Leica LTM I've got a Visoflex. Now what the hell do I do with it????

Leica M39 screw mount bodies/lenses
T

Tim

Guest
Yaaaaayyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!

I go away for a little while, and look what happens! An LTM category!!!!
:)


Anyway, yeh, I found a Visoflex 1 going real cheap. And I can't resist period bits of crap for the IIIf. So now I have a Visoflex 1, 45 deg 4x finder, close up bellows, and a couple of lens adapters for the close up attachment. Oh, and a collimeter (sp?) thingy.

But.....
my 135/4.5 Hektor isn't the model that fits into the 'flex, and I don't have the double cable release. (yet)
What was I thinking?????????? :bang:

Does anyone use one of these things? What bits should I be looking for????
Am I beyond hope? Is there a Leica A in my future? Am I turning into a sad Leica collector who will scour the world for obscure Leica accessories, and who will be able to conduct whole conversations in 5-letter catalogue codes with other Sad Old Farts???? :confused:
 
Buy a copy of Morgan and Lester, "The Leica Manual". Turn to the chapter on long lenses. Check Ebay. Note the price. Open up display cabinet, put Viso-Flex into it.
 
Brian Sweeney said:
Buy a copy of Morgan and Lester, "The Leica Manual". Turn to the chapter on long lenses. Check Ebay. Note the price. Open up display cabinet, put Viso-Flex into it.
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LOL!!!

:D
 
jaapv said:
:D Get a ticket to Kenia and a 400/6.8 Telyt...
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Hell, why stop there? Get one of the ultra rare (6?) Leica Rifles!!!





Went to Kenya 18 months ago, yes the Leica went for environmental shots, but so did the EOS and the big image stabilised lens......

Horses for Courses........ :angel:
 
Tim said:
Hell, why stop there? Get one of the ultra rare (6?) Leica Rifles!!!





Went to Kenya 18 months ago, yes the Leica went for environmental shots, but so did the EOS and the big image stabilised lens......

Horses for Courses........ :angel:
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That is approx my safari-combo as well Eos DSLR + 100-400, only I leave the M at home and take the Digilux2. But I used the visoflex/400 a few times for safari and wildlife work in the early nineties, deep into the SLR age :cool: , and the photo's it took were not bad at all. :angel:
 
There is a short focus mount for the head from your 135. Do not use the bellows with it. Same focus range as the long mount.

The bellows normally came with an adapter to take the 135 head directly. Goes infinity to 1:1.

Happy hunting.
 
I think I can get you a 200 and 400mm Telyt, Tim. I saw one around recently. Not sure about the price though...

There is a 125mm on Ebay now, seen that? Or is it already over?

cheers, Rob
 
Kilfitt/Novoflex

Kilfitt/Novoflex

Hello:

Novoflex (used) for adapters and Kilfitt for glass from 40mm to 600mm-double cable releases can be had for as little as $40 on the auction site: kilfitt lenses sometimes have mottled coatings so be choosey.

The old NikonF cable release fits the mirror rise collar if you accept a two step approach to mirror lift and shutter release.

best of light and fun
Frank
 
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Tim said:
damn, gotta find a telyt 400 now........

:)
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That series of lenses, the 6.3 400, 6.3 560 and 8.0 800 are amazing. Not tele lenses, but long lenses of totally simplistic design, just two lenses kitted (three for the 800) together to form one achromat element in a long metal tube. They are so brilliant that they can be rated half a stop faster that the mathematical aperture, the correction is close to apochromatic. Leica only succeeded in bettering the results with the current series of apochromatic tele's. They have three drawbacks: they are not very fast, they are very long and the high level of optical correction has resulted in curved field aberration. The last is of course unimportant, even an advantage when shooting three-dimensional objects, but it makes them unsuitable for astromical photography. I would say that, unless one is willing to pay a surprising number of $$$$ for apo Leica glass or maybe the most expensive fixed focus Nikons or Canons, these lenses render the best result for wildlife. Maybe I should start getting a Visoflex and the 400 for my furture M8dig :eek: GAS attack coming :eek:
 
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well, thanks for all your responses!

today i found a twin cable release for AUD$45

next on the list is a telyt 400!

I'm not really interested in using the bellows for close up, that doesn't really interest me, it's too bulky and anyway, I have a NOOKY-HESUM for my Summarit....... :)
 
Make sure the banjonet/thread fit your visoflex. You might need the earlier 5.6 version.
 
Re: Visoflex

Re: Visoflex

Tim, the thing about the Visoflex is that getting the reflex housing is just the start to a long search for all the parts...If, say, you have a 135mm, you need a special adapter to attach the lens to the housing...The same goes for all the lenses you have or want to use...There are several models and since you mentioned the dual shutter release, you have the earliest model...I had the latest one, the Visoflex III, which is still very old and does not use the dual shutter release...All it is is a way for Leica -- in the early days -- to come out with an SLR solution before it had an SLR to compete again the Nikon ...Unless you want to spend years hunting for parts, play with what you have but don't invest heavy money into expanding the system...just my two cents...regards, bob
 
More on the Visoflex

More on the Visoflex

Tim said:
Yaaaaayyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!

I go away for a little while, and look what happens! An LTM category!!!!
:)


Anyway, yeh, I found a Visoflex 1 going real cheap. And I can't resist period bits of crap for the IIIf. So now I have a Visoflex 1, 45 deg 4x finder, close up bellows, and a couple of lens adapters for the close up attachment. Oh, and a collimeter (sp?) thingy.

But.....
my 135/4.5 Hektor isn't the model that fits into the 'flex, and I don't have the double cable release. (yet)
What was I thinking?????????? :bang:

Does anyone use one of these things? What bits should I be looking for????
Am I beyond hope? Is there a Leica A in my future? Am I turning into a sad Leica collector who will scour the world for obscure Leica accessories, and who will be able to conduct whole conversations in 5-letter catalogue codes with other Sad Old Farts???? :confused:
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Tim, on re-reading your post, you mention a 135 Hektor...some of these Hektors could be taken apart...you hold the lens in your left hand and, with your right hand, you twist the top inch and a half counter-clockwise and the lens head twists off...You then attach the adapter to the lens that allows you to screw the lens head onto the Visoflex...If you already have the right adapter, it will focus...I hope that helps...regards, bob
 
I think the parts search is kind of fun, and that's what it's all about. BTW anybody know the name for the adapter to accept my DR Summicron head? :)
The viso is good also for 1) those who absolutely don't want to dabble in other lens systems, 2) finishing off a roll when no rangefinder-worthy subjects are around, 3) enjoying some really nice build quality. And it (the viso 1 anyway) works on the R-D1 so you don't need that dslr after all. :D Mine was new old stock, and came in a beautiful little wooden suitcase that still smells fresh. I've seen others like it too on the bay, I think a lot of these things were never used, and I fear that a lot of odd parts probably just got thrown away by frustrated owners. I have a few shots in my gallery that are pretty easy to spot, nothing earth shattering. I bought a Hektor head for $7, and one of my adapters works with it on the bellows. I also just screw my lenses right into the viso, with no proper focusing mounts, for some macro fun...just move your minitripod/subject to get focus (I actually handheld my marble shots).
 
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still more on the visoflex

still more on the visoflex

Tim, assuming you want to go crazy hunting for adapters, here are some of leica's five-letter names for some of them: OTZFO...OTRPO...OTSRO...OUFRO...OUAGO..OTQNO..ZOOEP...
I found the code names in a 1960 Leica Cataloque...The easiest to find on Ebay is the OUAGO, a short focusing mount for the lens unit of the 90mm/f4 Elmar with a serial number over 1,572,401...I bought one years ago for $50...The OTZFO is the adapter for your Hektor with the Visoflex II...If you want more, just ask off line...regards, bob
 
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anybody know the name for the adapter to accept my DR Summicron head?

Langdon, if you tell me which Visoflex and which Summicron you have I will look it up...I don't know what you mean by DR...regards, bob
 
bob cole said:
anybody know the name for the adapter to accept my DR Summicron head?

Langdon, if you tell me which Visoflex and which Summicron you have I will look it up...I don't know what you mean by DR...regards, bob
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Hey Bob, I have the Viso 1, and I was talking about the M-mount Dual Range Summicron. Frank (FPjohn) mentioned using the head once as an excellent macro lens. I've got this lens just sitting around with no M-mount camera, so I wants to use it :D
 
which Viso adapter for the DR Summicron?

which Viso adapter for the DR Summicron?

langdon auger said:
Hey Bob, I have the Viso 1, and I was talking about the M-mount Dual Range Summicron. Frank (FPjohn) mentioned using the head once as an excellent macro lens. I've got this lens just sitting around with no M-mount camera, so I wants to use it :D
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First of all, Langdon...the Viso I is a screw mount...second, the Summicron is a bayone mount lens, meaning you first will need a sm to bm adapter, which costs from about $20 or so for a generic to about $40 or more for a Leitz adapter...The Leitz adapters are made special for each short-focus and long-focus lens so that the lens can activate the finder in the M-series cameras, but any sm adapter will work for your purpose...The Visoflex is intended for lenses started at 65mm but you can use your 50mm for macro work as Frank said...I hope that helps...regards, bob
 
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