raid
Dad Photographer
No More than 12 feet. This is then the magic solution to avoid damaging the camera.
I thank you.
Phil_F_NM
Camera hacker
If you mount the lens in the normal focusing range, but close to its minimum distance (~1meter), then you have to ensure to never focus the lens past a few meters. The extended focusing cam will impact the inside of the camera and if you put enough force (not much at all), you will deforem and eventually pry the front of the camera, lens mount and all, right off. The leverage from the very long focus throw of the DR is so great that it can easily warp the plastic innards and the metal exterior of the camera.
The best way to takke care of this whole problem is to find a focusing helicoid from a donor rigid Summicron of the same era, V2. The caveat is that thefocusing unit must be calibrated to the DR nominal length of 51.9mm, not the standard 51.6mm. If you have this, then you can switch back and forth between using the DR lens optics on your film camera or your digital. I did this back when I had an M8 and M9 and it worked fantastically. Took forever to find a donor focusiing unit though. I think I got mine from a member of the forum here, as a matter of fact.
Phil Forrest
The best way to takke care of this whole problem is to find a focusing helicoid from a donor rigid Summicron of the same era, V2. The caveat is that thefocusing unit must be calibrated to the DR nominal length of 51.9mm, not the standard 51.6mm. If you have this, then you can switch back and forth between using the DR lens optics on your film camera or your digital. I did this back when I had an M8 and M9 and it worked fantastically. Took forever to find a donor focusiing unit though. I think I got mine from a member of the forum here, as a matter of fact.
Phil Forrest
raid
Dad Photographer
Phil: This is maybe what DAG could also handle. Right?
Phil_F_NM
Camera hacker
Back when the M8 then M9 came out, there were a bunch of folks who wanted to use the DR on their digital leicas and had the close focusing cam cut off, completely ruining the lens for any close work. Thats the only thing that DAG would handle, and I hope he wouldn't cut up one of the nicest lenses ever made, expecially when the V2 Rigid Cron is exactly the same optic but without the close focusing ability.
Phil Forrest
Phil Forrest
raid
Dad Photographer
Yes, I agree with you here. Don would remove the close focusing cam, he once told me when I asked him about modifying my DR.I did not have him modify my DR then.
Beemermark
Veteran
I always like the DR for B&W. I don't own a copy now but without the googles it's just a regular 50mm Summicron. No special cautions needed with any Leica (though I never owned anything newer than the M9). I had one with the googles and I just wasn't too impressed. No special knowledge needed to mount it, just normal intelligence. I think if you have live view a close up filter would be easier to use and probably give comparable (or better) results.
Beemermark
Veteran
Why would they do that. And I not sure what you mean by "close focusing cam". I don't own one currently but indenting the ball bearing simply allowed the lens to focus closer by using a longer focusing heilcoil.
Phil_F_NM
Camera hacker
When the lens is in the normal range of focus, from 1m to infinity, the close focus cam, which allows the rangefinder to focus this lens, sits about 8mm farther back than the normal range cam. If you try focusing the lens when mounted to an M8 or M9, that close focusing range cam will impact the internal of the camera and focusing just past 6m will begin to either deform the internals or pry the front of the camera off. You may think the lens is just focused to infinity by the bump against a hard stop. If you push it past though, the long focus throw of the DR has such leverage that it can easily warp the front of the camera as if it is prying it apart. I did this contact experiment by putting some black inkpad ink on the cam, mounting it to my M8, then gently focusing it towards infinity. The cam left a mark along the bottom, so I began looking for the focusing stage of a rigid Summicron. Took me a year to find one but I also didn't break my Leica. The camera had no problem doing that to itself.
Phil Forrest