Description

Optics: Fantastic condition for its age, near mint.  Lens appears to have single coating on some elements, and uncoated on other element surfaces. There are the usual micro air bubbles in a few places.

Fun Fact:

Around the mid to late 1930’s Zeiss began to develop and introduce single lens coatings.  Their first few years of single coated lenses often had uncoated elements  mixed with single coated elements on the same lens.  Often the front element was coated, along with possibly an internal or rear element surface.  These internal single coatings are very fragile and can be removed accidentally by merely touching it.  Typically, the single coating was of a light violet appearance (as the single coating colour on this copy).

When they introduced the T multi-coating (double coated: Saphire Blue and Light Violet), towards the end of WW2, this is when the famous red T was placed on their lenses.  During WW2, the fact that Zeiss had coating abilities on various lens elements was suppressed as a military secret.  Often, the single coated (and in rare cases, double coated) lenses from this era would have been military issued lenses.

Lens is a partial single/ partial uncoated Sonnar dated to around 1936.

Aperture: 100% Oil Free (ultrasonic cleaning).

Mechanics: Excellent – Lens mechanics were degreased, ultrasonically cleaned, partially polished. Fresh Synthetic greases. Certain parts of the lens have been finished in gloss black.  Apertures f/4 and f/5.6 in red fonts, to indicate Apex of the Sonnar Focus Shift.

Close focus mod: Lens mechanics and helicoid have been modified to focus down to 0.67m (instead of the standard 1m) with full RF cam support.

Brass Finger Tab: Custom finger tab has been machined out of brass, and permanently attached to the focus ring of the lens.

Notes:
Lens underwent a full restoration – completely dismantled, restored, then rebuilt from the ground up.  Lens has been adjusted and collimated for accurate Leica RF usage.  Lens formula contains focus shift (a classic Sonnar trait).  This lens has been optimised for:  f/2 at close to mid distances.
Lens comes with an LTM to M adapter and front and rear lens caps. The front lens cap is black painted metal containing an engraved Zeiss Jena logo.

Please note, the Leica cameras shown in the photos are for illustration purposes only and not included in this listing.