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What version Summicron 50 is this?


bah212

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Can someone please help me identify the version of my Summicron 50. I bought it new with my M4 in 1976. The serial number is 2445701 which I have determined is from 1970, and I believed it to be a version 3. In anticipation of selling it I recently sent it to a well known used camera dealer. They claim it is a Summicron Rigid which has a lower value. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

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here is a photo.

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Don't worry… fact is that there is not an "official" version numbering of the Summicron 50... defining yours a 3rd version is imho correct (1st= collapsible - 2nd=rigid 7 elements - 3rd=rigid 6 elements) but...what about the Dual Range ? Is it another version ? (imho, is correct to define it as a "variant of the 2nd version"…  but it too, by itself, had a pair of variants…;) ).

 

So i prefer the rule of :

 

- Version (start from 1)

- (possible) variant of a certain version, which co-exists and is co-produced within the version  (the DR, for instance, or simply the finishing black/chrome or scale feet/meters… or the "special edition"…)

- Revision of a certain Version (start from 0) , which supersedes the previous one.

 

On this basis. Your lens is Revision 1 of the 3rd Version (Revision 0 - less common - has a knurled focus ring similar to v2) - common indeed.

Anyway, any Summicron 50 of any version , is a "hats off" great classic, regardless of rarity.

Edited by luigi bertolotti
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Was my first 50/2 in 1971. Got it with my first Leica, a gorgeous M4. Too bad i sold them. I seem to recall that 50/2 v3 has less CA and more flare than v4 and v5 but i'm not sure my memory serves me well. The lens can be 6-bit coded but there is a screw in the way of the coding sensor. DIY coding may be difficult then but i have no experience of it. FWIW.

 

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http://collectiblend.com/Lenses/Leitz/50mm-f2-Summicron-(BM,-black,-11817).html

 

You will need to know how to interpret this. You will see that there is quite a range of different prices at auction for this item. There is no such thing as a 'correct value' for such items. In truth, as with all such items, the value is what someone else is prepared to pay for it and there is not much you can do about that. Based on the photo above, this item would fall very much into the 'average' category or perhaps somewhat below that.

 

William

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Why ? the OP bought it 42 years ago... and by any evidence used it regularly…  depends on if and which other lens he whishes to take…

So what? Where are plenty of M lenses exactly like this. And they are not sold as low value lens. At least on eBay. Dealers is different story. They buy for less, selling for more. Some are honest and it is obvious why they have to. But some will tell you stories.

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Was my first 50/2 in 1971. Got it with my first Leica, a gorgeous M4. Too bad i sold them. I seem to recall that 50/2 v3 has less CA and more flare than v4 and v5 but i'm not sure my memory serves me well. The lens can be 6-bit coded but there is a screw in the way of the coding sensor. DIY coding may be difficult then but i have no experience of it. FWIW.

 Looks just like mine (serial 2294x..) that I bought in 1969 for my M4. These early type 3 had a red paint dot on the flange instead of a raised red plastic dot. I added a small plastic dot from DAG that fits the recess for the paint dot, for a tactile locator. I did hand code mine with a sharpie and template, and it worked in spite of the flange screw, but the marks have since worn off.

I find performance very similar to the v5 I added a few years ago - a very nice lens indeed.

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