Hi,

I know there are only 2 optical formulae for the 50'lux. So is there any really difference between the more recent versions?

Are the coatings different between the current sliding hood versions and the later detachable hood versions? Are there any differences between the 70's and 80's versions? Image wise, is anything noticeable?

Cheers.

-- Simon Wong (drsimonwong@hotmail.com), September 01, 2001

Answers

The newer 50/1.4 certainly benefits from whatever coating technology Leica currently employs, plus the E46 filter is more readily available from many manufacturers. However the most palpable difference between the current and prior version is that the current one focuses to 0.7m vs the 1m of the E43 version.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), September 01, 2001.

Apparently the early Luxes don't go much cheaper than the current version, anyhow. At a photo show last year, someone was selling an old chrome Lux, the one with the knurled pattern at the base of the lens near the red dot. It had some minor damage or wear to the filter threads. He wanted $1000 for it. If shooting is the goal, and not collecting, I would say, get one made within the past 20 years or so, anyhow. Leica doesn't announce every single improvement, and there's bound to be one or two, in a 10 or 20 year old lens, compared to a 40 year old one.

-- Bob Fleischman (RFXMAIL@prodigy.net), September 01, 2001.