Leica Hektor 135mm on a FED 3

[Vintage35]

Is there a safe way to mount the Leica Hektor 135mm lens on the FED 3 without disturbing the "1 meter-close focus" on the rangefinder coupling arm? (even at it's lowest focus the rangefinder tab on the lens protrudes and gets hung up on the coupling on the camera)

 

[wolves3012]

Take the back off, put the camera on "B", lock the shutter open with a locking cable-release and hold the RF sensor clear. You'll probably need three hands and you won't get it off again until you've finished the roll - that's if it doesn't snag again in the meantime (not familiar enough with the lens to know if that's the case).

A lot of hassle and not very practical, it'd be much easier to use the Jupiter 11 that's made for the body. A bit blunt I know but it's about right.

 

[Dez]

You need to do all the things Wolves says BEFORE you start screwing the lens in, and continue holding the cam follower out of the way until the lens is fully seated. Then you have to do it all over again to take the lens off.
The bottom line is to never use a lens with a partial focus cam such as the Hektor or the Canon or Nikkor long lenses on any camera that does not have a roller cam follower. I leave it to your imagination the trouble you can get into putting these lenses on a camera that does not have a removable back.
Go buy a Jupiter 11. they are decent lenses, and cost next to nothing.

Cheers,
Dez

 

[farlymac]

I thought I'd compare cams on some of my LTM lenses last night. The I-22 is very thick, the Canon 1.8/50 and Leitz 4/90 Elmar are thinner, with the Elmar being larger in diameter. All are complete circles though. But I'd be afraid of mounting that Elmar on an FSU camera for fear it would slip behind the cam follower.

PF

 

[renek337]

That, and I think it would not focus properly anyway - as mentioned here many times, FSU and Leica lenses are built to different normal lens specs and lenses longer than 50mm are next to impossible to align properly throughout the range. (I know, I tried it with the J-9 and succeeded enough for my use, but still not perfect throughout)
IMO get a Jupiter-11 for chump change(where are you located? I've got one rather nice one to spare, I unfortunately have no time to shoot my russian RF anymore), I've tested a friend's Hektor on my M8 and by my brief evaluation, it was about the same as the Jupiter-11 I had previously collimated to focus correctly on one distance. Shooting the Jupiter on the M8 with the progressive adjustment for focus error as the subject got further was another kind of fun, but I got some nice pics out of that :-D

 

[farlymac]

Not looking to add to the stable just yet. My Zorki is torn down for a curtain replacement, and I've finally found a 135 for my Lordomat C35, so I'm fixed in that focal length.

I can see adjusting an FSU lens to work on a Leica, but not the other way around.

PF

 

[Dez]

I thought I'd compare cams on some of my LTM lenses last night. The I-22 is very thick, the Canon 1.8/50 and Leitz 4/90 Elmar are thinner, with the Elmar being larger in diameter. All are complete circles though. But I'd be afraid of mounting that Elmar on an FSU camera for fear it would slip behind the cam follower.

PF

It often looks as if a thinner focus cam can get behind (beside?) the FSU camera cam follower, but I have never seen that happen. It's easy to prevent in any case. Mount the lens, set to minimum focus distance, then open the shutter on B with a locking cable release. Watch the alignment of the cam and follower as you focus to infinity. If the follower is not centred on the can properly, it is easy to bend it slightly up or down to correct the misalignment. The cam follower arm is fairly long and made of brass, so with care you should not affect the focus setting.

In any case it is easier, and generally a good idea to mount screwmount lenses when set to minimum focus distance, especially if the screw threads are not up to the best machining standards.

Cheers,
Dez

 

[Vintage35]

Thanks guys. I had actually thought of removing the back and setting to B and reach through and hold the cam until the lens is set but was worried about having to leave it there for the whole roll... (It's nice to find out I wasn't crazy for thinking that idea would work..LOL) I'm giving up on the idea though, I'm betting the focus might be off like renek337 claims. plus the FED3 is in need of some shutter work. I'll keep it on my Nicca/Tower43

 

[farlymac]

Better place for it anyways. Get a Jupiter for the FED, Richard.

PF