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Why no lens hoods with pre-war Leicas ?


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Reading almost any guide to photography from the earliest days till the Second World War there was a recommendation to use a lens hood to prevent flare and substantially to protect the lens from casual knocks. Does anyone know why Leica did not supply a lens hood with their pre-war cameras. Was it a marketing ploy? Surely it was in Leitz interest to have their cameras producing the best images possible. Strange.

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25 minutes ago, pebbles said:

Reading almost any guide to photography from the earliest days till the Second World War there was a recommendation to use a lens hood to prevent flare and substantially to protect the lens from casual knocks. Does anyone know why Leica did not supply a lens hood with their pre-war cameras. Was it a marketing ploy? Surely it was in Leitz interest to have their cameras producing the best images possible. Strange.

Most Leica lenses, except those with slide out hoods and extreme wide angles have not been supplied with hoods, they would lose the chance to sell an accessory at outrageous prices!

Gerry 

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Hello pebbles,

When I was discovering the classic Barnack Leica world, I had same question as you now, why not dedicated hood for each Leica/Leitz lens sold.

I didn't have answer for why, but had a nice idea when I count the number of different hoods in catalogs with pricing for each one, very expensive.

 

I think of two ideas : the universal FIKUS offered on sale since 1933 would be two or three samples if offered on sale with each Elmar/Summar/Hektor lens 35/50/90/135

and would not be economical for users.

The second idea is same as modern Summarit-M 2.5 lens line to offer less price on lens, and if customer want to adapt each hood with custom/dedicated hood or FIKUS.

Edited by a.noctilux
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There was pretty much a dedicated lenshood for every model of lens, but you had to buy them separately, some are hard to find now and expensive such as the one for the 28mm Hektor.

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46 minutes ago, Pyrogallol said:

There was pretty much a dedicated lenshood for every model of lens, but you had to buy them separately, some are hard to find now and expensive such as the one for the 28mm Hektor.

Which book is that?

 

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6 minutes ago, Hello said:

Which book is that?

 

It looks like it's the Leica Accessory Guide.  I have the 2nd edition and the same page is marked as page 117 so Pyrogallol's might be the 1st edition.  The 2nd edition was revised by Dennis Laney and published by Hove Collectors Books.  ISBN 1-874707-26-X.

Pete.

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I accept all that has been said but if picture quality was paramount, which it was pre-war to show what could be achieved by a miniature camera, it seems odd that Leica did not do everything to ensure that by supplying the appropriate  lens hood with each camera sold.

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12 hours ago, Hello said:

Which book is that?

 

This one

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11 hours ago, pebbles said:

I accept all that has been said but if picture quality was paramount, which it was pre-war to show what could be achieved by a miniature camera, it seems odd that Leica did not do everything to ensure that by supplying the appropriate  lens hood with each camera sold.

I believe you are applying today’s thinking to a totally different era. If you look at old photos of people using early Leicas, you will rarely see a hood being used. While I have most of the early hoods in my collection, I rarely use one, particularly with the 50 Elmar and Summar. I never see flare unless I point the lens directly towards the sun.

William

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1 hour ago, willeica said:

I believe you are applying today’s thinking to a totally different era. If you look at old photos of people using early Leicas, you will rarely see a hood being used. While I have most of the early hoods in my collection, I rarely use one, particularly with the 50 Elmar and Summar. I never see flare unless I point the lens directly towards the sun.

William

Using a hood with the 3.5 5cm Elmar is a pain, changing the aperture means taking the hood off unless you use the fancy ones that connect with the aperture control, and they 'disconnect' easily.

Gerry 

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