A crazy idea

[Zang]

I know people replace lens bayonet mount to cross-over lenses and bodies from different systems. Has anyone heard about changing the camera lens mount?

With old cameras available for so cheap, I am thinking about buying and old Nikon DSLR, remove the Nikon F lens mount and replace it with (maybe 3-D printed) C/Y mount with adjusted thickness to fit my old C/Y lenses.

Would it be something doable?

Cheers,
Zang

[Thomas Stellwag]

C/Y has shorter register than Nikon, means the flange for it is nearer to the sensor. This might cause to take off some material from the camera and will decrease its stability and accuracy in the flange area - test it with an old D xx for € 60.- if you want to spend a lot of time. There are Nikon F flages as exchange for C/Y lense from Leitax available. As most people in the meantime switch to mirroless cams with shorter register, there should be a market with used flanges for your lenses - the 2nd best way in my opinion. The best is to buy a mirroless, f.e. a Sony Nex 6 with the same sensor as Nikon D7000 (16MP and good Iso capability) which you get for less than € 150.-

[MEPER]

I know that a kit existed for the Sigma SD SLRs with Foveon sensor so Leica R lenses could be used like this:
https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/2213966

[Birna Rørslett]

Swapping lens mounts is entirely doable. I have several such modified cameras myself. For example, Panasonic (GF1, GH2) with M42 thread mount instead of the bayonet, likewise Sony NEX3 also with M42. The reason for swapping out the native camera bayonet is the need for mounting exotic lenses, which very frequently have a short, sometimes even minimal, register distance.

 The problem using a Nikon camera is that few brands have still longer register distance, thus most non-native lenses will not focus to infinity. Better to start with something having a much shorter register distance, for example, among the m43 models.

[Matthew Currie]

Zang, where in the world are you located?  I think somewhere in my barn I have one or more dead Yashicas, and could perhaps dig one up and slip a mount into an envelope and mail it.  This probably would not work very reliably outside the US and maybe Europe, but one could try.

[Bill De Jager]

Micro Four Thirds is a handy system but it does have a thick sensor filter stack.  That can matter for adapted lenses as discussed here. An alternative with a thinner sensor filter stack would be a Sony FE-mount camera (or for a more affordable camera, a Sony E-mount).  C/Y lenses were designed for film, so no filter between the lens and film was anticipated in their optical designs.

BTW, I tried to use my C/Y lenses (28mm f/2.8, 85mm f/2.8 ) on a Canon 6D and found the mirror would catch on the rear of the lens.  It should be possible to use these lenses on Canon EF-S cameras because those have smaller mirrors.  However, manually focusing lenses on a DSLR isn't a very precise process (though the Df is better), so a mirrorless camera with focus peaking may work better.

[Birna Rørslett]

Focus peaking is strongly overrated in my view. Better using the EVF magnifier, provided the lens is relatively fast, not too wide, and there is light enough. Or fall back on say a Df with split-image screen

[Hugh_3170]

Zang, there was a guy that used to post a lot on the old NG site who had equipped his D40X with an M42 mount. 

IIRC, he was into UV and IR work and used older lenses with simple coatings that allowed UV transmission.  I think that he was also into fishing as well as photography.  I will keep searching for his ID and images of the converted camera.

Anyone else remember him?

EDIT:  This is the guy: https://www.flyfishinginnh.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8161&page=2

[Birna Rørslett]

Might be Reed F. Curry. He's active on our 'sister' site, ultravioletphotography.com.

[Hugh_3170]

Thank you Birna - it is indeed Reed F. Curry.

I have posted this link to him below: https://www.flyfishinginnh.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8161&page=2

Might be Reed F. Curry. He's active on our 'sister' site, ultravioletphotography.com.

[Akira]

There was a conversion kit that turned a Nikon SLR to an M42 mount camera, which is essentially an M42 mount made to fit a Nikon body with the F-mount removed.   Unfortunately, the kit was short-lived and has long been discontinued...

[Zang]

Wow, I woke up with tons of wonderful feedback! Thank you guys for that.

To keep things on topic, I will post multiple responses.

Cheers,
Zang

[Zang]

C/Y has shorter register than Nikon, means the flange for it is nearer to the sensor. This might cause to take off some material from the camera and will decrease its stability and accuracy in the flange area - test it with an old D xx for € 60.- if you want to spend a lot of time. There are Nikon F flages as exchange for C/Y lense from Leitax available. As most people in the meantime switch to mirroless cams with shorter register, there should be a market with used flanges for your lenses - the 2nd best way in my opinion. The best is to buy a mirroless, f.e. a Sony Nex 6 with the same sensor as Nikon D7000 (16MP and good Iso capability) which you get for less than € 150.-

Hi Thomas,

I am aware of the flange distance differences. A mirror-less camera would probably be an easiest and most economic option. I am just looking for some fun project. I read about Leitax. Their adapters look great but they are pretty expensive. The cost will also multiply with the number of lenses you want to convert.

Cheers,
Zang

[Zang]

Swapping lens mounts is entirely doable...

Birna,

So either I am not crazy or I am not the only one LOL. Yes, M3/4 would be a much easier option, but the sensor gets a bit smaller at the same time.

Cheers,
Zang

[Zang]

...
BTW, I tried to use my C/Y lenses (28mm f/2.8, 85mm f/2.8 ) on a Canon 6D and found the mirror would catch on the rear of the lens.  It should be possible to use these lenses on Canon EF-S cameras because those have smaller mirrors.  However, manually focusing lenses on a DSLR isn't a very precise process (though the Df is better), so a mirrorless camera with focus peaking may work better.

Hey Bill,

How did you like the result from Contax lenses on digital? I have fond memory about them back in the film era. My concern is, despite their wonderful mechanical quality, they may be outdated in term of optical quality nowadays.

Cheers,
Zang