Black Paint M lenses.

[4X5B&W]

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Around 2000, Leica did a special batch of bodies and Black paint lenses.....35 Cron and 50 Lux, I think.

 

Does anybody know if these lenses are BP over Brass, or were they just the standard Aluminum lenses with BP rather than anodize.

[noah_addis]

I have a 35 'Cron and 90 'Cron AA that are black paint. They are made with black paint over brass and are noticeably heavier than their black chrome counterparts.

 

Both have very smooth focusing action, in general they have a much better feel than my black chrome lenses. I don't use either one very much. The 35 I bought as a lighter, smaller alternative to my 35 'lux, but while it is smaller it feels heavier than the 'lux to me, though I've never weighed the two of them.

 

The 90 is very heavy so I tend to bring my 75 instead since I rarely shoot with long lenses. So I don't use them much but I can't bring myself to sell them either. They feel great to use, nice and solid.

 

I believe there is also a 50 'lux in black paint, not sure if it's the ASPH or Pre-ASPH version.

[JBA]

I also have the BP 90 AA 'Cron. It's the heaviest, densest lens I've ever used.

 

The only recent BP 50 'Luxes I've seen have been the pre-Asph version.

[NB23]

There was a 50 ASPH BP lens for sale not long ago. I wanted it badly but it was already sold. Argh!

 

I own the 50 pre-asph black paint. It's starting to brass. I believe it will look beautiful once well brassed up.

[peter_n]

Around 2000, Leica did a special batch of bodies and Black paint lenses.....35 Cron and 50 Lux, I think.

 

Does anybody know if these lenses are BP over Brass, or were they just the standard Aluminum lenses with BP rather than anodize.

I have a BP 35 ASPH and a BP 50 pre-ASPH. Both are brass.

 

 

[4X5B&W]

Thanks for the feedback........looks like they are brass, without handling one myself I just assumed the were Aluminum.

 

That's good news.

[SteveYork]

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They were all back paint over brass. They were as heavy as the silver lenses. I never did like the maroon scale; I prefer yellow. But I did own a set for a short period, before passing it on to a kindred spirit in the Far East.

[ddp]

I believe the BP 50 asph was part of the LHSA kit.

[adan]

There have been several LHSA-related kits (as well as the "Millenium" M6) that had BP 50 lenses.

 

One included BP pre-ASPH 50 'luxes (and at least a few of those are on eBay at any given time).

 

A more recent one included a BP ASPH 50 'lux that was retro-styled to look like a 1960s 'lux - no built-in shade, grid-textured knurling around the base, also available in silver (500 of each)

[peter_n]

Just took a quick snap of the two BP Summilux lenses together to illustrate the difference. On the left is the ASPH that was released with the MP3 a couple of years ago, and on the right is the pre-ASPH that was released earlier.

 

[wattsy]

The black paint lenses seem to go in and out of vogue very quickly. I have the black paint 35 Summicron which I bought only because it was significantly cheaper new (about 2 years ago) than the bog standard black aluminium one. It's a nice lens with a very smooth focussing action and I rather like the extra weight - it balances very well on an M8. I can't say I'm especially keen on the black paint finish itself.