after all this is a family show :D .

Todd
 
Huck, one thing I know for sure:

Summicron is named after the type of glass used to make the first version of Summicron 50. In 1952 this Thorium-free Lanthanium crown glass LaK9 (Kron-Glas in German) was invented. The name Summicron pays tribute to this new glass type.

Source: the 50 Jahre Summicron book comes with the lens I've got.

I read about this summit and chroma or lux thingy on P.net a while back; I never really believed it and it was proven unreliable information.
 
Thanks, Kris. I stand corrected. As a history lover, I enjoy these conversations because it always brings new thing s to light. My information was from Andrew Nemeth's "Glossary of Leica Terms." Your explanation makes more sense, although it's certainly true that some lens names were derived this way. The dog story, as frivolous as it sounds, is certainly true & can be found in Ghester Sartorius's 1999 book on Leica lenses, among others.
 
New Leica 50mm lens!

New Leica 50mm lens!

Let's help Leica name the comming replacement of the now aged ;) 50mm Summicron design!

My proposal:

50mm f/2 Savior

Anders
 
Now lets speculate a bit.
The Nokton comes from the Greek word Nykta which means Night meaning that it can shoot in darkness.
 
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