Heritage Cameras

You can buy generic BLM-1 battery chargers on eBay and Amazon for under £/$/€ 10...

Actually meter coupling was available with the Adapt-A-Matic system, using external metal rings clamped onto the rear of the lenses. Several of the popular systems of the day were supported such as Canon FTb (not FD), Minolta MC, Miranda Sensorex, Nikon pre-AI, Topcon RE etc.

"...and 0.25m (11 inches)..." should have been "...and 0.25m (11 inches) with a 50mm...", sorry.

You're welcome. I've had a look back through our records, and an adapter with no glass and a diaphragm control like the SRB one should allow focusing up to around 1.5m (5 feet) with a 135mm telephoto lens, and 0.25m (11 inches), measured from the film/sensor. Hope this helps.

That depends on two factors: the thickness of the adapter and the focal length of the lens. Thicker adapters reduce the maximum focus distance more than thinner ones. Longer lenses will focus at greater distances than shorter ones. You can get an estimate of the focusing range available by searching online for an extension tube calculator.

You can download a copy of the instruction manual for the Olympus EM here: Olympus Pen EM instruction manual, user manual, PDF manual This shows the inside of the battery compartment door on page 8. It looks to me as if you need to make an electrical connection between the + terminal on top of each battery to the adjacent contact, and of course fashion some sort of locking mechanism. Good luck!

No, it costs €2,900: PIXII SAS

A new Pen model has been announced recently, but apparently not (at least initially) for the US market: Here's the Olympus PEN E-P7 and here's what it means... OLYMPUS PEN E-P7 | PEN | Olympus: cameras, audio and binoculars

There's also the Pixii, a french APS-C camera with M-mount, optical rangefinder and no LCD: Pixii's 12MP display-less M-mount rangefinder is now available to order https://www.35mmc.com/08/06/2020/pixii-model-a1112-a-primer/

Focal reducers are physically shorter than the equivalent non-optical adapters, so just inserting the elements probably won't allow focusing to infinity...

That's true, and converting a breech lock lens to the "New FD" type would be an engineering nightmare, if possible at all. However... Sigma did make a sort of "hybrid" FD mount for some of its later Canon-fit lenses. These had a static lens body with rotating locking ring (like Canon breech lock) plus a locking catch with release button (like Canon FDn). Here's an example: The Sigma MF 28-85 mm f/ 3.5-4.5 MC Zoom Theta II Lens. Specs. MTF Charts. User Reviews. It might just be possible to add this feature to a breech lock lens, which would prevent the over-tightening problem the OP has. However it's very unlikely to be any easier or cheaper than replacing a single breech lock lens... ;-)

As I understand it that model is for a 50mm standard lens on 35mm film (versions were also available for medium format cameras). There was a model made for 35mm wide angle on 35mm film (marked "f=35mm") but this is now rare and collectable: Voigtlander Kontur 35mm

If they are indeed Magicubes, then no battery is required. While the original type were fired electrically, these later ones were set off mechanically. If they have any electrical contacts on the base they're flash cubes (which do need a working battery).

Be careful with these older cameras – many of them will only print dates in the past. The Minolta only allowed you to set dates (mechanically) up to 1992, and most models with an LCD and electronic settings only work up to 2019. It seems the Canon works up to 2029, though: SURE SHOT 76 ZOOM/Date - Canon Camera Museum

A few Canon EOS cameras (including the 600-series film models) have a small switch at around the 10 o'clock position inside the mount which tells the body whether an AF lens is fitted. Manual lenses and adapters usually have a slightly different bayonet mount (one of the tabs is shorter) which doesn't trigger the switch, so the camera works manually. Unfortunately, as you've discovered, some manual adapters don't have the shortened tab, and the camera then complains that it can't communicate with the lens in the manner you describe. On most EOS cameras this doesn't happen as they don't have the switch, but for those that do there are three possible solutions: Use a different adapter that doesn't trip the switch File the mount on the adapter so it doesn't trip the switch Adding an AF confirm chip to the adapter may also work Hope this helps.