Leica Which «Unsung Heroes Of 35mm Photography» Do You ADAPT?

[radi(c)al_cam]

Firstly: I’m nosy, what not so well-known SLR-lenses do you use on your LTM- or M-cameras?

Secondly: When I (re)started RF-photography after some SLR-years, I was instantly fascinated by the idea of adaptation. Thus I've collected quite a lot of SLR-wide angles — of which the one or the other I probably have never used on a RF, let alone on a SLR (because I don’t have so many matching SRL-bodies).

Now, somehow being not a teenager anymore (I have a moment of choking — realising that my eldest son is not a teenager anymore!), I guess it’s time that I may find some individual «structure» with the intention «use it!», instead of that tendency of haphazard collecting and hoarding …

Oh, an addition — apologies to Dan K. and Mr Bellamy Hunt (Japancamerahunter), for using their wording «Unsung Heroes of 35mm Photography» …

 

[Brian]

Picked the right forum for this question!

Canon 50/1.4, FL mount.

Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Canon 50/1.4, now RF Coupled by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

Minolta 50/1.4, MC Mount.

Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

minolta2 by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

Konica 50/1.7, AR mount-

(Just a picture),

Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Spring 2016, Konica 50/1.7 @F2.8 by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

Pentax 50/1.4 Super-Takumar, M42 mount.

Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Fall Colors, Pentax by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

I picked some of the best 50mm lenses from the 1976 Pop Photo test of 32 normal lenses.

Technical Side of Lenses

And converted them for my M8, which gets all the cool lenses.

 

[radi(c)al_cam]

A couple of my «unsung heros», the ones that I actually use with LTM or M-adapter:

Beroflex Auto Beroflex 23mm f/3.5-22:

Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

cf.: Beroflex Auto Beroflex 23mm f/3.5-22 - M42 Lens Database


Porst Extrem-WW MC Auto I 24mm f/2.5-16:

Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

cf.: Porst Extrem-WW MC Auto I 24mm f/2.5-16 - M42 Lens Database


Revuenon MC Macro-Revuenon 24mm f/4-16:

Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

cf.: Revuenon MC Macro-Revuenon 24mm f/4-16 - M42 Lens Database

Vivitar Auto Wide-Angle 35mm f/1.9-22:

Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

cf.: Vivitar Auto Wide-Angle 35mm f/1.9-22 - M42 Lens Database


Not all of them are perfect, definitely not, but I like them nevertheless

 

[Brian]

That Vivitar look impressive. I had a 28/2 Vivitar in Konica mount years ago- quite good. Sold it after picking up the Konica 28/1.8.

 

[radi(c)al_cam]

That Vivitar look impressive.

Yes, it's quite a hunk — but I do like heavy lenses

I had a 28/2 Vivitar in Konica mount years ago- quite good. Sold it after picking up the Konica 28/1.8.

If it’s correct what one can find online, the Vivitars having a serial # starting with «28» are Komine lenses — quite an obscure thing, cf.: Komine - Camera-wiki.org - The free camera encyclopedia …

BTW, now I recall, I do have somewhere in my basement vaults also a Vivitar [Komine] 28mm f/2.0 Close Focus Wide Angle lens for Canon FD, that I can adapt — memo to myself: basement vaults! — and there is another actually fine lens that I should use more often: a Chinon 24mm f/2.5 that was obviously offered in several mounts, including M42, and even under the «FOR ALPA SWISS» brand

Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

cf.:Alpa Multi-Coated Auto-Alpa 24mm f/2.5-16 - M42 Lens Database


(this ALPA version certainly for an upscale price) — I'm but a pauper so I do have it in Minolta (MC) mount, hence also easily adapted on LTM and Leica M

 

[radi(c)al_cam]

That Vivitar look impressive. […]

I'm astonished, I just found that this lens does even have an own camera-wiki site:

Vivitar 35mm f/1.9 - Camera-wiki.org - The free camera encyclopedia

Another addendum:

According to Vivitar - Camera-wiki.org - The free camera encyclopedia, there have been two quite different Vivitar 28/2:

a) Komine Diamond Rubber Ring Family
«This the most common and well-known of the Komine lens families made by Vivitar. Some of these lens are extensively documented in the John C. Wolf book, The Vivitar Guide. [51]
• 28mm f/2 Close Focusing Wide Angle, 49mm filter […]»


b) Kino Precision Diamond Rubber Ring Family
«Fixed-mount Kino Precision-made lenses similar in appeareance to the Komine diamond rubber-ring family. Some of these lens are extensively documented in the John C. Wolf book, The Vivitar Guide. [51].
• 24mm f/2 MC Wide Angle, 55mm filter
• 28mm f/2, 55mm filter
• 28mm f/2.5 Auto Wide, 67mm filter […]»



Looking at the filter sizes (e.g.), one can presume that all these 28mm lenses have very different computations. And all that stuff was coming from lens makers which are basically unknown? That’s enigmatic … I’d rather speculate that these obscure names may have been anonymised subsidiaries of much more powerful lens makers — but I suppose no one will give a straight answer, if that should be true

 

[Brian]

There is very little documentation on many of the classic lenses, and usually its someone taking them apart and noting the formula and construction that is the best information available. If there are Patent Numbers on the lens- you can look those up.

For example: The early Nikkor 5cm F1.4 lenses have a smaller diameter for the elements and the fixtures than those that came out with the later Nikon S cameras. I know because I tried replacing the front element on a Nikkor 5cm F1.4 lens. It is smaller by about 1mm. I believe the change took place for the coming Nikon S2 for 24x36 frame rather than 24x34 that Nikon was using.