1/3 clickstops, bane or boon?

1/3 clickstops, bane or boon?

  • bane, its slower to work with. and cumersome

    Votes: 28 58.3%

  • boon, more stops, more fun!

    Votes: 20 41.7%
  • Total voters
    48
  • Poll closed .
coelacanth said:
Quick question. On most of lenses, you can eliminate the clicks buy filling the grooves with something, right? What's the best material to fill the gap?
Click to expand...

JB Weld or some similar metal epoxy.

As for the clicks 1/3 vs 1/2 vs full stop clicks, it really doesn't matter to me.
And if you shoot with a mechanical Leica, you can set the shutter speed anywhere on the dial between 1 sec and 1/1000 sec to fine tune your exposure. The clicks are just there for convenience sake, but there is no reason you can't shoot 1/90 or 1/20 or 1/whatever with one of the mechanical M's.

Phil Forrest
 
Phil_F_NM said:
JB Weld or some similar metal epoxy.

As for the clicks 1/3 vs 1/2 vs full stop clicks, it really doesn't matter to me.
And if you shoot with a mechanical Leica, you can set the shutter speed anywhere on the dial between 1 sec and 1/1000 sec to fine tune your exposure. The clicks are just there for convenience sake, but there is no reason you can't shoot 1/90 or 1/20 or 1/whatever with one of the mechanical M's.

Phil Forrest
Click to expand...

Ah, I was thinking of JB Weld myself. Sounds doable although I'll probably ask Don to do the job if I ever decide to pull that off.

And wow. I guess you learn something new everyday. Maybe I was the only one who didn't know this, but I had no idea you could actually do in-between speeds with mechanical Ms. This doesn't do any harm to the mechanism whatsoever? Thanks very much for sharing great info.
 
coelacanth said:
Quick question. On most of lenses, you can eliminate the clicks buy filling the grooves with something, right? What's the best material to fill the gap?
Click to expand...

Usually the click is caused by a tiny ball-bearing that you can just remove (or loose by accident while the lens is apart).
 
ferider said:
Usually the click is caused by a tiny ball-bearing that you can just remove (or loose by accident while the lens is apart).
Click to expand...

I learned that hard way (?) when my Summicron 35/2's ball bearing fell off. 😱 I'm guessing, to keep full stop clicks only, you'd fill the groove of 1/3 or 1/2 stops on either the aperture ring or the barrel while keeping the ball bearing/spring in place?
 
Phil_F_NM said:
JB Weld or some similar metal epoxy.

As for the clicks 1/3 vs 1/2 vs full stop clicks, it really doesn't matter to me.
And if you shoot with a mechanical Leica, you can set the shutter speed anywhere on the dial between 1 sec and 1/1000 sec to fine tune your exposure. The clicks are just there for convenience sake, but there is no reason you can't shoot 1/90 or 1/20 or 1/whatever with one of the mechanical M's.

Phil Forrest
Click to expand...

That is why I like full-stop clicks... if I am shooting 1/1000 sec at f1.4 and I want to increase DOF by stopping down to f4.0... 3 clicks on the aperture ring and shutter speed dial gets me there... instead of 3 clicks on the shutter speed dial and 5(or 7 if a Zeiss lens) on the aperture ring. In fact, I just stuffed up because there is not a half-stop between 1.5 and 2.0 on the Nokton 50/1.5, so that is 4 clicks and 3 clicks... just give whole stops, I can do the fine adjustment whether it is aperture or shutter speed myself.

JB Weld or any filled epoxy will do. If I was going to want to keep the modification reversible, I would use a regular epoxy that can be melted out at low temperature.
 
coelacanth said:
And wow. I guess you learn something new everyday. Maybe I was the only one who didn't know this, but I had no idea you could actually do in-between speeds with mechanical Ms. This doesn't do any harm to the mechanism whatsoever? Thanks very much for sharing great info.
Click to expand...

Yes, the shutter speed clicks are just arbitrary notches in a brass cylinder. The camera does not know what speed you're really shooting at.
Basically, it has only 3 speed settings: Bulb, slow and fast. Slow shoots from 1sec through 1/30 (IIRC) and fast shoots from 1/50 (denoted as a lightning bolt) to 1/1000.
Using the slow train speeds regulates the release of the second curtain through a clockwork escapement that causes a timed pause, so it is more a real true shutter speed adjustment. The speeds above 1/50 are all the same and the dial regulates the width of the slit traveling across the film plane. So 1/1000 is just as fast as 1/50 but with a smaller slit.

if you ever have the chance to take apart a Speed Graphic focal plane shutter, you can see the theory laid out in a 4 foot long cloth curtain with various sized slits.

Phil Forrest
 
One stop is best because you can tune it into any tolerance you want! That's why I loved the Zuiko lenses so much...
 
I don't really care — I get used to counting the clicks on each lens individually. And on lenses like my J12 I don't even get to count clicks.
 
I like full stops

I like full stops

P. Lynn Miller said:
I prefer full stop click only. Makes it easier to keep track of aperture value and shutter speed. I am considering eliminating the 1/2 stops on my Noktons when I disassemble them the next time. Having full stops only allows more precise aperture control between the clicks.

Just my 2¢...
Click to expand...
I am with Lynn. My Summaron 2.8 35mm has full stops, and I find it very, very convenient for the kind of photography ("street") I do. Setting and adjusting the camera "blind" by feel is a breeze. Much easier to "count" the stops. And, as Lynn and others have pointed out, when you do want to tweak the aperture, there is all control you could ask for. But I use black and white film only, and I see why the third stops would make sense for slide/color use, especially on a metered body.
 
I set my l-308s for 1/3 stops, it matches well with my biogon.

my summitar otoh doesn't have any click stops!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom