Leica LTM FIKUS Hood & the Summaron

[doubs43]

Somewhere I'd read that the FIKUS hood that is normally marked 5cm, 9cm & 13.5cm can also be used with a 3.5cm lens. Mine is apparently an early model and has a mark that looks to be about correct for a 35mm lens. Wellllll........ it ain't! My 35mm f/3.5 Summaron set at f/11 gave me the results below.

Walker

 

[OldNick]

Walker - That's a pretty conclusive demonstration. I bet the Series VI shade that I use on my 50mm Elmar would work on the Summaron. Since I just bought a Jupiter 12, I won't likely be trying it on a Summaron.

Jim N.

 

[doubs43]

Walker - That's a pretty conclusive demonstration. I bet the Series VI shade that I use on my 50mm Elmar would work on the Summaron. Since I just bought a Jupiter 12, I won't likely be trying it on a Summaron. Jim N.

Hi Jim,

I have a wide angle hood that will work better but I was hoping to eliminate having to carry an extra piece of gear. The FIKUS works great on any 50mm & longer lens that uses A-36 clamp-on accessories.

The attached picture was taken of the same house using a J-12. Taken against the light, it may not be fair to compare it to the Summaron. The Summaron is sharper but I'd say the J-12 did quite well, all things considered. It was cloudy when I took the Summaron shot and obviously sunny for the J-12 picture.

Walker

 

[OldNick]

Walker - Here are a couple of Jupiter 12 shots that I made this week to check for focus problems. These were focused with the rangefinder on my IIIf RD, and came out sharp enough that I will no longer worry about focus error. I had measured a focus error of one inch when focused at one meter, but that appears to be the extreme of the error band and should not present a problem.

 

[doubs43]

Walker - Here are a couple of Jupiter 12 shots that I made this week to check for focus problems. These were focused with the rangefinder on my IIIf RD, and came out sharp enough that I will no longer worry about focus error. I had measured a focus error of one inch when focused at one meter, but that appears to be the extreme of the error band and should not present a problem.

Jim, I don't see a thing wrong with the way your J-12 performs and one inch at a meter is easily covered by DOF...... even at f/2.8. Looking at my own J-12, I estimate a DOF of at least 5-6 inches at one meter and f/2.8.

To check critical focus on my own LTM lenses, I use a Bessa-T and ground glass with a 10x loupe. It works quite well.

Walker

 

[John Shriver]

I suspect that with the prices of the FOOKH hood, it might be cheaper to buy another FIKUS, remove the outer part, and cut down the inner part to the right length! It looks like the inner part is the same diameter as the FOOKH.

 

[doubs43]

I suspect that with the prices of the FOOKH hood, it might be cheaper to buy another FIKUS, remove the outer part, and cut down the inner part to the right length! It looks like the inner part is the same diameter as the FOOKH.

John, I removed the bad glass from an A-36 clamp-on filter and fit a 39mm~49mm step-up adapter to it. Now I use a wide-angle 49mm hood. I may try to set one up later with a smaller diameter hood...... a 40.5 or 43mm maybe. As much as the FIKUS hoods cost, I don't think I'd cut one up when a less drastic way is available.

Walker