Leica Null (0) Series

[pippy]

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1 hour ago, a.noctilux said:

As we are in M lenses section, do we have some hope for new Anastigmat 3.5/50mm incarnation? Would it be M mount (like Summaron-M 28mm)...Or LTM mount ?...

I wonder! Making any of the early 50s in LTM-mount would make a lot of sense for Leica as such a lens might well be very attractive to those who use a 'Barnack' yet they would also be just as usable by everyone else.

There are several lens-candidates ripe for reworking from Leica's earliest days such as the Anastigmat as you suggest, the 50mm f3.5 Elmar or what about the 50mm f2.5 Hektor?! How about a Hektor with 7 O'Clock focussing and with two versions made available; one in Silver-Chrome for those with chrome cameras and a second version which is Nickel-Plated to go with the Black-Paint bodies? This would make for a perfectly pocketable Leica body/50mm lens combination the likes of which have not been seen available to buy new for many decades.

Being neither a Purist nor a Collector myself I wouldn't worry about whether they stayed true to the original optical formulae or were once again "Carefully adapted in line with modern lens design...". I'm fairly confident both styles might prove to be popular.

If Leica doesn't take this idea up then perhaps we should look more towards Light Lens Lab?.......

Philip.

EDIT : I meant also to say thanks for posting the cutaway drawings of the Null Serie, Arnaud; gorgeous stuff!

Edited January 23, 2022 by pippy

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[UliWer]

 

1 hour ago, a.noctilux said:

I think that the original Anastigmat is five lens element in three groups identical to Elmax, discussion in the book page 154.

...

I count four , last group is a glued-doublet not glued-triplet like Elmax

 

The history of the lenses for the very early Leicas is a rather complicated one:
Max Berek designed the first "Anastigmat" in 1920. His patent is reproduced in the book "Max Berek - Schöpfer der ersten Leica Objektive, Pionier der Mikroskopie" hrsg. by Knut Kühn-Leitz 2009, p.83: it is a Triplet with four lenses - two rear lenses glued to one group.

This four lens "Anastigmat" was used for the first series of cameras, later called "0-Serie" from 1923 and also for the new "0-Serie" from 2000.

Berek had redesigned the lens already in 1921 for reasons which are not clear. This was the "Elmax" with five lenses  which was used for the early Leicas of serial production. Though since the "Elmax" with three lenses glued to one group was difficult to produce they looked for ways to simplify it to a four lens triplet. This became possible when the glassworks of Goerz in Sendlingen introduced new glass types. With these new glasses the "Elmar" was designed. You can read the whole story in the book about Max Berek quoted above, or in Ulf Richter's Book "Oskar Barnack - Von der Idee zur Leica" 2009, p. 84ff.

The wish for Leica re-introducing the early "Anastigmat" to be used on modern cameras has been often uttered in this forum. 2020 - 100 years after Berek's original patent - would have been a good chance to do so. Though Leica seems to be shy of using collapsible lenses on modern M-bodies. An "Anastigmat" as separate lens not fixed to the body would also be rather remote from the original. 

 

 

[a.noctilux]

Thanks UliWer, very helpful to understand the story of this fascinating lens.

...

Philip,

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[pippy]

58 minutes ago, a.noctilux said:

...Philip, You can find these adds here...I can not resist to link to the image more resolution...

Thank you for doing, so, Arnaud; some wonderful stuff in there!

It would be interesting to know whether there would be any interest from Leica were there a suggestion to be made with regards releasing reproductions of some of their advertising posters through the ages for sale through their dealerships. I know of at least one member here who has a reproduction(*) of one of them mounted and framed hanging on their wall.

And, obviously, I had a brain-fart about the Leica 1 cut-away when I typed 'Null Serie' in post #21. Apologies for any confusion!......

Philip.

* EDIT : I believe it to be a reproduction; it could, of course, be an original.

Edited January 23, 2022 by pippy

[d30gaijin]

On 1/23/2022 at 2:00 AM, pippy said:

Yup. Seems you did.

I was adding a little extra detail, written by Leica themselves, to go with what you had already written so that those who might not acquainted with some of the changes between the design of the original lens' optics and those of the recent release could be better understood.

But if you want to be all He-Man about things then carry on as you are.

Good grief.  "But if you want to be all He-Man about things..."  Really?