Want to Buy Found One. Thanks all...: Elmar 50mm f/3.5 LTM

[willijt]

Hello.

Looking to pick up a Leica thread mount 50mm f/3.5 Elmar. I plan to use it and for that reason am looking for one which is mechanically sound and which has good glass. I can handle a bit of internal haze, and if it has to be CLA’d I am open to that. Thanks for looking.

PM me if you have any leads that might help me in my quest. Am planning to use it on a Leica iiic.

Thanks.
Jim

 

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[jtk]

Note that there's a huge performance difference between coated and more ancient uncoated Elmar.

 

[willijt]

Note that there's a huge performance difference between coated and more ancient uncoated Elmar.

Hello. Thanks for offering that. I almost feel like I am getting bored with the image-capture-perfection that is available with digital devices. Despite their shortcomings and age, I feel very taken with the charm and character that can come from an old lens, perhaps especially from one without a coating. So, bottom line - no coating is OK, if the rest of the gubbins is in reasonable shape.
jim

 

[Jerevan]

Non-coated works fine too - no need to get all in a wrinkle if you end up with an older version. What buggers me most is the older aperture scale (3.5, 4.5, 6.3, 9, 11 etc), I always get confused.

I've got one, but the shipping and customs from EU would kill the deal for you - perhaps keh.com is a good place to have a look?

 

[guangong]

I have a few 50mm Elmars, uncoated and coated. Some, as jerevan noted, have the old European stop designations, and takes a while getting use to working fast with them, but not reason enough to avoid them. Later coatings were more efficient and with a little tweaking by Leitz, were able to increase aperture from 3.5 to 2.8.
The nice thing about the Elmars is that when collapsed the screw mount Leicas are very pocketable.

 

[willijt]

Non-coated works fine too - no need to get all in a wrinkle if you end up with an older version. What buggers me most is the older aperture scale (3.5, 4.5, 6.3, 9, 11 etc), I always get confused.

I've got one, but the shipping and customs from EU would kill the deal for you - perhaps keh.com is a good place to have a look?

Hello Jerevan. Appreciate your input. Like you, I think the older aperture index could be confusing for me as well. But, then again, with respect to b&w film, I am becoming increasingly convinced it is maybe more about intelligent approximations rather than about laboratory-scale adherence to numbers.

 

[willijt]

I have a few 50mm Elmars, uncoated and coated. Some, as jerevan noted, have the old European stop designations, and takes a while getting use to working fast with them, but not reason enough to avoid them. Later coatings were more efficient and with a little tweaking by Leitz, were able to increase aperture from 3.5 to 2.8.
The nice thing about the Elmars is that when collapsed the screw mount Leicas are very pocketable.

That collapsible feature is another point In their favour since I am planning to use it with a Leica iiic, and that would make it almost pocketable. In the meanwhile there is an Industar-50 in pretty good shape in transit to me from the Ukraine. That’ll tide me over for a bit...

 

[Jim Jones]

I've finally decided to let go of the Elmar 5cm 1:3.5 that came on a Leica iiif I bought new in 1953. I was stationed in Japan at the time and usually preferred a much faster Nikkor lens, so the Elmar has had fairly light use. The glass is clear and free of fungus. Aperture and focusing are still smooth. The front lens cap is original, the rear cap is at least similar to an original. Eventually I moved up to the Leica M series, and stored the Elmar away. This lens should go to someone who will use and appreciate it, rather than merely to a dealer. I'm asking U. S. $250, prepaid to Winnipeg. Of course you get a full return if you're not completely satisfied.

 

[willijt]

Hello Jim. Thank you very much for your response to my ad. By the way you describe it, your Elmar sounds like it might be a perfect companion for my iiic. We’re just heading out for supper but I’ll be back in a short while. In the meanwhile I’d like to think you may have found a good home for the Elmar. Will pick up the conversation upon my return. Thanks again. Jim Williams

 

[willijt]

Back again. Hello Jim. You know, I would like to be the guy that takes care of that lens for you. The camera I love best is the Leica iiic which I mentioned. Coming from a 1946 time frame - same as me, well, that makes it more special. And it makes taking pictures more fun. If you decide to sell your Elmar to me, I will be smiling, knowing a bit about its origin and its history. And it will be used. It will take pictures. Mostly I do film, b&w, developed at home, shot on old gear. But enough. Let me know how you want to do this. I can do PayPal. I am not in a hurry. But before I go, where in Japan were you stationed? I spent 22 years in the Air Force and was lucky enough to get over there two years in a row in the middle 80s. Will never forget those two one-week long stays in Japan. Outta here. Goodnight Sir.