Glass Bodies a variant-level encyclopedia of vintage lenses and cameras by iwillpat

ELCAN 50mm f/2

Ernst Leitz Canada Β· Leica M Β· 1972 Β· Four air-spaced elements

Also known as: ELCAN 50mm f/2 Β· Leitz Canada ELCAN 2/50 Β· KE-7A lens

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Issued with the KE-7A Leica M 1972–1972 β€” 460 sets under the US military contract (Leica Wiki); about 440 (Leitz Photographica)
Sold to the public Leica M 1972–1972 β€” 55 lenses (Leica Wiki); about 60 overrun sets (Leitz Photographica)
Collapsible version (never sold) Leica M 1972–1972 β€” Developed in Germany, never marketed
  1. Why nothing is cemented: cement softens at high temperature and fails under shock. The Leica Wiki's own words are that the design has "less problem in a high temperature range and nearby explosions" β€” a specification written for a camera going to a war.
  2. Price realised: a civilian-market KE-7A set with the ELCAN 2/50 (camera 1294951, lens 276-0412, 1972, condition A-) made €36,000 including buyer's premium at Leitz Photographica Auction 44, lot 118, against an estimate of €24,000–26,000 and a €12,000 start.
  3. The Leitz Photographica catalogue splits the run differently from the Leica Wiki: "about 440 units were supplied to the military, approximately 60 units representing a production overrun were sold on the civilian market," against the Wiki's 460 and 55. Both agree on the shape β€” a military contract with a small civilian overrun β€” and neither cites a Leitz record.
  4. Japan Camera Hunter credits the optical design to Dr Walter Mandler at Midland, the Wetzlar optician seconded to Leitz Canada who never returned, and describes special gaskets fitted to absorb blast shock alongside the uncemented glass.
  5. Four totals for one run, none of which agree. The Leica Wiki's text: 460 to the military and 55 to the public, 515 together. Its own serial table: a printed total of 550 over a range holding 509 numbers. Leitz Photographica: about 440 military and about 60 civilian, about 500. All four are recorded here because none of them cites a Leitz record.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • Four elements, four groups β€” no cemented pairs anywhere in the lens
  • A removable lens head
  • Minimum focus 30 inches, quoted in inches because the contract was American

Issued with the KE-7A:

  • Supplied with the Leica KE-7A camera; removable lens head

Sold to the public:

  • Identical to the issued lens; the civilian KE-7A it came with lacks the military markings

Collapsible version (never sold):

  • A collapsible barrel

Serial-range notes

276-0XXX
The rule here is that the usual rule does not apply. Every other Leitz lens in this catalog is dated from the single continuous sequence that begins at 100,000 in 1931; the ELCAN is numbered to the American contract instead, as the type number 276 followed by a four-digit count, engraved ELCAN f/2 50 MM 276-0XXX. There is no published year key to the 276- numbers because everything recorded falls in one 1972 block: a 276- number identifies the lens as an ELCAN and places it in the run, and nothing narrower than that.
276-0001–276-0509
The one block the Leica Wiki lists, dated 1972, against a printed total of 550. The range itself holds 509 numbers.
276-0412
The lens in the civilian-market KE-7A set sold as lot 118 of Leitz Photographica auction 44. It sits inside the first 460 of the block, so whatever the division between contract and civilian lenses was, it was not the first 460 numbers against the last 55.
276-0422, 276-0490
Two more lenses from civilian KE-7A sets, both sold by Leitz Photographica: 276-0422 with camera 1294965 (Auction 41, lot 122, €36,000 including buyer's premium) and 276-0490 with camera 1294924 (Auction 47, lot 173, €22,800). With 276-0412, three civilian lenses sit at 0412, 0422 and 0490 β€” spread through the block rather than gathered at its end.
the block is shared
Nothing in the numbering separates the issued lenses from the ones sold to the public. Both come out of the same 276- run, so a serial cannot tell a contract lens from a civilian one. Provenance, papers and the camera it arrived with are the only evidence.
1954751
The table's second row is a six-digit number from the ordinary Leitz lens sequence, dated 1974 and tagged (M3-black), with no upper bound. In the general year list 1954751 falls in 1962. It is recorded here as printed; the page does not explain it and this entry does not resolve it.

Specifications

Formula
Four air-spaced elements
Construction
4 elements / 4 groups
Aperture range
f/2–f/16
Diaphragm blades
10
Min. focus
0.76 m
Years manufactured
1972–1972
Country
Canada
Material
Anodised aluminium

What reviewers say

No reviews aggregated yet β€” this family is still in the research queue. Written one? We'd love to index it.

History

The ELCAN is a Summicron’s specification built to survive things a Summicron would not. Four elements in four groups, every one air-spaced β€” there is no cemented pair anywhere in it β€” because optical cement softens in heat and separates under shock. The Leica Wiki puts the design brief in terms that make the customer obvious: the lens has β€œless problem in a high temperature range and nearby explosions.”

It was made by Ernst Leitz Canada at Midland for the KE-7A, the military M4 supplied to the US armed forces under contract, and it has a removable lens head so a damaged front can be swapped in the field. The Leica Wiki says 460 sets were built for the contract and fifty-five more sold to the public; Leitz Photographica, which has sold several of the civilian sets, says about 440 went to the military and about 60 overrun sets to the civilian market. Neither cites a Leitz record.

Fifty-five, or sixty, is the number that matters when one appears for sale. It is among the smallest civilian releases in this whole catalog, smaller than the gold Model A batch and smaller than the two Leica 250 model DDs put together with a run of Leica 72s. Most ELCANs in circulation are ex-military, and the camera and lens are usually collected as the set they were issued as.

A collapsible version was developed in Germany and never marketed. That is known from forum research the Leica Wiki cites, not from any Leitz record, and no example is documented.

Expand Collapse

This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap β€” but no human wrote these sentences.

Example photos

Sample photo wanted β€” shot with a ELCAN 50mm f/2? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $40,000 across 4 fixed-price listings on 2026-11-02 (middle half $6,600–$42,300). Tracked since 2026-09-06, 10 days: up 3611% from $1,100.

By day
DateMedianMiddle halfListings
2026-11-02$40,000$6,600–$42,3004
2026-10-19$40,000$6,600–$42,3004
2026-10-18$40,000$6,600–$42,3004
2026-10-17$40,000$6,600–$42,3004
2026-10-16$40,000$6,600–$42,3004
2026-10-15$40,000$6,300–$42,3004
2026-09-21$41,700$40,000–$41,7003
2026-09-18$1,100$900–$1,20016
2026-09-11$1,100$900–$1,20015
2026-09-06$1,100$900–$1,20016

Asking prices from the listings scanned, not sales; junk-flagged rows and auction lots excluded; other currencies are not converted.

Buying from Yahoo! Auctions outside Japan. It is a domestic marketplace: sellers ship within Japan, and most will not register an overseas buyer. A proxy service bids on your behalf, receives the item and forwards it, for a fee and a wait. Buyee, Jauce and ZenMarket each accept a Yahoo auction number directly. Listed alphabetically for information β€” none is recommended over another, and none of these is an affiliate link.

Listings updated 2026-11-02. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.

Related: ELCAN 66mm f/2 Β· Light Lens Lab 50mm f/2 ("ELCAN")

Sources (7)

Every page here is assembled from public sources, and the gaps are real ones. If you own this lens, know a serial number I'm missing, or can see where I have it wrong, tell me β€” corrections, serials and sample photos are all worth having.