[cyberjunkie]

You need the Novoflex adapter ring. Either PK or M42.
With a little patience you can find it on Ebay, sold second hand.
They are still available new, though...

[marcusBMG]

but it has a Nikon mount. I believe hope that it is just a T mount

You need to figurre out if it is an early model or later one. PK mounts, albeit pricey, are available for the later ones with a bayonet connect for the mount, but not for the earlier ones ,see the review page link above for more info. I have been looking at diy'ing a mount for the early ones.

[Wasp]

Thanks guys, the additional cost of a genuine Novoflex adapter would probably make the purchase not economically viable.

I would rather spend invest in Pentax glass, then.

On the other hand, a Nikon to Samsung NX adapter is quite cheap. But using a Novoflex on a mirrorless camera? Nah.

[marcusBMG]

You have to look on the cost of the mount as an investment.

But using a Novoflex on a mirrorless camera?

Well you can see my pics with NX20 + FD 400 my posts on the 300mm lens club. Mirrorless has both mount versatility and focusing advantages. I've used both the samsung and my K5 with the novoflex.

[cyberjunkie]

An adapter ring for the second and third version of the PIGRIFF should go for as low as 30 euros (M42 adapter, called COA if I remember correctly).
The PK version, not so easy to find, could go for 50 euros maximum.
There might be cheap chinese knock-offs on Ebay.
Worth checking.
Considering that it is possible to use the PIGRIFF with four or five different Novoflex lenses (and as a base to adapt odd long focus vintage optics), and that for some kind of "photo hunting" it can be faster and more precise than AF, it could be considered a sensible investment.
On top of all that, let's not forget that a late PIGRIFF (or an older one with the accessory BAL-U bellows) allows for a closer minimum focusing distance than most primes of the same focal. With a 200/240mm it's a great tool for "macro hunting".

Cheers

Paolo

[Arjay Bee]

As mentioned earlier my device came with metal Nikon mount fitting, I purchased the Pentax mount fitting. It is a polycarbonate material. Light but strong. It was about $90 Australian. It is more than an adapter. Adapter allows a lens designed on one system be used on another. This part converts the lens from a made for one system to a made for another system. In this case the lens becomes a manual k mount lens.

[cyberjunkie]

I called it "adapter" because it adapts the PIGRIFF (and some Novoflex bellows) to the camera system of choice.
BTW old adapters were made of aluminium, not polycarbonate. Not to say aluminium is better, high-grade plastic materials can be better (less surface friction, less likely to crack).
I know quite well how the old Novoflex adapters work. I think i have two PK, and three M42 that came together with Novoflex equipments i bought on Ebay.
For some strange reason i always loved Novoflex stuff, even when the quick focusing system was sold new. Later on, every time i found some Novoflex lens or accessory for a decent price, i bought it! Can't say if i'm a collector, probably not, but with time i've amassed a considerable amount of Novoflex equipment
With time i accumulated all the different iteration of the PIGRIFF, but the last one (which is incompatible with all previous lenses/accessories).
I missed only one lens, the 640mm. I bought it last winter, from abroad. When i saw that the parcel has been delivered i released the feedback... but months later, when i came back, i found that the parcel had been exchanged by the courier with some other, whch contained an aquarium electric water pump! So i still miss the 640mm, but as far as i remember i have all the rest, including the 1.4x and 2x dedicated converters.
I also have the nice electric cable to connect the PIGRIFF 3 with a Leica SLR camera. I was going to butcher it and convert to Canon/Pentax standard, but it's just two male mini-jack at both ends... i think i will make it anew, without destroying a nice, old original accessory.

The Novoflex "gun-stock" system is a nicely well made piece of german photo mechanics, and once you get accustomed to the way focusing works, it is a good solution for all the shooting conditions that are not AF friendly. For example shooting aquatic birds from a distance, often the AF locks on something else...
There are two disadvantages though:
1) weight is bearable, but bulk is not. Transporting such equipment is a pain, unless you don't move too far from the car.
2) low speed. Novoflex optics are slow even at max aperture. Fortunately modern DSLR cameras have great high-ISO performance and very good dynamic range. Shooting raw allows to pump up the contrast and give some unsharp mask to increase the perceived sharpness. There are limits, though. An achromatic doublet needs to be stopped down to substantially reduce a few aberrations. If a lens has a max aperture of f/8, stopping down two values reduces the working aperture to a very slow f/16. With plenty of illumination it can be fine, but still you got to focus at f/8, the close to the working diaphragm. With a relatively static subject it wouldn't be a problem... if an achromat didn't suffer from focus shift
Back in the old times photographer had to struggle with focus shift. They focused on the ground glass at full aperture, then they stopped down, and racked the front standard a bit to compensate for the aberration.
Most of us (myself included) don't know the equipment we use well enough to master this kind of niceties
Back in their golden age, well before AF, Novoflex quick-focus equipments were used by professional for both nature photography and sports (even car/motorbike racing), using films of relatively low ISO (compared with the modern sensors of our cameras). So i guess we can do much better today, with enlarged LiveView, great high-ISO performance, and with the power and convenience of the digital darkroom!

For the future i have a test in mind. I'd like to try the late T-Noflexar 400mm triplet lens with the dedicated 1.4x converter (or a similar teleconverter of another brand), and see how it compares with the older doublets of longer focal.
I'd like to also see how a cropped picture compares with one taken with a longer focal.
I'm afraid the only sensible location for a field test would be one of those birder's paradises, where everybody is used to super-tele monstrosities. Wandering around in the woods with weapon-like stuff could attract unwanted attentions. Especially with no camera and with the shoulder rest attached!

Regarding Novoflex quick focusing lenses or bellows heads, i don't think i have nothing at hand to prove their quality, but i remember i posted two shots on Flickr done with the funky 3.5/35mm Macro. Noise is not so well controlled, it was quite dark and i used a K-01, but i'd say that it's not so bad for such an old, simple macro lens:






cheers

Paolo

---

Last edited by cyberjunkie; 10-16-2017 at 05:13 AM.

[marcusBMG]

I picked up a "B" with bellows, plus T-noflexar 400mm unit. The "B" has a bayonet connection instead of screw thread to the optical/iris unit. The bellows is a big plus. The CFD is reduced to 3.2m, and it also gives rack and pinion fine focus option.

This bellows has a threaded end. The thread size on the bellows is almost the same as the inner diameter of a typical t-mount with the collar removed and this lens was fitted with an M42 t-mount. It had been slightly turned down to improve the grip of the set screws on the thread of the bellows. Focus was ~1cm of extension past infinity. This is a bit different to the fittings discussed by mr Pentacon Six here.

[3dreal]

i will post my own review of the novoflex long focus lenses, once i have the time to try them on full frame.
For the moment... Thanks for your review and for the pics you posted.
I like your diy tripod ring. I have a similar one that was sold by novoflex as accessory.
I understand the that pigriff was not made for tripod use, but they should have provided a tripod ring as standard.
The bush on the bottom of the handle is practically unusable...
Tripodadapter was called pistar

the link to the tests on olympus film cameras you provide at the end of your review is very interesting. Never found that page before.
It shows that the old achromats (400mm and 600mm) have a satisfying performance, compared with other respected optics of the time (some even newer).
Your triplet has a better iq, can't say how much better, i had no time to test it properly.
A pity it was made only in 400mm fl.
Novoflex is/was respected as a maker of high quality mechanical stuff for photography. Very likely the optics were made by staeble.
One can say that staeble was not a very innovative lens maker, but low quality... No. Definitely not!
Their repro lenses were at the very top, competing at the same level of the best rodenstok and schneider optics.
Agfa adopted staeble's lenses for their super expensive reprocameras.
I guess it's not very likely to find a decentered cemented achromat (or triplet) in a novoflex objective, unless the glass is not properly seated
in a few words:
Simple, but consistent, and built like a tank!

Cheers

paolo

tripodadapter was called pistar added in text also

[3dreal]

Nice, it should be the PIGRIFF-D focusing equipment.
Isn't it?
I own two PIGRIFF-B, one with BAL-U bellows for closer focusing, and one without (which uses longer adapter rings, different from those used by BAL-U, PIGRIFF-C and PIGRIFF-D systems).
Then i bought a PIGRIFF-C system with two lenses and few accessories, including a nice metal suitcase. I am abroad, so it's waiting for my sister, who should collect it tomorrow
The follow-focus systems are as complicate and as flexible as the macro systems. There was a huge number of accessories, in part in common with the macro equipments.
It's a pity that some adapters are either expensive or uncommon. As some extra accessories.
After i got curious about Novoflex stuff, and before committing to wrong purchases (and before i thought about posting my experience on this forum), i bought a nice book about Novoflex equipments. I found it for cheap, on Ebay. Unfortunately it's in german language

Your nice outfit fortunately does not need an extra tripod adapter, or a separate bellows for close focusing. It has its disadvantages though... i don't own one, but AFAIK the lenses and accessories are incompatible with all previous systems. It's a pity, cause it's quite difficult to find a compatible Noflexar lens sold on Ebay. The old lenses, which do not include the gazillion-blades diaphragm (which is in a separate ring), are easier to find. I own a 300, a 400 and a 600mm. Unfortunately i couldn't find a T-Noflexar triplet for a reasonable price. I've been told that they should be not so far from the quality of the old Telyt high quality achromatic doublets sold by Leitz.
I stop here, other way i spoil the surprise for my next post!
It will take some time though, i want to test the various lenses, and compare them with a couple of high quality (and super expensive) alternatives.

cheers

Paolo

I own two PIGRIFF-B, one with BAL-U bellows for closer focusing, and one without (which uses longer adapter rings, different from those used by BAL-U, PIGRIFF-C and PIGRIFF-D systems).
Not longer adapter rings but special tube in place of BAL-U.
Glennview has a large novoflex-chapter and there is a least one large german overview. Had both B(have again) and had system C. 35mm macro 135mm Noflexar quickshot(unique has focus-limiter), 400(T-Noflexar 3 lens forget Achromat 2lens-version altogehter and 600 lenses.

---------- Post added 08-25-19 at 05:21 PM ----------

Hello everyone, this is my first post here. I found this forum while searching for information on Novoflex bellows lenses. I've been mounting enlarging and short-barrel lenses onto bellows for 35mm cameras, therefore my interest in Novoflex. I purchased online a set of Novoflex bellows and when they arrived - surprise - there was a Noflexar 105mm F4 lens attached to them that had not been mentioned in the sales listing. The lens and bellows have Nikon mounts on them, and the mounts on the bellows do not seem interchangeable. The lens is all metal and very plain looking, with what I would call a strictly utilitarian, industrial look. It does focus to infinity with this setup. At the time, I knew nothing about Novoflex lenses, except for the follow-focus telephotos which are said to be quite mediocre, optically, so I put the lens away and used other optics on the bellows. Recently, while testing a number of lenses from 90mm to 135mm with a digital camera, I threw the Noflexar on there and found out that it is both quite sharp and has no chromatic aberration that I could see, even wide open. So I've been using it for general photography and for macro, mainly copying old negatives. I would be interested in hearing about people's experiences with other Noflexar bellows lenses, especially regarding their optical quality.The ones that I see for sale online are quite expensive, relatively speaking (I think I paid $50 for the bellows with the lens), and I'm reluctant to experiment at those price levels .

except for the follow-focus telephotos which are said to be quite mediocre,
Forget 400 Achromat-2 lenses. get 400 T-Noflexar -Three lenses.

---------- Post added 08-25-19 at 05:26 PM ----------

I have always admired the long Novoflexes. I saw a Novoflexar pistol-grip 400+600mm set on sale recently, but it has a Nikon mount. I believe hope that it is just a T mount at heart and any old third party T/K mount adapter will set things right. Can anybody set me straight on this? It is just so cool...

Incidentally, I always felt a little inferior with my SMC Pentax A 400mm f/5.6 when walking amongst the pros with their Novoflexes at sports events in my younger days. Now, thanks to the internet, I know that I should could instead have looked down upon them. The Pentax is way, way more sophisticated in the optical design department. Three elements in two groups on the Novoflex versus seven elements in six groups on the Pentax - no contest. Focussing speed, now that is another matter, but I got by.

"hope that it is just a T mount "

Novoflex is A-mount(Not Sony A.....)

---------- Post added 08-25-19 at 05:31 PM ----------

I picked up a "B" with bellows, plus T-noflexar 400mm unit. The "B" has a bayonet connection instead of screw thread to the optical/iris unit. The bellows is a big plus. The CFD is reduced to 3.2m, and it also gives rack and pinion fine focus option.

This bellows has a threaded end. The thread size on the bellows is almost the same as the inner diameter of a typical t-mount with the collar removed and this lens was fitted with an M42 t-mount. It had been slightly turned down to improve the grip of the set screws on the thread of the bellows. Focus was ~1cm of extension past infinity. This is a bit different to the fittings discussed by mr Pentacon Six here.

" Focus was ~1cm of extension past infinity."
Infinity-adjusting-screw built-in pistol-grip
In Novoflex book-in german there is a discussion how to adjust: There is terrestrial infinity and extraterrestrial e.g. Moon.

---------- Post added 08-25-19 at 05:48 PM ----------

I called it "adapter" because it adapts the PIGRIFF (and some Novoflex bellows) to the camera system of choice.
BTW old adapters were made of aluminium, not polycarbonate. Not to say aluminium is better, high-grade plastic materials can be better (less surface friction, less likely to crack).
I know quite well how the old Novoflex adapters work. I think i have two PK, and three M42 that came together with Novoflex equipments i bought on Ebay.
For some strange reason i always loved Novoflex stuff, even when the quick focusing system was sold new. Later on, every time i found some Novoflex lens or accessory for a decent price, i bought it! Can't say if i'm a collector, probably not, but with time i've amassed a considerable amount of Novoflex equipment
With time i accumulated all the different iteration of the PIGRIFF, but the last one (which is incompatible with all previous lenses/accessories).
I missed only one lens, the 640mm. I bought it last winter, from abroad. When i saw that the parcel has been delivered i released the feedback... but months later, when i came back, i found that the parcel had been exchanged by the courier with some other, whch contained an aquarium electric water pump! So i still miss the 640mm, but as far as i remember i have all the rest, including the 1.4x and 2x dedicated converters.
I also have the nice electric cable to connect the PIGRIFF 3 with a Leica SLR camera. I was going to butcher it and convert to Canon/Pentax standard, but it's just two male mini-jack at both ends... i think i will make it anew, without destroying a nice, old original accessory.

The Novoflex "gun-stock" system is a nicely well made piece of german photo mechanics, and once you get accustomed to the way focusing works, it is a good solution for all the shooting conditions that are not AF friendly. For example shooting aquatic birds from a distance, often the AF locks on something else...
There are two disadvantages though:
1) weight is bearable, but bulk is not. Transporting such equipment is a pain, unless you don't move too far from the car.
2) low speed. Novoflex optics are slow even at max aperture. Fortunately modern DSLR cameras have great high-ISO performance and very good dynamic range. Shooting raw allows to pump up the contrast and give some unsharp mask to increase the perceived sharpness. There are limits, though. An achromatic doublet needs to be stopped down to substantially reduce a few aberrations. If a lens has a max aperture of f/8, stopping down two values reduces the working aperture to a very slow f/16. With plenty of illumination it can be fine, but still you got to focus at f/8, the close to the working diaphragm. With a relatively static subject it wouldn't be a problem... if an achromat didn't suffer from focus shift
Back in the old times photographer had to struggle with focus shift. They focused on the ground glass at full aperture, then they stopped down, and racked the front standard a bit to compensate for the aberration.
Most of us (myself included) don't know the equipment we use well enough to master this kind of niceties
Back in their golden age, well before AF, Novoflex quick-focus equipments were used by professional for both nature photography and sports (even car/motorbike racing), using films of relatively low ISO (compared with the modern sensors of our cameras). So i guess we can do much better today, with enlarged LiveView, great high-ISO performance, and with the power and convenience of the digital darkroom!

For the future i have a test in mind. I'd like to try the late T-Noflexar 400mm triplet lens with the dedicated 1.4x converter (or a similar teleconverter of another brand), and see how it compares with the older doublets of longer focal.
I'd like to also see how a cropped picture compares with one taken with a longer focal.
I'm afraid the only sensible location for a field test would be one of those birder's paradises, where everybody is used to super-tele monstrosities. Wandering around in the woods with weapon-like stuff could attract unwanted attentions. Especially with no camera and with the shoulder rest attached!

Regarding Novoflex quick focusing lenses or bellows heads, i don't think i have nothing at hand to prove their quality, but i remember i posted two shots on Flickr done with the funky 3.5/35mm Macro. Noise is not so well controlled, it was quite dark and i used a K-01, but i'd say that it's not so bad for such an old, simple macro lens:






cheers

Paolo

"including the 1.4x and 2x dedicated converters.
I also have the nice electric cable to connect the PIGRIFF 3"
Correction:
Tex 1.5x(not 1.4x) made for 200/3.8-Pigriff G(M42 Gewinde-Thread), Pigriff B, C, D not 3
Tex 2x made for 400/600 system.

[3dreal]

There is a Pistar(not pistat) called pigriff-tripodcollar/adapter- but marcus idea is fanastic.
I am about to check infinity-sharpness and focus/scale- precision of P67-lenses 135/2.8 old and 200/4 new. see my other threads. since i couldnt get infinity sharpest possible i compared with Novoflex noflexar 200/3.8-there newest followfocus which has matchin tex 1.5 tele-converter(dont find right now). Surprisingly it goes beyond infinity. and proved really my other lenses have a problem or shooting with them on digital is it. see in other threads newest finding regarding IR sensibility of film and lens-correction for analoge. deeper discussions with experts needed. have that from an old pro with experience. Rafcamera has now two M68-adapters for Pentacon 6 and Kiev60. they are in testing. also macroversion. They go a bit beyond infinity like new Novoflex P67-adapter system. psl follow my other threads since i cannot repeat everywhere.
I have the old photosniper-like pre B-system where i added new adapters for enlarging/processing and follow-focus-heads-use. T-Noflexar 400/5.6 covering 6x6( and thats why i investigated it since i have B and C for FF/APS-C). where i had no adapters i used also parts of the novoflex-systems to match the lenses and also tape(T-noflexar 400/5.6. no images yet taken. except with blind apo-rodagon 480/9 not worth shooting hardly cleanable.

---------- Post added 10-22-22 at 10:04 AM ----------

Newest Adapter by Rafcamera for Novoflex Noflexar 400/5.6 M75 filtertread. newest heads have M77. M75-M77. not suitable for slim-filter!! slimfilter is nonsense here. old lens-cap is wearing out so add tape to its rim if nonfitting good enough. i also used heat inside.

[3dreal]

Nice, it should be the PIGRIFF-D focusing equipment.
Isn't it?
I own two PIGRIFF-B, one with BAL-U bellows for closer focusing, and one without (which uses longer adapter rings, different from those used by BAL-U, PIGRIFF-C and PIGRIFF-D systems).
Then i bought a PIGRIFF-C system with two lenses and few accessories, including a nice metal suitcase. I am abroad, so it's waiting for my sister, who should collect it tomorrow
The follow-focus systems are as complicate and as flexible as the macro systems. There was a huge number of accessories, in part in common with the macro equipments.
It's a pity that some adapters are either expensive or uncommon. As some extra accessories.
After i got curious about Novoflex stuff, and before committing to wrong purchases (and before i thought about posting my experience on this forum), i bought a nice book about Novoflex equipments. I found it for cheap, on Ebay. Unfortunately it's in german language

Your nice outfit fortunately does not need an extra tripod adapter, or a separate bellows for close focusing. It has its disadvantages though... i don't own one, but AFAIK the lenses and accessories are incompatible with all previous systems. It's a pity, cause it's quite difficult to find a compatible Noflexar lens sold on Ebay. The old lenses, which do not include the gazillion-blades diaphragm (which is in a separate ring), are easier to find. I own a 300, a 400 and a 600mm. Unfortunately i couldn't find a T-Noflexar triplet for a reasonable price. I've been told that they should be not so far from the quality of the old Telyt high quality achromatic doublets sold by Leitz.
I stop here, other way i spoil the surprise for my next post!
It will take some time though, i want to test the various lenses, and compare them with a couple of high quality (and super expensive) alternatives.

cheers

Paolo

There is/was a matching system c-halfsoft waterproof bag. gunlike holster for B is only taking Noflexar 400/8 achromat not T-Noflexar Triple version.
NB: Rafcamera now has M75-M77 adapter-hard to find til nowhere else. Not for slim-filters! working but not with NOVO-cap. we developped it together. with working original cap its working on any setup with sunshade reversed/parking and cap.

[3dreal]

Resurrecting this thread...

I have been adding to the description on the review page, it would be great if those of you with examples of the follow focus Novoflexes could have a look and check tech details, look for omissions.

Novoflex Noflexar modular PIGRIFF system 240mm, 280mm, 300mm, 400mm, 600mm, 64cm Lens Reviews - Miscellaneous Lenses - Pentax Lens Review Database

I have also been doing some DIY..

Just tried out Tripod Mount Ring A(W) on ebay cheap matches when adding thick transparent double tape. about 2mm. cut in the middle and one layer is matching bayonett ring. one can remove cover to have it sticky for using bayonett with this collar. didnt try this
2. base is 11mm and seems not touching the thin pole- no groove needed on base. aluminium-alloy.

[xs4all]

If anyone is interested, here is a scan of an old NOVOFLEX general catalog. Lenses, bellows, adjustment slides, connection rings, special accessories, etc. with all exact descriptions. Is in German language - sorry for this - but for the general overview and the article designations perhaps not quite uninteresting: PDF, 24 pages

[3dreal]

9/91 here. i have from 80ties no time scanning now.

---------- Post added 11-27-22 at 05:26 PM ----------

An adapter ring for the second and third version of the PIGRIFF should go for as low as 30 euros (M42 adapter, called COA if I remember correctly).
The PK version, not so easy to find, could go for 50 euros maximum.
There might be cheap chinese knock-offs on Ebay.
Worth checking.
Considering that it is possible to use the PIGRIFF with four or five different Novoflex lenses (and as a base to adapt odd long focus vintage optics), and that for some kind of "photo hunting" it can be faster and more precise than AF, it could be considered a sensible investment.
On top of all that, let's not forget that a late PIGRIFF (or an older one with the accessory BAL-U bellows) allows for a closer minimum focusing distance than most primes of the same focal. With a 200/240mm it's a great tool for "macro hunting".

Cheers

Paolo

better forgetting B-system with T-Noflexar 400/5.6 since grip is terribly out of balance. but only system D would have finefocussing like B but different system tube not bellows.
Rafcamera has now M75-M77 adapter for both noflexars 400/5.6. lightweight version not advised for FF. bad corners. will check on APS-C. dont use thin filters M77 or novoflex universal cap not attachable.
Focus-tracking marvellous.
I tested focus-tracking with chip.its wonderfully working. push/pull when sharp camera is shooting. one can set camera in a way that its shooting also when not perfectly sharp after first shot.in some setting signal not available. makes no sense anyway since shutter/motor is noisy on DSRL.