A 50mm f/2.9 Trioplan in Leica Screw Mount.

[das]

Whoa. An eBay seller in the Ukraine converted a Trioplan to RF-coupled M39 mount. He has two of them. Very neat.

RARE RANGEFINDER-COUPLED Meyer Trioplan 1:2.9 50mm LENS LEICA M & L39 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for RARE RANGEFINDER-COUPLED Meyer Trioplan 1:2.9 50mm LENS LEICA M & L39 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[Sonnar Brian]

I've done similar conversions using I26 and I61 focus mounts- but not a Trioplan.
Trioplans have shot up, used to be an economy lens. The Argus Cintar 50/3.5 can be found fairly cheap.

 

[das]

I've done similar conversions using I26 and I61 focus mounts- but not a Trioplan.
Trioplans have shot up, used to be an economy lens. The Argus Cintar 50/3.5 can be found fairly cheap.

I have always been fascinated by Meyer Optik 35mm lenses, but they never seem to be very good in most users' opinions except for the "soap bubble" thing. And none of its M42 lenses are even auto-diaphragm -- not even the later black Pentacon-branded 30mm f/3.5 Lydith. And, yes, the prices on the old Triopans and Domipans are a little crazy. But I would imagine that a fair number of people are trying to distinguish their photography with the special effects that some of these leses have.

 

[newst]

I bought one of these about a year ago. My copy, while rangefinder coupled, wasn't correctly adjusted. So I am limited to using it on my Sony digital. Still, for the cost, not a bad deal.

 

[santino]

I have always been fascinated by Meyer Optik 35mm lenses, but they never seem to be very good in most users' opinions except for the "soap bubble" thing. And none of its M42 lenses are even auto-diaphragm -- not even the later black Pentacon-branded 30mm f/3.5 Lydith. And, yes, the prices on the old Triopans and Domipans are a little crazy. But I would imagine that a fair number of people are trying to distinguish their photography with the special effects that some of these leses have.

The Primotar E is in M42 and has auto diaphragm.

 

[das]

The Primotar E is in M42 and has auto diaphragm.

Good to know. Might be the only one?

 

[Sonnar Brian]

I bought one of these about a year ago. My copy, while rangefinder coupled, wasn't correctly adjusted. So I am limited to using it on my Sony digital. Still, for the cost, not a bad deal.

What is wrong with the focus? I've seen some conversions that were done using Epoxy- and unrecoverable. I've seen some that can be fixed by building up the RF cam.

 

[newst]

I haven't used it in a while so I don't remember exactly. It is either a slight front or back focus. Just enough so that nothing was really sharp. I don't have the skills or tools to try to adjust it myself.

 

[das]

Good to know. Might be the only one?

And that might make sense as the Primotar E was one of the standard, bundled Tessar-type lenses you could get on various late 1950s East German SLRs, whose more popular bodies could take advantage of AD operation. Now that I have done some digging, the other Meyer Optik auto-diaphragm lenses were introduced around 1966: the Zebra 50mm f/1.8 Orestor (another standard lens which became the Pentacon 50mm f/1.8), the 29mm f/2.8 Orestogon (which also became a Pentacon-branded lens), and the 100mm f/2.8 Orestor (also became a Pentacon). So, I stand corrected. It is more accurate to say that besides the standard lens Primotar E, none of the "classic" Meyer Optik M42 lenses designed before the mid-1960s were auto-diaphragm.

 

[newst]

OK, I went back to some images that I took with the Trioplan and need to retract my earlier statements. The lens I bought wasn't front or back focusing, it was simply soft focusing. Let me share some samples...

 

[qqphotos]

It's certainly not a lens you'd look to for sharp images. I don't think the corners ever get beyond "mushy" at any aperture. The 50mm got popular because it has the famous soap bubble bokeh like the 100mm, while most of the other trioplans don't, as far as I'm aware. The hype around the 100mm was insane a few years ago.

 

[xayraa33]

I could never understand the love of the soap bubble bokeh but I do like the swirly bokeh similar to what is achieved with a Petzval lens...closest to that effect on the cheap is using the Helios 44 or 44-2 lens.

 

[santino]

I remember an issue of LFI magazine in the mid 2000s with a whole article about bokeh. They stated that it is in the beholders eye but at the same time basically said that those „rings“ (bubbles) are usually considered bad bokeh and are typical for mirror lenses. I guess people just start to look for something different.