Help required concerning Kuribayashi 35mm

[Christoph]

I am now the proud owner of the Kuribayashi 35mm clone. Only at the moment I am faced with a big question mark: Which adapter do I use to get Infinity Focus. I have a M42 to Nikon which basically works. However not infinity. Does it not work at all with this lens?

[lukaszgryglicki]

It will not work, you need to be 1mm closer to the sensor.

There are adapters with glass inside meant to "fix" this, but they will lower image quality, may have an impact on UV transmission, and usually aren't good for all (note that this glass is supposed to work for all M42 lenses).

I've been there and had no luck.

 

[Christoph]

Thanks Lukas... But there must be a way. I could make it work by hand... so it's only about "fixing" the distance with something... but it's good to know that there's no "misunderstanding" the way the lens works or the adapter...

[lukaszgryglicki]

See the flange focus distance of Nikon-F and M42 - and then this is a simple math, from what I remember you just miss 1 mm - this is usually not an issue with longer lenses but can be an issue with wide ones.

 

[photoni]

5 hours ago, Christoph said:

I am now the proud owner of the Kuribayashi 35mm clone. Only at the moment I am faced with a big question mark: Which adapter do I use to get Infinity Focus. I have a M42 to Nikon which basically works. However not infinity. Does it not work at all with this lens?

.

I too had the same problem. I have a "naked" A7 with no protective glass.

With the normal M42 ring or Nikon F > Sony, all lenses do not go to infinity.
I took a Sony > M42 to M42 helical tube (25mm to 55mm adjustable focus helical macro tube adapter)
M42 lenses work well at infinity, and i can do macro

For Nikon I bought a shorter helicoid 17mm to 31mm + M42 ring > Nikon ... now it focuses at infinity.
The only problem is that the helical model I got from [jepc14] is not done right, it "wobbles".
If you take overlapping photos it's not good, for action photos if tilt half a degree to the right or left does not create problems

.

https://www.ultravioletphotography.com/content/index.php?/topic/4557-soligor-35mm-f35-ka/&do=findComment&comment=55933

 

[Christoph]

Thanks photoni! I think I have the 17 to 31 helicoid... but I don't see how to really put everything together. And is your M42 with a lens inbetween or just a ring? It would be great if you could make a photograph of your assembly :-)

[ulf]

1 hour ago, photoni said:

.

I too had the same problem. I have a "naked" A7 with no protective glass.

With the normal M42 ring or Nikon F > Sony, all lenses do not go to infinity.
I took a Sony > M42 to M42 helical tube (25mm to 55mm adjustable focus helical macro tube adapter)
M42 lenses work well at infinity, and i can do macro

For Nikon I bought a shorter helicoid 17mm to 31mm + M42 ring > Nikon ... now it focuses at infinity.
The only problem is that the helical model I got from [jepc14] is not done right, it "wobbles".
If you take overlapping photos it's not good, for action photos if tilt half a degree to the right or left does not create problems

.

https://www.ultravioletphotography.com/content/index.php?/topic/4557-soligor-35mm-f35-ka/&do=findComment&comment=55933

 

That problem was due to a lack of a proper adapter.

To reach infinity the camera lens have the same or a shorter flange to sensor distance than the lens.

Mirrorless cameras have that. The Sony A7 18mm

The M42x1 mount have 45.46mm that is >> 18mm, but if you try to add something thicker than 27.46 like Tony did there will be problems too.

 

The Canon EF 44mm, the Canon FD 42mm are also OK and there are adapters for them.

 

However the Nikon DSLR F-mount have a flange distance of 46.5mm limiting the available range of old lenses that can reach infinity without an adapter with an optical element.

 

Here is a more complete list of back flange distances:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flange_focal_distance

[Akira]

If you are talking about keeping the infinity focus when shooting both in visible and UV lights with Kuribayashi, it may be impossible because of the focus shift in UV range, just like in IR.

[ulf]

8 minutes ago, Akira said:

If you are talking about keeping the infinity focus when shooting both in visible and UV lights with Kuribayashi, it may be impossible because of the focus shift in UV range, just like in IR.

For wide angle lenses the needed shift of 1mm is quite unlikely.

Many old lenses have a setting for adjusting infinity, but that adjustment is quite short for wider lenses, as the lens is extending very little when focusing.

[ulf]

For a Sony camera like Tony's with a NEX mount, there are plenty of different adapters for different lens types available:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=nex+lens+adapter&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_odkw=nex+to+sony+adapter&_osacat=0&LH_PrefLoc=2

 

 

[Christoph]

I've been trying to work it out using a lens ring from an old manual nikkor lens... I mean you could tinker it together somehow and get the right distance... you can still manually adjust the infinity for uv... it's just a lot of work and I ask myself if it's really worth it ... bceause I tested it a bit, and to be honest: I don't really see a difference between the Kuribayashi and my standard nikon 35mm when it comes to shutter speeds and such.... It seems to work well in the 350nm range and I do have a midopt 350nm filter... we'll see...

[dabateman]

What clone did you buy? 

Is it M42 mount or T-mount.  The igoriginal 35mm f3.5 lens I bought was T-mount.  That can be adapted to any camera. 

What camera are you adapting to?

A Nikon F-mount or Somy E-mount.  I see mixed responses here.

 

M42 to Nikon F-mount, will not focus to infinity, without a single corrective element.  Cadmium used cheapest single ones, to still allow UV. 

[Christoph]

Igor sent me an additional mount which is probably t-mount. It's a screw-on element. I do have a M42. So you can screw that on top of the t-mount or remove the t-mount and just use the M42. I need to connect it to Nikons (DSLRs). I hope I got those infos right... (I'm a but confused). But yeah, the problem really is the distance... If you could screw the M42 further down (which for whatever reason won't work) you would get the right distance.

[lukaszgryglicki]

I you have the T-mount version then no problem at all, remove M42 one and use T to Nik-F adapter.

 

[Christoph]

[Christoph]

Any tips for good T mount to Nikon adapters?

[Akira]

If I understand correctly, T-mount is for telescopes and not for the cameras, so the flange back is not specified for the T-mount.  On the other hand, M42 is a camera mount and its flange back is standardized to 45.46mm.

 

So, a T to F mount adapter just converts the mount and not guarantee the infinite focus.  Also the thread pitch is different (T: 0.75mm and M42: 1mm).  A T-mount adapter won't fit the M42 mount.

[nfoto]

If the lens has M42 threads, it's easy to find ultra-thin ('flat') M42-F adapters that might shave 1-several mm off the adapter shown on the photo. The problem then is to ensure the reflex mirror doesn't hit or snag on the protruding rear end of the lens. Perhaps you might need to shoot at infinity with mirror up? otherwise, material needs to be removed from the rear of the lens, or extreme care taken when shooting.

 

The recommended setup is:  lens -> thin helicoid M42 -> ultra-thin M42 to F and you should have a solution. If the helicoid wobbles, which is quite common for cheaper units, you should only use the helicoid as a spacer and not for focusing. Set the lens to infinity and adjust the helicoid to get infinity focus, then lock it (epoxy glue works well) and afterwards, you can use the lens' own focusing.

 

Akira points out an important point, viz. to differentiate T/T2 adapters and M42 adapters. They are not compatible as the thread pitch differs.

 

 

[photoni]

@Christoph I misrepresented your indications, you have a Nikon DSRL, not a mirrorless.
i think if you mill and subtract 1-2mm from the front of the T2 ring it should work
Always if it is possible to screw it further.

[nfoto]

I see that I committed the same error, no mirrorless, but DSLR. Then the register distance is 46.5mm. M42 is 45.46mm. Thus approx. 1mm needs to be removed. Still, the ultra-thin M42-F adapter might do the trick if it allows the lens to "fall" through the inner circle of the adapter and not getting trapped on the flat rear section of the lens casing. Failing that, seek a friend with a lathe!! I did this with some of the earliest Noflexar 35/3.5 lenses I purchased.

[Akira]

Okay, you are talking about mounting the M42 lens onto a DSLR.  Then you definitely need to modify the lens to focus to infinity.  I used to have an M42 to F-mount adapter with its flange of 0.5mm which won't help.

[dabateman]

Wait, hold on.

T-mount is a standard camera mount. The flange back distance is 55mm.

See:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-mount

 

T-mount adapters to any camera mount are cheap.  Just buy one.

Many lenses are T-mount, I have quite a few. 

I bought them as you can adapt them to any mount. Just buy a T-mount to Nikon F-mount adapter,  and your all set. You will have infinity focus. 

My Peleng 8mm fisheye is T-mount,  I have used it on my Nikon Df camera. 

I also bought my igoriginal 35mm f3.5 lens because it was T-mount and could adapt it to any camera. 

 

[nfoto]

So the big question is whether the lens is T/T2 mount or M42 .... the thread pitch offers the answer. T is 0.75mm, M42 is coarser 1mm pitch.

[Christoph]

I bought this one --- Kyoei Acall Kuribayashi (T-Mount) 35mm F3.5 Lens & Filter Set! UV Photography! | eBay

But to be honest - I don't see getting the right distance with an adapter going over the t-mount... It'd need to be very thin, I guess... 

[ulf]

The rearmost part of that lens is interchangeable.

It might have been delivered without any adapter.

Then thread diameter of the outside threads to fit a T-mount adapter will be 42mm, thread pitch is 0.75m.

 

The M42 mount has a 1mm pitch. They can only be screwed together a little bit, with high risk of damaging the threads.

 

Here are some suitable adapters:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=t-mount+to+nikon-f&_sacat=0&rt=nc&LH_PrefLoc=5

 

I assume that you can find similar adapters elsewhere.