pico Posted November 9, 2014 Share #1 Posted November 9, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) Next week I am ordering a custom-made focusing tab to be used on a 50mm Summicron (black) made in 1968 or 1969 and was comparing the lens to others. Mine has no red bead and no sign that it ever had one. Now I'm mildly interested as to why this lens has no red bead. It does have a recess hole drilled in the rearmost unpainted mount rim filled with red paint (not a bead in line with DOF scale as most are). Were the lenses with the red bead machined with a little recess to accommodate it? Have I simply another Leica variant? Visuals here: http://www.digoliardi.net/summicron-red-bead.jpg Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted November 9, 2014 Posted November 9, 2014 Hi pico, Take a look here That red dot/bead .... I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
richfx Posted November 9, 2014 Share #2 Posted November 9, 2014 Perhaps your lens' red bead fell off? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted November 9, 2014 Author Share #3 Posted November 9, 2014 Perhaps your lens' red bead fell off? Given that the beads were placed amidst the ridges of the barrel, one would think that Leica relieved that part before gluing it on. Mine has no evidence whatsoever of such. ...and it has the additional machine-recessed 'dot' with red paint on the rearmost mount. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adan Posted November 9, 2014 Share #4 Posted November 9, 2014 135 Tele-Elmars (right up through the mid-1990's barrel redesign) have a very small bead, on the chrome ring where your paint dot is. Mine has a small recess machined in the chrome ring to hold the bead. Could be yours was made with a 135-style small bead, the bead was lost, and a cost-conscious owner simply filled in the recess with red paint at home. Canadian or Wetzlar origin? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted November 9, 2014 Author Share #5 Posted November 9, 2014 135 Tele-Elmars (right up through the mid-1990's barrel redesign) have a very small bead, on the chrome ring where your paint dot is. Mine has a small recess machined in the chrome ring to hold the bead. Could be yours was made with a 135-style small bead, the bead was lost, and a cost-conscious owner simply filled in the recess with red paint at home. Thank you. I had not considered that. All I did was Google Image for 50mm Summicron until I could stand no more and did not find one with the bead on the unpainted ring. There must be more of them, of course. Canadian or Wetzlar origin?Wetzlar Oh, SK Grimes will make a very nice collar with focusing tab for the lens. The following is from their What's New page. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted November 9, 2014 Share #6 Posted November 9, 2014 ...Were the lenses with the red bead machined with a little recess to accommodate it? Have I simply another Leica variant? Visuals here: http://www.digoliardi.net/summicron-red-bead.jpg I wonder how many variants of the Summicron 50 do exist ... even excluding the "special editions", they must be dozens... which is the s/n of yours ? Anyway, items with the red dot onto the flange' side do exist : I have a huge archive of pictures of Leica lenses ... here is a pair I quickly found : numbers 2.2xx.xxx and 2.4xx.xxx : notice that the first one has the old scalloped focusing ring, too (and the dot is a plastic bead, not a painted one, like you can find, for instance, on Summarons 35) : 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! 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/236779-that-red-dotbead/?do=findComment&comment=2703330'>More sharing options...
TomB_tx Posted November 9, 2014 Share #7 Posted November 9, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) I bought a new Summicron like that in 1969 (mfg '68) - one of the first batches of that model. It came without the red bead, but with a paint-filled hole in the chrome mount as you describe - so it was a normal variation. A couple of years ago I bought one of the smaller-sized Leica dots from DAG, which fits the hole, and glued it on to give the tactile sense of position. The chrome mount on this is large enough diameter that even the small bead just touches the body lens release button - which is likely why they didn't put the bead their to begin with. Remember, the earlier M lenses (rigid Summicron, etc) had the dot on the side of the mount, but angled. However, some of the '50s chrome lenses (90 Elmar?) also had a red paint filled hole instead of a bead also, so this Summicron isn't unique. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted November 9, 2014 Share #8 Posted November 9, 2014 However, some of the '50s chrome lenses (90 Elmar?) also had a red paint filled hole instead of a bead also, so this Summicron isn't unique. Correct (depending on WHICH Elmar 90 ) 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! 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/236779-that-red-dotbead/?do=findComment&comment=2703394'>More sharing options...
pico Posted November 9, 2014 Author Share #9 Posted November 9, 2014 Luigi, you are the man! Thanks! Your lens # 2444219 has the same scalloping mine has, but your other picture has the same bead location as mine. My serial # is 2331552. Four sources show it was made in 1969. Thanks also to TomB_tx. Good stuff. The variations do not concern me, but it gives some insight into how Leica produced the lenses. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomB_tx Posted November 9, 2014 Share #10 Posted November 9, 2014 Correct (depending on WHICH Elmar 90 ) and when each model was made! 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! 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/236779-that-red-dotbead/?do=findComment&comment=2703456'>More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted November 9, 2014 Share #11 Posted November 9, 2014 .... My serial # is 2331552. Four sources show it was made in 1969. One can get mad about those details... : here is a Summicron 50 from THE SAME BATCH AS YOURS (2330801 - 2332800) .... and with the red dot NOT as yours... Leica Summicron-M 11817 2/50mm - Summicron-M 2/50mm Schwarz 11817 - Leica M Objektive - LEICA Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted November 9, 2014 Share #12 Posted November 9, 2014 and when each model was made![ATTACH]467162[/ATTACH] Let me guess... is the right one under 1.300.000 ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomB_tx Posted November 9, 2014 Share #13 Posted November 9, 2014 The right is 1212xxx and the left (with dot) 1291xxx Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herr Barnack Posted November 9, 2014 Share #14 Posted November 9, 2014 If your lens does not have the red bead, it must be a counterfeit M lens.* *Just kidding. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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