Bought Me A 16mm Leica R Elemarit Fisheye Lens

Today I made a purchase that I am not sure was smart, I hope it does lead to some good images thou. Yesterday I read that my idol W. Eugene Smith used a 16mm Minolta lens for some of his images during his revolutionary and important Minamata photography book-project-series.

 Plaintiffs demonstrate with photos of their dead on the last day of the trial in October 1972. Photo by W. Eugene Smith

I always wanted to make images with that level of intensity, closeness. To that end I started to look at getting a Minolta camera body, Smith used a Minolta SR-T 101, they run about $100-$200 USD for one in working order. The 16mm fish eye F2.8 Minolta lens runs in at around $300-$500 USD. So the total cost of the lens and the body would probably be in the $550 USD range. The problem is of course that when you dealing with a camera that old (made in the 1970s) your probably going to have break downs and issues with it. Especially when your rough on gear as I am and are shooting in extreme conditions like a garbage dump in Asia.

So what to do?

I had read that the Leica R version of the lens was exactly the same (not sure if that is true or not) but cost far more. Looking up the cost of the Leica R 16mm F2.8 fish eye on eBay, I found they cost between $965 and  $1009 plus shipping and taxes. Wow!! Cannot go there! Too bad because I could have put that lens on one of my R6 cameras or the new-used R6.2 body. Then I would have the lens I wanted, the lens Mr Smith used, and as a bonus would have it on the highly reliable Leica R series body!

Before going to bed this morning I did a second search of Leica R 16mm lens. To my surprise I found one listed at $850 USD, there were 16 watchers on the lens. Still a ton of money, much more money than I should be spending now with the Thai trip so close. I thought thou what the hell, I will make an offer and see if the seller accepts. So I sent them a note offering $800 USD for the lens. Within minutes they replied with a offer link and I had bought the lens. The cost was $800 USD with another $50 for shipping from Florida USA.

Did I do the right thing? Not sure, it was a good price as compared to other versions of the same lens on eBay and about $200-$300 more than the cost of buying and shipping the lower quality Minolta body and equal quality lens separately. The lens is also a bit of a gimmick device as well. Thou I kind of like the wild ass distortions you can get with it. My thinking is that I want to use the lens up close this next trip, up close to workers, to people, and most importantly in tight difficult to shooting areas like the interiors of the dump shacks and places like the tiny rooms that some of my subjects live in (Khune Anapon). I was also thinking of using it for a series of nudes (have not shot nudes in a while). Hopefully I can make good use of the lens, hopefully I did not make a mistake. I will take it with me soon to Asia.

I now have a series of wide angles I will use this coming trip, a 16mm, 21mm, 24mm and 35mm.

Khune Anapon sitting in the doorway of his small room under a freeway

My new-used 16mm F2.8 Leica R Elemarit Lens

Here is the advert from the lens seller:

Leica FIsheye-Elmarit-R 16mm f/2.8 MF 3 Cam Lens "Pristine Optics"

Serial Number:  2816923

Made in:  Japan

Production Year:  1974

MPN:   11327

PRODUCT FEATURE:  

This is a 3 Cam mount  lens,  which fully works on all Leicaflex cameras, R3 to R7 and R8/R9  without Automatic Exposure Control.

This lens can be used with the new LEICA M Type 240 with a Leica adapter with fully compatible support.

But, we make no guarantees about usability of this lens on any system other than Leica R Series Cameras. Please do your own research if you plan to use this lens on non-Leica system with an adapter before you commit to buy.  An improper adapter may cause extensive damage to the lens.

WARNING:  If you plan to use this lens on your DSLR camera, your extra caution is required.  Hold the lens barrel, not FOCUSING RING while you try to attach it to an adapter or to your camera mount, otherwise, the FOCUSING RING might be snapped off, resulting in damage, which will cost you about $350.00 to have it repaired.  Please note that the buyer is  responsible for the damage repair if this happens. The Focusing ring is clearly described as being in working condition when the lens is listed. 

INCLUDES:

Leica Front Lens Cap:   14089

Leica Rear Lens Cap: 14162

Built-In Filters: 1A Y46/O56/80B

OVERALL CONDITIONS

OPTICS:  Please DO NOT use a flashlight because scratches/marks on the flashlight glass reflect through the lens elements you are inspecting, resulting in inaccurate inspection.

Front Lens Glass - Scratch/Cleaning Mark/Coating:   No Issues

Rear Lens Glass -   Scratch/Cleaning Marks/Coating: No Issues

 Internal Elements 

     Fungus/Hazing/Separation:  No Issues         

     Microscopic Dust:    A+  

     Microscopic Fiber/Particles:     A+  

     Microscopic Stray Hairline Cleaning Marks:    A+ 

     Microscopic Scratch:        A+  

     Microscopic Black Specks:      A+   

COSMETIC CONDITION:       Excellent+   

 MECHANICAL CONDITION:

Focusing Movement:    Smooth with proper consistence.    No backlash or play.

Aperture Ring:  Diaphragm stops correctly and snappy.

Diaphragm Blades:  Clean and free of oil.

Built-In Lens Hood Extends/Retracts:   N/A

PRICE is determined based on the conditions described above accordingly.

This is a pre-owned and/or vintage item, so if you are looking for an item free from any flaw, optically, cosmetically and mechanically, please consider that this item may not be for you.    Also we cannot provide the history of use, storage, handling or repair for this item.  

 GRADING CHART  

Internal Microscopic Dust/Fiber/Particles/Hairlines/Scratch/Specks:    *Some brand new lenses may occasionally have a slight amount of micro dust visible inside  the lens elements. This is a result of the manufacturing process and will not affect image quality or resolution.  As a result, previously owned lenses like this one will generally  exhibit the same consistence. Also sometimes, some micro dust can be attracted to the glass surface, and it can be blown away.

A+       Hardly Visible: Or if any, extremely minimal amount. 

A         Minimal Amount: that is absolutely insignificant on a perfect rendition of the optics.

AB      Some Amount:  that is absolutely insignificant on a perfect rendition of the optics

B       Moderate Amount:  that is absolutely insignificant on a perfect rendition of the optics

C       Normal Amount:    that is absolutely insignificant on a perfect rendition of the optics