[dave9t5]

Ah, they are made of brass that's a key point...and limited edition.  I guess the idea is that the brass lenses are more prone to showing wear (brassing, of course) so you really can't use them lest you devalue them.  

 

Brass itself is not particularly more expensive than aluminium to manufacture.   It does have about 4x the density of aluminum, so it's kind of a silly retro choice these days for a portable system (the original point of the M system if I'm not mistaken).  I guess it helps to leave them at home on the shelf collecting value.

 

When you say they are optically identical, does that mean besides the same optics that you tested them both and found no meaningful difference?

 

 

The black paint version is a limited edition, which was introduced in 2000 to match the Leica M6 black paint, also called the "Millenium Edition". Leica often builds limited editions of their lenses (and cameras), which usually sell soon and normally become collectors items.


It's not that obvious in the images, but the black paint lens has a glossy finish, while the regular anodized version has a somewhat "silky" surface. Additionally, the black paint lens features red markings, while the anodized lens shows the normal yellow/orange markings.


Optically, the lenses are identical. The main difference is that the anodized version is made of aluminum, while the black paint version (and also the silver chrome version) is made of brass. That's why those two versions are quite heavy (for such a small lens).


-- Markus