Which collapsible for FED 4 and Bessa R?

[Kragmeister]

Greetings,

I've got a Zorki C with collapsible I-50. I also have a FED 4 and Bessa R. This lens won't work on either the FED or Bessa.

When mounting LTM lenses I turn them out to closest focus distance, thread them onto the camera then turn them back in to infinity.

When I try this on the FED 4 and Bessa, the lens mounts OK. But then when I turn it in to infinity, there is interferance. The infinity lock bottoms out on the camera body before infinity focus is acheived.

I thought about taking out the infinity lock, but then there is nothing for the index finger to use for focusing. 🙄 I was wondering if there is a different type of FSU collapsible that will mount. Something like the FED 50 collapsible which has a different looking pushbutton for the infinity lock.

Also, I know about the warnings for using a collapsible on a Bessa, I plan to use a rubber O-ring or two to keep it from collapsing all the way and jaming in the shutter box.

 

[DaveP]

Yes, those I-50/ I-22's have a different plunger on the infinity lock. The Fed cameras have a thin mounting flange and if you use a collapsible intended for Zorki they will rub. The ones for the Feds have a flat,flush screw for the plunger retainer. Had the same problem my self.......

 

[Nickfed]

I take it you allude only to the later FEDs? The FED-1 flange seems plenty thick but I note that the plunger travel is unnecessarily long and when you push it all the way it is perilously close to the body. When the FED lens is on a Zorki-6, the plunger all but touches.

 

[DaveP]

I dont have a Fed 1 , I have later feds and the mounting flanges are much thinner than my Zorkis. I have to be careful which lens i mount on them for the reason you mention. Those lenses were made by different manufacturers , maybe thats a difference also............

 

[tedwhite]

I have a Bessa R with the c/v 2.5/35 and a FED 2 with the collasible FED 3.5/50.

I would NEVER consider mounting a collapsible lens on my Bessa R, regardless of who made the lens. Instead I'd get a Jupiter 8 in LTM39 and use it. They are really quite cheap on ebay and take decent pictures and can't harm the Bessa's internals..

Ted

 

[Kragmeister]

Collapsible on Bessa-R....YES!

Collapsible on Bessa-R....YES!

Greetings,

My Bessa-R replaced two FSU cameras as users. One was a Zorki C with collapsible 50mm f3.5 lens. Size and weight of the body are similar. However the one point for the Zorki was the collapsible lens. The collapsible Industars don't work on the later FED cameras because they have a plunger type infinity lock.

I did some checking and Yuri at Fedka has late issue FED 50mm f3.5 collapsible lenses. I had him check to see if he had any that fit a FED 4 (my backup for the Bessa-R) and he had one with a spring catch for the infinity lock (see attached photos). Spring catch type lock doesn't foul on the body. Also, the lens tube is shorter than the Industars so when collapsed it does not go as far into the body.

Collapsing a lens into a Bessa body may not be recommended practice but I do it with this lens. See attached pics, I put a couple of 7/8" O-rings on the lens tube to prevent it from collapsing too far into the body and it does not contact the light baffle or meter cell. Now I don't feel so bad for selling my Zorki C.

Later,
Greg

 

[Kragmeister]

And here is a shot with the FED 50mm f3.5 collapsible on my Bessa-R. Film was Kodak BWC400 C-41 B&W. Exposure was f3.5 @ 1/2000 sec. with a light yellow A36 filter on the lens.

First shot is full frame. Second was cropped after zooming in 105% in Photoshop. I'm REALLY jazzed by this combination.

Later,
Greg

 

[Kragmeister]

Bessa R clearance with FED 50mm

Bessa R clearance with FED 50mm

Greetings,

Finally had my Bessa-R empty long enough to take a quick snap of the meter cell area with the collapsible FED 50mm f3.5 lens mounted. This shot shows that there is just enough clearance from the meter cell cut out for the lens to rotate without scraping when it is in the collapsed position. Note though that as I showed earlier in the thread I have two 7/8" diameter rubber O-rings on the lens barrel to prevent it from collapsing too far. YMMV.

Later,
Greg

 

[tedwhite]

That's a pretty amazing shot for wide open (the light yellow is a nice touch).. It's very narrow depth of field is what you'd expect from any lens wide open. Of course, if you had shot at 1/500th you would have gained two stops and increased the depth of field considerably. But you already knew that. It just occurred to me that I've never used 1/2000 on my Bessa R. Hmmm.


Ted

 

[Kragmeister]

Hey Ted,

I was testing driving the lens so I was shooting wide open as much as possible to check focus. I normally shoot available darkness with f2 lenses at slow speeds, but in this case the availability of the 1/2000 speed was a very cool feature. I wouldn't normally do that.

When shooting outdoors I generally keep a light yellow filter on when shooting B&W...kinda my UV filter <hah>. If I'm shooting details, etc. I wouldn't use the filter unless the sky is in the frame, but I needed the extra filter factor to keep the lens wide open for the bottle shot.

Anyway, thanks for the comments!
Greg

 

[Spider67]

a tight fit!

a tight fit!

I realized when carefully testing an I 22 on my Bessa watching through the open shutter that putting it inside is a very tight affair.
It seems as if the Bessa designers had a similar thing in mind because they left two cavings so that the rear part of the industar can be turned around. According to my observations it's not the shutter that's in danger but the upper and bottom well "walls" of the space between screwmount and shutter. And that can not be remedied by making the part of the barrel bulging in shorter.
Actually I was more afraid of turning the barrel because it seemed it would scratch the inside than of it touching the shutter mechanism.
Anyway I was impressed that the designers thought about such a scenario....
btw I tested my Bessa with FSU lenses wide open, minimum distance....what a disaster 😱 :bang: the only thing working decently was an Industar 61.
Greetings from Vienna

 

[john_van_v]

Just a note of warning:

I screwed my old 50mm Leica collapsable onto my Bessa R, and pushed it in. It more or less fit, but (!!) it scratched the inside of the Bessa R. I fixed the scratches with an old sharpie marker; the old sharpie seemed to have a very dull finish, as opposed to a new one I tested (but not on the camera).