Nippon Kogaku Nikkor-O 2,1cm/4.0

[chris dees]

I might have got the lens from you, Paul.

Chris: I did cobble together a DIY adapter Nikon F-RF(S) in the old days to use the lens on my black Nikon S3. When I purchased some Cosina-made Voigtländer Skopars for the RF mount some years ago, I also got a factory Cosina/Voigtländer F-RF(S) adapter from S.Grimes.  No problem for any of the two solutions to mount the 2.1cm Nikkor despite it being of the early generation.

To mount the 2.1cm on my Z bodies, I used a K&F Concept Nikon RF(S)-Z adapter together with the CV adapter.

Thanks Birna

[mxbianco]

Did some testing, and the conclusion is:
No way to mount the 2.1cm safely onto the FTZ - it is too narrow to allow the lens to turn correctly and click in place.
No problem mounting it on a chinese AI - N/Z adapter (10€ on Ebay): it clicked in place and infinity focussing was possible. The rear lens extends 3 mm inside the Z mount, but it does not touch anywhere (it would result in damage to the rear lens if that happened!). Quality at the corners is quite soft (Birna -as usual- was right), I did only some night test shots and the results are not conclusive.

The AI-N/Z is machined from a solid piece of aluminum alloy (tube and Z-mount), the F-mount is a piece of steel attached to the tube with three screws. No contacts (not needed at least for the 2.1 cm, different story if you have chipped lenses, but the FTZ kicks in for those).

Ciao from Massimo

[chris dees]

Did some testing, and the conclusion is:
No way to mount the 2.1cm safely onto the FTZ - it is too narrow to allow the lens to turn correctly and click in place.
No problem mounting it on a chinese AI - N/Z adapter (10€ on Ebay): it clicked in place and infinity focussing was possible. The rear lens extends 3 mm inside the Z mount, but it does not touch anywhere (it would result in damage to the rear lens if that happened!). Quality at the corners is quite soft (Birna -as usual- was right), I did only some night test shots and the results are not conclusive.

The AI-N/Z is machined from a solid piece of aluminum alloy (tube and Z-mount), the F-mount is a piece of steel attached to the tube with three screws. No contacts (not needed at least for the 2.1 cm, different story if you have chipped lenses, but the FTZ kicks in for those).

Ciao from Massimo

Thanks Massimo.
I could give that a try, but I can’t find it on eBay.
Only https://www.ebay.nl/itm/AI-Nik-Z-Mount-Lens-Adapter-ring-for-Nikon-f-ai-lens-To-N-Z-Z6-Z7-Camera-body/383920041753?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item59636aef19:g:hDUAAOSw0PNgD9mh&amdata=enc%3AAQAFAAACcBaobrjLl8XobRIiIML1V4Imu%252Fn%252BzU5L90Z278x5ickkxFtV7J5P58ubuVigtBH%252Fe643HfI3KMXMCnbKILuKa8t%252FhKZ9%252BKmfR7R%252BMePPp4V8A528f1oJxCNwGCwVqdmIqSeYM7k%252BbhFtILVW8Zppgv8qgatIMNqqItdALsmJsLA%252FUiBBMWYmHk94dcCGboXy%252BVg33b%252BHRzgE52EcROyWRweh7W4icKPV3ZOml5sgUeJ5zteKk4F%252F9KEILj6UZ2gditvwJhTInXFycMmNnKfqALghIjjrG8rni1t2k9KxdtOA%252B5QFxZYYe13No%252FBGDc8cjEmfU%252B8NANtuM4F13sD%252FmYpiRp%252BmCxCuy5uOJZoEUhp4Ay20FrwbZmSOLlABhzpwBXQFZkuBxQd7NW6K562EVIKQyeX31gBHTyvpRSi7epa0VoWY3zgSNRH9mp2z2zAOFu3bOrwBTKyK6yi%252FZV4hBw48GfAJtPpaZWUWBJfxy17n8LFBj775kpCuXoWVoHFfSqV%252ByfPiorp7MAaMkTRs84GiltgrGdrG%252BRgqrk5mb4NByhQ8QlbCnWQ4rNYAwxDao0G6Nbz%252FhtZVRT%252F9k71o4cALn%252FpItbHzZC82ICV9%252BZwvnE%252Bu4Ph6CUdKyB%252BQvAPwREVhMpXiP0b3agiIlpBa9l9RH8noKH7NWszT9nY%252BbIgyflWYdu3biehcwcVvkm7ASWDRrRM4HXKA1B3FjMSPbazBSCczNn8TA%252B%252BOv5r1SgUwuef7v09bUgHXpUFJzk6gv5328G72r1ZIuuSnOtwIDBJ0Kcy9jDCMXtH5K3C3DjDHuw%252Bi9qecemu4seSvJM5q9Q%253D%253D%7Ccksum%3A3839200417539560302966be48c0b6955e8c0c5129e0%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A2334524

[mxbianco]

Thanks Massimo.
I could give that a try, but I can’t find it on eBay.
Only

The one you indicated seems to work as well as the one I've found. The important thing is the absence of internal baffles/flanges that restrict the rotation of the lens when you mount it: that's the problem with the FTZ. Naturally the absence of contacts will give a 0mm/f0 in the EXIF, but it can be easily corrected with Exiftool or a similar tool.

Another word of caution: since the rear lens extends beyond the Z-mount, in order to mount the rear lenscap I had to put a small extension tube (a 10mm Meike), otherwise the rear element would touch the cap and get scratched. When taking photographs, you remove the extension tube, or you keep it on if you want to get closer than the 90 cm minimal distance of the 2.1cm.

Ciao from Massimo

[chris dees]

The one you indicated seems to work as well as the one I've found. The important thing is the absence of internal baffles/flanges that restrict the rotation of the lens when you mount it: that's the problem with the FTZ. Naturally the absence of contacts will give a 0mm/f0 in the EXIF, but it can be easily corrected with Exiftool or a similar tool.

Another word of caution: since the rear lens extends beyond the Z-mount, in order to mount the rear lenscap I had to put a small extension tube (a 10mm Meike), otherwise the rear element would touch the cap and get scratched. When taking photographs, you remove the extension tube, or you keep it on if you want to get closer than the 90 cm minimal distance of the 2.1cm.

Ciao from Massimo

Again thanks Massimo. :-)
I ordered one. Now let’s see how long it takes to get to my door.

[richardHaw]

im yet to find an adapter that works with the tickmark lenses

[Akira]

Rick just shared the latest article of Ten Thousand And One Nights whose chapter VI is very well related to the issue discussed in this thread.

https://imaging.nikon.com/history/story/0077/index.htm?fbclid=IwAR0C7IQK0qQ-YsrJpnFw2I8WVrCPki5jB-AVBlUUsHyLgKDfFuIk2QpFJbo

[chris dees]

Got my knock-off adapter, but unfortunately no succes.
The lens fits nicely in the mount, but then I can't turn it to lock on the adapter.
I guess there's some grinding and drilling necessary on the adapter.
It seems the collar of the lens is too thick and this prevents turning.

[mxbianco]

Got my knock-off adapter, but unfortunately no succes.
The lens fits nicely in the mount, but then I can't turn it to lock on the adapter.
I guess there's some grinding and drilling necessary on the adapter.
It seems the collar of the lens is too thick and this prevents turning.

I have a lot of room inside my AI-N/Z adapter (see photo 1)
For completeness, I also have a photo of the 2.1 cm lens mounted on my Z6, and two more photos, one illustrating how much the 2.1 cm sticks out of the Z-mount (without touching inside the mirror-less box), and another showing the usage of the 111mm extension tube to be able to mount the rear lenscap.

Ciao from Massimo

[Edgy01]

Congrats on mounting the 2.1cm.  I tried a few years ago with a variety of adapters and felt the depth was too great to be successful on my Leica SL. The rotational aspect of mounting it is also conflict prone.  Of the some 50 Nikkors I own it’s the only one I can’t fit on other than my F or F2.  Just not willing to risk a sensor.  Maybe it’s time to break out the dial gauge again!

[richardHaw]

in the process of overhauling one. i dismantled everything in 30 minutes while standing

all i need to do now is to find the finder that my friend gave me

[richardHaw]

I have a lot of room inside my AI-N/Z adapter (see photo 1)
For completeness, I also have a photo of the 2.1 cm lens mounted on my Z6, and two more photos, one illustrating how much the 2.1 cm sticks out of the Z-mount (without touching inside the mirror-less box), and another showing the usage of the 111mm extension tube to be able to mount the rear lenscap.

Ciao from Massimo

how were you able to mount it safely on the Z? I noticed that the rear guard actually hits the baffle around the film aperture of the Z it is very scary.
this is one thing that prevents me from mounting it properly, the clipped portion of the rear should sit right at the baffle. do you have a video or a series of photos showing how you were able to do this safely?

[Birna Rørslett]

There is a small rear metal guard that can be removed. This makes mounting the lens on the Z system easier. The fit is very tight though.

Frankly I wouldn't bother as there are much better alternatives for old 20-21mm lenses on Z cameras.

[richardHaw]

There is a small rear metal guard that can be removed. This makes mounting the lens on the Z system easier. The fit is very tight though.

Frankly I wouldn't bother as there are much better alternatives for old 20-21mm lenses on Z cameras.

thanks, i am only interested in making a review for this.
i was able to barely mount mine on a Df because mine is of the mid-production variant. the later one would be able to be mounted successfuly.
in both cases the claw has to be removed

i am only interested in making a review for this, other than that i really have no use for this.
i really put a lot of effort and MONEY into the little blog of mine (not so little now).

[richardHaw]

we were reprimanded by Sato-san and I think Goto-san as well for doing it that was like 5 years ago if i recall <- mounting on a Df

i tried it again a while ago on the Df, the corners are so dark