Summicron DR eyes

[gfoy]

I am considering purchasing a 50mm Summicron DR for my M6. The cheapest lenses I have been finding are without the "eyes" for close range focusing. If I purchased a lens and goggles separately would they work together? Is there anything I should watch out for? Also, I understand that not all M6 cameras are able to mount a DR lens according to the third last paragraph on this page: http://www.cameraquest.com/m50dr.htm
Can anyone tell me why this is, or if there are specific batches of the M6 that will not take the lens? (if I buy a lens on ebay or on here I won't be able to make sure it works with my camera before purchasing)

Thank you for your help in advance!

 

[drewbarb]

The goggles and lenses are not matched- any pair should work together. They will mount without any problem on any older Leica, including the M6 classic, but the newer M6TTL and M7 is taller by a few millimeters, and they goggles won't fit on these without being modified by having a tab removed. I don't think they fit on the M5 either, but I'm not sure about that one.

Also- some M6's have a larger light baffle inside the lens throat which prevents the lens for mounting properly, due the the larger cam for the close range. I don't know how to check this without trying it, but if you can compare your M6 with an older camera, you should be able to see the baffle and tell if the lens will mount properly or not.

 

[HuubL]

As I understand the goggles don't match just any DR. There are two types which lock onto differently sized locking balls in the slides on the lens. Goggles for the smaller locking ball don't fit onto a lens with a big ball.

 

[Al Kaplan]

The way I understood it the target focal length for 50mm Summicrons is 51.9mm and all the mounts have internal camming for 51.9mm optics. If you look at a non D.R. Summicron from the vintage of the D.R. you'll probaly notice a very sligight cam ground into the brass ring that contacts the camera's roller. This is to compensate for the actual exact focal length of that particular lens.

Things get really complicated when you make a lens like the Dual-Range so they just made one mount designed for 51.9mm optics and chose just those for mounting in the D.R. mount. There is an old and persistant rumor that the lenses were hand picked to be the best of the lot. Not true! They were hand picked to be EXACTLY 51.9mm in focal length.

 

[venchka]

M5 Myth Busting:

Remove the screw on the goggles, a 30 second or less operation, and the goggles and D.R. Summicron work perfectly on an M5.

Like this, at minimum focus distance of about 20":

Have a great day!

 

[Stu W]

Wayne is right. If you remove the little screw and stopper the goggles will fit any Leica body. If you do remove the stop however you must remember not to dismount the lens in the close focus position.
Huubl is correct about the locking mechanisms. The earlier goggles-the ones with the condensor logo-will fit all lenses. The later ones with the Leica script logo will only fit late lenses. Stu

 

[gfoy]

Awesome! Thanks everyone for your help!