40mm lens on a zeiss ikon

[anerjee]

My 40mm rokkor brings up the 50mm frame lines on my Zeiss Ikon, which I find unsatisfactory. I would prefer the 35mm.

here is what I figured. After mounting the lens, twist it in 99%, just before it snaps in. Then the 35mm frame lines are displayed. Seems a bit scary at first but it seems to hold the lens well due to the bayonet mechanism and friction.

The usual mod is to mod the lens by hacking on one of the mount claws. This is permanent, and seems a bit sacrilegious to me. I'll try this for a few weeks to see if I can be confident to shoot this way. The 40mm Rokkor is a gem of a lens!

 

[lordpain]

Anerjee, I wouldnt recommend doing that. The friction may be sufficient to hold the lens when you are testing in controlled environments (which is what you did) but might not hold up for a normal shooting session; well that depends on how rough you are on your equipment. The lock that holds the lens in place is designed for a reason, so if you do insist on using the lens in such a manner, exercise extreme caution or risk dropping your lens.

 

[jonmanjiro]

Just modify a piece of plastic to fit between the lens mount and frame line preview lever, and hold the frame line preview lever in the 35mm position. I used the base of a black film canister.

The 35mm frame lines work well for a 40mm lens from about 5m to infinity.

 

[newghost]

What you really need is the Zeiss Ikon SW with a 40mm OVF! :bsmilie:

Oh yes, the 40mm has some of the nicest lenses...

 

[anerjee]

This definitely works, but are you sure this wont make the frameline selector lever go loose in some time?

Just modify a piece of plastic to fit between the lens mount and frame line preview lever, and hold the frame line preview lever in the 35mm position. I used the base of a black film canister.

The 35mm frame lines work well for a 40mm lens from about 5m to infinity.

 

[jonmanjiro]

This definitely works, but are you sure this wont make the frameline selector lever go loose in some time?

I don't really see how the lever could become loose. Sticking the plastic piece there just does the same thing as if you constantly held the lever in the 35mm frame line position with your finger. FWIW a friend has been doing it like this for years with no problems at all.

 

[crispy12]

Better to drop th piece of plastic than your lens or camera