135mm F1.4 for M on Ebay???

[jotr51]

Check out this item on Ebay. I wrote the seller but he STILL insists

its a 1.4 M lens. I sure don't find it in ANY M lens digest or

compendium. He MUST mean F4.0.

Tele- Elmar M 1.4/135 Leica Camera Lens Mint

Item # 1943460506

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1943460506

 

Thanks for reading....

 

Frank Weir

[jotr51]

I mean, for one thing, the glass on such a lens would be, well, more substantial than the picture indicates. It's obviously the F. 4.0.

[roberto_watson_garc_a]

He must mean 1:4, not the same than 1.4, he most be one of those excentrics masters of photography.

[markci]

f/4 is also commonly written 1:4, which is pretty close to 1.4. The guy is confused.

[albert knapp md]

And yet people still purchase lenses from erudite sellers like

this? It proves yet once again that my long held contention that

eBay is the "fraudster's and ignoramus' paradise" remains quite

correct.

[kelly_flanigan1]

Ebay is just another channel for buying goods and selling goods. There is good value if one does ones homework to greatly reduce ones risks. Many people have problems because they dont know how to read; and make grave assumptions. The poorer vendors will have bad photos; too many "as is" claims; and usually many negative feedbacks. Avoid Ebay if you dont want to read the ads text; or make assumptions as to freight costs etc. Learn to ask questions at the start of an auction; and not at the last minute; It takes time to answer many goofy questions. Mention the auction number and item name. <BR><BR>A red flag should be in ones mind If one thinks this lens is really a 135mm F1.4 ; that is clearly absurd; and an error if labeled that way.

[paul hart]

This item has the benefit of a decent photo, and for all the world it looks like the last version of the f4 Tele-Elmar before they redesigned it to include a built-in hood (though it remained optically identical). I see the auction has ended unsuccessfully anyway.

 

I don't know what the reserve on this lens was, but if the Buy it Now price is anything to go by it was probably too high. The Tele-Elmar is a superb lens but not popular, so it doesn't go for much by Leica standards.

 

My experience of e**y is that if due care is taken, and some commonsense rules applied, it is a reasonably safe place to buy and sell.

[alec1]

It's gone now. Somebody's going to be mad when they discover the f stops stop on f/4!

[jotr51]

Thanks to all for responding. Hope I didn't waste everyone's time since the answer was obvious. I was just amazed that it was so labeled. I have had good luck on Ebay for the most part but I concur that one needs to be careful. Caveat Emptor is the order of the day. KEH.com is a great commercial place for guaranteed used photo items and I think they sell the Tele-ELmar 135 f. 4 for two or three hundred depending on condition if memory serves. This seller had a $600 Buy It Now price.

 

Thanks to everyone on Photo Net for being such a great photo resource.

 

frank weir