Adapter to mount Nikkors on screw mount camera?

I see that there is an F mount adapter for the Leica M mount, and there is an

adapter to mount 39mm thread lenses on M cameras. There is also an adapter to

put the Voigtlander 12 and 15mm lenses with the Nikon mount on M mount cameras,

but I believe that is only for those particular lenses. Is there an adapter that

will allow me to mount Nikkor lenses on a 39mm screw mount camera? To be used

with hyperfocal focusing and an external viewfinder, of course. If there isn't,

why is that, technically?

"There is also an adapter to put the Voigtlander 12 and 15mm lenses with the Nikon mount on M mount cameras"

 

Sorry, I meant there is an adapter to mount those lenses on the screw thread cameras.

Novoflex has the adapter you are looking for. The one for the 12 & 15mm lenses can also be used, of course.

 

I'm using many of my (shorter) Nikkor lenses on M39 bodies (mostly Bessa).

Thanks for the answer, Bjorn. Are there any common Nikkors that can't be used on the Leica thread due to any physical limitations? I'm not talking about such optics as the old 21mm.

Bjorn, are you sure that the Leinik maintains infinity focus? Or is there another Novoflex adapter for hanging an F-mount lens in front of an LTM body?

LEINIK?

 

Yes, it does and that is what it was made for. I have one but never found any use for it on LTM or M (plus and adapter) bodies.

 

The screw mount/M lenses perform far better than the Nikkors.

Vivek <BR><BR>The adapter is a "Novoflex LEM/NIK Adapter f &uuml r/for Leica M Kamera on/to Nikon Objekiv; part number 73017."<BR><BR> LEM/NIK is the short catalog name I believe.

Nikkors were made in Leica screw mounts too. Here I have a 13.5cm F3.5; a 10.5cm F2.5; 8.5cm F2 and a 5cm F2 LTM Nikkor. The 10.5cm F2.5 is the same optical design on the Nikon F's 105mm; used from 1959 to 1971; the gauss design; except it has a tripod socket. There are also ultra fast LTM Nikkors like the 50mm F1.1 and 8.5cm F1.5 ; super wide like 25mm F4. Nikon even made the common 13.5cm F3.5 1950's Nikkor in an Exakta slr mount once.

LEM/NIK is to place a Nikon F slr Nikkor on a Leica M body

<BR><BR>LEMNIK is for Nikon F slr to M39; ie Leica screw mount<BR><BR>LEICAN is for canon FD to Leica screw mount m39

<a href="http://www.mainlinephoto.com.au/novoflexprices.pdf"><b>Novaflex adapter PDF; 436k in size. </b></a><BR><BR>I am not associated with this outfit down under.

The problem with mounting Leica lenses on Nikon, or most other SLRs, is the back focus distance. (Back focus is defined as the distance from the rear element of the lens to the focal plane when focussed at infinity.) Unless you have Leica short-mount lenses you will not be able to focus at infinity. (I have used my 200 f/4.5 Telyt on my F4S and stop-down metering.) Conversely, a Nikkor lens needs a few millimeters extension when adapted to a Leica. It will work, even though everything is manual.

Ok major error; :)<BR><BR>LEINIK is the Nikon F to m39 adapter.e

(Quote) "The problem with mounting Leica lenses on Nikon, or most other SLRs, is the back focus distance. (Back focus is defined as the distance from the rear element of the lens to the focal plane when focussed at infinity.)"

 

Actually, I'm talking about using Nikon lenses on a screw mount body :).

It does look like that Novoflex Leinik will work for that purpose.

One can also just kludge a Nikon F to screw mount adapter using junk parts. A nikon F flange from a junker camera; the tail end of a leica screw mount lens; even a russian one.:) if one has a lathe one can make an aluminum tube that holds the flange; and the LTM piece. I once made one out of a scrap end of a jupiter-8; some wood; and a flange of a scrapped out nikkormat that went underwater. What I did was build it a tad short; so infinity was with the F lens focused abit out; ie about 60 feet. Thus with each lens the scale focus required some extra windage; acceptable for a makeshift adapter. With machinist tools one can place the tube spot on.

Here is a goober wide open iso 800 hand held shot with a 16mm F3.5 Fisheye Nikkor for the Nikon F at 0.3 seconds on the Epson RD-1S; with tungsten light corrected alot. Focus is off abit; I used my hand as the *adapter* :)<BR><BR><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y148/ektar/EPSON%20R-D1/_EPS0572NIKKOR16mmcloset.jpg?t=1197148920">

Kelly, the issue isn't attaching a lens in F-mount to an LTM body. It is attaching it and preserving infinity focus so that the lens' focusing scale can be used to focus.

 

I don't have a LEINIK or an LTM body, but I do have a LEIEX and a LEIMIN. Same concept as the LEINIK but for lenses in Exakta and MD mount, respectively. Both are too thin to let a lens in Exakta or MD mount focus to infinity on an LTM body when the lens is set to infinity.

 

Novoflex adapters weren't made to allow people to use LTM lenses on SLRs or SLR lenses on LTM bodies. They were made to let lenses for SLRs attach to Novoflex bellows and Novoflex bellows attach to SLR bodies. Preserving the LTM register wasn't a design goal, and I don't believe that Novoflex female SLR-to-male LTM do it.

 

Vivek, if you think the original 50/3.5 Elmar is better than, say, a modern 50/1.8 Nikkor you're blind or nuts. And I know you're neither.

 

Cheers,

 

Dan

Dan, As you said, I am neither and you may want to check what I posted.

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I still maintain that the screw mount lenses are superior to the Nikkors on LTM or M bodies. I can focus using the RF for starters. What can I do with a Nikkor whatever on a screw mount body? Infinity or bust!

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Why Elmar? Any beat up FSU lens will beat any F mount nikkor in that respect! :)

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Kelly, You are flat wrong.

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Here are couple of pics of the infamous LEINIK.

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<left><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/6719421-lg.jpg"></left>

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Yes, it will let an F mount lens (if it is perfectly collimated and without issues) to focus to infinity <u>perfectly</u>.<div></div>

Here is the scale image.<div></div>

"I can focus using the RF for starters. What can I do with a Nikkor whatever on a screw mount body? Infinity or bust!"

 

I think it's something called zone focusing, which lots of rangefinder shooters do anyway.

Guess, what? I tried that so called zone "focus" with the 28/2.8 (plus adapters) nikkor on my Epson R-D1s yesterday while taking the posted snaps and everything was fuzzy. Nothing was in focus.

 

Compared to that a cheap Soviet Orion-15 28mm f/6 due to the magic of range finder coupling, accurately focuses. Not only that, it is also a tiny and light-weight lens (as most RF lenses are compared to the F-mount nikkors).

Is certainly possible to make an adapter ring to mount a Nikkor lens on the M39 or M42 cameras but work only in the macro range, because lack the infinity focus capability (no scale focusing for the normal photographic purpose). You must search the proper artisan to make your adapter ring.

Ciao.

Vivek Re <i>I still maintain that the screw mount lenses are superior to the Nikkors on LTM or M bodies. </I><BR><BR>Nikkors are available in LTM; they were actively sold new in the USA from the late 1940's thru early 1970's; with new old stock ones in the 1970's. The 5cm F2 one has a special variant that focuses down to 18"; usefull on a copy stand. Millions of LTM Nikkors were made; Sears Robuck sold them; J C Penny sold them. Today many are on Ebay as used items. LTM lenses were made by many lens makers; Acal,Kodak, Canpn, Nikon, Leica, etc. NEW LTM lenses were made in the 1970's and 1980's by Russians. Leica and Pentax made special LTM lenses in the late 1990's; the VC leneses are made today in LTM and Carl Zeiss. <BR><BR>The Nikon F flange to film distance is 46.5mm <BR><BR>The LTM's flange is about 27.8mm from the film plane. The Leica M mount is 28.8mm<BR><BR>Subtracting 46.5 minus 27.8 gives 18.7mm ; there is alot of space to build an adapter so a Nikon F lense focuses correctly on a Leica screw mount camera at infinity. <BR><BR>The first one I saw in the 1960's was a custom one made by a custom fab outfit in Hollywood; that later became Century Precision Optics in the 1972. The one I once used was for filming with 16mm; with my LTM to C mount adapter made by Leitz. Nikon Beaulieu also made a direct Nikon F to C mount adapters; I own a Beaulieu brand one; plus a Century Precison Optics custom ground C mount to D mount adapter. <BR><BR><b>Why is it that folks think that the 18.7mm space between and Nikon F lens's flange and a LTM's flange is not enough space to build an adapter so infinity focus works? </b>Folks made these adapters over 40 years ago. Maybe folks today cannot build a Rolex; or a Nikon F or a Saturn V; but saying its impossible is abit of a falsehood; since they already have been built before. <BR><BR>18.7mm is a HUGE amount of space to work with for an adapter; walk in the park, slam dunk. One could add a swing in sensor lightmeter in that space; or maybe a processor or two. These adapters in the past have been built by folks with a caliper in their hand, an open mind, folks willing to build a precision adapter; folks with an open mind. This same type of "it cannot be done" attiude existed in the 1960's too. ALL of the NYC, Chicago and LA dealers of cameras told me the <i> "but work only in the macro range, because lack the infinity focus capability" </i> when I wanted a C mount lens to D mount body adapter; except Cambridge Camera and Olden; which directed me to the chaps in Hollywood who had 3 in stock. <BR><BR><BR>Its WAY easier and cheaper to build an adapter that doesnt require precision. My Leitz Nikon F to C mount adapter was precison ground and cost 65 bucks in the 1960's; the Spiratone one were about 9 bucks; And often focused "past infinity"; ie too thin. This works ok when you focus thru the lens; but bums up scale fousing without Kentucky windage; ie an offset.<BR><BR>

Vivek; In the spirt of goodwill and understanding; whats the status of your LEINIK adapter? <BR><BR><b>(1)</b> In one post you state <i>Yes, it will let an F mount lens (if it is perfectly collimated and without issues) to focus to infinity perfectly.</i><BR><BR><b>(2)</b> In another later post :<i>Guess, what? I tried that so called zone "focus" with the 28/2.8 (plus adapters) nikkor on my Epson R-D1s yesterday while taking the posted snaps and everything was fuzzy. Nothing was in focus.</i><BR><BR><BR>Are you saying that your LEINIK adapter doesnt really focus an infinity; or that "scale focusing" is abit hokey? Or that the scale on the F nikkor is wonky; but it focuses to infinity? <BR><BR>To all; have a nice day; I had to get up and drive to my plant to reset some servers after alarm went off. <BR><BR><BR>

Kelly, Yes. I was referring to the big and bulky F-Mount nikkors.

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<left><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/5596288-lg.jpg"></left>

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<left><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/5607921-lg.jpg"></left>

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<i> W-Nikkor-C 2.5cm f/4 @ f/5.6 (with an LTM to M adapter)on Epson R-D1s. I doubt any bulky Nikon F mount would sit comforatbly in place of the tiny W-Nikkor</i>

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The tiny 15mm C-V lens is unmatched by any Nikon F mount lens of equivalent focal length in terms of performance, size, weight and costs.

Kelly, The LEINIK focus is perfect when focus is achieved.

 

I don't like to trouble my RF cams with bulky lenses unless they are:

1. a Canon 50/0.95 or 2. a Tegea 9.8mm f/1.8. :)

 

I prefer RF lenses on RF cams- Cheaper, (usually) light weight, less distortion and (normally) tiny.

 

The F-mount Nikkors are better used on a Pen F camera via an adapter.