sail222 Posted December 6, 2013 Share #1 Posted December 6, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) I am curious as to what reason Leica made Summilux's and Summicron's with the brass bayonet chromed and then some have no chrome and just are bare brass. What purpose does this serve? I also have seen the Leica M body caps with Chrome backside and then some with bare brass backing. Maybe its useless information .... but Im really interested. Thanks Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/217990-summilux-brass-bayonet/?do=findComment&comment=2481800'>More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted December 6, 2013 Posted December 6, 2013 Hi sail222, Take a look here Summilux Brass Bayonet. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
sail222 Posted December 7, 2013 Author Share #2 Posted December 7, 2013 OK .... Well I can see I didn't set the world on fire with this question .... haha !! I did hear from another site that the plain brass backings were needed because they were not shiny like chrome is, and during wartime photography the lenses would be hard for the enemy to spot the photographer ...... that's does sound like a good idea but I don't know if that was Leica's intent. Can anyone please add to this post. Many Thanks !!! Seriously .... Thanks ! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabears Posted December 7, 2013 Share #3 Posted December 7, 2013 OK .... I did hear from another site that the plain brass backings were needed because they were not shiny like chrome is, and during wartime photography the lenses would be hard for the enemy to spot the photographer .... Good idea ... pity it is not true. cheers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sail222 Posted December 7, 2013 Author Share #4 Posted December 7, 2013 Please good Sir ......... What is the truth? Kind Regards Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabears Posted December 7, 2013 Share #5 Posted December 7, 2013 The main fact is that these lenses were not delivered to the Army, they were mainly sent to photojournalists (mainly for black paint cameras). If you control the Leitz registers of the time (supposedly late '50 till '70'), you will find that all the official shipments to the various armies had no painted bayonets. BUT: it is known that the black paint lenses were especially finished because they had even more restricted tolerances, in which the thickness of the chrome may have had its importance. Best regards. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sail222 Posted December 7, 2013 Author Share #6 Posted December 7, 2013 Thank you very much .... I appreciate you sharing your knowledge with me Sabears ...... One more question please .... did they sell these bare brass lenses individually or did they only come with a black painted M camera ?? Many Thanks Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabears Posted December 8, 2013 Share #7 Posted December 8, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) Yes, they sold them even individually but as a special order and they were not so requested. The lenses were especially developed to work at full aperture, presumably more interested in this were the reporters, this is the reason why, for this perfect focusing request, was used also the thickness of the chrome. Remaining stationary in this priority starting from a later moment the fine tuning of the lenses were done all inside, that is the reason why we have black paint lenses with chrome-plated bayonet. However both the black paint variants (telling the true they are a lot more as we have found mixed black paint, black anodized lenses) are rare and very valuable from a collecting point of view. Kind regards. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sail222 Posted December 8, 2013 Author Share #8 Posted December 8, 2013 Sabears .... I truly do appreciate you ... You have taught me so much and I am truly grateful to you for tolerating my questions. It must get annoying .... having guys like me bother you for information, information and then some more information. I Thank you once again. Sail Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabears Posted December 9, 2013 Share #9 Posted December 9, 2013 Sabears .... I truly do appreciate you ... You have taught me so much and I am truly grateful to you for tolerating my questions. It must get annoying .... having guys like me bother you for information, information and then some more information. I Thank you once again. Sail Too kind, it costs anything because it's nice to share. Best regards. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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