Another CPH Session with Erik

[Bjørn Rørslett]

I find myself again in wind-beaten Copenhagen, with my friend Erik. We have just returned from the mandatory down-town trip to visit the usual photo stores. Today's purchases included a pristine Nikon 1V1 (to be modified later for use with Rodenstock Heligon 100/1.5 and other exotics) and an unexpected find of an Olympia Sonnar 180 mm f/2.8 .... The latter is currently undergoing the careful surgery of 'Dr. Lens' (ie. Erik) to become an F-mount lens. With CPU of course. There is a Sony A7 and a Nex-3 in the works as well - Erik winced over the heft of my carry-on luggage .

I got the 1V1 and the 180 Sonnar for very reasonable prices, by the way.

Stay tuned. The weapons are readied for the upcoming battle.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Optimistic assumptions about the Sonnar being an easily convertible M42 mount were quickly brought to shame.

Here is the recalcitrant lens - devoid of its mount. With no less than 18 - eighteen - aperture blades, a bokeh king in the making.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Erik in a commonly seen position at his beloved Dremel work station, whittling away surplus metal from the stubborn 180 Sonnar.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

As usual for these sessions, the report is in near real time. We hope for the best and prepare for the worst (ending with a useless junked lens).

[Andrea B.]

Love the 1st shot of all those tools!

Say, Bjørn, this procurement of Sony A7 & Nex-3 is unusual !! What is the plan for those?

[Bjørn Rørslett]

The Sony A7 is thought to be a home for my array of Nikkor S (rangefinder) lenses. Already did a walk-around with the Sony and the legendary 8.5 cm f/2 Nikkor (the one made famous by D.Duncan in the Korean war of the early 'fifties). Looks good so far.

The Nex-3, courtesy my friend Jan Anne, will undergo surgery to become a 52 mm thread mount body and thus being able to accept a host of exotic Heligons etc.

Here is the Sony A7 with the 8.5 cm Nikkor side by side with the brand new Leica SL and its 24-90 lens.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Erik is cutting off more metal from the Sonnar. Currently we only have focus out to approx. 100 m. Iterating towards the final alignment ...

[Andrea B.]

I meself had thought the Sony flange focal distance might be useful for some older lenses which I picked up for UV use.

I love the idea of having a dedicated camera body for Heligons and such! As the whole idea of the perfect draw goes out the window with such an artistic lens anyway, why not pick up an older digicam for cheaps and just leave the lens permanently mounted? Then one would have a grab-n-go kit. We could not have done this in earlier digital days. Now it is quite feasible. Example: I just recently looked at a Nikon D70 in great condition at KEH in the $60 range. (Don't recall exact price.)

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Andrea: these NEX versions from Sony are prime candidates for such specialised adaptations. The distance from the [new] mount to the sensor is pretty short and allows a lot more flexibility when you plan to use any of the exotics on the camera. For this highly specialised use, avoiding the DSLR is a better approach since you don't have to battle with the mirror chamber.

Erik has finally cut down the Sonnar mount base sufficiently. Hopes for a successful ending rise again.

[PeterN]

Keep going. I love this report (which opens a whole new world to me)

[Jan Anne]

Some cool projects going on there, have fun amigos

[Bruno Schroder]

Andrea: these NEX versions from Sony are prime candidates for such specialised adaptations.

So you do prefer the larger sensor of the NEX over the 1mm shorter flange distance of the Nikon 1?

[Andrea B.]

Andrea: these NEX versions from Sony are prime candidates for such specialised adaptations. The distance from the [new] mount to the sensor is pretty short and allows a lot more flexibility when you plan to use any of the exotics on the camera. For this highly specialised use, avoiding the DSLR is a better approach since you don't have to battle with the mirror chamber.

Yeah baby - gotta love a short FFD !!!!

[Bjørn Rørslett]

JA: not started the NEX project yet ....

Erik expertly holds the various pieces of the Sonnar together so infinity focus can be assessed on my Df. We are not there yet ... More thinking required.

[Andrea B.]

So you do prefer the larger sensor of the NEX over the 1mm shorter flange distance of the Nikon 1?

It would depend on the characteristics of the "exotic" in question. For one of my favorite Heligons, sensor quality hardly matters a whit as the lens is scratched and has other endearing weirdness. For some of my non-Nikon mount UV-capable lenses which need a digicam with a fairly short FFD, I would want the Sony sensor quality and features similar to what I get in a Nikon.