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The Collapsible Lens Vs the collapsible photographer.
Which one gives up first?
One of my favourite Leica lenses was an M-mount f:2.8 Elmar that twisted and then collapsed into its own mount. When you shut it your M camera became noticeably flatter and more portable.
The lens was good enough to be a staple of candid wedding coverage in the 1960's here in Perth and it was from a wedding studio that I bought my example. I did not need to peer through it at f:2.8 so it functioned perfectly for me at f:5.6 to f:8. I'm willing to bet that it never shifted from f:8 at any wedding.
If you were forgetful and left it collapsed, you did not get a picture - you got a lesson. Depending on your intelligence you got one or many...shall I show you my collection?
Now I have a pancake lens for my mirrorless camera that is nearly as flat as the old Elmar, and is ready to go straight off. It corresponds to a 40 mm on the older Leica and that is close enough for me.
You can buy Voigtländer lenses that do the old collapse, and now a Chinese one from a new maker. The use of them would be a nostalgic exercise, though not to be dismissed as such. They would be close to the screw-mount Elmar in a lot of aspects.
If only the camera bodies would flatten out as well.
All text and images by Richard Stein
