[Leica] why buy old stuff? (was "notoriously crappy" lens)

[Guy Bennett <guy.bennett@wanadoo.fr>]

CapsTeeth (???) wrote:

>In 1999 I have to wonder why anyone would buy a 50's collapsible Summicron
>vs. the 80's (or even 70's) version in the first place...
>[snip]

here's one possible explanation: to use with a camera from the same era.

i would gladly buy a '50s collapsible summicron tomorrow if the price were
right, mainly because it's faster than the '50s elmar i currently use and
from which i get results i'm quite happy with. i wouldn't mount it on an
m6, however; i have a current summicron 50 for that.

to paraphrase your question: why buy a iiic, iiif, iiig, or m3 (or m2, m4,
or m5, for that matter) today, when we've got m6's (and konicas and
cosinas)?

guy