Sonnar 5cm F1.5 Converted to Leica Mount- Sometimes you just get Lucky.

boojum said:
Yeah, it was magic, it "righted the wrong" of Sputnik and Gargarin and was "Made in America" back when life was simpler and goals were plainer. IIRC I was in the field that day and missed the event in real time but was thrilled to hear of it and then, back in the barracks, to actually listen to and hear it.
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I would love to go back to those simpler times - or at least to experience them again - but time marches on I suppose.

I actually have a soft spot for some of the early seasons of “The Waltons” episodes. They captured so well that slow pace of life - especially some of the Godsey General Store scenes. In the late-60’s, we had a similar - but smaller - general store in our town with what seemed like a large and wonderful array of penny candy along with soda and Cokes in glass bottles made with sugar and not high fructose corn sugar. Small things like that brings back so much nostalgia.

Thank you for your service @boojum and to others on this forum I know who served as well.
 
raydm6 said:
Thank you for your service @boojum and to others on this forum I know who served as well.
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My service was on a tiny post in a small country village an hour south of Paris. I was very, very lucky. I got in after Berlin and before Vietnam. And because Vietnam started officially June of '64 I get all the Vietnam benefits. Six years of GI Bill helped me get through college and grad school and now I get world-class health care. I wish everybody had my good luck. "If life were fair I'd be dead."

But we are here for those lovely CZJ lenses and their descendants. And thanks for the kind wishes.
 
Probably why I like taking pictures with these older lenses- see the world the way it was. Doing hands-on work like converting the Sonnars is a counter-balance to computer engineering. I've dealt with the Bleeding Edge of technology for 45 years now. A lot of "Yes, we can do that" going way off on a limb, and pushing hardware and software until it just worked. Favorite phrase of the WW-2 generation at the Lab- "The difficult we do today, the Impossible will take a bit longer". In the last 5 years I've pulled off 3 projects that other labs stated were impossible.

Remember the old 1950s movies with the giant squid attacking and some young officer "Admiral, we have our Top Scientists on it right now!".
In 2016- I was added to that list.
 
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There is that adage about the cream rising to the top. And you have done your employers well while also having a lot of good information to share here and on other boards. And while many of us have a smattering of knowledge about cameras and lenses you have the incredible knowledge of lenses in general and the CZJ lenses and their cousins in particular. And you share it gladly.

So while there may be an interest in your coding derring-do it is what you know about lenses and cameras that is golden on this board.

Thanks.
 
Sonnar Brian said:
Probably why I like taking pictures with these older lenses- see the world the way it was. Doing hands-on work like converting the Sonnars is a counter-balance to computer engineering. I've dealt with the Bleeding Edge of technology for 45 years now. A lot of "Yes, we can do that" going way off on a limb, and pushing hardware and software until it just worked. Favorite phrase of the WW-2 generation at the Lab- "The difficult we do today, the Impossible will take a bit longer". In the last 5 years I've pulled off 3 projects that other labs stated were impossible.

Remember the old 1950s movies with the giant squid attacking and some young officer "Admiral, we have our Top Scientists on it right now!".
In 2016- I was added to that list.
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I am not fortunate enough to have any of the old CZJ lenses, 5cm f/1.5 and f/2.0 specifically. But I do have a pair of sweet Jupiter 8's, a '51 evaluated to have Zeiss glass and parts and a '57. I like how they see things. I shot a few portraits with the '57 alongside a Canon f/1.8 or f/1.4. The f/1.8 has a good rep and the f/1.4 is no slouch. But in a side-by-side shoot at lunch of a friend the KMZ '57 J8 got the color better and closer to real than the Canon. The Canon gave her Rosacea which she does not have. The J8 was good for the portraits as it was sharp but not cruel and did her skin well. Kinda like what I want in a lens.

Now I am not the sharpest knife on the tree but when I see this happen I have to say to myself that one lens is better than the other. In this case the '57 Jupiter 8. I'll take both J8's out on the M9 to see how they compare. My problem now is the conspiratorial lens design axis between a fellow on this board and a bunch of skulking UK engineers in Scotland. They seem to have cooked up the ultimate CZJ 5cm f/2.0. Curses Red Baron, I don't need another 50. "But this isn't 'another 50.'"

I really like lenses which do IQ and color well. I cannot purchase better subject matter, I have to work on that. But I can purchase better IQ and color. As always, YMMV.
 
Picked up a Jupiter-3 that needed a full CLA, the optics on the 1972 ZOMZ were good- but the lens was not as sharp as my 1975 ZOMZ. And I had a recently acquired 1938 Uncoated 5cm F1.5 Sonnar with perfect glass. So I converted it. And got lucky again. The focus is accurate at F1.5 from closest focus to infinity.
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One short-cut I took, the final position of the lens was very close to 1/3rd of a turn from the index mark. So- loosen the three set screws, move 1/3rd of a turn- and they are close enough to use the existing Taps. The taps on this lens were deep, and it is not easy to make new ones. SO- I moved the aperture, tightened the screws, and use nail polish to make a new index mark for the aperture, I use silver sharpie to cover the old one. The J-3 turns slightly past Top-Dead-Center, but the RF aligns perfectly at infinity. The new aperture index- TDC.

The camera tools are now back in the drawer, and 4 computer keyboards are back in the same space...
 
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Sonnar Brian said:
Picked up a Jupiter-3 that needed a full CLA, the optics on the 1972 ZOMZ were good- but the lens was not as sharp as my 1975 ZOMZ. And I had a recently acquired 1938 Uncoated 5cm F1.5 Sonnar with perfect glass. So I converted it. And got lucky again. The focus is accurate at F1.5 from closest focus to infinity.
View attachment 4830072View attachment 4830073

View attachment 4830074

View attachment 4830075

One short-cut I took, the final position of the lens was very close to 1/3rd of a turn from the index mark. So- loosen the three set screws, move 1/3rd of a turn- and they are close enough to use the existing Taps. The taps on this lens were deep, and it is not easy to make new ones. SO- I moved the aperture, tightened the screws, and use nail polish to make a new index mark for the aperture, I use silver sharpie to cover the old one. The J-3 turns slightly past Top-Dead-Center, but the RF aligns perfectly at infinity. The new aperture index- TDC.

The camera tools are not back in the drawer, and 4 computer keyboards are back in the same space...
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I am reminded of the snark about luck being only that someone is prepared for what life presents them.

Isn't _always_ true, but still... 😉
 
In case anyone wonders what I do with left over parts from these conversions-

I've used the Sonnar mounts to convert some Exakta Mount Tessar 5cm F3.5 to Nikon and Contax mount, and convert the J-3's to Nikon and Contax mount.

These are shimmed for Nikon Mount. This is the 1972 ZOMZ that was used to convert the above Sonnar.

The Zeiss mount needs to be ground down quite a bit to house the Jupiter. The Tessar has a retaining ring that fits snug against the inner rim of the Sonnar mount, allows easy shimming.
Jupiter_Convert.jpgNikonS4.jpgNikons4_2.jpgTessar1.jpgTessar2.jpg
 
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