Leica 5cm f/3.5 Elmar

BradS · Nov 23, 2019

I did not expect much from this little lens but it seems to get the job done...a perfect mate to the screw mount Leica...

Kodak Portra 400. This is probably 1/250 at f/11.

Bear Gulch Reservoir, Pinnacles NP https://flic.kr/p/2hPWPxk

removedacct1 · Nov 23, 2019

Nothing wrong with that now, is there?!

BAC1967 · Nov 23, 2019

Sharp and compact, great little lens.

M. Axel Wikstrom · Nov 24, 2019

Love mine. I have the M-mount version made around '56 and it's great - makes beautiful photographs.

Captain Slack · Nov 24, 2019

Had one, but it was stolen along with the IIf it belonged to.

BradS · Nov 24, 2019

Captain Slack said:
Had one, but it was stolen along with the IIf it belonged to.

Serious bummer!

I have a rule... "never leave the camer (gear) in the car."

Ian Grant · Nov 24, 2019

The 50mm Elmar's always had a good reputation, how old is it, and is it coated.

Ian

BradS · Nov 24, 2019

Ian Grant said:
The 50mm Elmars always had a good reputation, how old is it, and is it coated.
Ian

mine is ca. 1950 - it appears to be coated.

Laurent · Nov 24, 2019

I have one on my IIIa, and positively love it. Compact, sharp enough, with character, what's not to love in it?

guangong · Nov 24, 2019

The 50mm 3.5 Elmar is what made the Leica such a commercial success. With the heightened contrast of modern films, an Elmar lens can produce very pleasing results.

Ian Grant · Nov 24, 2019

I bought a Leica IIIa with a Summar way back 1972 I think in an antique shop it was cheap, the lens was crap, I have another better Summar now as well as an f3.5 Elmar both bought quite a few years later,then never tried them. I think the issue was my project work just took over completely with schedules for Exhibitions etc.

So I need to exercise the IIIA properly i can fall back on Russian lenses, but prefer not to.

Ian

AndyH · Nov 24, 2019

Ian Grant said:
I bought a Leica IIIa with a Summar way back 1972 I think in an antique shop it was cheap, the lens was crap, I have another better Summar now as well as an f3.5 Elmar both bought quite a few years later,then never tried them. I think the issue was my project work just took over completely with schedules for Exhibitions etc.

So I need to exercise the IIIA properly i can fall back on Russian lenses, but prefer not to.

Ian

The Russian glass for the screw mounts is actually quite good, IMHO, although the mounts sometimes leave a little to be desired. I have a great Jupiter 18 35mm retrofocus. It's very contrasty and sharp, but was virtually unusable because of the loose mount and encrusted gunk of soviet era grease. I cleaned and reset the elements yesterday, greased it with a little molybdenum, and took it out for a spin yesterday. I'm hoping for a few nice images. My 50mm f 3.5 is one of my favorites, and was about one third the cost of the Elmar or Summicron. Leitz glass has gone up so much in the past couple of years, a trend I blame on the easy adaptability to digital bodies.

Andy

Captain Slack · Nov 25, 2019

BradS said:
Serious bummer!

I have a rule... "never leave the camer (gear) in the car."

It was a break-in in my house.

Leica 5cm f/3.5 Elmar

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