Non-K, Non-42 Adaptable Lenses

cyberjunkie · 05-15-2018, 07:29 AM - **2 Likes**

There is a world of easily adaptable lenses out there, but I suggest some home work first, cause not all of them are really interesting for practical use.
T-mount and Adaptall/Adaptall-2 have been already suggested. IF YOU HAVE/FIND the right adapter there are T-4, TX, YS lenses that were available with M42 (and in some case PK) mounts.
Some early Enna, Komura and Tokina objectives had their own kind of T-mount, with different shape/diameter. Late Komuras had interchangeable UNI AUTO adapters, functionally similar to the TX.
If you are not attracted by old preset lenses with beautiful bokeh, but you have access to some sharp, expensive lenses with compatible mount, including Zeiss ZF and ZF2, you can order a Leitax mount, as already suggested. I have two Leitz Canada optics (Summicron 2/90mm and Tele Elmarit 2.8/135mm) that were compatible with Visoflex. I found the accessory helicoid for Viso, a Leitz Viso to R adapter, and I leitaxed the latter. Minimum focusing distance is rather limited, especially with the 135mm, but a least I can use these two nice examples of my Leica M arsenal (that otherwise are of no practical use unless you have a mirrorless).

Reporting about brands and models, even briefly, would take pages... Google is your friend

I just propose my take on this subject.
Why experiment with adapted lenses?
Not because of sharpness, most of the times.
Because of what you don't get from modern optics: speed, (more or less controlled) aberrations, bokeh, tamed contrast for B&W conversion, cheap extreme macro.
When I use the word bokeh I don't mean just beautiful circles of confusion from OOF highlights, but also a pleasant, smooth transition between focus planes.

Cheers

Paolo

Last edited by cyberjunkie; 05-15-2018 at 11:43 AM.

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05-15-2018, 07:29 AM - 2 Likes	#16
cyberjunkie Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Chiang Mai, Bologna, Amsterdam Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,198	There is a world of easily adaptable lenses out there, but I suggest some home work first, cause not all of them are really interesting for practical use. T-mount and Adaptall/Adaptall-2 have been already suggested. IF YOU HAVE/FIND the right adapter there are T-4, TX, YS lenses that were available with M42 (and in some case PK) mounts. Some early Enna, Komura and Tokina objectives had their own kind of T-mount, with different shape/diameter. Late Komuras had interchangeable UNI AUTO adapters, functionally similar to the TX. If you are not attracted by old preset lenses with beautiful bokeh, but you have access to some sharp, expensive lenses with compatible mount, including Zeiss ZF and ZF2, you can order a Leitax mount, as already suggested. I have two Leitz Canada optics (Summicron 2/90mm and Tele Elmarit 2.8/135mm) that were compatible with Visoflex. I found the accessory helicoid for Viso, a Leitz Viso to R adapter, and I leitaxed the latter. Minimum focusing distance is rather limited, especially with the 135mm, but a least I can use these two nice examples of my Leica M arsenal (that otherwise are of no practical use unless you have a mirrorless). Reporting about brands and models, even briefly, would take pages... Google is your friend I just propose my take on this subject. Why experiment with adapted lenses? Not because of sharpness, most of the times. Because of what you don't get from modern optics: speed, (more or less controlled) aberrations, bokeh, tamed contrast for B&W conversion, cheap extreme macro. When I use the word bokeh I don't mean just beautiful circles of confusion from OOF highlights, but also a pleasant, smooth transition between focus planes. Cheers Paolo Last edited by cyberjunkie; 05-15-2018 at 11:43 AM.