An audacious lens hack

dexdog

Mentor
Local time
1:34 AM
Joined
Jan 22, 2005
Messages
3,283
Saw this amusing little number on eBay. It is without a doubt the oddest ployglot of a lens that I have ever seen. Lens barrel appears to be from a Pentax K-mount lens, the optical block is from a 1953 Carl Zeiss rigid tessar, while the fixture holding the optical block is from a 1945/1946 CZJ collapsible lens nick-named the "black-line tessar". Also, it looks like the lens mount on the camera has been modified, perhaps a spacer has been added to the rear of the lens or the camera mount to get proper registration Not interested in purchasing, but I have to wonder if this setup even focuses properly. Very unusual to hack a rangefinder lens onto an SLR.

 
The Tessar has a large distance between rear element and plane of focus- it should work. Note the lens and body are both modified.
The I-61 is available in M42 mount.

 
What's more is that the Tessar is a mix of a post-war Carl Zeiss Oberkochen rigid Tessar lens and the body of a collapsible post-war Jena Contax mount Tessar.
Yet it retains the aperture of the Oberkochen lens. What in the world?

The focus mount and/or lens body is from a Pen F (half frame SLR) 25/4 lens.
 
The focus mount and/or lens body is from a Pen F (half frame SLR) 25/4 lens.
I assumed that the lens barrel was from a Pentax K, thanks for identifying it as from a Pen F. This makes the lens even more weird. Literally built outta spare parts.
 
I've converted Exakta Mount CZJ 5cm F3.5 Tessars to Contax mount, and shimmed one for S-Mount- using left over parts from converting 5cm F1.5 Sonnars. The Tessars in Exakta mount are cheap, usually under $50 when I was getting them, as low as $10 several years ago. I picked up a beautiful 5cm F2.8 Tessar "T" for ~$50 a couple of years ago- could not part it out. SO- now have an Exakta to Z adapter. Tessars work well on SLR's. This must have been built from spare parts. The MX is an interesting choice.
 
Back
Top