hi all

wonder if u have seen and feel the new limited Black paint 35/2 asph and 50/1.4

they are very gorgeous! The killer part is that they look very retro! I took the following links from a seller on ebay:

http://www.foto-koester.de/m62/index.htm

35/2asph: I love the retro vented old lux hood. It looks very lovely with the thick black paint, red markings plus black paint retro lens cap!

50/1.4: I simply love its retro scalloped focusing ring, period.

But there is a catch. I hate its glossy finish, leaving plenty of fingerprints all over. It does seem to match any body except the M6 black paint. Even my trusty M4-2 does not match.

any comments and feedback?

may the lux be with u!

-- luxman (ericssan@yahoo.com), April 07, 2002

Answers

I agree the black-paint Leica items look beautiful and if I wanted one purely for a display piece I could see the point. But I've heard people say the reason they buy (for a hefty price premium) black- paint Leicas is because they love the way they wear down to the brass. To me that's totally nuts but it's their money.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), April 07, 2002.

Do you mean that it does not match the M6 black paint? I would have thought it matches that but not the others!

-- Jack Matlock (jfmatlo@attglobal.net), April 07, 2002.

Oh no, fingerprints! That makes it totally unusable. What are Leica thinking of!? Or you for that matter? Do you have a pair of shoes that match as well?

-- Steve Barnett (barnet@globalnet.co.uk), April 07, 2002.

hi jack

I meant that the black paint lenses only seem to match black paint M6s only. Similar to what u said.

-- luxman (ericssan@yahoo.com), April 07, 2002.

You ask whether I have seen and felt these lenses. Well, yes I have. I bought them - at little more than the price of the standard chrome lenses - to match my LHSA M6. They don't make my photos any better but they are a bit nicer to hold than the standard versions. That's about it, really. Their main raison d'etre is that they match black paint Leicas. I am pleased to confirm that fingerprints wipe off with the help of a suitable cloth. As for the brass - drop me a line in 20 years time to find out whether it's showing through yet...

-- Paul Hart (paulhart@dornoch.u-net.com), April 07, 2002.

For (a lot) less money, you could just buy the Voigtlander black lenses, and they'll probably wear down to the brass even faster....

-- John Morris (jtmorris@jump.net), April 09, 2002.