Description
The Summitar 2.0/5cm built from 1939 to 1953 was the predecessor of the legendary Leica Summicron 5cm.
The Summitar replaced the Summar 2/5cm lens which was deliverd until 1940 and was optically superior. Even today, the imaging performance of a Summitar 5cm in good condition can be regarded as very good.
During the long production time approximately 171,000 units were produced. Early versions have the old European aperture series and have a circuar aparture, later versions are engraved with international aperture and have a hexagonal aparture. The first factory coated copies of the Summitar were made in 1942 and were mainly intended for military use.
During the Second World War, many of the lenses were used by governmental organs and the military. For this reason, in very rare cases, the Summitar can be found with corresponding engravings and special technical details, nowadays. Since many of the lenses used during the war were damaged or lost, the finding of one of these pieces in their unaltered, original state is an absolute peculiarity!
Offered is a Summitar 2,0/5cm from 1939 in good to very good condition. The elements are in good condition regarding the age of the lens and there is some oil residue on the aparture blades.
What is special about this particular lens is that the serial number is followed by an asterisk. This means that the number has been assigned twice. So there is or have been a second lens with identical serial number.
Cameras and lenses with duplicate serial numbers are extremely rare and therefore highly popular among collectors.
Total production: approx 37.400 units between 1939-1942
Rarity: R5, duplicate serial number R8
Rarity forecast: R5, duplicate serial number R8
