good deal on 50mm / 3.5 Elmar?

[yossarian123]

I was wondering if this was a good deal. I won a 50/3.5 on the 'bay for $170, I think it may have been because of the Lieca misspelling. Anything look shady about the lens or does it seem legitimate? The only thing that seemed strange to me was the 50mm (instead of 5cm) focal length, was 50mm ever used for the Elmar? And since I'm still new to the Leica system, is this a good price for the lens?

(I would have asked this question earlier, but I didn't want someone to swoop in and steal my potential deal 🙂 )

http://cgi.ebay.com/NICE-LIECA-ELMA...13626916?pt=Camera_Lenses&hash=item3369848e24

 

[FrankS]

Here is a pic of my echt Elmar and my ersatz Elmar (FED). I'm a bit worried about the mm marking. Hopefully for you, Leitz switched from this earlier example. The location of the diaphram would be conclusive.

 

[agricola]

It looks legit.
Mine is nickel from 1932 and has the 50mm marking.
The serial number (if it has one - it's said some early ones did not) is on that brass ring the aperture control slides around. Once you know the serial number you can date it.
The only thing that seems to differ from mine is the style of the press button on the infinity lock lever.
Don't know about the price. I suppose that depends on condition. Some seem to fetch well over $US200
best of luck

 

[FrankS]

On the real Elmar, the diaphram blades are located just behind the front element. On the FSU lens the diaphram is located deeper into the lens, farther back from the front element.

 

[FrankS]

In the second picture from the ad, the diaphram looks like it's right behind the front element. You did good!

 

[Melvin]

Looks legit to me. Hard to imagine an ersatz lens with all that wear. 50mm is correct.

Be really careful about cleaning it. Don't ever wipe the glass, or otherwise put pressure on it. Gently mop it after blowing off excess dust, and avoid cleaning it at all, if possible. They are really fragile.

 

[yossarian123]

Sweet, so I'm probably looking at a real Elmar. Thanks for the help, it's probably not a super smoking deal, but I think BGNs on KEH were selling for the mid-200s.

Is flare a big issue with this lens? Should I start looking for a hood (FIKUS?) now?

 

[agricola]

I've found that my old Elmar worked really well without a hood. But that was not in testing conditions (although the Beach Umbrellas in my gallery was probably as bright as you would ever get).
So I have just acquired a VALOO, the lens shade originally designed to be clipped to the Elmar when it was used as an enlarger lens (true!).
If you are using an exposure meter with the modern aperture values this gadget can save some time. However I recently discovered that a popular iPhone exposure meter app can be set to read in 1/3rd stops and voila! the f6.3 and so on come up on screen. Very handy.
The VALOO is a funny looking thing but works well and the front surface of the Elmar is very recessed and well protected. The other hood I have that also works well is call a FISON. Look for photos of them in the Leica Wiki.

 

[yossarian123]

(UPDATE)

Well, that didn't work out. I'm going to contact the seller later tonight, but basically the lens as delivered is non-functional. The aperture tab is frozen (not stiff like described), focus feels "gritty" and there's a ton of accumulated gunk around the focusing helix. There's also a pretty good amount of haze and possibly a spot of fungus to go along with some surface scratches. Certainly not a huge surprise given the age of the lens, but also not how the lens was described.

So...given this info, I'm leaning towards sending this in to Youxin for a CLA. Any idea on how much I'd be charged for something like this? I'd like for the seller to refund at least a partial amount to help pay for a CLA, I think it's the least he could do.

 

[hendriphile]

Bummer. I guess the seller's inability to spell the lens manufacturer's name was a red flag... but then the retrospectoscope is always sharp. Best of luck with that seller.

 

[yossarian123]

😱 :bang:

I just emailed Youxin, he said he could do a CLA for $40. I'll take him up on the offer and see if the seller will contribute with a refund. Knowing how ebay works, I'd be surprised. But it doesn't hurt.

Bummer. I guess the seller's inability to spell the lens manufacturer's name was a red flag... but then the retrospectoscope is always sharp. Best of luck with that seller.

 

[Brian Legge]

Hah, had I known his prices were that low, I may have sent him an Elmar I had instead of offering it as part of a trade yesterday. I actually valued it at $170 in the trade based on the recently sold values on ebay... of which your was the closest in condition. 🙂

The local places I'd checked with wanted about $120 minimum to touch it. I couldn't justify holding on to it at that price, particularly as I've been using the Summar more anyway.