UliWer Posted March 20, 2017 Share #1 Posted March 20, 2017 Advertisement (gone after registration) I read that the lens head of the 12.5cm Hektor can be screwed off and used with the adapter UOOXI/16572 on the bellows. Though looking at my newly acquired Hektor and trying to move anything I cannot find out how to unscrew the lens head. Can someone tell me where the division between the barrel and the unscrewable head is so that I can look further? Or... might it be that my example isn't unscrewable? Laney's "Leica collector's guide" (p.272) says that the very first examples - which were marked "12,0 cm" - differed from the later ones as their head was not unscrewable. Of course mine is no "12,0" - though it is an early one (No.1051550, Made in Wetzlar, scale in meters only) which might belong to the first 12,5cm batch produced in 1953. Anyone knows if the early 12.5 examples weren't unscrewable? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 20, 2017 Posted March 20, 2017 Hi UliWer, Take a look here 1:2.5/12.5cm Hektor - lens head. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
alan mcfall Posted March 20, 2017 Share #2 Posted March 20, 2017 Unscrews just below the aperature dial. This lens is 1223xxx, but I think 1051xxx should also. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/270534-125125cm-hektor-lens-head/?do=findComment&comment=3237343'>More sharing options...
Michael Hiles Posted March 20, 2017 Share #3 Posted March 20, 2017 (edited) My 125mm Hektor is like Alan's - it comes apart the same way. And there is an adapter for the bellows (I have one). My serial number is also 1223xxx. I recently acquired a 135mm tele-elmar and I found that unscrewing the optical unit was a major problem. I suspect mine had never been taken apart since new, and it only came apart after twisting with all my strength - but it finally worked. I tell this because you might simply have a tough unit. Edited March 20, 2017 by Michael Hiles Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted March 20, 2017 Share #4 Posted March 20, 2017 (edited) My 12,5 is 1.121.427 (Wetzlar, feet) and does unscrew as above : but if the lens has never been dismantled, the operation can be VERY hard (for me, it was so not for the Hektor, but for my Summicron 50 BM... the lens had probably never been unscrewed, so that even the aspect of the chrome finishing was quite different in the "covered" part of the lenshead). I think yours ought to be normally unscrewable... the preseries items (mix of 12,5 and 12 cm) were all in the 753.xxx range... much earlier. Edited March 20, 2017 by luigi bertolotti Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
UliWer Posted March 20, 2017 Author Share #5 Posted March 20, 2017 Yes, sometimes the lens-heads are horribly stuck. I scratched my 3-lenses 90mm Elmar severely when I tried to unscrew it - without any success.... As long as I have no UOOXI - which I fear is difficult to find - I would not be able to use the optical unit separately. Since I am warned from my Elmar experience I'll leave it as it is, though my "theoretical" interest, whether all 12.5-Hektors had unscrewable lens heads was raised when I read that the first 12.0-serial had fixed heads. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hiles Posted March 20, 2017 Share #6 Posted March 20, 2017 Normally the point of putting any lens onto the bellows is to do close-ups. I also had (stolen 6 months ago) a 3-element 90mm elmar, which is really excellent for close-ups with a Viso and bellows. The 125mm Hektor is very nice for some applications, but not usually a first choice for close-ups. And UOOXIs appear occasionally but they are very much a rare-ish item. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted March 20, 2017 Share #7 Posted March 20, 2017 (edited) Advertisement (gone after registration) The 125mm Hektor is very nice for some applications, but not usually a first choice for close-ups... ... your recently acquired Tele Elmar 135 is surely better in that role... and much lighter to be managed on bellows. Edited March 20, 2017 by luigi bertolotti Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hiles Posted March 20, 2017 Share #8 Posted March 20, 2017 (edited) ... your recently acquired Tele Elmar 135 is surely better in that role... and much lighter to be managed on bellows. Exactly. When thinking about how to get back to my original functionality after the robbery in October, I acquired a very nice 90mm Tele-elmarit (but not really usable for close-ups), so looking for a 3-element 90mm Elmar was redundant. The next best option was the 135mm Tele-elmar. A "lens for all seasons", so to speak. In the same sense I decided against replacing the stolen 65mm Elmar, since I very rarely used it - and for close-ups the Tele-elmar would be more than fine. Edited March 20, 2017 by Michael Hiles Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
UliWer Posted March 20, 2017 Author Share #9 Posted March 20, 2017 Just for the record: The lens head of the early Nr.1051xxx Hektor can be unscrewed - I managed to move it at last. Though now I have the next problem - I need an UOOXI... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc_braconi Posted March 20, 2017 Share #10 Posted March 20, 2017 Hello here of mine on the bellows II, btw That You need a specific adapter Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/270534-125125cm-hektor-lens-head/?do=findComment&comment=3237816'>More sharing options...
UliWer Posted March 20, 2017 Author Share #11 Posted March 20, 2017 ...btw That You need a specific adapter Yes the UOOXI or 16572. Just found one online and ordered it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted March 20, 2017 Share #12 Posted March 20, 2017 (edited) Yes the UOOXI or 16572. Just found one online and ordered it. ...got the occasion to discover that it has three writings variants... (at least... ) Edited March 20, 2017 by luigi bertolotti Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
UliWer Posted March 20, 2017 Author Share #13 Posted March 20, 2017 (edited) I hope the variants reagrd only the writing - not the thread to screw the lens in or to attach it on the bellows... btw: On my research whether the Hektor came with the UOOXI from the beginning - it didn't, the UOOXI was announced some months after the lens - i found a price list: it was 6,-DM then (approx 3,-€). Now it is offered for 80,-€ + postage +Tax... Edited March 20, 2017 by UliWer Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted March 20, 2017 Share #14 Posted March 20, 2017 (edited) Hello UliWer, When you adjust for the change in the value of money from when the lens was manufactured to now: The adapter is probably around the same price that it was back then. Best Regards, Michael Edited March 20, 2017 by Michael Geschlecht Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
UliWer Posted March 21, 2017 Author Share #15 Posted March 21, 2017 Btw I looked how much the average income was in 1954: 353 DM a month. So the 6,- DM for an UOOXI was 1/58 of an average income. 80,-€ for the adapter today would need an average income 4640,- Euro per month now if you "only" wanted to pay 1/58 for it - in 2016 the average income was 3417,- € per month in Germany. For the Hektor lens the numbers are very different: In 1954 it cost 388,-DM, so a lot more than an average monthly income. I bought mine for 700,- €, just a little bit more than 1/5 of an average income - besides being a bit stiff it is like it was brand new. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted March 21, 2017 Share #16 Posted March 21, 2017 (edited) Hello UliWer, Thank you for doing the research. For the adapter: A theoretical 4640 Euros weighed against an actual 3417 Euros seems to be a reasonably close guess to me. For the lens: It is interesting that certain things have a current market value very much under their current cost of production. An example of this which I use some times is an old treadle powered Singer Sewing Machine. ALL of the old treadle powered Singer Sewing Machines that are fitted to a very nice & very useful oak stand with drawers & that have a lot of decorative cast iron decoration on the stand, were made in Elizabeth New Jersey. Whether you find them in Mongolia, In Peru, or in Offenbach. They were so well made that virtually all of them still work today. They can sew almost anything that any of us would wear as well as any modern machine. All that usually needs replacing is the leather belt to connect the treadle to the flywheel of the machine. This, along with its 1 copper staple, is easily & cheaply available at most shoemaker's repair shops anywhere in the World. The cost to make the same machine to the same high quality standards that it was made to 100 or more years ago* would most likely be well over 1,000 Euros. And yet a very nice condition, perfectly usable machine, would probably cost less than 150 Euros in an Antiques Shop today. Conversely: An old pen from the same time period, which might cost around 5 Euros parts & labor to make today: Can sell for hundreds of Euros beyond the cost of its gold point**. Best Regards, Michael * It is less expensive today, in adjusted for cost of production at various times Euros, to make a mechanical device than it was to make the same mechanical device 100 or so years ago. ** Pens did not only use Gold points for showing off how wealthy a person was. Many years ago inks were often quite caustic. Gold points, which were reasonably soft, which had Iridium tips, which were harder, resisted the attack of the caustic inks reasonably well. As opposed to steel points which would not last very long. Edited March 21, 2017 by Michael Geschlecht Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted March 22, 2017 Share #17 Posted March 22, 2017 (edited) ...ALL of the old treadle powered Singer Sewing Machines that are fitted to a very nice & very useful oak stand with drawers & that have a lot of decorative cast iron decoration on the stand, were made in Elizabeth New Jersey. Whether you find them in Mongolia, In Peru, or in Offenbach... ... and in my house... as you say, only the leather belt ought to be changed... but problem is that none at my home would use it, I think... Edited March 22, 2017 by luigi bertolotti Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
UliWer Posted March 22, 2017 Author Share #18 Posted March 22, 2017 For the lens: It is interesting that certain things have a current market value very much under their current cost of production. ... True for most old Leitz lenses with longer focal length. Best example is the 13.5cm Hektor - today one of the "cheapest" old lenses you can get. At its time it was a lot more expensive than other examples with 35/50/90/135mm "standard". Or the 4/200Telyt - which was really expensive when you bought it new. You still get an impression of its price when you look how it is made. Today you have to search to find an example above 300,-€ - even in very good condition. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hiles Posted March 22, 2017 Share #19 Posted March 22, 2017 (edited) Or the 4/200Telyt - which was really expensive when you bought it new. You still get an impression of its price when you look how it is made. Today you have to search to find an example above 300,-€ - even in very good condition. I recently bought one (plus an OUBIO) for about $350 CAD - and in essentially perfect shape. This may reflect that it used exclusively on a Visoflex, a system that is no longer "trendy" (except maybe with me). Edited March 22, 2017 by Michael Hiles Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
UliWer Posted March 22, 2017 Author Share #20 Posted March 22, 2017 The Visoflex was a completely outdated system - before digital M cameras came. Then it got "trendy". Since the introduction of Liveview it beame a very usable system (you don't even need a Visoflex for it...). I think this lead to a very steep price increase for different adapters. I can use the 200mm Telyt or the 125mm Hector without any further devices than a simple TXBOO. I got this years ago when it was attached to the Telyt, but it didn't make much sense, since I couldnt use a proper finder with it. Suddenly it became very helpful. If I tried to find a TXBOO now... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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