I put in a bid on a whim for a 50/3.5 uncoated Elmar. I did it mostly because it thought, “if I get it that cheap, I’ll be happy.” I really didn’t expect to win and didn’t even follow the aution. I bid one pound over someone else, still leaving it very cheap, and no one bid over me.

It is in beautiful shape. Clear glass. If there are cleaning scratches, I’d have to pull out a magnifying glass to find them. I haven’t done that, but they’re probably there. Most lenses from this period have them.

An English photographer, James Ravilious turned the characteristics of this lens in contra-jour (against the light) situations into his trademark. While walking around earlier this week, I thought I’d give it a try to see if I could pull out some of the effects.