Is my 9cm f/4 elmar a butchered m mount?

I bought a 9cm f/4 elmar Ernst Leitz Wetzlar Nr. 874420 off of ebay

and it arrived today. It was advertised as a screwmount as I wanted

it to use on my Bessa R. The mount on it is a bayonet mount with a

red dot so I'm assuming that's the Leica M mount. At first I thought

it was just a screw->bayonet adaptor but I can't get the sucker off.

Do they just screw on and off? Finally, is the aperture end of the

9cm f/4 supposed to be removable. I was playing with the aperture

and that end of the lens screwed right off. The piece that came off

contained all of the glass in it and all that was left over was the

focusing end that is completely hollow. I don't have my digital

camera with me right now, but hope to have it back tomorrow. I'm

just trying to figure out what I have here and if I need to mail it

back on Monday for a refund.

a little more info:

the aperture portion's threads are smaller than the normal leica thread as the entire thing will fit inside the mounting ring of my Bessa R with some room to spare and the bayonet end of the lens has no screw threads that I can see.

My guess - there is an adapter on it... look closely at it again. Also the front will unscrew for visoflex use.

I'm still of the assupmtion that there's an adaptor on it, too. Any suggestions for taking off a stuck adaptor w/o warping or stripping the threads of the lens?

If memory serves correctly, the mounting flange on the Elmar-M 90 is rounded. A screw mount adapter will have fairly sharp corners on the outside edge. If you have a screw mount lens with an adapter included, you got a good deal! Send us the link to the auction, and maybe we can tell if you've got a LTM version or not. The last thing you want to do is to attempt to wrestle a non-existent adapter off of an M mount lens... Cheers,

Jeremy; I peeked at your auction. It has an adapter on it; which is shown it the right most photo. the bottom photo shows the lens bottom cap being a leica M type; with the lens and adapter in place too. Adapters can be stubburn to remove.....The adapter is sharp and hard to hold...A Leica M mount is easier to use....Im not sure if the rear cap will grip the adapter well enough to help........Looks like you got a good deal with the price..

here's photo of the end of the lens.

Just re-read your post: If the red dot is a plastic dot that sticks up, and not just a small relief machined and painted red, you've got an M mount. Thet're worth a bit more than the screw mount versions--you might want to sell it to someone on this Forum for a fair price, then go search for a screw mount version and buy film with the difference. Cheers,

<b>After peaking some more; I changed my mind.....</b>.This probably is a M mount lens........There is a red dot bump on the M FLANGE; WHICH IS NOT on my 90mm M mount adapter...........Offical adapters from Leitz have a recessed red dot; not raised (like in the bottom photo) ; and have markings M2 90 M3 LEITZ WETZLAR GERMANY DBP ; on the flat portion........<BR><BR>Do you see any markings on the flat portion of the flange? <BR><BR>There are no cut-outs/notches either on the flange of your lens; like my 90mm Leitz adapter has.....

Please post a photo of the other side of the mount, not looking up at the bottom of the lens. If we could see the red dot and its location it would be easy to give you an answer. If it is an adapter the easiest way to unscrew it is with it bayonetted into an M body. They can get stubborn!

<img src="http://ebay3.ipixmedia.com/abc/M28/_EBAY_51a8c06de5a3219ff83999963f64fcfc/i-2_B.JPG">

If lowes1 is your user name on the auction site, that is definitely an M mount lens. If the glass is clear, and aperture and focus function well, you got a sweet deal! Don't send it back--you could also use it as an excuse to get an M mount camera ;-) Cheers,

<img src="http://ebay3.ipixmedia.com/abc/M28/_EBAY_51a8c06de5a3219ff83999963f64fcfc/i-3_B.JPG">

The adaptors can seemingly weld themselves to the lens, hence my incredulty whenever somebody is lucky enough to have the opposite problem, the adaptor unscrewing! Try if you can attaching it to an M camera and unscrewing it on the camera, with the lens lock holding the adaptor for you. Careful not to try to hard though and damage the body. Otherwise it can be brute force, especially if the adaptor is surplus to requirements.

Jeremy; The raised bump means it is an M series lens

hmmm, well, I think I got my money's worth for $61 then :)

 

I just called a friend of mine with an M3 and it mounts right onto his camera. The end of the lens is pretty badly scratched up--I didn't care, I was just going to use it as a portrait lens. He has a 2nd car with a broken hood latch so the dented hood is held down by duct tape that he's been trying to sell and no 90mm lens while I own a pretty broken down car and a 90mm lens. We switched and we're both happy (I had to throw in some extra cash).

Now the only problem is that I still don't own a 90mm lens, but at least we all know that there are still deals to be found on ebay :)

Jeremy,

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I have a LTM Elmar 90/4 which is in user condition (barrel has sever using marks, chrome is coming off), but the lens itself is clear and was CLA'ed about half a year ago (I paid EUR 40 for that). Since I also have a Elmar-C for my M2, I would like to part with my LTM Elmar for EUR 75. Just contact me offline if interested. Unfortunately I do not have a digicam to take a picture, but could try a flatbed scan.

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Kai