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.
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.
MarkWalberg
Established
Here are some pictures with this set up.
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 !
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. 
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.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.