Leitz Wetzlars on my 600d

I have inherited my grandfathers Leica Flex and three Leitz Wetzlar Elmarit R Summicron lenses, a 35mm f2.8, a 50mm f2, and a 135mm f2.8. Its a pretty cool collection, he even sent the original warranty and booklet of the product line, as well as some leica lens containers and some leather lens cases. Anyways, i ordered an elmarit r to EOS adapter and plan to adapt the lenses to my 600d. I noticed that the foam lining the leathers lens cases has dry rotted and made its way as chunky foam dust into the 135mm lens. KEH camera said they charge a flat $130 to clean an entire lens out, is it worth it or would I be better off opening it up to clean myself? The tools to dissasemble a lens are pricey but cheaper than $130..

Firstly, I would try out the lenses on your 600D to see if you get the image quality that you are hoping for. Then decide if you like manual focus and manual aperture control.
As far as the 135mm 'chunky foam dust' is concerned, do you mean it has got between the lens elements , or just externally ? If its between the glass, I doubt if it is the foam dust, it may be fungus. The fact you do not have the tools to hand, suggests that you have not dismantled a lens before, so I would suggest not to start with such a good lens, but an old scrap one. You will find it is not as easy as you think. As well as having to keep everything scrumptiously clean, you come across screws that are difficult to remove and elements which do not appear to come apart !
So, I suggest $130 is reasonable, compared to the cost of tools and a badly re-assembled lens, or even worse, a bag full of bits you can't get back together......... I've bin there, but now have a bit more success !

Awesome haul!

If the 50 is one with the 55mm filter threads, it's a really nice lens, probably worth $400+ depending upon condition (I'd really like one, but I may save myself a little and go with a Zeiss 50 f/1.7 instead). The 35 is probably worth at least a few hundred, too, and is nice. I've seen mixed reviews on the 135, but again, worth a few hundred bucks. With that in mind, consider the confidence in your own workmanship.

FYI - Leica has terms that denote max aperture: Summilux, Summicron, Elmarit, Elmar, etc. Summicron = f/2, so you have one Summicron, not three. The others, both f/2.8, would be Elmarits. See here for more - http://www.stevehuffph​oto.com/2009/12/17/fun​kyleicanames/

Ok cool, I will let the pros handle it. Is 130 a fair price though? Whyfi, the 50 is the old model, first version. Good call on the lens handles, I have two elmarits and a summicron. Unfortunately the summicron has some pits on the front element but I'm hoping dust delete data will stop it from causing to much problems.

calypsob wrote in post #17198210
Ok cool, I will let the pros handle it. Is 130 a fair price though? Whyfi, the 50 is the old model, first version. Good call on the lens handles, I have two elmarits and a summicron. Unfortunately the summicron has some pits on the front element but I'm hoping dust delete data will stop it from causing to much problems.

KEH is a pretty reputable place. I'm sure that you could look around and find someplace willing to do it for less, but the service and results may be a crapshoot.

If you would like to get into manual focus lenses, I'd say you are off to a fine start with those lenses. I've personally used some Leica R lenses on Canon cameras in the past (eg. Summicron 35/2, Summicron 90/2, Elmar 180/4, Vario-Elmar 35-70/4) and I've always been impressed with the quality. Even some of the older lenses produce remarkable results. It would be even more fun to use them at their "native" focal length by pairing them with a full frame camera. It would be wise to have KEH (or any other person with good "know-how") to service the lenses for you for peace of mind. Leica lenses are very well made in general and would last many decades if well looked after.

Leitz\Leica R glass works perfectly on Canon. For my occasional use, I found that my 10yr. old Leica lenses did favourably compare with Canon L .

So, just try the various focal lengths and do not worry about cosmetics, unless it impacts the picture. And, do not be awed by brand names. Lenses made by Canon, and others, can help make excellent pictures. The eye that sees, the moment captured decides, so skills and chance may well count for more than optical excellence.


As to repairs, all optics have to be assembled with extreme precision, so amateur disassembly will probably end with worse performance. Wetzlar\Solms service will bring it back to original specs, but is costly. Heretics might choose to sell and buy a nearly as good, and cheaper, more recent lens instead.

p.

This is a good source of information:
http://www.pebbleplace​.com/Personal/Leica_db​.html