DKL mount - Kodak Retina and Voigtlander

<p>I just bought a few Schneider-Kreuznach lenses that are stored in their original Kodak storage cases. I don't have the Kodak Retina camera that they were originally used on. But I'd like to try them out on my Fuji X-mount cameras. I see adapters for Voigtlander DKL to Fuji X mount and was wondering if the Voigtlander DKL mount and Kodak DKL mount are physically identical.</p>

<p>Were the lenses for the Voigtlander DKL mount and Kodak DKL mount cameras able to be used on the other makers cameras?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for your advice.</p>

<p>Luke</p>

<p>Kodak and Voigtlander DKL are deliberately not identical. Rick Oleson has a very <a href="http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-150.html">informative page</a> on this.<br /> There is some more information on <a href="/modern-film-cameras-forum/00b8w7">this thread</a> on p.net.<br /> <br />All that said, if you are going to shoot your S-K lenses via adapter on Fuji X-mount the odds are that the adapter will accept both V and K flavor DKL lenses. I have a no-name DKL-to-Nikon F adapter that accepts both flavors. (I combine this with a Nikon-to-Sony E adapter to shoot on NEX bodies, if anyone cares.) Just for the heck of it, here is the essence of banality taken with a DKL-mount Balda-Curtagon (35mm),</p>

<p>The brick wall :) by Schneider-Kreuznach Balda-Curtagon.</p><div></div>

<blockquote>

<p>I have a no-name DKL-to-Nikon F adapter that accepts both flavors.</p>

</blockquote>

<p><br /><br />I'm glad I looked at this thread. I have three Retina Reflex III cameras and a few lenses but didn't know anyone made adaptors for them. I will have to get a Nikon adaptor.<br /><br /><br />Does the adaptor control the aperture? The one I saw on eBay had a little lever on one side.</p>

<p>Thanks for your answer Michael. I don't understand (even after looking at those links) how if the mounts are deliberately not compatible that when mounting them to a modern adapter that they both work. But then I'm not the brightest bulb on the tree.<br>

<br />But if you've used both on yours, I'll assume they all work like that.<br>

<br />btw, your have a lovely brick wall ;)</p>

<p>The adapters ignore the differences between the two different makers lenses. The film cameras have body mounts that prevent using lenses from the competition. Each lens has a notch in a different place on the mount.</p>

<p>As you can see from Rick Oleson's overview, the only difference between Kodak and Voigtlaender mount is the placement of some cams and notches. Some of these cams and notches are NOT necessary for proper operation and were intrroduced just to make both mounts incompatible. It IS possible to make a mount which accepts both lens types. Also, as Rick Oleson points out, there were third-party accessories such as teleconverters with an arrangement of notches that will fit both mounts. </p>

<p>I had my camera repair guy adapt a couple of Kodak lenses, a 28mm Curtagon and the 50mm Xenon to fit my Bessamatic. I think all that he do was to add an extra small notch and they fit and work perfectly. I too was looking to fit these to my Sony NEX but the adapters were (still ?) are very expensive.</p>

<p>To prevent any possible misunderstanding:<br>

- To adapt a Kodak lens to a Bessamatic (or vice-versa) does not involve adding a notch (that would be a rather complex affair), but rather removing an existing one. This is well within the limited abilities of someone with two left hands like myself;<br>

- It would also be possible to work on the cameras, but Rick Oleson rightly warns against the risk of metal shreads in the camera's innards.</p>

 

<p>So it is likely that the adapters contain both notches to accept either lens? Now I think I understand it. Thanks everyone for your responses. This is a most helpful community.</p>

<p>Luke: not exactly. It is so:<br>

- Kodak lenses have a notch, that has no other function than to prevent installing them into a Voigtländer camera.<br>

- Voigtländer lenses have a notch, that has no other function than to prevent installing them into a Kodak camera.<br>

- I haven't seen any of these adapters, but logically they should have neither the "anti-Voigtländer" nor the "anti-Kodak" notch. It's not two notches - it's none.<br>

For further clarification, I would recommend you take a look at Rick Oleson's page.</p>

 

Rick Oleson's page says "lens with notches at both locations fits both cameras", i.e. it has to have two notches.<br>So you have to add a notch, not remove a notch. Adding a notch is not complicated, Bonsignore. Removing one, i.e. adding metal or another material to fill a notch in is.<br><br>So a lens with two notches will fit both.<br>An adapter that either lens will fit must have no tabs or cams (the opposite of a notch).

<p>OF COURSE... silly me. For some funny reason I was thinking of "notches" as protruding elements, rather than as cutouts. Again, silly me. To say it in the correct form:<br>

- Kodak lenses have a protruding element that has no other function than to prevent installing them into Voigtländer cameras;<br>

- The reverse applies to Voigtländer lenses;<br>

- This can be corrected by removing the protruding element, and leaving a notch.<br>

Sorry for the confusion.<br>

-</p>

Well... ;-)<br>It's the camera's mount that has the protruding element, so lenses will have to have a notch in the appropriate place to fit.<br>You could remove the camera's protruding element, but it may be better to add a notch in the lens' bayonet in the right place to fit the camera you want it to fit.

<p>It's not at all hard to remove the lens mount of a Bessamatic if one wanted to modify the camera, rather than the lens. Sidesteps the issue of metal filings getting into the camera. Although I personally would only do that if I had a spare mount, and could return the Bessamatic to original specification.<br>

<br />The Bessamatic is a delightful SLR to use in 2014. It handles well and is so nicely made. You'd be forgiven for thinking it was made decades later as only the lack of an instant return mirror really dates it. You really can't do better than using the lenses on one. But they can require a service and finding someone to do it for you can be problematic which is why I have learnt to repair my own cameras.</p>

<p>The only thing that one needs to be careful about regarding the DKL mount adapter is that, there is a version of the DKL mount used by Voigtlander Vitessa T and Braun Colorette, which is for rangefinder cameras only and is best identified from the lenses -- like usual rangefinder lenses, they have the aperture rings on the lenses rather than on the camera bodies. I see them being sold on eBay as well. They are described as DKL mount adapters, for use with Voigtlander Vitessa T lenses, so it is not difficult to tell them apart from the adapters for Retina and Bessamatic lenses.</p>

<p>I have a page with photos of many DKL mount bodies and lenses, including both versions:</p>

<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/yefeihe/sets/72157624475091295/">Deckel Mount</a></p>

<p>Yefei</p>