Is this a real Nikon lens ?

I believe you'll have to see a photo of the rear of the lens in this case - or ask the seller. Yes, to the best of my knowledge, this lens was also available from Nikon in LTM. Sometimes, in auctions such as these, I can just make out the little spring-loaded clippy thing on the rear of the Contax-style mount (Nikon calls it S mount, adding to the confusion). But in this case, I can't; it could be either.

Sorry I couldn't have been more help.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
wlewisiii said:
The ad copy says it's a thread mount.

William
Click to expand...

Yes, I read that too. I'm pretty good with the written word.

The "problem" is that the listing has a "lousy" pic that is both distant and blurry.

I'm not one to cry "fraud" in a theater - but my eBetray radar went crazy when I couldn't see a discernable pic of the item.

So I first wanted to know if such an item exists. And, even if it does, I am not about to buy from a seller who uses such "trick" to keep me from becoming "comfortable".

It's not that I am interested in the item - I am not into Leica. It's rather that I wanted to know for sure that Nikon did make such a LTM collapsable lens.

I guess they did.

Thanks
 
Wasn't sure if there had been an edit you didn't see, that's all.

William
 
wlewisiii said:
Wasn't sure if there had been an edit you didn't see, that's all.

William
Click to expand...

William,

My apologies - my reaction probably stems from the frustrating fact that tonight some "fraudster' with an eBay rating of "0" listed a so-called Nikomat (i.e. not Nikkormat) FTN on the RF site.

He claimed he'd paid $2,000.00 for it at auction a year ago and that it included a 52mm lens.

I queried him as to why he would list a SLR (real or not) on the RF site and why he thought the 52mm on the side of the filter was the size of the lens.

In other words - the damned thing is "hot" and I challenged him about it.

Now, I am fairly knowlegeable about Nikon SLR gear (and that there is, indeed, a Nikomat that was made for the domestic Japanese market).

But my Nikon SLR knowledge far exceeds that regarding the RFs. When it comes to Nikon RF's I'm a "babe in the woods".

So that's why I was curious about the collapsible lens listing.

You see, I'm still learning...

Thanks,
George
 
The Nikkor 50/2 was made in a collapsible mount. Brian Sweeney just recently bought one actually on a Nicca camera. They are quite rear, I believe one just sold on ebay for mega bucks, like $2k.
 
ME! ME! Pick ME! I KNOW THE ANSWER!!!!

This is the collapsible Nikkor made for the early Nicca's. Nikon made about 1,500 of them. One just sold on Ebay for $255 with the Nicca attached where the lens was cloudy. It cleaned up in 10 minutes. That is the only form of gambling that I do. Bet I can fix something. Or end up with parts for the drawer.

Nikon also made the lens in collapsible form for the S-Mount, but they are more rare than in LTM. about halfway through the run, Nikon chose to quit making collapsible lenses and fixed a tube to the barrel to prevent it from collapsing. By the time 1950 rolled around, no more collapsible Nikkors. Why? Not too much space is saved by Collapsing the Barrel and you have to hold the rim of the lens to change F-stop, or the whole barrel turns. And the Rigid is heavy metal. Heavy=quality, the early '50s frame of mind. Some truth in that, my 5cm F1.4 LTM Nikkor is rock solid.

It is a first rate lens. But unless you are a collector, buy the Rigid version.

My test shots:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12266
 
Last edited:
That is a truly difficult picture of the lens. I don't think that makes it "hot." Instead, it suggests the seller isn't all that used to selling to the collector market. He doesn't have "rangefinder" or "RF" in the listing header. So it might end up selling for less than it's worth to many collectors, because they won't be aware of the listing. It all depends on where he has set his reserves. FYI, the seller also has a W-Nikkor 2.8cm f/3.5 in Leica thread mount.
http://cgi.ebay.com/NIKON-W-NIKKOR-28CM-3-5-WIDE-LENS-VERY-RARE_W0QQitemZ7558005607QQcategoryZ107925QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
 
This is the one that i NOW HAVE. Much better pictures of the lens. The Front module unscrews with a rubber stopper and the haze came right off of the elements on each size of the aperture. The front element cleaned up perfectly. The Nicca's shutter curtains need work, but cosmetically it is beautiful. It is MIOJ, and the "Nicca Camera Works" engraving was only used for a year.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7546528492

The give-away that the lens in your posting is LTM and not S-Mount is the DOF engravings. The 5cm F2 in S-Mount does not have a Helical, the DOF is engraved into the camera's mount.
 
VinceC said:
That is a truly difficult picture of the lens. I don't think that makes it "hot." Instead, it suggests the seller isn't all that used to selling to the collector market. He doesn't have "rangefinder" or "RF" in the listing header. So it might end up selling for less than it's worth to many collectors, because they won't be aware of the listing. It all depends on where he has set his reserves. FYI, the seller also has a W-Nikkor 2.8cm f/3.5 in Leica thread mount.
http://cgi.ebay.com/NIKON-W-NIKKOR-28CM-3-5-WIDE-LENS-VERY-RARE_W0QQitemZ7558005607QQcategoryZ107925QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Click to expand...

That's what I get for after midnight "rambling" in my posts!

I didn't mean to imply the lens was "hot". The listing looks legit to me.

Rather, I rambled about another item I'd also see listed for the first time last night on the eBay Nkon RF section.

What looks "hot" is a Nikkomat (note: not Nikkormat) FTN that is mis-listed in the RF section instead with the SLRs. I am "blocked" from eBay at work (thank goodness for that) or I'd post the URL. Besides, it may have been removed by now since I challenged the lister because of various errors in the description etc.

Anyway, back to topic. Thanks for clarifying the collapsible Nikkor query. I am a user, not a collector, so have no real interest in bidding. It was more a curiosity query.

Regards,
George
 
Nikkor LTMs

Nikkor LTMs

Nikon made quite a number of different LTM (Leica Twist Mount), Leica Screw (not a position from KS) or 39mm screw mount as I have seen them called. I have a 105 and an chrome 85 in LTM. I have seen lots of 35s in LTM on ebay and a few 50mm (f2 and 1.4) from time to time. You can see 135s perhaps more than any other these days.

Take a look for a rim around the back, if there is a rim, it's probably a Nikon or Contax mount. Not sure how to avoid Contax mount lenses, perhaps someone else out there could help.

The internal Nikon mount was so cool (IMHO) I am not sure if they ever built a collapsable Nikon RF mount lens.

You can get a good deal on a 50 for the internal mount (the one built into every Nikon RF) if you watch. I got an 1.4 the other day for $163 USD including shipping. I just got back my S2 from Stephen Gandy, a CLA does make this camera feel smooth.

I have had more trouble of late with ebay on the mass sellers who want payment quickly and do not wait for snail mail to work (I use money orders rather than paypal). Don't be afraid to ask for more pictures of the time. I do often and more times than not, I do not buy because of what I learn from them.

Hope that helps.

B2
 
> I am not sure if they ever built a collapsable Nikon RF mount lens.

They did, but not as many as in LTM. Some Nikon users at the time really hated to see the collapsible go. My Nikon M (No sync) that I picked up was made at the time of the first non-collapsible 5cm F2. It had a collapsible Sonnar on it. As soon as I saw it, and when the camera was made, I imagined the original owner being really annoyed that he could not get a new collapsible Nikkor for it and bought the Sonnar instead.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom