Tessar lenses for RF?

hans voralberg said:
This is from the Elmar 50/3.5, looks similar enough to a Tessar for me

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lovely picture! meandering dark sharpness with contrasty highlights over soft light background...just looks very interesting is all considering its shot a branch hey

so this is with an uncoated 3.5 Elmar? can i ask what film you used and if any filters were used? mabye yellow? did you develope yourself? in what? I am just trying to get a feel for amything that contributed to the contrast, tones etc
 
If you really want "classic" results from an Elmar, you could scrounge-up an uncoated pre-war version (which will be a screw-mount).

Luddite Frank
 
chippy said:
lovely picture! meandering dark sharpness with contrasty highlights over soft light background...just looks very interesting is all considering its shot a branch hey

so this is with an uncoated 3.5 Elmar? can i ask what film you used and if any filters were used? mabye yellow? did you develope yourself? in what? I am just trying to get a feel for amything that contributed to the contrast, tones etc
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Yes it's an uncoated 3.5 Elmar, unfortunately this was from my R-D1 so yeah, nothing to say really about dev or film. There was no filter, I can hardly imagine how you would mount them on the Elmar, it's tiny.

If I was shooting film I think HP5@320 + DDX / Rodinal would result in pretty much the same thing.
 
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Another option to consider is Nikkor 45mm f/2.8p (modern) or GN (vintage). On one of their small bodied SLRs it makes for an extremely compact package. Examples:

@f/4
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@f/2.8
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I have a I-22 and had a I-61. The I-61 was certainly mroe useable across the aperture range (wide apertures). The I-22 is nice, but I find it's just 'mushy' at f/3.5-4.

Keep looking, I'm sure you'll find a I-61 sooner or later, I remember selling my CLA'd one for £10.
 
hans voralberg said:
There was no filter, I can hardly imagine how you would mount them on the Elmar, it's tiny.
quote]

If it's the older Elmar, with the aperture tab on the front of the lens, the easiest/cheapest filter solution is to get the "A36 to E39" adapter ring: this slips over the end of the Elmar, and has a clamp-screw (with a shield, to prevent the screw from digging-into the knurled ring) to hold it in place, and provides threading to accept 39mm threaded-filters, or you could add a step-up ring from 39mm to whatever size filters you already have.

The original filter system for the Elmar 35, 50, 90, 135, Summar 50, and Hektor 135 Leitz lenses was the A-36 clamp-on filter; these are getting to be pricey collectibles, plus issues with possible color shift of the filter media, or separation, in the case of Polarizers.


Luddite Frank

PS: I just got home from work and dug around in my kit bags and found my two A-36> E-39 filter adapters, hoping to provide a part number; sadly, the only marking on both is "E. Leitz New York". I have a sticky-note in one of my Leica catalogs indicating that the part # is "ADSUMMI" or 13154, but I'm not sure where I got that info.
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noimmunity said:
I've also noticed, in my photos and on flickr, that photos taken with Tessar lenses seem to share certain bokeh...objects in the out of focus area become almost ghostly shapes.

Notice the trees branches in the upper right corner. I've seen this sort of "effect" (or limitation of the lens) in other photos taken with Tessar lenses, and I kinda like it. Used in the right setting it reduces the background to almost geometric basic shapes that accentuate the B&W figure in the foreground.

Is this common with Tessar lenses? Are there any lenses in LTM or M mount that have the Tessar formula and are worth considering? Anyone had any experience with other Tessars? I think there are a couple for SLRs and then of course many on vintage cameras...
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The effect you describe reminded me of this I-10 (tessar) photo. Look at this photo in its large size on flickr to see how sharp it is...I'm pretty amazed by it:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/98037901@N00/477417985/in/set-72157600210802411/

477417985_159565464f.jpg
 
No need for a Lens Hood on this lens!

50mm F2.8 Tessar, formerly in 42mm screw mount for the SLR, now RF coupled for the Leica 39mm mount using an I-61 focus mount.
 
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And if you like a Tessar, also look for a SOnnar...

1935 Carl Zeiss Jena 5cm F2 Sonnar in a J-8 LTM mount, collimated for the Leica.
 
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The Elmar 500/2.8 is a Tessar design lens. I used to own a Canon 50/2.8, and it was a nice looking lens with good performance. I got a Tessar 50/2.8 in M42 mount.
 
good stuff Brian, can't wait for you to make up a pre war Contax mount 50/f1.5 Sonnar in LTM.
 
Hi Brian, how hard is it to perform such modification, lots of filing ands measuring involves ? Just curious, I'm not after anything specific atm
 
As you can see by the photo's, I was not worried about cosmetics for the Tessar and I61. The optics screw into place. I have a through-the-lens viewer for LTM lenses that makes collimation easy. Pick an object, get its distance using the lens' scale, put the lens onto the TTL viewer, then screw the optics module in until the actual focus agrees with the distance scale. On a more expensive lens, I file a shim once I find the focus. On the I61 and Tessar, I epoxied the module into place. The I61 in J-8 mount was easy, about 30 minutes. The Tessar in the I61 focus mount took some "staring" at. About 2 hours. I finally found the retaining screw from the 42mm mount could be fit into place on the I61 mount, then the optics screwed into it.

The Zeiss Sonnar optics module from the collapsible Contax mount screws in perfectly to the J-8 mount, and takes the same shims as the J-8. It also has a variable stand-off that is adjusted using Set Screws. This lens took about an hour to do.
 
Brian Sweeney said:
No need for a Lens Hood on this lens!

50mm F2.8 Tessar, formerly in 42mm screw mount for the SLR, now RF coupled for the Leica 39mm mount using an I-61 focus mount.
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I have the lens in M42 mount .... hm. This starts new ideas and possibilities. :angel:
 
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