Steve Goldstein
Subscriber
This is a really nice black-finish copy of the famous Biogon-copy lens produced by LZOS, a satellite company of the Russian manufacturer KMZ. The glass is clear with no marks on the front and a couple of extremely tiny wisps on the periphery of the rear, the aperture and focus both work smoothly, and there are only a few minor indications of previous use. My black-and-white test shots look great under a 10x. I only used it a once for actual photographs, which were much better in the taking than on the film and weren't sufficiently interesting for me to bother printing.
This lens famously has a bulbous rear element, and therein lies my reason for selling it. While it (presumably) fits FED and Zorki cameras, it doesn't fit my Canon P or a couple of Canon L2 bodies I was able to try because in each the upper light baffle in the film chamber interferes with the glass, preventing the lens from being properly mounted on the body. I can't speak to the fitment on screw-mount Leicas as I don't own any. Remarkably, it does fit my Canon 7, but I don't know if that's because the camera's film chamber is larger or if a previous owner modified it. I also tried it on a Zeiss ZM with an LTM-M adapter, and it doesn't fit that camera either. So I've got a very nice lens I can use on only one body, which is annoyingly limiting; it's gotta go and will be replaced by (probably) a Canon 35mm f2.8.
I should add that I've read on the interwebs about folks who've gently "adjusted" the baffle on various Canon LTM bodies so they can mount this lens, but that's a bridge too far for me. I don't know what's in the space above the baffle and I'm not about to go blindly messing around.
I'll include a nicely made deep metal rear cap I picked up on eBay for $19 that solves the problem of protecting the rear element. The label on the cap is my own doing since I have occasional access to a Brother label maker.
Asking $149 shipped in the US. PayPal G&S fees on me.
This lens famously has a bulbous rear element, and therein lies my reason for selling it. While it (presumably) fits FED and Zorki cameras, it doesn't fit my Canon P or a couple of Canon L2 bodies I was able to try because in each the upper light baffle in the film chamber interferes with the glass, preventing the lens from being properly mounted on the body. I can't speak to the fitment on screw-mount Leicas as I don't own any. Remarkably, it does fit my Canon 7, but I don't know if that's because the camera's film chamber is larger or if a previous owner modified it. I also tried it on a Zeiss ZM with an LTM-M adapter, and it doesn't fit that camera either. So I've got a very nice lens I can use on only one body, which is annoyingly limiting; it's gotta go and will be replaced by (probably) a Canon 35mm f2.8.
I should add that I've read on the interwebs about folks who've gently "adjusted" the baffle on various Canon LTM bodies so they can mount this lens, but that's a bridge too far for me. I don't know what's in the space above the baffle and I'm not about to go blindly messing around.
I'll include a nicely made deep metal rear cap I picked up on eBay for $19 that solves the problem of protecting the rear element. The label on the cap is my own doing since I have occasional access to a Brother label maker.
Asking $149 shipped in the US. PayPal G&S fees on me.
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