I have a 1950s vintage Leica Summicron in Leica Screw mount that
has this yellow tinge too. I bought a hand-held Geiger counter recently
for a trip to the Trinity (first A-bomb test) site in New Mexico. I had
heard that this Summicron was maybe radioactive and when I tested it
with my Geiger counter it sure enough was - Reading 1000 counts/minute
with my Geiger counter held right up to the front lens element.
I had assumed the yellow in the glass was a result of the radioactivity
affecting the glass and or coatings -- I didn't think this lens came with
the yellow tint in it when new. I assumed the same thing about the 55/1.2
Zuiko -- is this not the case and did these "radioactive" lenses come from
the factory with their glass having a slight yellow tinge??
Also, what other lenses in the Zuiko lineup have radioactive glass (if any)?
Mark Hammons
By the time I bought my M3 new with dual range Summicron the
reflection was blue. An informal poll of friends with Japanese
cameras at the time revealed that most of their lenses reflected
yellow.
Winsor
--
Winsor Crosby
Long Beach, California
mailto:wincros@xxxxxxxxxxx
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