Rangefinder coupling - Voigtlander 50mm f1.5 Nokton for Nikon S

[Dustfinder]

Hi folks,

I would appreciate some help about the coupling adjustments that one should be aware of when dealing with the Voigtlander 50mm Nokton for Nikon S.

I have this lens for some time and used it with a digital camera with the proper adaptor for a few years.

As a turned once more to film shooting, I bought a Nikon S2 that is about to arrive and sent my lens to be CLA`d, among other lenses for other cameras.

I especifically asked the repairman about adjusting the lens, because I`ve read some people were having problems with the setup, mainly the rangefinder coupling. As no one that went through this problem explained what they were talking about, I would appreciate any clarification on the subject that you people could give me.

 

[Retro-Grouch]

I have used the Nokton on three different S2 bodies without any problem with the rangefinder coupling. That being said, I would strongly recommend you focus the lens via its large knurled ring, instead of the focusing wheel on the Nikon body. The focusing ring has a good deal of resistance, and might stress the wheel assembly too much. Nikon made a few large lenses for their rangefinders which were designed to be focused by their ring, for just this reason.
I love the ergonomics of the ring, as opposed to the focusing wheel. I've always thought the wheel to be a poorly thought out aspect on the Nikon and Contax cameras. And congratulations on owning the Nokton; there were only 600 made, and it is an exquisite piece of equipment and a stellar performer. You probably know that already.
If you do have further questions or concerns, contact Stephen Gandy at Camera Quest. He's the expert on everything Voigtlander.

 

[Dustfinder]

Thanks RG

Maybe I worried too much about this. Yes, I also find the wheel concept a little strange, maybe a solution looking for a problem. The lens itself is a very well made piece of machinery. The only gripe I have is that focusing is little bit slow on account of the maybe too long focusing ring rotation (on the other side of the scale is the Skopar 50mm f2.5 LTM I have, super fast but not nearly as precise). The performance is excellent and as a bonus the lens is shorter than the LTM version (but not as short as the VM II modern version).
I'm pretty stoked about using it with film.

I have used the Nokton on three different S2 bodies without any problem with the rangefinder coupling. That being said, I would strongly recommend you focus the lens via its large knurled ring, instead of the focusing wheel on the Nikon body. The focusing ring has a good deal of resistance, and might stress the wheel assembly too much. Nikon made a few large lenses for their rangefinders which were designed to be focused by their ring, for just this reason.
I love the ergonomics of the ring, as opposed to the focusing wheel. I've always thought the wheel to be a poorly thought out aspect on the Nikon and Contax cameras. And congratulations on owning the Nokton; there were only 600 made, and it is an exquisite piece of equipment and a stellar performer. You probably know that already.
If you do have further questions or concerns, contact Stephen Gandy at Camera Quest. He's the expert on everything Voigtlander.

 

[nhchen]

I bought one last month and had the same problem with coupling with the rangefinder. I didn’t know it was a common problem. But I did figure out what was wrong and it’s an easy fix.

When there is a problem, the lens does mount properly but doesn’t couple properly to the rangefinder. The reason for this is that the retaining ring at the back which holds the rangefinder coupling ring (that spring loaded one) becomes loose, so when you start focusing you are just loosening the retaining ring instead. You just need to make sure the coupling ring that connects the lens to the rangefinder mechanism is held securely by the retaining ring. And this ring also has to be in the correct orientation - I compared it with the s mount 50mm 2.5 Skopar I have. If it’s not installed correct, you’ll get wrong readings, eg lens is at infinity but rangefinder says it’s focused at 5m.

And once the retaining ring is tight and the lens coupling ring is put in correctly, I had no more mounting problems. Hope that helps.

regards
nathan

 

[Dustfinder]

Thanks Nathan!

That's exactly right. The guy that wrote about it told the very same story (minus the solution!).

Thank you man!

I bought one last month and had the same problem with coupling with the rangefinder. I didn’t know it was a common problem. But I did figure out what was wrong and it’s an easy fix.

When there is a problem, the lens does mount properly but doesn’t couple properly to the rangefinder. The reason for this is that the retaining ring at the back which holds the rangefinder coupling ring (that spring loaded one) becomes loose, so when you start focusing you are just loosening the retaining ring instead. You just need to make sure the coupling ring that connects the lens to the rangefinder mechanism is held securely by the retaining ring. And this ring also has to be in the correct orientation - I compared it with the s mount 50mm 2.5 Skopar I have. If it’s not installed correct, you’ll get wrong readings, eg lens is at infinity but rangefinder says it’s focused at 5m.

And once the retaining ring is tight and the lens coupling ring is put in correctly, I had no more mounting problems. Hope that helps.

regards
nathan

 

[Dustfinder]

As I don't have any other Nikon S mount lens to compare to, I was thinking if any of you guys could post a picture of a correctly adjusted coupling ring (mainly because of the correct orientation of the ring that Nathan talked about)...

 

[nhchen]

Hi Dustfinder, just search online or even ebay for outer bayonet mounting s-mount lenses for a picture. I also looked at a Jupiter 12 that I had and that had the same ring on the back.
nathan

 

[Dustfinder]

Thanks Nathan, I'm going to do that.