[New test photos released] Leica Summicron 35/2 Eight Element copy made in China

I will soon use the replica lens with an M10 too. I will then be able to compare with images from the M9 with the same lens. It is a very good lens.
Will I buy other replica lenses?
Once a replica lens has cost of $1000, then we may as well get a CV lens. Maybe not.
 
Mine is 148/500, received in early May. It's black paint and has the 中國製 and V1LC engravings. I think that's standard for all V1 lenses.

Amber coating, Anson! Same as the V2 except for the engraving?

Yes Amber coating same as V2, engraving has changed. I have only taken a few shots at home with my M9 and original Summicron 35/2 V1. I will try to bring it out this week to do some more tests.
 
Is it probable that the lenses without the V1LC engraving are made with another type of glass?

I'm not sure, Erik. Are there lenses besides prototypes that don't have either V1LC or V2LC engraved on them? I haven't seen any, but I also haven't been following this thread that closely, so there may well be. I'm surprised some lenses are engraved Made in China instead of 中國製. I think the Chinese characters look much better.

Yes Amber coating same as V2, engraving has changed. I have only taken a few shots at home with my M9 and original Summicron 35/2 V1. I will try to bring it out this week to do some more tests.

Cool! I'm interested to see your comparison shots.
 
Will Leica allow the selling of a replica Noctilux?

Good question. After 50+ years. there can't be anything about it still under patent protection. Even the glass formulae or techniques of the witch's brew in creating it must have long entered the public domain. The mysterious Mr Zhou, a.k.a., "The Creator", has taken great pains to market these things as "replicas", so there's further distance, legally speaking.

Leica's rumored reissue of the original Noctilux, which will undoubtedly be wildly successful, has in all likelihood ended nascent efforts toward a "中國 製" replica. Maybe 'Kevin-Xu 愛 forever' can have them shift gears and instead work on a replica of the elusive Elcan 50/2 that he's a proud owner of.

That one is a very interesting lens indeed.
 
Good question. After 50+ years. there can't be anything about it still under patent protection. Even the glass formulae or techniques of the witch's brew in creating it must have long entered the public domain. The mysterious Mr Zhou, a.k.a., "The Creator", has taken great pains to market these things as "replicas", so there's further distance, legally speaking.

Leica's rumored reissue of the original Noctilux, which will undoubtedly be wildly successful, has in all likelihood ended nascent efforts toward a "中國 製" replica. Maybe 'Kevin-Xu 愛 forever' can have them shift gears and instead work on a replica of the elusive Elcan 50/2 that he's a proud owner of.

That one is a very interesting lens indeed.

I have been following Mr.Zhou's social media account and I saw them testing Elcan 50/2!
 
Okay, number geeks, and people curious about serial numbers with at least one digit being the number 4.

In the number sequence 001 to 500, there are 200 occurrences of the digit 4 somewhere within a 3-digit number (13 1/3 % of the digits are the number 4, if you count the 0s in 001, 030, etc.).

There can be multiple digits of 4 in one serial number (e.g. 444). That leads to there are only 176 numbers between 001 and 500 with at least one digit being a 4 (35 1/5 % of numbers in the sequence have at least one 4).

There is only one 444, though. Since having a 4 in the serial number bothers me not at all, I'd be happy to have that one.
 
I have it on good authority that its not as simple as having a 4 in the serial number = unlucky or bad! The key is how the serial number sounds in combination when pronounced in Chinese.

My serial number, 148, supposedly means I'll have so much good fortune (8 means good fortune or luck) coming in that it will almost* kill me. I can't wait for that to happen lol

You'll have to consult your local Chinese "numbers astrologer" to get the lowdown on your particular serial number 😉
 
An announcement: I received my lens today - black paint, serial no. 344, which is about as inauspicious as they come. Like sreed I would even have preferred 444, which would be like Agent XXX Van Diesel. I wonder if 200 lenses (all the ones with a 4 in the serial number, as calculated by Sid) is the quantity that Kevin secured under the deal with LLL.

My lens came in the newer leather pouch with neoprene padding.
Coating is amber hue.
 
Another random thought on numbers. My lens is 461/998, being in the 2nd batch.

Does 461/500 also exist as a lens in the first batch?
 
An announcement: I received my lens today - black paint, serial no. 344, which is about as inauspicious as they come. Like sreed I would even have preferred 444, which would be like Agent XXX Van Diesel. I wonder if 200 lenses (all the ones with a 4 in the serial number, as calculated by Sid) is the quantity that Kevin secured under the deal with LLL.

My lens came in the newer leather pouch with neoprene padding.
Coating is amber hue.

is the metal lens case still included?
 
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