I installed a DIY steel rim ring for 35 lux pre-asph V2

[Greenhilltony]

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At the cost of 99 USD my 35 lux pre-a V2 turns to a “steel rim”.  The mod is reversible. Just screw off the three tiny screws on the front ring and replace it. This DIY ring accepts E43 filters and a matching DIY OLLUX hood and it’s from China. I saw a listed DIY steel rim ring on eBay from Thailand but the price was triple. It’s a pity the seller has not started the second round production of the matching hood. He is also preparing to release a brass focus ring with an infinity lock equipped focus tab for replacement on the pre-a V2.

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[Greenhilltony]

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[GFW2-SCUSA]

I don't understand the point of this.  What does it do?

Edited September 5, 2024 by GFW2-SCUSA
typo

[Greenhilltony]

14 minutes ago, GFW2-SCUSA said:

I don't understand the ponint of this.  What does it do?

1. Use an E43 filter without the 12504 hood and without the hassle of collecting the rare E41 filters for the original steel rim.

2. When you prefer the appearance of an OLLUX to that of a 12504

3. Fun! and also the styling 

[mdg1371]

3 hours ago, Al Brown said:

It's a rimjob.

You win the internet today.😂

 

Edited September 5, 2024 by mdg1371

[pippy]

4 hours ago, Greenhilltony said:

1. Use an E43 filter without the 12504 hood and without the hassle of collecting the rare E41 filters for the original steel rim...

But this modification (obviously!) isn't for an original Steel Rim - it's for a v2 - so why even mention "the hassle of collecting the rare E41 filters"? No-one with a v2 will be trying to collect 41mm filters for their lens so this aspect has no bearing whatsoever on the matter at hand.

IMX (I need filters in 41mm, 43mm and Series VII sizes) it's also FAR easier to source different types of Series VII filters than it is to source the same options in 43mm so that's an even greater reason to go with the Series VII / 12504.

But hey; if you happen to prefer the 'Faux-Steel-Rim' look then - Absolutely! - go for it! Why not? That's a reason for choosing this set-up which I can understand. If you also prefer the look of the OLLUX to the 12504 than that, too, I can understand. In use, of course, the OLLUX has far more finder-blockage than the 12504 but who cares about Usage as opposed to Cool Value?......😸......

Seriously though; No-one is the loser here. All that matters is that each of us is happy with our kit and we enjoy using it when taking photographs.

Best of good fortune with your choices, Greenhilltony, and have fun! Hopefully you will soon be able to get the matching OLLUX to complete the look.

And I will say that it does look quite cool!

Philip.

Edited September 5, 2024 by pippy

[TomB_tx]

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It does seem strange, with all the folks wanting to cover up the chrome rim on ZM & VM lenses that some want a shiny rim on a Leica lens…

[blackdot]

Can you share the details? The Thailand one is just way too expensive.

And for those asking why... I love my v2, but would like to go hoodless when conditions permit to take advantage of the tiny size. But it's too expensive a lens to go filterless. I could sell my v3 cron if I had this.

[pippy]

26 minutes ago, TomB_tx said:

It does seem strange, with all the folks wanting to cover up the chrome rim on ZM & VM lenses that some want a shiny rim on a Leica lens…

The very same thought crossed my mind!

Philip.

[LocalHero1953]

This is on a par with changing the red Leica dot for a black one, ladybird pattern soft releases, or re-leathering in red. It has little or nothing to do with photography. 
Since I paid a couple of hundred extra to get a Q2 Reporter, and bought custom brown Ultravids, I'm not in a position to criticise (and have no wish to).

[blackdot]

6 minutes ago, LocalHero1953 said:

This is on a par with changing the red Leica dot for a black one, ladybird pattern soft releases, or re-leathering in red. It has little or nothing to do with photography. 
Since I paid a couple of hundred extra to get a Q2 Reporter, and bought custom brown Ultravids, I'm not in a position to criticise (and have no wish to).

No, it lets you attach a filter to the lens directly. Not cosmetic at all. In fact, I'd prefer it in black, if someone would make one.

[pippy]

1 hour ago, LocalHero1953 said:

This is on a par with......re-leathering in red...

Somewhat perversely I re-covered my Silver-Chrome M Monochrom from the original factory-fitted 'Boysenberry' (Burgundy-red) leather to Black......😸......

I agree that being able to fit filters directly on the v2 would be very useful. As it happens I have some 40mm filters which I use with my Serenar-style 50mm f1.8 Canon LTM lens and if a certain amount of care is taken they can be 'screwed' - lightly - onto the front of the v2 35 Summilux. I'm certainly not going to suggest that this is an advisable 'solution' (mount a filter in this fashion at your own peril!) but, FWIW, here is a 'Marumi' branded 40mm UVa on the lens;

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Philip.

Edited September 6, 2024 by pippy

[shirubadanieru]

36 minutes ago, pippy said:

Somewhat perversely I re-covered my Silver-Chrome M Monochrom from the original factory-fitted 'Boysenberry' (Burgundy-red) leather to Black......😸......

I agree that being able to fit filters directly on the v2 would be very useful. As it happens I have some 40mm filters which I use with my Serenar-style 50mm f1.8 Canon LTM lens and if a certain amount of care is taken they can be 'screwed' - lightly - onto the front of the v2 35 Summilux. I'm certainly not going to suggest that this is an advisable 'solution' (mount a filter in this fashion at your own peril!) but, FWIW, here is a 'Marumi' branded 40mm UVa on the lens;

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Philip.

Interesting I never knew this was a possibility. The only thing that I don’t enjoy about the v2 is not being able to use filters but if this fits…it’s quite a game changer. Does it stay in place?

[Greenhilltony]

2 hours ago, blackdot said:

Can you share the details? The Thailand one is just way too expensive.

And for those asking why... I love my v2, but would like to go hoodless when conditions permit to take advantage of the tiny size. But it's too expensive a lens to go filterless. I could sell my v3 cron if I had this.

The Thailand one is exactly the same product as the copy of mine. Actually, it’s someone in Thailand ordered 30 copies of the rim and the matching ollux replica from the Chinese seller I contacted, and tripled the price.

The only way to get it from China is through a foreigner unfriendly flea market app. I have explained the situation to the seller or better to say, designer/producer, and he said there are still a few of rims left, and have no plan to produce another batch in the near future. He also told me the matching ollux have to wait until next month, when he finishes a current project for M10. If anyone wants to get the rim, you could DM me to figure it out. I don’t plan to order the rest from him and resell them at a higher price by myself.

[pippy]

34 minutes ago, shirubadanieru said:

Interesting I never knew this was a possibility.......Does it stay in place?

Apologies to Greenhilltony in advance for this minor thread derail...

First of all I'd like to stress once again that anyone who tries this for themselves does so at their own discretion...

Yes; as far as I've been able to establish the filter will stay where it has been placed.

I only discovered that the 40mm might be an 'answer' by trial and error soon after I had bought the Summilux. On the day I picked up the lens the same dealership had a 12504, a Leitz Series VII UVa and a 13370 Circ. Pola. so those came home too but, as I often use Colour-Contrast filters, I was curious to know whether it would be possible to fit regular 39mm filters into the recess on the front of the lens barrel and whether these could be held in place with the 12504. Immediately, of course, I discovered that as the hood clips-on over the lens barrel there was no way that it could hold the filter in place. DOH! Pretty obvious really and I did feel a bit of a nitwit for not thinking things through beforehand......😸......

Plan B was to try a 41mm Summarit screw-in filter. Too large. Plan C was to try a 40.5 (for FSU use) filter. Still too large. That only left plan D which was the 40mm as shown.

Whilst it is physically possible to 'screw' the filter into the front of the lens-barrel it's not something I would rely on as a permanent solution. When I tried it out - both originally and again today - the filter seemed perfectly happy to stay in place without any suggestion of it falling off. It could well be the case that if the filter was screwed-in even further (by using a little bit more force than I was prepared to exert) the filter might fix itself in very solidly indeed.

Curiously when I was setting-up the lens/filter combo earlier on today I noticed that the filter would always 'screw' onto the barrel at the same place almost as if there was a 'correct' position for the filter to mate with the inner rim. I checked this situation four times and it happened on each occasion. I have no idea why that should have proven to be the case. Most Odd.

Ultimately, however, soon after I got the lens I acquired some Series VII C-Contrast filters so that sitaution was sorted-out very much to my satisfaction. I always prefer to use a hood anyhow and the 12504 is the obvious way to go.

Still; worth trying out the 40mm route just so long as one isn't too precious about the possibility of paint-loss from the inner-edge of the lens' non-filter-thread!

Philip.

Edited September 6, 2024 by pippy

[Ecar]

1 hour ago, pippy said:

Still; worth trying out the 40mm route just so long as one isn't too precious about the possibility of paint-loss from the inner-edge of the lens' non-filter-thread!

I tried this a while ago, using a step-up ring (40->40.5 or 40->43). The idea was to be able to use both a filter and a generic hood, so that the 12504's clips wouldn't be in the way when changing aperture. Unfortunately, it wouldn't stay in place: a knock on the hood would dislodge the whole ring+filter+hood assembly. And it did slightly damage the inner-edge paint, so I left it at that.

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[blackdot]

3 hours ago, pippy said:

Plan B was to try a 41mm Summarit screw-in filter. Too large. Plan C was to try a 40.5 (for FSU use) filter. Still too large. 

I did exactly the same thing! I had no idea one more half mm down would have done the trick. 

Edited September 6, 2024 by blackdot

[pippy]

1 hour ago, Ecar said:

I tried this a while ago, using a step-up ring (40->40.5 or 40->43). The idea was to be able to use both a filter and a generic hood, so that the 12504's clips wouldn't be in the way when changing aperture. Unfortunately, it wouldn't stay in place: a knock on the hood would dislodge the whole ring+filter+hood assembly. And it did slightly damage the inner-edge paint, so I left it at that...

Yes. The Chrome 'Steel Rim' ring which is the subject of this thread would be a good solution if a 12504 / Series VII pairing isn't looked upon with favour as it would allow regular 43mm filters to be used along with a generic 43mm hood. It would also mean that the v2 is not damaged in any way.

Out of curiosity I did have a look on the www yesterday to see if there was any mention of the Steel Ring accessory but, sadly, without success.

Might be an interesting option sometime in the future, though. I do already have a few 43mm filters as it is this size which is required by the 40mm f1.4 Voigt. Nokton.

The Marumi filter shown earlier has, I believe, a ring/thread which is made of a slightly 'soft' metal; probably aluminium. As such my suspicion is that were it to be used and changed-out many times it the filter threads on the filter would wear away gradually. Do this often enough and the point could be reached when the filter no longer sits firmly enough in the lens to be sure it will remain in place. As mentioned earlier I hardly used any force when putting the things together but, FWIW, even with a mild amount of 'screwing' it felt solid enough and had to be 'unscrewed' for its removal; there was no way it would come out easily otherwise. Whether it would be jammed-in solid enough to withstand being knocked when a hood might be used in conjunction is an unknown - and certain to remain that way as far as my own kit is concerned!......😸......

To circumvent the 12504's 'clips-in-the-way-of-the-aperture-tabs' issue I attach the 12504 with the clips in the 12 0'clock & 6 o'clock orientation(*). The tabs on the hood also have the extremely useful advantage as being able to be used as points-of-reference when the Leitz Circ. Pola is being used. Simply align the yellow marker-dot on the rim of the filter with one or other clip thereby showing how the filter is positioned when in use and Voila!

Philip.

EDIT : For (most) horizontal shooting. Simply turn the hood through 90 degrees when shooting in portrait format.

Edited September 6, 2024 by pippy

[Ecar]

4 minutes ago, pippy said:

To circumvent the 12504's 'clips-in-the-way-of-the-aperture-tabs' issue I attach the 12504 with the clips in the 12 0'clock & 6 o'clock orientation.

Same here, but not ideal.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[pippy]

16 minutes ago, Ecar said:

Same here, but not ideal.

Yes, well, I know but at least it works to a certain extent ......😸......

Certainly it's a better solution than trying to adjust the rotation of a POOTR when a 12585 hood is being used and, additionally, the hood can't even be clipped-on properly because it can't get past the filter's mounting-ring!

This incompatiblity situation does mildly annoy me and, in fact, I elect to use the 12504 / 13370 pairing with several other suitable lenses such as the LLL '8 Element' and the v4 50mm Summicron.

Philip.

Edited September 6, 2024 by pippy