Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/10/13
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Isaac, this is the sort of stuff that keeps me amused (pointlessly) for hours. At Photokina this year I stumbled across a firm that makes helical mounts for enlarging lens, especially Companons, the name: Schneider! You can guess the price. Check out their macro range and see what they offer, of course you'll not know where it's focused until some tests are done. I use focusing screens which are like miniature ground glass screens from a view camera and were made for close up devices for Leica type cameras. Cook and Perkins, Periflex, Stewartry, several Japanese firms and I think Leica too, made these. they simply screw onto the rear of the lens and show whats in focus on the film plane. Of course you could probably buy a cheap old r/f coupled 50mm lens (like a Soviet Industar) and lose the optical cell. This way you'd stand a chance of utilising the r/f focusing too. I found a cheap 50mm Elmar focusing mount on ebay and have just passed that on to another Lugger here in the UK. I also have one from a DR Summicron, anyone got a spare optical unit? Either way there are two things to bear in mind. One, if you're not a precision mechanic it's going to be hit and miss getting things precisely accurate, so you may want to send your stuff off to a good mechanic who can assemble the parts with some skill. Two, although enlarging lenses can be excellent lenses, they're computed for optimum results at close focusing range, something you're unlikely to undertake with it in a normal focusing mount on a Leica. But hey! It's fun all right... Jem - ----- Original Message ----- From: Isaac Crawford <isaacc7@home.net> > OK, I know its a little weird, but I have some enlarging lenses sitting > around, and I have a IIIf... Does anyonw know of a helical mount that these > can fit into? I seem to dimly recall a product like this was offered at one > point, but damned if I can remember who did it. Actually, I'd be happy if > these lenses (80mm companon-s and 50mm companon) focused at infinity. I > guess if the 50mm lens' focal point is located 50mm from the film plane, I > would have infinity focus right? How would I go about measuring from the > focal point, or more to the point, how do I know where to measure from on > the lens... > Thanks for any info...aren't whims fun? > > Isaac >