NIKKOR-P.C: Contax or Nikon?

[enasniearth]

Amedeo's adapters for S-mount to M-mount and Contax mount to M-mount certainly have the exact same helicoid pitch.[/QUOTE]

Jon if amedeos adapters both have the same pitch , then only the engraveings differ.
Perhaps the coupling cam is different to make up for the differences .

Assuming the pitch is the same the only differance would be the markings .
So when a lens other than a 50 is mounted , it makes no differance contax or Nikon the adapter moves out the same for each as focused closer .
There would have to be a different pitch , or the same pitch is used the camming is different for Nikon and contax .

 

[jonmanjiro]

In rotoloni s Nikon rangefinder system , there is an interview with masahiko Fuketa , the main designer of the Nikon one , quote
" the lens mount was very difficult to make . We thought we were the same as contax but after Nikon one production began we realized we were slightly different . At infinity they are the same but the 'travel ' was different . This caused long delays "

At the time of the interview, Fuketa-San was an old man recalling details from the distant past and no doubt speaking Japanese only. As far as I know Rotoloni doesn't speak Japanese, so there would have had to be someone interpreting for them. Being a native English speaker/fluent Japanese speaker, I have personally seen many times how minor interpreting errors have affected the meaning of the original message such that it wasn't relayed 100% accurately. As such, I don't think we can take away anything from Fuketa-San's comment as relayed by Rotoloni other than what we already know, which is that the Nikon mount is slightly different from the Contax mount.

From dechert s canon rangefinder cameras quote
"All canon bodies from 1947 on onwards will accept Leica mount lenses , but a few of the lenses on such canons will not accurately mate with Leicas or canons made after 1952 . This is particularly true of many lenses mounted during 1946 and 1947 , and results from the fact at that time both canon and nippon kogaku engineers believed that the leitz flange pitch was exactly 1.0 mm , when in fact it is 26 threads per inch ."

This information on the Leitz flange pitch is interesting, but I'm not following what it has to do with the Contax helicoid in relation to the Nikon S-mount helicoid?

or the same pitch is used the camming is different for Nikon and contax .

Bingo. If I recall correctly, the Nikon adapter has a flat cam whereas the Contax adapter cam is made with a slight offset. Amedeo mentioned the exact offset in a post here a while back. So when these adapters are mounted on a Leica M-mount camera:

* Same Leica RF mechanism
* Same register (lens mount to film plane distance at infinity)
* Same adapter thread pitch
* Slightly modified cam on the Contax adapter to account for the slight difference caused by the Contax/Nikon difference

 

[enasniearth]

Jon , perhaps you are correct , and the focal length of the standard lenses
Combined with the rf setup in the camera body's are the only issues .

I only have Nikon body's so no contax to compare to , an old friend has
A contax IIa I will see if I can Borrow it and have measurements taken .
I am curious about the thread pitch .

 

[Elmar Lang]

Hello,

I would like to post an uncommon paper, that accompanied my Nikkor 135mm. with the 'C' engraved on the barrel.

It appears that officially, Nikkor produced their telephoto lenses, adapted to correctly focus on Zeiss's Contaxes.

Best wishes,

E.L.

 

[johnphoto]

OP chiming back in: The lens that the seller said came with a Contax and does NOT have a C engraved arrived. Checking the focus with a B screen taped to the rails, focus at infinity, 50 feet, and at 3.5 feet, the film focus is in precise accord with my Nikon S2's rangefinder.

I did not mean to reawaken the well-known (and well-covered elsewhere) compatibility issue!

My lens is in beautiful shape. All-chrome, I imagine it's fairly early? (Serial is 2920xx.)

Does the hood look original? The only engraving is a tiny "JAPAN". (ebay 261344681739). It's a solid chromed tube in two pieces, with a short ring that screws into the filter thread, with a wider screw on the straight tube.

 

[NIKON KIU]

You got a good deal, this lens use to command $250-$300

You really need to get the base of the hood off of the lens, it's probably been stuck there for the last 30 years!

As for the stuff, that is the original hood for it, it is a two piece shade enabling filters to be mounted in the middle. The rear cap looks original as well, the short metal rear cap was standard for this version of the lens.
As for being early, not so much, the early ones were made in late 40s and early 50s, this one was built in 1953 or later, being mid-production, it's a perfect match to a Nikon S2.
This batch of serial numbers started from 286500 and went as far as 296664

The missing front cap would be a screw version that only mounts on the hood when it's reverse mounted on the lens. the front cap would be black. Also missing is the finder and the case.

Example I found on the web:

Now, show us what that 8.5cm is capable of, it's rumored to be the lens that put Nippon Kogaku on the map!

Kiu

 

[johnphoto]

Thanks for the info, the hood components separated from the lens and came apart without problems. No VF, but I'm using a Leitz 9cm brightline. The hood doesn't reverse mount, the focus ring is larger than the ID of the hood. I'm using a generic snap-in cap for the mouth of the hood.

The lens performance is devastating! Contrasty, saturated and incredibly sharp. It asks my NEX7's 24MP APC sensor, "is that all you've got?"

It'll be awhile before I come up with images worthy of this 8.5cm. In the meantime:

Studebaker: Nikon S2, Acros
Geoffrey: Sony a7; f/2
Clairvoyants: NEX7, extreme crop of APC size sensor, probably f/5.6

 

[johnphoto]

One more: Cat, NEX7, f/2

 

[NIKON KIU]

Wow, I love it!
Especially the CAT at f2!

Those 60 year old optics can still hold their own.

I think there is a thread for this lens, I'll bump it for some photos...


Thank you.

Kiu