d30gaijin Posted January 2, 2022 Share #1 Posted January 2, 2022 Advertisement (gone after registration) I have a very nice 73mm f/1.9 Hektor serial number 121XXX black paint and nickel distance ring scale, and the scale is in feet, not meters. The Leica/Leitz books I have show the 73 Hektor as being introduced circa 1930/31. The serial number of my 73 Hektor is not listed in any of the books I have as they start out with serial numbers 156001 in 1933. Today I saw the Summilux.net web site listed in another thread here that allows one to plug in their lens serial number to check description and date of manufacture. The date of my 73 Hektor appears to come up as 1927 followed by ?? question marks were the model description should be. Any thoughts that this might be a 1927 vintage lens rather than the 1930/31 that I thought it was? Is it possible the 73 Hektor came out earlier than 1930/31? I also have a 50mm f/2.5 Hektor in very nice condition too but no serial number that I can find on it. I'm guessing it should be nickel but it looks more like chrome to me. I thought maybe it my have been a non-standardized lens that was later standardized but there is no "0" stamped on it to show standardized at some point but it couples just fine to my Leica IIIc, IIIf, and M6 cameras in terms of the focus being correct/matching the rangefinder. Any thoughts on that one? Thanks for looking, Don Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 2, 2022 Posted January 2, 2022 Hi d30gaijin, Take a look here Mystery (Sort Of) Leitz 73mm f/1.9 Hektor . I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
alan mcfall Posted January 2, 2022 Share #2 Posted January 2, 2022 There were 9 or 10 small lots of the Hektor 73 with lower serials than the 121xxx lot. In Thiele, they are all designated as 1931/32. I rather doubt your lens was made before that. Even uncoupled 73 Hektors ( typically 94xxx, 96xxx and 97xxx) are quite rare, and rangefinder coupled cameras were not widely available before Feb. 1932. The "plug-in" web site may contain errors .In general, serial numbers were not used before 1931, so I do not see anything that points to 1927 for this lens. The 50 Hektor should be Nickle, but may have been chrome plated later on. A few unnumbered Hektor 50 lenses exist( I have 2) and most likely they were Model A camera fixed lenses that were later removed and usually standardized. My unnumbered Hektor 50 lenses have the "O", small and near the screw. Pictures might reveal additional thought. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
d30gaijin Posted January 2, 2022 Author Share #3 Posted January 2, 2022 Alan, Thank you for your reply. I had my doubts that the 121XXX 73/1.9 Hektor could be 1927 so figured I'd ask. Curious where Summilux.net might have gotten their info? Regarding the 50/2.5 Hektor, it is possible that it was chromed at some point post production. The chrome on my lens is in incredibly good condition for the vintage of the lens. Very little wear marks on the sliding barrel. A 50/2.5 Hektor I had before this one was indeed nickel and showed quite a bit of wear on the barrel. I'll take some pics of both tomorrow and post them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerzy Posted January 2, 2022 Share #4 Posted January 2, 2022 vor 7 Stunden schrieb alan mcfall: most likely they were Model A camera fixed lenses that were later removed and usually standardized Alan, yes, this is most probable case. But there could be as well another possibility. Recently I saw 3 unnumbered Elmars (and 2 of them I inspected/disassembled) with serial number engraved/stamped inside, on the inner, optical barrel, There all were originating from an early II cameras (SN range 71xxx- 72xxx), were in 11 oclock mount without inifintity lock. No SN outside, on black ring. Have "0" on DOF. I have not seen yet Hektor like this but it is very well possible that some of them could bear SN inside and none outside 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
willeica Posted January 2, 2022 Share #5 Posted January 2, 2022 15 hours ago, d30gaijin said: Curious where Summilux.net might have gotten their info? That website is not a reliable source of information. It depends on information that has been input already and if that is wrong then what you will get will be wrong. Hartmut Thiele shows the following batches of 7.3cm Hektors in the 121xxx range. 121089-121406, 121563-121708. These are listed as being from 1932. Is your lens from one of those ranges? It is hard to tell if a lens has been chromed without examining it personally. Is the unnumbered, but apparently standardised, Hektor 5cm an 11 O'Clock lens or a 7 O'Clock lens ? If it is the latter it was almost certainly standardised. There are, however, some unnumbered 11 O'Clock Hektors which were standardised to go on the I Model C standardised camera. I have one of those lenses and it has a 0 in the usual place beside the focus knob, but it also has a 0 on the rear of the flange. In addition it has a 0 under the focus knob, but I believe that this third 0 relates to the true focal length. I have a 7 O'Clock chrome Hektor lens with the SN 168283. Thiele lists this serial number as coming from a batch of nickel Hektors from 1933. In addition the chrome on the lens looks 'too good to be true'. I was a bit concerned about this and I asked Jim Lager about it. He told me to look at page 36 of his lens book where I saw a chrome Hektor with the SN 168096 (from the same batch as mine). The lens was also in splendid condition and in feet scale like my one. I ceased to worry about the lens at that point. William Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrogallol Posted January 3, 2022 Share #6 Posted January 3, 2022 I have an un-numbered standardised 11 o’clock nickel 50mm Hektor. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! 1 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/328019-mystery-sort-of-leitz-73mm-f19-hektor/?do=findComment&comment=4343980'>More sharing options...
roydonian Posted January 6, 2022 Share #7 Posted January 6, 2022 (edited) Advertisement (gone after registration) Production of 7.3cm Hektor lenses started at a time when serial numbers were only five digits long. For example, mine is 97156. Originally built in uncoupled form and shipped in mid-December 1931, it was returned to Wetzlar in early 1932, presumably to be rebuilt as a coupled lens. Edited January 6, 2022 by roydonian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
UliWer Posted January 6, 2022 Share #8 Posted January 6, 2022 On 1/3/2022 at 8:30 AM, Pyrogallol said: I have an un-numbered standardised 11 o’clock nickel 50mm Hektor. Strange that your 11 o'clock Hector's focussing tab does not collide with the knob for long exposure times of the III. Mine does, and I always thought this problem was the main reason why they changed the tab to 7 o'clock. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerzy Posted January 6, 2022 Share #9 Posted January 6, 2022 vor 36 Minuten schrieb UliWer: Strange that your 11 o'clock Hector's focussing tab does not collide with the knob for long exposure this is because it is an 11 oclock, without infinity lock. As you may see the lens flange is smaller in diameter (45mm) compared to those with lock (47mm), there is more space between focus knob and lslow speeds dial 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
d30gaijin Posted January 19, 2022 Author Share #10 Posted January 19, 2022 (edited) Thank you to all that replied. Truly a big help. Be that as it may, I still owe some pics of my pair of Hektor lenses and will try to post them soon. Someone above thought that my 50/2.5 Hektor chrome version (no serial number) was possibly later chromed but I tend to think not. I think it original. Why do I think that? There is a Leica dealer based in Austria selling an early chrome 50/2.5 Hektor as rare... and yes, we all know what that is worth. But it does lend credence that mine may be an original chrome 50/2.5 Hektor. So I reread the books I have and Laney and Lager describes the chrome Hektor as HEKTOCHROM, 1933. Now I only have to try to figure out why mine has no serial number when it appears to have been made well after Leitz started serializing their lenses. Guess I should simply celebrate that my 50/2.5 Hektor is in the beautiful condition it is in. 15 years ago, just after I bought it, I sent it to Focal Point in Colorado to have it CLA'd. Sadly he left the business a few years later. Truly one of the best camera and lens guy in the USA. I once had him refigure an old fat body 90mm f/4 Elmar front element. He was that good. Anyway, he remarked how nice my 50/2.5 Hektor was, one of the best he had seen. Jim, I think his name was, but don't quote me on that. I should know it for sure but age is catching up to me these days. He also did the CLA on my 73mm f/1.9 Hektor. Don Edited January 19, 2022 by d30gaijin 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarmaCamera Posted January 22, 2022 Share #11 Posted January 22, 2022 Trying to find out more about Hektor lens- I see rare doesn't mean valuable! Just not sure if this Hektor lens will clean up on this 1932 Leica ii serial on the lens 96325. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/328019-mystery-sort-of-leitz-73mm-f19-hektor/?do=findComment&comment=4364953'>More sharing options...
d30gaijin Posted January 23, 2022 Author Share #12 Posted January 23, 2022 (edited) Not sure why you say "rare does not mean valuable?" Not sure it ever has. Rare is rare and only as valuable as someone looking for such a lens might offer you. Could be a lot, could be a little. The value is what it means to you. Your 50/2.5 Hektor appears the same as mine, chrome rather than nickel. That alone should increase its value but no guarantees in that regard. You lens appears to have a lot, really a lot, of front surface scratches, or at least a lot of haze. Both can be cleaned up if you can find a competent lens person to do the work. Have you tried to take any photos with the 50/2.5 Hektor lens? No matter what, they only made X number of such lenses. Its value will only increase over time but it might be a lot more of value to you if you actually take some photos with it and discover its character. Best of luck with your 50/2.5 Hektor. Don Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Edited January 23, 2022 by d30gaijin Add Attachments Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/328019-mystery-sort-of-leitz-73mm-f19-hektor/?do=findComment&comment=4365125'>More sharing options...
d30gaijin Posted January 23, 2022 Author Share #13 Posted January 23, 2022 Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/328019-mystery-sort-of-leitz-73mm-f19-hektor/?do=findComment&comment=4365134'>More sharing options...
d30gaijin Posted January 23, 2022 Author Share #14 Posted January 23, 2022 Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/328019-mystery-sort-of-leitz-73mm-f19-hektor/?do=findComment&comment=4365135'>More sharing options...
d30gaijin Posted January 23, 2022 Author Share #15 Posted January 23, 2022 Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/328019-mystery-sort-of-leitz-73mm-f19-hektor/?do=findComment&comment=4365138'>More sharing options...
d30gaijin Posted January 23, 2022 Author Share #16 Posted January 23, 2022 Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/328019-mystery-sort-of-leitz-73mm-f19-hektor/?do=findComment&comment=4365139'>More sharing options...
d30gaijin Posted January 23, 2022 Author Share #17 Posted January 23, 2022 Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/328019-mystery-sort-of-leitz-73mm-f19-hektor/?do=findComment&comment=4365142'>More sharing options...
d30gaijin Posted January 23, 2022 Author Share #18 Posted January 23, 2022 Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/328019-mystery-sort-of-leitz-73mm-f19-hektor/?do=findComment&comment=4365143'>More sharing options...
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