For all of my nitpicking, do I like the new Leica MP? YES indeed. I like it a hell of a lot. In this ever increasing age of plastics and disposable camera, it is very refreshing to see Leica go the other direction and introducing an even higher grade mechanical camera. The mechanical MP is unexpectedly outselling the M7. Kudos. Over the last few years under CEO Cohn's leadership, Leica has become much more responsive to customer's input than in recent memory. The improved M product line is looking better than it has in decades.
March 2003: New Leica MP regular production introduced, returning a hand fitted Leica to standard production after almost four decades.
March 2003: New Leica MP6 Limited Production introduced, with a traditional Leica script top plate engraving, serial number starting with MP6 instead of MP, and a traditional vulcanite body covering instead of the a new shark skin like body on the new MP. Originally 400 planned, but due to low orders the actual production closer to 200. Ten are said to have been made by special order in chrome. All MP6 quickly became sought after collectibles.
October 2003: A new LHSA MP made in grey hammertone, with matching hammertone Leicavit MP and special chrome 35/2 ASPH Summicron. Production 1000, commemorating LHSA 1968-2003. Available January 2004. The hammertone is a particularly handsome finish and should be very popular with collectors.
October 2003: A new chrome Hermes MP with chrome 35/2 and red leather became available. Predicted production 500 units. About $8500. Unfortunately it looks rather garish to my eyes.
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LEICA Lens Serial Numbers
© 2012 KenRockwell.com. This page best with Corporate S regular and bold activated.
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April 2012 LEICA ReviewsLEICA Lenses
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When Leitz decided to start making camera lenses, they did the right thing and used six digits for the serial number, and started at number 100,000.
As serial numbers should be, they gave each lens its own serial number, and counted up. Serial numbers as low as 50,000 are still floating around.
Leica made lens number 1,000,000, a 50mm f/1.5 Summarit, on 24 October 1952, at which time they already had onver 100 years of experiance.
Because of this orderly behavior, it it trivial to figure out when your lens was made. Sadly, Nikon and Canon are not as organized, and use completely unrelated serial numbers for every product. (Canon uses separate date codes, and Roland Vink is the world's guardian of Nikon's serial number data.)
No two Leica lenses or cameras have the same serial number. If Leica ever almost duplicated a number, the second item had a star added after its otherwise identical serial number.
Bunker survey calculation software. Cameras and lenses each have their own run of serial numbers, so a number may be found on one camera and on one lens.
Year | Lenses Made |
1931 | 29 576 |
1932 | 18 394 |
1933 | 39 384 |
1934 | 40 948 |
1935 | 48 234 |
1936 | 60 384 |
1937 | 71 495 |
1938 | 74 011 |
1939 | 48 474 |
1940 | 26 384 |
1941 | 17 264 |
1942 | 10 383 |
1943 | 1 884 |
1944 | 128 |
1945 | 5 953 |
1946 | 32 283 |
1947 | 13 957 |
1948 | 34 864 |
1949 | 74 032 |
1950 | 84 281 |
1951 | 111 193 |
1952 | 100 982 |
1953 | 72 927 |
1954 | 111 938 |
1955 | 97 022 |
1956 | 125 594 |
1957 | 89 389 |
1958 | 97 284 |
1959 | 71 721 |
1960 | 110 191 |
1961 | 86 684 |
1962 | 54 102 |
1963 | 48 543 |
1964 | 61 182 |
1965 | 78 873 |
1966 | 80 293 |
1967 | 17 989 |
1968 | 58 733 |
1969 | 71 997 |
1970 | 83 837 |
1971 | 34 658 |
1972 | 53 983 |
1973 | 107 192 |
1974 | 68 574 |
1975 | 29 203 |
1976 | 48 382 |
1977 | 71 182 |
1978 | 86 865 |
1979 | 46 756 |
1980 | 73 734 |
1981 | 73 744 |
1982 | 88 743 |
1983 | 45 857 |
1984 | 51 289 |
1985 | 36 985 |
1986 | 39 983 |
1987 | 32 908 |
1988 | 23 083 |
1989 | 24 394 |
1990 | 37 737 |
1991 | 43 383 |
1992 | 26 848 |
1993 | 33 873 |
1994 | 32 272 |
1995 | 53 250 |
1996 | 40 584 |
1997 | 47 765 |
1998 | 39 874 |
1999 | 25 458 |
2000 | 29 250 |
2001 | 28 895 |
2002 | 27 853 |
2003 | 22 192 |
2004 | 9 843 |
2005 | 16 964 |
2006 | 11 192 |
2007 | 22 922 |
2008 | 28 828 |
2009 | 11 483 |
2010 | 17,943 |
2011 | 11,937 |
2012 |
Toyota echo 1nz fe engine manual. Notes
This is not exact.
Serial number blocks are reserved, and then lenses may or may not be made with these numbers.
Serial numbers after 2000 are less accurate.
Leica loves to do crazy things like pull out an old, discontinued design and make twenty of them in Persian Pink as a special order for the Sultan of Brunei to hand out as party favors. When Leica does this, you will find serial numbers disconnected from the normal run of a product.
For a far more detailed list, see Erwin Puts list to end all lists.
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Ken
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