Leica Showcase Leica 9cm F4 Elmar-M Collapsible on the Leica M8 and M9. But Don't collapse it!

Brian

Product of the Fifties
All wide-open, this lens can be used n the Digital Leica's but CANNOT be collapsed. Used with an IR cut filter, wide-open.

I kept this lens over the thin Tele-Elmarit 90/2.8. Just like the rendering.

The front element of the collapsible lens comes off easily, allows for cleaning out haze that builds up on each side of the aperture. This one cleaned up nicely.
 

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Nice lens for sure! Just thinking maybe you should have called the thread,"9cm F4 Elmar-M Not Collapsible on the Leica M8." :)

Very much like that it's easy to clean the interior - recognizing that "easy" is relative.
 
Getting under the front element was easy on tis one: rubber grommet to take off the name ring, and needle-nosed pliers used as a spanner to take off the retaining ring, front element off.
 
Brian, you are solely and personally responsible for me having one of these under-rated lenses. ;) I remember reading your instructions as above on RFF, went searching for a "hazy" example, found one very cheap and cleaned it up myself exactly as you describe. One small additional tip - I found the best "tool" to remove the front ring was actually the rubber tip of a walking stick, which I bought new for the purpose. It is big enough to get a good grip on when you apply it to the front of the lens. :)

Sent from another Galaxy
 
welcome to Leica place-

A number of these older lenses get a build-up haze on both sides of the aperture blades. The construction of the collapsible Elmar makes it easy to clean, I have an early Rigid Elmar 9cm F4, not easy to get apart. I believe the later M-Mount Rigid Elmars are also easy to clean, but have not personally opened one up.
 
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Gulfarium
by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

At F5.6 on the M9, this lens is quite easy to focus for shots like this. The Button release for the collapse given a good reference point for focus-by-feel, ie- moving the focus ring to preset points as the subject moves into them. As the action got closer, I knew that 5m was the correct focus.
 
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