Leica M9 with Cintar 5cm 3.5 (for ARGUS)

[raid]

Several years ago, Brian S gave me this lens. I forgot how he put it together, but it is the 50 3.5 Cintar for the ARGUS C camera. The lens is in Contax mount, and I used an adapter for Contax-M.

 

[raid]

 

[raid]

 

[raid]

Many years ago I saw some B&W images that a Russian photographer created by his Argus camera. They were very beautiful. So I bought two Argus cameras!
The lens may not be suitable with a digital camera.

CameraQuest has this info: 50/2.8 American made Cintar: f/stops 2.8 to 22, filter size 30, deep set front element, aluminum barrel construction, non-rotating helical, closest focus 3 feet, very nicely finished. The most common C-4 Geiss lens, and the only one which does NOT have a depth of field scale. Weight 7 oz. Three element triplet design.

 

[former member]

I used a mount left over from converting a 5cm F1.5 Sonnar to Leica mount. Took the Cintar apart, found a way to fix it into the mount.

I remember you talking about the C3 years ago.

I also converted to post-war Tessar 5cm F3.5 SLR lenses to Contax/Nikon mount using the Contax mounts.

 

[raid]

It is now a unique lens. It has perfect RF focus.
i love using such lenses.
Thanks, Brian.

 

[raydm6]

I have a C3 “Brick” and am amazed at the Cintar’s performance.

These are wonderful Raid. Love the color palette. This Cintar hack by Brian is excellent! I hope you hang on to it.

I would love one for LTM or M Mount if it’s possible.

 

[raid]

Thanks.

I agree with you, Ray. The Cintar is an excellent lens.
By the way, the Cintar with the M9 gives better looking colors than the M10 with the CV 50/1.

 

[raydm6]

Thanks.

I agree with you, Ray. The Cintar is an excellent lens.
By the way, the Cintar with the M9 gives better looking colors than the M10 with the CV 50/1.

I agree with your assessment Raid. I really like this combination.

 

[raid]

The 50/1 is designed for low light situations while the cintar is a slow lens.

 

[raid]

I have taken a few new photos with the 50mm 3.5 Cintar. It is not the 50 2.8 as I initially thought. No PS was used here.

link: https://raid.smugmug.com/Leica-M9-Cinlar-5cm28/

 

[raid]

 

[raid]

 

[raid]

I think that the Cintar is a sharp lens with a pleasing color rendering that looks normal . Adding contrast and saturation would make images similar to those from modern lenses.

 

[raid]

Is the Cintar a copy of the Elmar 5cm 3.5? Both are very sharp. If you own a Cintar or an old Elmar, share with us your views on such lenses.

 

[Rob-F]

Is the Cintar a copy of the Elmar 5cm 3.5? Both are very sharp. If you own a Cintar or an old Elmar, share with us your views on such lenses.

Probably not a copy of the 3.5 Elmar, since the Cintar is f/2.8. What ever it is, its sharpness and brilliance in the full sunlight shots seems excellent. I'm guessing it is of moderate contrast because it seems to have held the dynamic range of those brightly sunlit shots within bounds, with detail remaining in both highlight and light shadow areas. Good color.

 

[raid]

Hi Rob,
My Cintar is a 50mm 3.5. My original post incorrectly stated that it is a 50/2.8. Both the 2.& and 3.5 exist just as we have it with the Elmar.

This is my lens:

 

[raid]

I am impressed by how my 50 3.5 Cintar is handling the high contrast scenes and by the high sharpness I am seeing.

 

[raid]

 

[farlymac]

The one thing that kept me shooting a C3 brick was the excellent lenses. But after a while even that wasn't a good enough reason. It would be great if someone could come up with a decent adapter for the mount, instead of having to do surgery on them.

PF