35mm Summilux pre-ash focus tab - Redux

[jaapv]

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That is indeed very nice, Luigi.

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[wlaidlaw]

Luigi, 

 

My local and very helpful chroming shop offers black chrome plating in gloss, semi gloss/satin and matte. I was chatting to them, when I was having a Thumbie satin chromed a couple of years ago, they said that brass is the nicest material to black chrome as the nickel undercoat bonds to it better than other base materials like steel, where to get a long lasting finish, you should really first copper plate, then nickel before the final black chrome finish. 

 

I am sure that chrome plating shops in Italy would be able to offer the same service. 

 

Wilson

[michaelwj]

In praise of Michaelwj work, here is, just arrived, my replacement tab for my Elmarit 28 v3 (the original went broken and partially lost in action...) : a fine and perfectly fitting item : the brass looking is so fine that I'm uncertain if is worth to embark in black painting it before attaching it definitely... (I suspect I'd end up with a black not perfectly consistent with lens, and maybe at risk of paint wear in usage)

 

Elmarit_28_newtab1.jpg

 

Elmarit_28_newtab2.jpg

Thanks for you kind words Luigi, I'm glad you like it! I must confess to being a little worried that it would fit properly, but it looks like it fits very well - your measurements must have been very accurate (it was tricky not having the lens and simply trusting someone else's measurements).

 

As for painting, I was in such a rush to get mine installed that I didn't allow the enamel to cure properly before applying a second coat... I know have quite a lot of brass showing through. I do like the idea of black chrome though Wilson, I'll have to check it out in Australia.

[luigi bertolotti]

Thanks for the advice, Wilson : I could find surely a chroming shop next to my town (it's Italy "brass town", after all...) ; but am still hesitant on what to do... it's really fine as is... it has anyway lost "originality" (not that it's a rare item... differently from the first at left hereunder...)

 

And by the way I tend to use it seldom... I'm not short of BM 28's , and not surprisingly the last is the best... (the loss of the tab was a great excuse to add one.. )

 

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[michaelwj]

Hi All,

 

Just a heads up for anyone looking to pick up one of my focus tabs through my shapeways shop they're having free shipping from tomorrow through to the 24th of September 2017.

See my previous posts in this thread with a link to my shop.

[michaelwj]

Links here:

 

Hi All,

 

Following some advice here and on RFF, I've set up a shapeways shop that you can visit here. The focus tab in brass is US$35. If you want a different material then let me know and I'll see about adding it. It's in the classifieds too.

 

Here is my badly painted on installed after some heavy use over the last few weeks.

 

 

@pico, I agree, the glue is what prompted me into making my own. How disgusting! I have made this one so that it can be installed and removed without modifying the lens in any way, and also to have a weak point (the nut glued in) so that it doesn't damage the lens if the worst happens.

[topoxforddoc]

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Thanks. Just ordered one for my 35 pre-asph lux

[Jsushi]

@michaelwjI would love to get one of these brass focusing tabs to replace the piece on my Minolta M-Rokkor 40mm F/2 with a more traditional concave shape. Is this something you could help me with/would be interested in taking on? 

Thanks kindly!
Jeremy

[Alan Siqueira]

@michaelwj, I see that you have a tab for the summicron 50 v4. just a question; do you think it can be attached to a summicron 50 v3? I just love mine and would love to have a focus tab on it

[wlaidlaw]

38 minutes ago, Alan Siqueira said:

@michaelwj, I see that you have a tab for the summicron 50 v4. just a question; do you think it can be attached to a summicron 50 v3? I just love mine and would love to have a focus tab on it

I have a Chrome 50 Summicron V4/5 LTM Special Edition. Given its value, I did not want to modify it permanently but given my very arthritic fingers, needed some sort of focus tab. I therefore opted to use one of these https://www.lenstab.com . Maybe not the prettiest but non-destructive, wholly reversible and works perfectly. I also use one on my 50 Summilux III LTM Special Edition for the same reason. 

Wilson

[Jsushi]

Hey @michaelwj I’d love to get one of these brass focus tabs made up to replace the weird focus knob on my Minolta M-Rokkor 40mm F/2 with a more traditional concave tab. Is that something you’d be interested in? Let me know!

[michaelwj]

On 1/9/2022 at 12:02 AM, Alan Siqueira said:

@michaelwj, I see that you have a tab for the summicron 50 v4. just a question; do you think it can be attached to a summicron 50 v3? I just love mine and would love to have a focus tab on it

Sorry, I didn’t see this earlier! It’s all down to the lens diameter (I list the diameter each tab is made in the description), a few 1/10th of a mm too big is usually okay. All the tabs are 6.3mm wide and the pins are 16mm apart and slightly offset from the screw. 
the tabs are completely removable and don’t require any glueing on the lens. 

[michaelwj]

On 1/23/2022 at 2:40 AM, Jsushi said:

Hey @michaelwj I’d love to get one of these brass focus tabs made up to replace the weird focus knob on my Minolta M-Rokkor 40mm F/2 with a more traditional concave tab. Is that something you’d be interested in? Let me know!

See my above reply to see if one might fit. As far as making a new one… it’s not out of the question but let’s see if an existing one fits first!

I believe Leica only make the one plastic one that bent to fit the different lenses, but I could be wrong. 

[michaelwj]

On 1/9/2022 at 12:45 AM, wlaidlaw said:

I have a Chrome 50 Summicron V4/5 LTM Special Edition. Given its value, I did not want to modify it permanently but given my very arthritic fingers, needed some sort of focus tab. I therefore opted to use one of these https://www.lenstab.com . Maybe not the prettiest but non-destructive, wholly reversible and works perfectly. I also use one on my 50 Summilux III LTM Special Edition for the same reason. 

Wilson

Yep, mine will only work non destructively on a lens that had a plastic tab. 

[arnaud33]

Hi @michaelwj Just got a focus tab for my 28mm elmarit v3. Looks great, but I don't get how to tighten the nut onto the screw that's coming out of the lens. Am I missing something?

Arnaud

 

[brookellis]

Hello All

I have an 80's Leica Summilux 35mm ASPH v1. The focus tab had broken a while back. I searched for a replacement and found this thread, but unfortunately too late. Now that Shapeways has gone out of business, is there any way to still order a replacement tab?

Thanks

Brook

[KevinL]

On 11/23/2024 at 7:32 AM, brookellis said:

Hello All

I have an 80's Leica Summilux 35mm ASPH v1. The focus tab had broken a while back. I searched for a replacement and found this thread, but unfortunately too late. Now that Shapeways has gone out of business, is there any way to still order a replacement tab?

Thanks

Brook

I have the same question (though for v2).  I've asked a long while back on RFF as well, where MichaelWJ also posted a thread.  No reply and he hasn't logged in on LUF in over a year.  Anyone have a spare laying around?  

[wlaidlaw]

As a temporary fix, although not terribly elegant is one of the rubber bands with a focus tab on it. The best ones by far used to be made by a company called TAAB but they appear to have gone out of business, I assume due to competition from knock off cheap Chinese copiers of their idea. I have two TAABs on my "tabless" 50 Summilux III and 50 Summicron V, both LTM special edition lenses. It always seemed a weird decision by Leica not to give them tabs, given that a good proportion of their usage would be on Barnack cameras, where customarily standard length lenses have always had a combined tab and infinity lock to ease mounting and unmounting. They should have copied the very neat tab/infinity lock of the LTM Summaron 35/2.8, which both looks very nice and works well. You squeeze the tab at the back to release the infinity lock.  I am happy to say that my 35 Summaron is in far better shape than this one looks to be. 

Wilson

 

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Edited December 19, 2024 by wlaidlaw

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[michaelwj]

Hi All,

Shapeways has shut down and the rebirth is still unsure, so I've attached the STL file. Maybe someone else can find a nice hosting site that can allow users to print a tab?

I printed it in brass at Shapeways, I don't know if a home printer will print it strong enough in nylon, I don't have much experience with domestic printers.

35SummiluxPreFocusTab_v9.STL

[KevinL]

Very classy and generous move, Michael!   A huge THANK YOU! 

 

FWIW, I was able to place an order at Shapeways just now using your STL file.  Perhaps just the Marketplace is shut down (I got an email saying it's coming back but with "changes") while regular orders might be back up.   I did get an estimated ship date in mid-January, so ... Crossing my fingers!