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Elmar M-50 collapsible


jaapv

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Out of ignorance I was the first to find out the lens is collapsible on the M8, without the dire consequences implied by Leica in the manual. Now, with the M9, Leica is repeating the warnings. Has anybody tried the collapse? It should be OK comparing the M8 and M9, but let somebody else be the guinea-pig this time:p

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Hi Jaap,

 

I just bought 2 weeks ago a mint 50 Elmar for my M9.

I love it and there is no problem at all to put it and take it out.

 

Here is one sample pic with it.

 

All the best,

Jean-Luc

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The 1957 collapsible 50mm Elmar can be safely retracted on both M8 and M9 cameras. I would not advise you to mount or remove the lens in its collapsed state -- do this only with the lens extended!

 

The old Elmar is a lovely lens which works remarkably well with the M9. If used with recognition on 'Auto' there is just slightly more vignetting than it exhibits when you tell the camera it's a Elmar-M, but the difference is so small that it really isn't worth the trouble. This lens is great wide open and at f:4 if you want an 'old-fashioned' look, with a bit of 'Leica glow' in contrasty light. Stop it down and it looks like a rigid Summicron.

 

The old man from the Elmar Age

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Excerpt from Stefan Daniel interview about M9 :

 

Are all the old lenses compatible?

 

DANIEL: They are all compatible except the dual range Summicron, except the Hologon 15mm, and you can use the 90 f/4 collapsible out of the 1960s but you must never collapse it.

 

Other collapsibles can go in?

 

DANIEL: Yes they can.

 

Unlike the M8…

 

DANIEL: Yes. The reason is that the space of full frame is much larger behind the bayonet than it was on the M8.

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I bet that also in this thread someone will come and say that a special collapsible lens is harmful and then all the measurements will start again ....:D

 

In any case it is wise not to mount or unmount the lens when it is collapsed. The problem is not so much the length of the lens tube but its width: there is very few room besides it in the M8, maybe a little bit more in the M9.

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No more than the common action of changing a lens

 

Hmmm - but collapsing the lens surely introduces a compressed air effect that's totally absent when simply placing and locking a lens on the camera?

I liked the look of the lens on film anyway - and you really can't get a more compact travel kit.

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Hmmm - but collapsing the lens surely introduces a compressed air effect that's totally absent when simply placing and locking a lens on the camera?

I liked the look of the lens on film anyway - and you really can't get a more compact travel kit.

 

But then it will suck the dust off the sensor when you extend it again ;-}}

 

Wilson

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Maximum depth of lens from bayonet mount ring on current 50mm Elmar is approx 20.30mm. Depth from bayonet mount to shutter on M9 body is approx 24.80mm. So there is plenty of clearance normally. If Leica have not mentioned it in the manual I'd assume its because an idiot may get the whole thing out of alignment and try to jamb the lens in at an angle, which may mean the rear lens tube (the extendable bit) could touch the shutter when mounting it collapsed.

 

Steve

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