Nickel/chrome xenon 1.5

[Giuliobigazzi]

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Hello, I just acquired this xenon 1.5 with chrome focussing rings but nickel from the aperture ring up. Came with a set of 6 matching nickel filters. Very late serial number. Any idea what this was for? 

thank you!

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[romanus53]

a filter. with concentric rings? it's a kind of softfilter called DuTo named after it's inventor.

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[luigi bertolotti]

Yes, concentric rings usually are to achieve  "soft focus" effect… typically on portraits… Leitz never did one, afaik (there was the Thambar for this ) but many were made from lot of brands… personally, I have one for Rolleiflex TLR : it's named "Rolleisoft" (used it… lot of years ago... the effect, with Planar wide open, was indeed pleasant)

The question on nickel finishing of the front parts is much more intriguing… those Xenons are (I think) undoubtly rare… the front assembly is also different from standard Xenons, and, btw, they haven't the std. bayonet ring for Xenon filters (and maybe that's the reason for the 6 filters you quote are part of your item… they aren't the std Leitz filter for Xenons) .  Seems that those odd Xenons are related with the X-Ray version of this lens… but I don't know much more about… can you post some other picture of your lens  (side view, front engraving without filter) ? I think it can be a good rarity.

 

Edited March 20, 2019 by luigi bertolotti

[Giuliobigazzi]

Here is a photo of the front ring. In nickel with black writing as opposed to black ring with white writing as seen on other xenons

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[Giuliobigazzi]

Also, although the filters are all the same, one has two red dots, some have one, some none. Not sure why this would be

[alan mcfall]

There were many unique Xenons between~ 491500 and ~491900, including prototype Summarit lenses.  What is your serial if you can say?  Some were for X-ray, some for Marine and some with nickle parts and engraving similar to yours.

[Giuliobigazzi]

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Serial is 491670. I’ve been informed that this lens along with a couple of others was shipped to Berlin on 26.6.43 on shipment 2003. ‘Special purpose lens’ but not x-ray. 

[luigi bertolotti]

Very very interesting item… if is a military lens, I wonder whey they provided that (apparent) "soft focus" filter…

[Giuliobigazzi]

It’s certainly a mystery. Very unusual for the filters not to be lost  after all these years and potentially a clue to its use? The soft focus one has two red dots on the side and an orange gelatine filter has a single red dot on the side. The other 5 are free of dots(yellow and red filters)

[luigi bertolotti]

You can surely take some pictures with it +"soft" filter on… I'd be very curios to see the effect at 1,5.... maybe it was made just because it attenuates the easy small errors on focus…  

[willeica]

How does the the filter go on? The only Leitz series of filters for the Xenon are slip on and carry a codename beginning with XOOxx. The series includes red and yellow filters, but not any soft focus filter. I suspect that what you have is a third party filter set. I have slip on filters for the later Summarits from the 1950s, but they look quite different to what you have here.

William

[Giuliobigazzi]

The filters are screw in, this lens is different in construction and does not have the slots for the bayonet filters. I’m not sure who made them, but they look the same as the nickel part of the lens