infinity lock Like it? Hate it? cool? Uncool?

[cosmonaut]

Nope, Don't like them.

 

[Innerimager]

I have a rigid Summicron that DAG thinks is one of the best he's ever seen. But it has a #!^* infinity lock so for all intents and purposes it is unusable. I don't like tabs and I dislike infinity locks even more.

Yeah Peter. I had a great rigid cron and never got used to the infinity lock. I ended trading it, and missing the look of the lens, I went for a 50 DR in part not to have the dam lock! Love the DR btw.....Peter

 

[250swb]

After reading of the shockingly barbaric use of the 'Dremel' on lenses (surely adults should have a responsible child with then to say 'don't do it daddy') I came up with a simple solution to keep the lock open on the 'button' type lenses that I think we can all manage to impliment.

Take a tiny length of insulation (about 2mm) from a fat copper wire in heavy duty mains cable. Slit it down its length so it can open up (don't slit it into two parts!) Push the lock open and with some tweezers wrap the insulation over the shaft of the lock button. The insulation will try to close up to its original round shape, so gripping the locking buttons shaft and bridging the gap so it can't close. The gap created in fitting this small diameter split 'O' ring onto the slightly larger diameter shaft should be nearest the lens body and acts to give clearance over the locking tab. You may need to experimant to find a suitable diameter bit of cable insulation.

Steve

 

[Doug]

I like your kind of solution, Steve! No permanent "damage" to the lens, but gets the job done to your satisfaction. I like lens tabs, but am ambivalent about infinity locks... handy sometimes and inconvenient at others. The lock on my v.1 35 Summicron (same as on F2.8 Summaron) is rarely an annoyance because it's so easy to use.

 

[nobbylon]

After reading of the shockingly barbaric use of the 'Dremel' on lenses (surely adults should have a responsible child with then to say 'don't do it daddy') I came up with a simple solution to keep the lock open on the 'button' type lenses that I think we can all manage to impliment.

Take a tiny length of insulation (about 2mm) from a fat copper wire in heavy duty mains cable. Slit it down its length so it can open up (don't slit it into two parts!) Push the lock open and with some tweezers wrap the insulation over the shaft of the lock button. The insulation will try to close up to its original round shape, so gripping the locking buttons shaft and bridging the gap so it can't close. The gap created in fitting this small diameter split 'O' ring onto the slightly larger diameter shaft should be nearest the lens body and acts to give clearance over the locking tab. You may need to experimant to find a suitable diameter bit of cable insulation.

Steve

They're a complete pain and this is a nice solution, I'm going to do this on my Elmar later. thanks

 

[B.J.Scharp]

I'm considering removing the lock on my collapsible Summicron, mostly because it makes near-infinity focusing harder.

It IS very useful when using the lens on a SOOKY though 🙂

 

[SimonSawSunlight]

I don't really like it, neither do I see the point. I'd prefer an optional 2m lock for a 35mm.

 

[januaryman]

First time I bumped into it, I tried to have it disabled by Mark Hama, who was doing a CLA on my Canon P kit. He forgot to disable it and I'm glad he did. It takes just a quick poke to hit the button and get to focusing, but it aids a great deal when removing lenses and prevents damage to the helix. Now I think it's retro-cool.

 

[Mablo]

One lens where the lock bothers me a little bit is the Canon 50mm/1.2 which does have an infinity lock but no focusing tab.

 

[jmooney]

I despise the infernal things. I feel the same way about focusing tabs as well.

I have knackered fingers due to RA so they are both an impediment to me enjoying the cameras. I wish Leica made a 35 like the early Summiluxes that just had a big beefy ring. I know the Ultron et al are available but I want a Leica branded one.

Oh well so I'm going to have to become a 50mm guy and my new to me collapible 'cron has the infernal lock...

Off with it's knob!

 

[jsrockit]

hate it....

 

[john battaglia]

it doesn't serve a purpose for me, but when I hit infinity my fingers kind of just know to hold it down so it doesnt get locked in.

with that being said it is on my summicron rigid, which i think has some of the best ergonomics a lens can have.

i guess i love it?

 

[Brian Atherton]

Focussing tabs: Yes. Infinity Lock: Yuk.

Hate 'em.

 

[dreamsandart]

When the Leica mount was LTM only it was very useful for mounting and taking the lens off. With smaller wide angle M-lenses for me this carried on. There isn’t much to hold on to [or easy/natural] when mounting and taking the lens off on some, and the lock/tab helps. I think the main reason it was discontinued was not because it was a useless feature, but because of the added cost in production (like the 35 Summilux going from metal moving parts to a plastic tab).

For some lenses like the early 35 Summilux and 35 Summicron personally my ‘focus finger’ fits right where it should in the tab, and the lock lever is released naturally when needed. Also never had a problem with these lenses as the lens is focused near infinity as the lock is always depressed while I’m focusing.

For larger lenses like the early rigid 50 Summicron I agree its not the most useful - size/shape - and there is a nice focus ring, but then Leitz didn’t make a fixed grooved grip on the lens mount for helping mount either. One of the reason they went to a lens mount grooved ring on the v3 50 Summicron.

I believe the reason the v4 Summicron has its problems with the glued front element assembly coming loose is that many users find a lens grip for taking the lens on and off difficult (or not natural) and turn the lens with the square ‘convenient’ to hold hood.

BTW; the new metal tabs on the ASPH lenses are not my favourite. Unlike the earlier tabs they are not as ‘rounded’, OK but not as comfortable. And, I actually like the plastic tabs of the v2-v4 Summicron and pre-ASPH 35 Summilux, ’soft’, and with ’shelves’ on each side for a push and pull effect to focus. Favorite; the focus ring and tab combination like on the 50 Summilux ASPH and 1st 2-aspherical element 35 Summilux, the best for grip and tab use together.

 

[mdarnton]

Totally don't understand what the problem is. It keeps the lens from being stressed in ways that will eventually make it wobble, it only affects the tiniest bit of the focus range, at one end I almost never use, it's an instant indicator of approximately where the focus is if you have to work fast and prefocus. No problem with it at all. It was a brilliant move on Leica's part, and I wish there was something like it on my Nikon lenses.

 

[redhawk]

I first encountered one of these when I got a Rigid Summicron from Adorama. I found it annoying then but I didn't keep the lens for very long (and not because I disliked the lock). Then back in January I bought another one to go with my M3. After a couple rolls I got used to it and actually found the tab useful for focusing and pre-focusing, a clear precursor to the more evolved tabs on the later lenses. There is that tiny bit of travel between the lock ramp and when it fully engages that can be an annoyance if you're trying to achieve critical focus but if you just keep some pressure on the button it rolls through it smoothly.

The insulation idea is good. I might have to try it but now that I've gotten used to it the way it is, I no longer think about it. It may just stay stock as it was intended.

 

[Doug]

... but if you just keep some pressure on the button it rolls through it smoothly.
...

I think this is the key to low-annoyance use of the infinity lock. Use the tab for focusing and keep some finger pressure on it. Any more I don't even notice the lock on my v.1 35 Summicron or f/2.8 Summaron.

 

[Takkun]

On a bayonet-mount body, I don't really find much use. I could see it being far more useful for unscrewing lenses from LTM bodies, but on my Canon lenses with generous focus rings, it just gets in the way. Not enough to remove it, though.