MarkWalberg
Established
I love the old Konica rangefinders. I've often thought about how the lenses would do on a digital camera.
So, I finally did it. I had an old shutter from a Konica with the nice 10 blade iris. I took out the shutter leaving the iris. Then, I screwed the front and rear elements of the Konica III lens onto the front and back. Then, I screwed the shutter into a m25 to M42 adapter. Screwed this into an M42 helical 12-17 mm, screwed this onto a 9 mm M42 spacer, then screwed this into a thin M42 to Nikon Z ring. Amazingly, all this works very well, and the lens gives great images.
This particular Konica III had a Seiko shutter with the 5 blade iris. The older Konirapid shutters had the 10 blade iris, which is definitely nicer. You can see this in the out of focus part of a picture below. I'm having a lot of fun with this lens.
At the end of the Konica III series, they made the Konica S and others. The Konica 48 mm f2 was available as a lens on the better models. I've got one of these and it seems to be the same as the Konica III lens. These can be found for less money.
A neat thing is that I can screw out the front and rear elements any time and put them back into the Konica III quickly, and all works like the original.
![IMG_3615.jpg IMG_3615.jpg](https://rangefinderforum.com/data/attachments/94/94742-d7d09fa1cf1b4d696e99e76905a78dd1.jpg)
![IMG_3614.jpg IMG_3614.jpg](https://rangefinderforum.com/data/attachments/94/94743-77080c304ceedf0a824de5cdd775f912.jpg)
![IMG_3613.jpg IMG_3613.jpg](https://rangefinderforum.com/data/attachments/94/94744-06d35c8b183d7a55e6804e02be99b7a7.jpg)
So, I finally did it. I had an old shutter from a Konica with the nice 10 blade iris. I took out the shutter leaving the iris. Then, I screwed the front and rear elements of the Konica III lens onto the front and back. Then, I screwed the shutter into a m25 to M42 adapter. Screwed this into an M42 helical 12-17 mm, screwed this onto a 9 mm M42 spacer, then screwed this into a thin M42 to Nikon Z ring. Amazingly, all this works very well, and the lens gives great images.
This particular Konica III had a Seiko shutter with the 5 blade iris. The older Konirapid shutters had the 10 blade iris, which is definitely nicer. You can see this in the out of focus part of a picture below. I'm having a lot of fun with this lens.
At the end of the Konica III series, they made the Konica S and others. The Konica 48 mm f2 was available as a lens on the better models. I've got one of these and it seems to be the same as the Konica III lens. These can be found for less money.
A neat thing is that I can screw out the front and rear elements any time and put them back into the Konica III quickly, and all works like the original.
![IMG_3615.jpg IMG_3615.jpg](https://rangefinderforum.com/data/attachments/94/94742-d7d09fa1cf1b4d696e99e76905a78dd1.jpg)
![IMG_3614.jpg IMG_3614.jpg](https://rangefinderforum.com/data/attachments/94/94743-77080c304ceedf0a824de5cdd775f912.jpg)
![IMG_3613.jpg IMG_3613.jpg](https://rangefinderforum.com/data/attachments/94/94744-06d35c8b183d7a55e6804e02be99b7a7.jpg)
MarkWalberg
Established
Here are some pictures with this set up.
![DSC_2262.JPG DSC_2262.JPG](https://rangefinderforum.com/data/attachments/94/94745-8e7fc4da06582664804259a4e0317015.jpg)
![DSC_2276.JPG DSC_2276.JPG](https://rangefinderforum.com/data/attachments/94/94746-ecd9ff5c99ec401485de4409a9801660.jpg)
These pretty flowers seem to be open only one day.
On this set up, the lens focuses to about one foot, a lot closer than possible on the rangefinder.
Also, the out of focus part of the picture is much nicer with the 10 blade iris compared to the 5 blade iris in the rangefinder body.
I've had a blast using all sorts of lenses on the Z6. It is like a new world has opened !
![DSC_2262.JPG DSC_2262.JPG](https://rangefinderforum.com/data/attachments/94/94745-8e7fc4da06582664804259a4e0317015.jpg)
![DSC_2276.JPG DSC_2276.JPG](https://rangefinderforum.com/data/attachments/94/94746-ecd9ff5c99ec401485de4409a9801660.jpg)
These pretty flowers seem to be open only one day.
On this set up, the lens focuses to about one foot, a lot closer than possible on the rangefinder.
Also, the out of focus part of the picture is much nicer with the 10 blade iris compared to the 5 blade iris in the rangefinder body.
I've had a blast using all sorts of lenses on the Z6. It is like a new world has opened !
das
Well-known
Very cool project. In case you didn't know, you can buy this standalone lens - it's the Konica 50mm f/1.9 in M39. The same lens as on the IIA and the 48mm f/2 on the III.
.
MarkWalberg
Established
Interesting. I found your web page about this lens. I've always like this lens. It can be had for a lot less money with the adapted appproach above compared to the M39 version. How many blades on the iris of the newer leica mount lens?
MarkWalberg
Established
I just bought a Konica S with the 48 mm f2 lens on eBay for $1. I'm sure it is the same lens as on the III. A great lens for almost nothing.
das
Well-known
I believe it also has ten aperture blades.Interesting. I found your web page about this lens. I've always like this lens. It can be had for a lot less money with the adapted appproach above compared to the M39 version. How many blades on the iris of the newer leica mount lens?
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