Leica KE-7A + Elcan 50mm f/2.0 kit lens [for US Military] Photos

[KEVIN-XU 愛 forever]

This is another rare find of the year. Leica KE-7A + Elcan 50mm f/2.0. The kit lens Elcan 50mm f2 become one of my favorite 50mm lenses. I was amazed by its performance, as it only uses four elements. Some people even say it is on par with APO lens.


In 1972, Ernst Leitz Canada produced 460 pieces of KE-7A (M4 Schwz, black chrome) acquired by the US military, with contract numbers engraved on the back of the top cover. Usually, the KE-7A comes with a kit lens, Elcan 50mm f/2.0 with special C42-LS.39F hood.

KE-7As were fitted with modified shutters to operate in temperatures to -20 degrees Fahrenheit, were dust sealed for military field conditions and made to withstand explosive concussion (i.e. bomb blast).

Elcan 50mm f/2.0 lens was made in 1972 to fit the KE-7A. This very special lens uses infrared-absorbing glass made with lanthanum, a radioactive element that helps achieve an exceptionally high refractive index for heat control in making the optics. Elcan 50/2 only uses 4 lenses (called formula, 276), all air-spaced. My all-time favorite lens designer, Walter Mandler was one of the Elcan 50 designers. The production model provides the first lens in lanthanum Crown glass Lak9, the second in Leitz glass, the third in dense Flint glass and the fourth in lanthanum Flint glass.

Cheers,
Kevin


Leica KE-7A + Elcan 50mm f/2.0 [for US Military] by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr

Leica KE-7A + Elcan 50mm f/2.0 [for US Military] by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr

Leica KE-7A + Elcan 50mm f/2.0 [for US Military] by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr

Leica KE-7A + Elcan 50mm f/2.0 [for US Military] by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr

Leica KE-7A + Elcan 50mm f/2.0 [for US Military] by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr

 

[KEVIN-XU 愛 forever]

All the photos were taken with Leica M10 + Elcan 50mm f/2.0


Elcan 50mm f/2.0 (KE-7A Kit Lens) by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr


Elcan 50mm f/2.0 (KE-7A Kit Lens) by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr


Elcan 50mm f/2.0 (KE-7A Kit Lens) by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr


Elcan 50mm f/2.0 (KE-7A Kit Lens) by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr


Elcan 50mm f/2.0 (KE-7A Kit Lens) by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr


Elcan 50mm f/2.0 (KE-7A Kit Lens) by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr


Elcan 50mm f/2.0 (KE-7A Kit Lens) by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr

 

[Huss]

Very cool Kevin!

 

[KEVIN-XU 愛 forever]

Very cool Kevin!

Thank you Huss! I will upload more photos taken by this special lens.

Kevin

 

[Bill Blackwell]

I had the opportunity to grab one of these KE-7A cameras in around 1995 (but without the Elcan lens). I don't remember what the store wanted for it, but I do remember it wasn't significantly more than what a clean M4 sold for at the time.

 

[Erik van Straten]

Great lens, seems to be very sharp. Can you make a close portrait at full aperture with this lens?


Thanks!


Erik.

 

[KEVIN-XU 愛 forever]

I had the opportunity to grab one of these KE-7A cameras in around 1995 (but without the Elcan lens). I don't remember what the store wanted for it, but I do remember it wasn't significantly more than what a clean M4 sold for at the time.

I guess some of the KE-7A don't come with the Elcan lens. I saw an article on the Internet that said Ernst Leitz Canada produced totally around 260 pieces of the Elcan 50mm f2. Anyway, KE-7A is a collectible item now.

 

[KEVIN-XU 愛 forever]

Great lens, seems to be very sharp. Can you make a close portrait at full aperture with this lens?

Thanks!

Erik.

Thank you Erik! At first, I was just want to collect this lens. I rarely saw photos taken with the Elcan on the Internet. But after I tried it out, I realize how good it is. Just amazing.

Here are the photos taken by the Elcan 50mm f2 at full aperture f/2.0

Kevin

Elcan 50mm f/2.0 (KE-7A Kit Lens) by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr


Elcan 50mm f/2.0 (KE-7A Kit Lens) by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr

 

[KEVIN-XU 愛 forever]

Elcan 50mm f/2.0 (KE-7A Kit Lens) by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr


Elcan 50mm f/2.0 (KE-7A Kit Lens) by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr

 

[leicapixie]

I am severely jealous of your lens!
I use 50mm Collapsible-Summicron for compact size.
Here is an outstanding 50mm Elcan lens!
4 read FOUR elements compared to those recent monster lenses,
by leica, Zeiss, Sigma and now Nikon..
Horrible big rubbish when a lens like this exists..
Yes less elements requires more care in assembly and centering, but !
I can't wait to see more of your lovely images so well framed and exposed.

 

[Erik van Straten]

Great brilliant lens, but I see some lineair distortion.


Erik.

 

[retinax]

I don't see the distortion but I see weak left sides in most of the pictures, could be the scanner if these are film, or could be the lens; and bokeh I don't like, but that's subjective of course.
Edit: some of it seems to be field curvature, but the focus seems to shift further back on the left. I think your lens may be de-centered or the camera have been whacked. Especially the last picture shows this.
What was the reason the military wanted this lens with just four elements but f/2?

 

[KEVIN-XU 愛 forever]

I am severely jealous of your lens!
I use 50mm Collapsible-Summicron for compact size.
Here is an outstanding 50mm Elcan lens!
4 read FOUR elements compared to those recent monster lenses,
by leica, Zeiss, Sigma and now Nikon..
Horrible big rubbish when a lens like this exists..
Yes less elements requires more care in assembly and centering, but !
I can't wait to see more of your lovely images so well framed and exposed.

Thank you! I am glad you like my photos. I will upload more photos here.

The collapsed Summicron is just about 3mm shorter than the Elcan 50mm f2. Elcan 50mm is a very compact lens, weighted 160g only. To be more specific, its size is almost the same as the 8-element 35/2. Well, this is the reason why I love Leica rangefinder and the good old LTM/M mount lenses. They are very compact, well built, with top-quality optical.

Kevin

 

[KEVIN-XU 愛 forever]

Great brilliant lens, but I see some lineair distortion.


Erik.

Hm... I don't notice it till now. Well, it's no big deal for me if there is a little linear distortion. I rarely pay attention to this detail. But I guess it is tolerable since it only uses four elements to produce the image?

 

[KEVIN-XU 愛 forever]

I don't see the distortion but I see weak left sides in most of the pictures, could be the scanner if these are film, or could be the lens; and bokeh I don't like, but that's subjective of course.
Edit: some of it seems to be field curvature, but the focus seems to shift further back on the left. I think your lens may be de-centered or the camera have been whacked. Especially the last picture shows this.
What was the reason the military wanted this lens with just four elements but f/2?

I guess it's the limit of a four-element design? I shoot most of these pictures at f/2.0. I use this lens on Leica M10. So all are digital photos.

The lens was overhauled by DAG. And the lens does focus correctly while I use it on my M10. So I am not sure what cause the issues you mentioned.

"The lens has only air-spaced elements and is thus suitable for extreme use. It has non-cemented glass, less problem in a high-temperature range, and nearby explosions." Here is a quote from Leica-wiki. This is the main reason why they decide to use the four-elements design.

 

[KEVIN-XU 愛 forever]

Here are a few more photos that were taken with Leica M10 + Elcan 50mm f2.


Elcan 50mm f/2.0 (KE-7A Kit Lens) by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr


Elcan 50mm f/2.0 (KE-7A Kit Lens) by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr


Elcan 50mm f/2.0 (KE-7A Kit Lens) by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr

 

[KEVIN-XU 愛 forever]

These two photos are my favorite.


Elcan 50mm f/2.0 (KE-7A Kit Lens) by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr


Elcan 50mm f/2.0 (KE-7A Kit Lens) by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr

 

[Erik van Straten]

Hm... I don't notice it till now. Well, it's no big deal for me if there is a little linear distortion. I rarely pay attention to this detail. But I guess it is tolerable since it only uses four elements to produce the image?

I see some in the shot of the eldery man in front of the icecream shop and some on the extreme right of this shot:

but maybe it is not from the lens (may be the scanner). The Elmar is also a 4 element lens but I've never seen any distortion in an Elmar-shot.


Erik.

 

[LeicaFoReVer]

I guess it's the limit of a four-element design? I shoot most of these pictures at f/2.0. I use this lens on Leica M10. So all are digital photos.

The lens was overhauled by DAG. And the lens does focus correctly while I use it on my M10. So I am not sure what cause the issues you mentioned.

"The lens has only air-spaced elements and is thus suitable for extreme use. It has non-cemented glass, less problem in a high-temperature range, and nearby explosions." Here is a quote from Leica-wiki. This is the main reason why they decide to use the four-elements design.

Hi Kevin you should copy this lens too 😎

 

[KEVIN-XU 愛 forever]

I see some in the shot of the eldery man in front of the icecream shop and some on the extreme right of this shot:

but maybe it is not from the lens (may be the scanner). The Elmar is also a 4 element lens but I've never seen any distortion in an Elmar-shot.


Erik.

Erik, all the photos were taken with Leica M10. So we can remove out the factor of the scanner. It's interesting that I still cannot find the distortion you mentioned. Maybe they are not very obvious, or I just not understand what distortion is. Either way, I am still like this Elcan 50mm lens very much. The image it produces pleased my eyes.

Kevin