Vintage lens
Aug 8, 2018 21:20:41 #
I have a Schneider Xenar, 210mm f4.5 barrel lens I want to use on a Speed Graphic (for the focal plane shutter). The lens was made in 1936, but is in its leather case, with original leather cap and plastic rear cap--the lens looks nearly like new, and I am partial to Xenars.
The Schneider site says it takes a 58mm filter, but it doesn't--it is approximately 55mm, but a 55 does not fit either--maybe the threads are different. I just want something in the way of a hood for it--it is uncoated of course, though the Xenar has only 4 elements (two of them cemented), so it was designed not to need coating.
Is there anything in the way of a slip-on hood or adapter for this? The old Kodak Series filters/adapters are not quite right, and the slip-ons like Cokin or Century are much too big for this lens.
I even have a set of step up and step down rings, and none of them screw in--one approximates slipping on the outside of the lens, but there is no way to fasten it.
No, wait---I got it. I took the metal ring out of a hood (58mm) and the rubber fits the barrel snugly!
The Schneider site says it takes a 58mm filter, but it doesn't--it is approximately 55mm, but a 55 does not fit either--maybe the threads are different. I just want something in the way of a hood for it--it is uncoated of course, though the Xenar has only 4 elements (two of them cemented), so it was designed not to need coating.
Is there anything in the way of a slip-on hood or adapter for this? The old Kodak Series filters/adapters are not quite right, and the slip-ons like Cokin or Century are much too big for this lens.
I even have a set of step up and step down rings, and none of them screw in--one approximates slipping on the outside of the lens, but there is no way to fasten it.
No, wait---I got it. I took the metal ring out of a hood (58mm) and the rubber fits the barrel snugly!
Aug 9, 2018 06:12:22 #
Very clever solution. Like you, I wonder if the threads are different or if they might have been damaged somewhere along the line since 1936. In any case, nice thinking.
Aug 9, 2018 06:36:11 #
Could the thread size be for Series VII filters?. Series VII filters if I remember correctly are 54mm diameter. Just a thought.
Aug 9, 2018 06:58:53 #
That could indeed be it (it seems a tiny bit smaller than 55mm), though I did not know German lenses ever used the American series VII. And were the Series lenses threaded--or just slide-on?
richardsaccount wrote:
Could the thread size be for Series VII filters?. Series VII filters if I remember correctly are 54mm diameter. Just a thought.
Aug 9, 2018 08:16:11 #
I have a couple of older Leica R lenses that use series filters. Series filters are not threaded. A series retaining ring is used to hold the filter.
Aug 9, 2018 09:20:55 #
RWR
Loc: La Mesa, CA
My 28 f/2.8 Elmarit-R has a 48mm thread for Leica Series VII screw-in filters (the 12509 bayonet hood has a wheel for adjusting the Leica Series VII screw-in polarizer.) My 90 f/2.0 Summicron-R, 90 f/2.8 Elmarit-R, 100 f/4.0 Macro-Elmar-R and 135 f/2.8 Elmarit-R lenses have a 54mm thread for the 14161 screw-in retaining ring for Series VII drop-in filters. Remove the ring and it accepts Series VIIa & VIIb Leica Elpro screw-in close-up lenses.
As for coating, it would be rare to find any coated non-military lens made before the end of World War II.
As for coating, it would be rare to find any coated non-military lens made before the end of World War II.
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