Modifying the Nikonos V for land use..

How would you determine the correct flange distance?

Check this table. According to it, the flange distance is 28mm. The Leica LTM flange is 28.8mm. Only 0.8mm to play with but "do-able" if that is the objective. Subject to the throat diameter which I have not checked. But the M mount is 27.95mm so no go for infinity focus. There are heaps of other system options though.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flange_focal_distance
 
Success! Nikonos 35 2.5 w/ glass removed in a strongly back lit shot. No flaring or ghosting. Flickr's resizing algorithm unfortunately pumped up the contrast too much:

 
Check this table. According to it, the flange distance is 28mm. The Leica LTM flange is 28.8mm. Only 0.8mm to play with but "do-able" if that is the objective. Subject to the throat diameter which I have not checked. But the M mount is 27.95mm so no go for infinity focus. There are heaps of other system options though.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flange_focal_distance

Since the Leica M mount is shorter still than the Barnack mount, it would be easier to make an adapter for the Nikonos lens with the extra millimeter of metal to work with. And infinity focus would be attainable if the registration was set properly.

Phil Forrest
 
I suspect that the Nikonos 35mm lens is the same lens Nikon used on their rangefinders back in the 1950s - I also suspect that the original Calypso camera designed by De Wouters and which became the Nikonos was built ("leica ltm style" - the body-shell and drop-in innards do share a basic resemblance) around a Som-Berthiot lens designed for Leica ltm. However it appears that very late Nikonos 35mm lenses were multicoated so adapting one for Leica M (which I have seen done) gives an old design lens but one with modern coating.
 
more vandalism

more vandalism

I went even further. I extracted the entire optical cell and mounted it in a "V-Nex" . The little pin for coupling the Nikonos gears to the aperture can still be accessed. a bit fiddly, to use, but it works.

p.
 
I went even further. I extracted the entire optical cell and mounted it in a "V-Nex" . The little pin for coupling the Nikonos gears to the aperture can still be accessed. a bit fiddly, to use, but it works.

p.

Isn't it interesting how the actual optical unit is tiny compared to the fully assembled 'lens'?
 
Slight digression here but.... just found out that one can buy an adapter to use the Nikonos lens on Sony or m4/3 cameras. I have an m4/3 but wish they made one for Leica M mount. This would look very interesting on my M240 (focus via live view) and would maintain the angle of view.

Subal make a 70m housing for the Leica M240 that you can configure with a port to take Nikonos lenses. Of course, if you need to ask the price then you probably can't afford it, but it's available.

sub.nalm.jpg
 
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