Filter thread size for 90mm Elmar-C: older threads unclear

I've read through the previous threads on this, but I am still confused.<p>

 

My 39mm filter is about 1-2mm too small for the 90mm Elmar-C lens. It really looks like a 40.5mm filter

could fit, but I don't want to buy one of those filters just on that hunch. I've read about the 5.5 series

filters and I see them for sale at B&H, but I cannot tell if this is some sort of system that requires another

piece or if it is simply a threaded filter like all the other ones I have.<p>

 

Please clarify: What is the actual filter size for the 90mm Elmar-C, and what piece(s) exactly do I need to

acquire to get a filter on this lens?<p>

 

Thanks.

The 90mm Elmar-C shipped with a collapsible rubber lens hood. You unscrew that from the lens barrel, and a Series 5.5 filter will nestle between the end of the barrel and the base of the hood. That is, the filter is trapped between hood and barrel; the Series 5.5 filter has no threads.

It is a PITA. Hard to believe that Leitz intentionally didn't make some sort of adapter to allow use of filters that their other Leica owners might have. (Incidentally 40.5mm filters WON'T work.)

I use a 39mm threaded filter on mine. Yes the threads are a little off, but not by much and it

works fine. The rubber hood fits perfectly into the filter.

Has anyone here ever disassembled a 40 Cron or 90 Elmar-C? I have to wonder if the portion of the lens barrel that is threaded for the 5.5 ring is removable and can be replaced with a custom one that is threaded for something normal.

"I have to wonder if the portion of the lens barrel that is threaded for the 5.5 ring is removable and can be replaced with a custom one that is threaded for something normal."

 

Peering at my 90mm Elmar-C suggests that this is a maneuver I wouldn't attempt.

Asher et al,

 

I have made up a proper adapter for the C lens to take a 39mm filter and the correct clip-on lenshood.

 

It is surplus to me since I no longer have an Elmar C. However I cannot offer it up for sale here,as I understand,

 

Jerry Lehrer

I've used E39 filters on both my Summicron and Elmar 'C' lenses for years with no fouled threads. Just don't tighten them; screw in until secure and you won't hurt either the lens bezel or the filter. However, I rarely use filters except a UV for protection and I remove it when confronted by a flare risk. A lot of ado has been made over the bastard thread and there doesn't seem to have been any valid reason for it, but it is no big deal to cope with it. The ROKKOR50's as well as the 90's that Leitz made for the Leitz/Minolta CL's has a 40.5mm thread. If you have this lens you can line the filter recess with a strip of masking tape that will accept E39 filters and hoods.

Thanks to all for the collective advice. I don't have the hood for my lens, and my 39mm filter

is way too small to stay on the lens. I think I will just go filterless for now, like many of the

pros... I'll see how that works out. Thanks again.

When my rubber lens shade dried up and shattered I saved the ring and sanded the remains down to a scant 42mm and use it for a filter retainer. The Leica clip-on hood fits with the clips clamping into the rubber residue. When that gets too hard to hold the clips I will file recesses to accept them. If I use 39mm filters I screw them in a couple of threads and clip the hood to the gap created between the filter and the bezel. <p>

" . . . and my 39mm filter is way too small to stay on the lens. . " <p> I don't understand this. If the filter is too small you must have the 40.5mm bezel furnished with the lenses for the Minolta CL instead of for the Leica CL. They both have the same optical formula except for the bezel size!

Thanks Dan- maybe I will try a 40.5mm filter, and if it doesn't fit, I'll return it. My 39mm

filter is definitely about 2 mm too small to fit. I've tried measuring the distance with a

ruler, but it's not accurate to within half a mm...

Al Kaplan should be credited with the masking tape fix. All you have to do to fit a 39mm filter to a 40.5 bezel is to cut a narrow strip of tape and stick it in the threads of the bezel. Normal tape will usually require two layers but that depends on the thickness of the tape. I used to use the trick of bending the threads out in three places to fit the over sized bezel, but Al's fix has worked better. I have used it a couple of years now and presume it will last several years more before it needs to be replaces. Don't laugh at it -- if done neatly no one will ever know and you will have saved the price of a different set of filters.

Jerry - did you get my email?

Actually 39mm filters will fit. At least the B&W filters I use fit fine. They do not screw in fully but they attach well enough to not come off unintentionally. The rubber hood screws into these filters the same way--they work fine. It's the pitch of the threads that's different from a standard 39mm filter, if I remember correctly. A 40.5mm will certainly be too large.

As a follow-up: the 40.5mm filter fit perfectly on my 90mm Elmar C lens...

Asher - and it's not a Minolta?