Leica LTM Rare Sonnar with LTM

Leica M39 screw mount bodies/lenses
David Hughes

David Hughes

David Hughes
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You'll have to hurry if you want to bid; or you could just gaze and wonder.

Go to ebay.co.uk and look at item 190563034466
If the speil is to be believed than it's a very rare, pre-war factory made CZ lens for a LTM...

Regards, David
 
It's a real lens alright, a cousin to the one JB Dancer has. The issue that I have is that it is a private auction, no bidders names given. Re-listed due to non-payment last time. Situation makes me concerned that several of the 1o bids may come from shills.
 
dexdog said:
It's a real lens alright, a cousin to the one JB Dancer has. The issue that I have is that it is a private auction, no bidders names given. Re-listed due to non-payment last time. Situation makes me concerned that several of the 1o bids may come from shills.
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Had, actually, this is the same lens!

The previous price was a steal already, now its truly a bargain.

Guess we won't be seeing any shots taken with that lens on RFF after all... :(
 
buzzardkid said:
Had, actually, this is the same lens!

The previous price was a steal already, now its truly a bargain.

Guess we won't be seeing any shots taken with that lens on RFF after all... :(
Click to expand...

I did not realize that it is the same lens! I could not recall the serial number of JB's lens- thanks for the update buzzardkid.
 
Hi,

Well, I hope it will be paid for this time. I've had non-payers, then 'second chance' offers turned turned down and then sold it for half the first price. I just wish ebay (with its PayPal link) would get the lost money out of the non-payers.

Anyway, that enough excitement for today. I think I'll go and lie down and think of England, or whatever mother advised...

Regards, David
 
The sister lens to the one discussed above has turned up on eBay, see auction 350478953923. Pretty amazing that both of the two examples has survived.
 
PAN F said:
Hi dexdog,
This lens is not one of the trial pair that are listed by Thiele.
The trial pair of lenses are serial nos. 1444969 and 1444970 on Karte 3 where the other trial pairs are listed.
This lens serial no. 1444971 is on Karte 2895.
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Thanks for the clarification, I am not near my copy of the Thiele book. In any case, all yours for BIN price of $4410, or about 3080 euros
 
The 1444971 lens has a completion date of September 15, 1933, which is 8 days behind the production date of the 969 and 970 lenses. Appears to be a legitimate lens, although it may still be on the shelf a long time based on the seller's asking price.
 
My new Sonnar got delivered today. Looks good mounted on the Tower 46/Nicca 5L. I will have to load some film and take it for a test drive. This lens is built like a tank, weighing in at 294 grams. My chrome Nikkor 5cm/1.4 in LTM weighs "only" 234 grams.
 
Wide open at minimum focus distance of 0.9 meter, taken using the NEX-5. Point of focus is Chobe's left eye. No sharpening applied, but I did make minor adjustment to the contrast
 
I'll second that! I'd guessed it would be OK as prices paid in the 30's were OTT, even for modified secondhand Sonnars.

Regards, David
 
PAN F said:
Thats a very nice first example from the Nex you have posted,nice rendition of Chobe and nice OOF background rendition.
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I have some Fujicolor loaded in the Tower 46, and will post some pics at a later date. Not sure that I have any B & W film, but I could probably find some at a local camera store. I have done some focusing tests with the lens and the Tower, and the combination appears to correspond well against the tape measure. One of the things that I absolutely LOVE about the NEX is the ability to nail the focus using the 7X magnification level.
 
That is a gorgeous Sonnar! My oldest is a 175xxxx with a coated front element.

I'm looking forward to seeing the pictures with the Nicca.
 
Congratulations, Mark. I love such lenses. They are rare, and they are well built. Enjoy!
 
PAN F,

you are absolutely right! I'm real happy to see the lens end up with Dex, so we hopefully can see some (film) shots with it in the future!

I'm real impressed with the optical qualities of those older lenses. Recently I lucked into an uncoated nickel Elmar 50/3.5 from the early 1930s and am looking forward to seeing some of my initial shots with that lens soon, but a prototype Sonnar from 1933 definitely does take the cake and seeing shots from that would be something special in my book.

A bit like Keith's scanned world trip photos from earlier this year, the living history kinda feel!

EDIT: And I'm absolutey positive the good people at PhotoArsenal etc are reading here too, having a second prototype one surface at nearly the same time and for a big hump of cash is more than coincidental.
 
I just took delivery of a LTM Zeiss 8.5cm 2.0 Jena Sonnar, sn 1167359. The front element has quite a bit of cleaning swirls, inside elements are pristine. Body is in reasonable shape (maybe 8 out of 10). Got the lens from Sean at CameraWest.

pretty low contrast, flares like crazy if there's any sun on it at all

Wide open with an M9
20110826_m9_l1015697.jpg
 
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