Dez
Bodger Extraordinaire
I have always heard that the CL and M5 could not be used with any collapsible lenses, but I think that is generalizing too much.
I have a recently-acquired CL which is cosmetically near mint, and after a bit of fettling, works great as well. I don't have a 40mm lens for it, so I was looking for an appropriate 50. I had originally thought of using a LTM Nikkor f2, but the lens probably weighs more than the body, and the combination doesn't balance well, or fit into the CL's soft case. So I looked at some LTM collapsible lenses, did some measurements, and got some interesting results.
When collapsed, these lenses protrude back of the lens flange, but all to a different degree. Here are measurements taken for protrusion beyond the back of the LTM flange:
Elmar f3.5 (not red dial) 21.6mm
Summitar (postwar) 18.7mm
Summicron 13.0mm
There is no chance at all for the Elmar, but on my CL, the Summitar JUST clears the sensor arm, and does not interfere with its motion. I have yet to try it with my M5. The Summicron has loads of clearance. I doubt very much that there is any significant variation in the lenses, but the sensor arm mechanism in the CL is rather crude, so I would not recommend the use of a Summitar with it just because it happens to fit with mine, but it seems there is no problem at all in using the collapsible Summicron with either the CL or the M5.
Anybody out there with similar experiences, or more importantly, with different experiences?
Cheers,
Dez
I have a recently-acquired CL which is cosmetically near mint, and after a bit of fettling, works great as well. I don't have a 40mm lens for it, so I was looking for an appropriate 50. I had originally thought of using a LTM Nikkor f2, but the lens probably weighs more than the body, and the combination doesn't balance well, or fit into the CL's soft case. So I looked at some LTM collapsible lenses, did some measurements, and got some interesting results.
When collapsed, these lenses protrude back of the lens flange, but all to a different degree. Here are measurements taken for protrusion beyond the back of the LTM flange:
Elmar f3.5 (not red dial) 21.6mm
Summitar (postwar) 18.7mm
Summicron 13.0mm
There is no chance at all for the Elmar, but on my CL, the Summitar JUST clears the sensor arm, and does not interfere with its motion. I have yet to try it with my M5. The Summicron has loads of clearance. I doubt very much that there is any significant variation in the lenses, but the sensor arm mechanism in the CL is rather crude, so I would not recommend the use of a Summitar with it just because it happens to fit with mine, but it seems there is no problem at all in using the collapsible Summicron with either the CL or the M5.
Anybody out there with similar experiences, or more importantly, with different experiences?
Cheers,
Dez
rfaspen
[insert pithy phrase here]
Good to know. Looks nice too.
I also wonder about the Summar. I have an especially nice black-rim that I would like to use on the CL if I could. I need to make some measurements...
I also wonder about the Summar. I have an especially nice black-rim that I would like to use on the CL if I could. I need to make some measurements...
Steve M.
Veteran
I've used a collapsible Summicron and a Summar on a CL, but I never collapsed them on camera. Why tempt the fates? Never understood why anyone would collapse them to begin with, as it is all too easy to forget and go shooting like that. It doesn't work too well. I also (if my memory is correct) had a CL w/ a DR on it. Neat little camera, especially w/ a Zhou half case to hang it properly on a strap.