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"total production with infinity lock: unknown" according to Meister Camera:

 

 

Interesting...  Mines from 1969 with the infinity lock, a slightly higher serial number than the one ref'd. Personally, while I love the lens, I hate the locking aspect. Paid nowhere near that amount for it just over a year ago. Was I unwittingly duped into buying a collectable?

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I don't think there were many made, and it's a bit unfortunate because it just pushes the prices too high. The integrated metal tab is so much better than the rubbish Plastic McBreak tab they replaced it with. 

 

Of course my brass replacement tab is a close second to the infinity lock tab for v2 owners :D

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"total production with infinity lock: unknown" according to Meister Camera:

 

Hum... "unknown" doesn't necessarly mean "low-->rare".. it seems to me a "soft attempt" by dealer to suggest a "rarity" that in my opinion isn't such ; I have one , similar to the one of Tailwagger's post #8 : s/n slightly higher than Meister's (mine is 2.290.126 , i.e. 1968) ... and it has the tab with infinity lock (so as my  much older chrome, but this is at all normal) 

 

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So.. we have evidence of at least 3 black lenses , belonging to 3 different batches (Meister's, mine, Tailwagger's) all 3 with infinity lock... and those batches were of 1000 items each... rather probable that items in the same batch are identical (though... this can be not so true for the Canadian factory....) ; at the end, I don't think is a rarity.

 

TO make some dietrology... I think that the Summilux 35 classic is "under attack" from big dealers to setup a general price increase... such maneuvers aren't new... the chrome has surged (auctions) to prices that 4-5 years ago were unbelievable... not to speak of "black with chrome front ring" (which is rather easy to reproduce out of a std. black... B) ).

I bought my chrome 23 or 24 years ago (first 35 for my M2... :rolleyes: ) at a "normal used" price of the era... the black came from sweden 6 years ago... 1KEuro around...

Edited by luigi bertolotti
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;) 

.... That's pretty rare in my book....

 

 

... well, of course it's all about the quantitative significance of "rarity" : Summilux 35 was never made in big numbers... and with several variants (finishing, goggles, tab, Can/Ger...) so that it's sure not of the league of the Summicrons 50... :p , and it is also a "prestige" lens... the Elmar 90 3 elements in SM is surely much "rarer" than the item we are speaking of... but is an honest (very good) Elmar and no more...

 

Anyway... the tab with lock is definitely BETTER in built... as Michaelwj's appreciable project demonstrates (btw... I have an Elmarit 28 III with the same "broken tab"...what do you think of, Michaelwj ? I have to check if diameter is the same as Lux 35...)

Edited by luigi bertolotti
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Agreed. "Rarity" can be about many things, including numbers produced and market perception.

 

For sure, it's a better built lens than the non-locking type, and much better built than the Type IV 35mm Summicron (which it is closest in performance to). 

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1966.

1,000 made.

Erwin Puts pocket pod.

Version one had the locking tab.

A few were made in black and collectors pay double for those.

 

Whaaat? I got lucky? Unlikely.

 

Mine black, #2289967, making it ~16th one made in the second batch.

Edited by pico
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  • 5 months later...

Hi Luigi,

 

thanks for showing your black Summilux. Mine is serial no. 2290419. 

It seems your one has a black infinity tab? Mine has a chrome one.

 

 

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Edited by Kolossus
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Hi Luigi,

 

thanks for showing your black Summilux. Mine is serial no. 2290419. 

It seems your one has a black infinity tab? Mine has a chrome one.

No, indeed also my one is chrome... in the picture you cannot see the chrome "nail"  : my item is apparently exactly like yours (not surprisingly)... I like the "redundant" writings "Canada" and "Lens made in Canada" ...and of course "Leitz Canada" also on front ring... Ontario people were really proud of their Country... :) (also, both my items have NOT the famed "baffle" on the back elements, which brings to problems on digital Ms... probably also yours is like this)

Edited by luigi bertolotti
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