brianv Posted July 30, 2012 Share #621 Posted July 30, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) The "Zeiss Opton" lenses were the West German made. Later in production the "opton" was dropped. I have taken several apart, and found two different styles of construction- and both were run in parallel. Comparable performance, but the mechanical fixtures and optics are not interchangeable. It is hard to tell one from the other until after taking the front ring and rear module out. The West German optics are first rate, but the new optical design is more frugal with respect to using glass. My opinion, after looking at the taper of the triplets used. Carl Zeiss Jena also produced a 5cm F1.5 and 5cm f2 Sonnar after the war with SN above 3Million, and the optical formula and mechanical fixtures were "improved" with respect to vignetting. The diameter of the optics was enlarged. The rear retaining ring of the East German 5cm f1.5 will interfere with the RF mechanism of the camera when used with an Amedeo adapter. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted July 30, 2012 Posted July 30, 2012 Hi brianv, Take a look here M8 and Old Glass. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
farnz Posted July 30, 2012 Share #622 Posted July 30, 2012 ... The rear retaining ring of the East German 5cm f1.5 will interfere with the RF mechanism of the camera when used with an Amedeo adapter. Brian, Thanks, that's good to know. I already use a post war CZJ 50/2 Sonnar and a 50/2 Opton Sonnar with an Amadeo adaptor without a problem and after seeing some of your wonderful photos with the 50/1.5 was considering acquiring one. I hadn't heard this problem mentioned previously. Pete. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianv Posted July 30, 2012 Share #623 Posted July 30, 2012 (edited) I looked through the back of a Canon P and Leica M3 to figure out why the Post-War Carl Zeiss Jena 5cm F1.5 would not focus properly with the adapter. I ended up shimming it for a Nikon RF. The "Zeiss" and "Zeiss Opton" west German 50mm f1.5 lenses, and the pre-war and wartime 5cm f1.5 are fine with it. I prefer the feel of the pre-war Sonnar in the Jupiter mount over the Amedeo adapter. I own two Amedeo LTM adapters and two John Luke M-adapters. These are three test images made with the Carl Zeiss 50mm F1.5 on the Amedeo adapter. All wide-open, on my M8. grass_f15 by anachronist1, on Flickr redleaf_f15 by anachronist1, on Flickr yellow_f15 by anachronist1, on Flickr I replaced the original damaged front element on this lens with one from a slightly later lens. Worked out well. Ended up trading this one off. But I ended up with a perfect J-3 focus mount and used it to convert a Coated 1936 5cm f1.5 Sonnar to Leica Mount. The 1936 lens was from a test batch of the first coated lenses. Edited July 30, 2012 by brianv 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
farnz Posted July 30, 2012 Share #624 Posted July 30, 2012 I very nearly bought one of the 50/1.5 pre-war Sonnars that you were advertising on another forum but you pulled it just as I was pulling the trigger. Such is life. Pete. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianv Posted July 31, 2012 Share #625 Posted July 31, 2012 (edited) That lens sat for a week. I made the mistake of putting it on the M9, took my daughter out, and ended up with some of the nicest portraits of her that I've taken. The Sonnar was from the 198xxxx batch immediately following the earliest 190xxxx coated Sonnar that I have. The "Bloom" (tarnish in glass) on the uncoated lens was as effective as the coating on the earlier one. I want to try the pair on the Monochrom when it arrives. I ended up selling a 1954 Jupiter-3, had all German glass and kept the Sonnar for my 55th Birthday present to myself. The '54 Jupiter was probably one of the last with German glass, nice glass, but the fixture was damaged. I transferred the glass to a new housing. Some people do jigsaw puzzles, I like playing with old lenses. I would like to see a professional shop add the Sonnar conversions to their services. I would be happy to pass along photographs and instructions of the process. I've corresponded with two shops, but the process is "not by the book" for aligning the focus with the RF. I align for close-up and wide-open, not at infinity. This is required as the focal length is slightly longer than the Leica standard. The Sonnar focus shift allows infinity focus to be covered by ~F2.8. Edited July 31, 2012 by brianv 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianv Posted July 31, 2012 Share #626 Posted July 31, 2012 (edited) This Jupiter-12 is from 1952, not only has German glass: also has a German Serial Number in the optical fixture. I have a couple of early Jupiters with Zeiss serial numbers in them. J-12 on the M8 by anachronist1, on Flickr The focus was way off, corrected by adding a 0.2mm shim. Jupiter-12, 1952 KMZ, wide-open on the M8 by anachronist1, on Flickr Wide-open and close-up on the M8. Note the KMZ Logo, and the first two digits of the Russian serial number. Zeiss SN by anachronist1, on Flickr And the "added Bonus", the Zeiss SN on the rear fixture. Puts it as a 35/2.8 Biogon batch ordered in 1943. Edited July 31, 2012 by brianv Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcrutcher Posted July 31, 2012 Share #627 Posted July 31, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) This Jupiter-12 is from 1952, not only has German glass: also has a German Serial Number in the optical fixture. I have a couple of early Jupiters with Zeiss serial numbers in them. J-12 on the M8 by anachronist1, on Flickr The focus was way off, corrected by adding a 0.2mm shim. Jupiter-12, 1952 KMZ, wide-open on the M8 by anachronist1, on Flickr Wide-open and close-up on the M8. Note the KMZ Logo, and the first two digits of the Russian serial number. Zeiss SN by anachronist1, on Flickr And the "added Bonus", the Zeiss SN on the rear fixture. Puts it as a 35/2.8 Biogon batch ordered in 1943. All I can say is WOW! If you ever want to sell one of those let me know. Jim 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milan_S Posted August 1, 2012 Share #628 Posted August 1, 2012 Leica M8 with Canon 50mm 0.95 Kazakh friends by Milan Swolfs Photography, on Flickr Kazakh friends by Milan Swolfs Photography, on Flickr 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JMF Posted August 3, 2012 Share #629 Posted August 3, 2012 Canon 50 LTM 1.2 Dragonfly / Libélula Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
menos I M6 Posted August 3, 2012 Share #630 Posted August 3, 2012 This is a beautiful photograph Jean-Marc! I do not have a opinion yet about the way, the fast Canon 50's draw (especially backgrounds), but here everything is just beautiful! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JMF Posted August 3, 2012 Share #631 Posted August 3, 2012 Thank a lot Dirk ! Here is my fave for the eerie painterly background : Dragonfly / Libélula Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc_braconi Posted August 3, 2012 Share #632 Posted August 3, 2012 M8 Uhr and Summilux 1.4/35 1980 no PP : Guzzi's 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! 4 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/110554-m8-and-old-glass/?do=findComment&comment=2078624'>More sharing options...
IWC Doppel Posted August 3, 2012 Share #633 Posted August 3, 2012 Very nice, that's another lens I hanker after ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcrutcher Posted August 4, 2012 Share #634 Posted August 4, 2012 Summarit wide open with M8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcrutcher Posted August 4, 2012 Share #635 Posted August 4, 2012 M8 with Summarit at F8.0 This is a sharp lens stopped down. It does have a IR filter. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mstephens Posted August 4, 2012 Share #636 Posted August 4, 2012 M8 Uhr and Summilux 1.4/35 1980 no PP : Guzzi's Beautiful Moto Guzzi! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianv Posted August 5, 2012 Share #637 Posted August 5, 2012 M8 with Summarit at F8.0 This is a sharp lens stopped down. It does have a IR filter. Agreed- at F4, my two Summarits are as good as the Rigid Summicron at F4. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JMF Posted August 9, 2012 Share #638 Posted August 9, 2012 low con ! 1936 Summar @ f2.0 & ISO 1250 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andym911 Posted August 12, 2012 Author Share #639 Posted August 12, 2012 back from a couple of weeks vacation and great to see the wonderful stuff going on here! from today canon 35/2.8 and M8.2 with some flash from Metz 20 best regards andy 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! 5 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/110554-m8-and-old-glass/?do=findComment&comment=2084845'>More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted August 15, 2012 Share #640 Posted August 15, 2012 Here is one taken today from my patio of La Chapelle de St. Victoire in Villecroze, Provence. It is about 4 km away and 400 metres below my house. It is taken with a late 1960's vintage 560 Telyt with Televit fast focus device, Visoflex III and M8. I am also using a Wratten 25A Red series VII high contrast filter, mounted behind the lens in the Televit, to counteract the rather low contrast of this lens. Wilson 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! 5 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/110554-m8-and-old-glass/?do=findComment&comment=2086628'>More sharing options...
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