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Leica M rear lens caps


crow

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How can one distinguish Leica from generic rear M caps?

How about the ones that have Leica on the inside plastic, are they genuine?

How about the ones that have only the number, no Leica logo?

I bet the ones that have "Leitz" are genuine ones!

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Who cares.? Anyway the Leica Logo caps have only been used for the last two years approx. Genuine Leica caps have a part number on the inside.

 

I've got a cheap knock-off R body cap that also carries the part number inside, but as you say, who cares!

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They even fake the rear lens caps?:eek: Sheesh…speak about futile.

I’ve got a slew of caps, varying from the newest logoed ones through Zeiss, CV and no brand to the old shiny black and grey Leitz ones and I rotate them indiscriminately. From time to time one wears down and becomes loose and I toss it in the bin. I never run short. They seem to breed…

Edited by jaapv
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If you want to be ABSOLUTELY sure to have an original one, there are only two ways :

 

1) Use only caps bought with a new lens (in case, buy a new lens if you miss a cap, then sell the lens, with a "unwarrantied" rear cap)

2) Find on ebay the old deep rear cap for Super Angulon 21 3,4 / Elmarit 28 2,8 1st, with metal dot for alignement : they are unlogoed, but so well made that none has faked them by sure.... the extra (and not needed) length can be used to store into a small silica packet.

 

:D

Edited by luigi bertolotti
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A number of used M lenses I've bought recently, even from authorised dealers have generic rear caps.

They are distinguishable, in my experience, by having the words 'for Leica M' inside, and not the part number.

 

These are definitely of an inferior quality than the genuine ones. I'm not being facetious; on at least one generic cap the lugs are worn away. Visions of bits of plastic getting into the lens helicoid or camera.........Never seen that on a Leica one. It seems to me, subjectively at least, the Leica ones are of a different quality of plastic.

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.... It seems to me, subjectively at least, the Leica ones are of a different quality of plastic.

 

That's true : the "current" ones (even if 10 or 12 years old) are very resistant , by contrast, the nice old ones ("nice" because they had the full classic "Leica" engraving on back... ;)) with the gray plastic inserts for lug engagement, were very "soft" and I have a number of them that are usable only as "baseplate" for storing... ; indeed, same applies to the bayonet female in the old plastic transparent lens containers, an accessory I love a lot and don't end to buy (if cheap) anytime I find one in some shop... , expecially the ones with red dot on top are very elegant to store lenses :o, (but I have some for 135s that are horribly scratched, so that the transparency has de facto gone away, and you even don't see if the 135 inside is black or chrome... :D

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Very interesting,

I also have bought a rear lens Leica M cap, grey..., and an M body cap with the Leica logo

on the front. They seem to be genuine and will know for sure how they behave. One of the reasons I am asking is this, I have the found some from the lenses caps I bought(always used) to be problematic; either they feel like they don't lock all the way the back of a lens, or when looking at the plastic in day light there seem to be abnormalities in terms of form. It is not wright to own expensive Leica lenses and bodies and at the same time to have caps that don't feel as good as Leica products. A cap that I like is of my f4/9cm black Elmar, I mean the rear cap, it is metal, and feels just wright, also bought a front Leica old plastic front cap so the whole of the lens seems correct.

Edited by crow
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Screw mount, screw metal rear cap, plastic/ Leica push in front cap,

used on a M5 thanks to a genuine Leica screw to M mount adapter.

Relatively soft compared to a 90 C, or Tele-ELMARIT but OK for the subjects that require it.

Edited by crow
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Screw mount, screw metal rear cap, plastic/ Leica push in front cap,

used on a M5 thanks to a genuine Leica screw to M mount adapter.

Relatively soft compared to a 90 C, or Tele-ELMARIT but OK for the subjects that require it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ok... :)... indeed, old SM metal rear cap are fine... and deliciously heavy :cool:

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ok... :)... indeed, old SM metal rear cap are fine... and deliciously heavy :cool:

 

Best old SM rear cap should be an OSBLO and still better rear caps are other Leica-Cameras.:D

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  • 2 months later...

There are a lot of 3rd party lens caps that can be found in the back alley's of Hong Kong. For me, the original caps stay in the box, just in case I need to sell the lens in the future.

 

These 3rd party lens caps... ... I haven't seen any 3rd party lens caps that are marketed as "leica products." they don't have the model number inside. However these are very different from the original lens caps. The biggest difference is the snugness. Leica caps fit snugly. There is a firm grip between the lens and the cap. The 3rd party ones do not fit as snuggly and can be wiggled loose easily - i.e. I could hold the lens, wiggle my wrist without touching the cap and have it removed.

 

This has actually worked great for me when changing lenses quickly. I don't need two hands to remove the cap. And when the cap is on, and the lens is in my bag; everything is fit snuggly enough that there is no where for hte cap to fly off too. I suppose then in many ways, i prefer the cheap 3rd party caps to the ones produced under the leica brand.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Many black plastic M rear caps are made in India. This could be what Philip said. Some have the name LEICA inside -- and a man once sold me one of these as a genuine Leica product -- others don't. All seem to come from the same factory. The material is not good and the caps do not fit as smoothly and firmly as they should.

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