IDENTIFYING SUMMICRON 35/2.0 LTM

Hi, everybody!

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It would be very interesting to identify my LTM Summicron 35mm F2.0, # 1631461. I am a shooter, not a collector and do not have a good reference book except Hove pocket book. Some years ago I purchased this lens in Germany in ex+ condition. I use it on MP4 and IIIf and get razor-sharp pictures. This lens has screw-mount & bayonet-mount facilities. The bayonet-adapter is fixed to screw-mount with a tiny screw. As Hove says, LTM Summicron was produced from 1958 in a quantity of 577 units. In 1958 only one LTM 35mm Summicron was produced. I referenced the number of my �cron (1631461) exactly to 1958. Pardon my language. Any comments would be appreciated.

Production started at about 1640xxx. It sounds like you have one

of the very first production or more probably pre-production

lenses. If it is in good shape, I would sell it to a collector and

purchase a newer lens which will perform much better wide

open and leave you with cash to spare. The last LTM 35/2 I saw

was going for about $2200US.

Victor,

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I have several collector's books and looked up your lens. I found a

couple of things. First, the TRUE screw mount 35mm Summicron is in

fact rare, thus valuable to collectors. Secondly, many people out to

make money have falsely offered for sale the type lens you have...

with the set screw locked M mount removed. One book I have "Leica

Collector's Guide" by Dennis Laney tells the potential buyer to

examine the lens for the obvious missing set screw... in effect

exposing a fraudulently represented lens.

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Regarding the low quantity, (only one lens in 1958), the book says

that the numbers come from Leitz in Germany and may be ignoring

production in Canada. I know that my first Summicron 90mm lens had

the same serial number range and was produced in Canada... So that

point may be valid.

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Anyhow, it is up to you as to whether the lens is a "user"

or "collectable". Recently discontinued Pre-Aspheric 35mm Summicrons

are readily available on the used market for round 600 US Dollars.

They are very fine lenses, openly praised until the introduction of

the Aspheric lens. Many users like the out of focus rendition of the

non aspheric, and after f2.8 or f4.0, the lenses are suppose to be

comparable. If your lens is pristine, you might want to get a user

model to retain value.

Thank you, John and Al. Al you are right. Darryl from DSCamera (L.A)

old me that I have the M2 version of this lens and the lens is not a

TRUE screw mount lens. It may have been converted in the past, but it

started out as a bayonet lens.

The main difference is that my lens has focus from 0.7 meter, but

true lens has focus from 1 meter.

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Regards,

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Victor