Leica KE-7A with Elcan 50mm f/2.0 Lens Kit Complete USED - MINT

PRODUCT # LICKE7ATRC

This is a rare find of the year. Leica KE-7A + Elcan 50mm f/2.0 Complete with all the goodies. The kit lens Elcan 50mm f2 became one of my favorite 50mm lenses. The  performance was amazing becuse it only uses four elements. I feel it was even on par with my APO.

In 1972, Ernst Leitz Canada produced 460 pieces of KE-7A (M4 Schwz, black chrome) acquired by the US military, with contract numbers engraved on the back of the top cover. Usually, the KE-7A comes with a kit lens, Elcan 50mm f/2.0 with special C42-LS.39F hood. I used this outfit when I was stationed at the US Navy Base, Yokosuka, Japan as a Photographer in their Photolab.

KE-7As were fitted with modified shutters to operate in temperatures to -20 degrees Fahrenheit, were dust sealed for military field conditions and made to withstand explosive concussion (i.e. bomb blast). 

Elcan 50mm f/2.0 lens was made in 1972 to fit the KE-7A. This very special lens uses infrared-absorbing glass made with lanthanum, a radioactive element that helps achieve an exceptionally high refractive index for heat control in making the optics. Elcan 50/2 only uses 4 lenses (called formula, 276), all air-spaced. The all-time favorite lens designer, Walter Mandler was one of the Elcan 50 designers. The production model provides the first lens in lanthanum Crown glass Lak9, the second in Leitz glass, the third in dense Flint glass and the fourth in lanthanum Flint glass.