How to Mount the Xenon 50mm f2 from Diax IIb to NEX

macman asked how the Xenon 50mm f2 is adapter to the NEX in the last post so I have decided to write a post on how it's done, which is extremely simple.  This approach is applicable to the Retina-Xenon 50mm f2 I wrote about it here, once you have taken it out of the camera.

To use the lens, you will need the following:

• Focus Helicoid, or an extension tube of about 35mm with a 52mm opening.  Since the lens has it's own focusing mechanism, the focus helicoid is useful to make focusing closer than using just the extension tube, but is not necessary.  However, for the Retina-Xenon, you will need the focus helicoid since the focusing mechanism is not there anymore.
• A 52mm filter with the glass removed.  This filter ring will be glued to rear of the lens, which in turn will be screwed onto the focus helicoid or extension tube.
• Epoxy of some kind.  I use J-B Kwik since it's strong enough, but if reversal is needed, I can cut the filter ring and the glue will come off with some force.  J-B Weld is much stronger and harder to remove later.

The 52mm filter ring is just slightly smaller than the rear of the lens.  You will need to sand off about 1/2 a millimeter inside the filter thread, like the picture below:

Sand off the threads inside the filter ring.  Click for larger.

Once the filter fits over the rear of the lens, apply epoxy in the inside of the filter ring, and then fit the filter ring over the rear of the lens.  Be sure the filter ring sits evenly.  Let the epoxy set.  If done correctly, it should look something like the picture below:

Filter ring attached.  Cick for larger.

Once the epoxy is set (I usually leave it over night), you can then mount the lens to either the extension tubes, or the focus helicoid:

Lens on Helicoid.  Click for larger.

The lens is now ready to use.  Mount it on the camera and enjoy!  If you have any questions, ask it in the comments section below.  I will answer as best as I can.

Ready to shoot.  Click for larger.

Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f2 from Diax IIb

Funny how things sometimes come together.  Today I was at the antique market and saw this rangefinder with the mount semi-detached, but on it is the Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f2 lens, just like the one from the Kodak Retina Reflex, except this one can be removed from the camera.  After some price haggling, the deal was done at $30; cheaper than the Kodak Retina.

At first I didn't know the lens was removable but a bit of Googling told me more about the Diax IIb. The camera body was in very bad shape, but thankfully the lens is great condition. After removing the lens from the camera, I mounted the lens the same way I did with the Retina-Xenon; with a 52mm filter ring at the rear, and then attached to the Yeenon 18-33mm focus helicoid.

Diax IIb with lens detached.  Click for larger.

Brothers: Retina-Xenon on the left, Diax IIb Xenon on right - Click for larger.

I briefly tested the Diax IIb Xenon 50mm f2 this afternoon, and I am overjoyed. This version of the lens is even slightly better than the Kodak Retina version.  At f2, the lens is sharp corner to corner, with just a bit of loss of contrast. One stop down, it's excellent.  As expected, there is just a bit of vignetting wide open but not worse than modern lenses. A nice bonus, the lens comes with a 14-blade (could be 13, couldn't count) aperture, whereas the Retina version has only 5 blades.

Like the Retina version, this lens renders bokeh with such silky and exquisite smoothness that I am quite enamored of. This could become one of my favourite lenses.

All pictures below were shot with the Sony A7 and the Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f2 lens from the Diax IIb, at f2.

Wollensak 75mm f4.5 Enlarging Raptar - Sample Pictures

I feel like a little kid in a candy store lately, because I have gotten quite a few lenses from the camera show and the antique market to play with.  Today I went out and shot with the Wollensak 75mm f4.5 Enlarging Raptar lens.  This is a very small lens but like all Wollensak lenses, it's extremely well built. The lens has a 30mm thread size on the rear and I mounted a 30mm to 52mm step up ring, along with about 5 52mm filter rings on the Yeenon 18-33mm focus helicoid, it just attains infinity and yet provides a relatively close focus capability. So, close up is still possible to show off its pretty nice bokeh.  The near circular aperture should provide nice bokeh even when stopped down.

I expected the lens to be sharp, and it is, but the edges do not compare to something like a Schneider-Kreuznach Componen-s 80mm f4, or a Rodenstock equivalent. At about f11, the edges are very good, and wide open the centre and most of the frame is very sharp.  For $5, I think it's an excellent value. I certainly am not complaining :)

Bokeh - Wollensak 75mm f4.5 Enlarging Raptar & Sony A7. Click for larger.

Rope - Wollensak 75mm f4.5 Enlarging Raptar & Sony A7. Click for larger.

More rope - Wollensak 75mm f4.5 Enlarging Raptar & Sony A7. Click for larger.

Rust - Wollensak 75mm f4.5 Enlarging Raptar & Sony A7. Click for larger.

Toronto Downtown - Wollensak 75mm f4.5 Enlarging Raptar & Sony A7. Click for larger.

Schneider-Kreuznach Retina-Xenon C 50mm f2

I have read a lot of good things about the lens used in the Kodak Retina Reflex, and the later Retina models, the Schneider-Kreuznach Retina-Xenon C 50mm f2. I bought a non-functional Retina Reflex from the last camera show and removed the lens to be used on my Sony A7. The whole process was not as hard as I thought and the lens was quite modular and easy to take apart. A 55-52mm step-down ring was nearly a perfect fit to cover the back of the lens, which in turn mounts to my favourite Yeenon 18-33mm focus helicoid.

There is only one problem: the shutter and the aperture are synchronized. I can not keep the shutter open AND change the aperture. I can have the shutter open, but only with the aperture wide open. All the pictures you see below are shot at f2. Eventually, I will open the lens to remove the shutter blades so that I can change the aperture, but for now, I am enjoying it at f2.

The lens is very sharp at f2 and renders pictures with lovely tones. Its bokeh is beautiful. It totally deserves all the praises it has earned. I do wonder though, if the later versions of the Retina cameras, like the IIa, IIc, etc, have the same lens design.

Match made in heaven?

Gardiner Expressway - Sony A7 & Schneider-Kreuznach Retina-Xenon C 50mm f2 @ f2

Dare to be different - Sony A7 & Schneider-Kreuznach Retina-Xenon C 50mm f2 @ f2

Full blossom - Sony A7 & Schneider-Kreuznach Retina-Xenon C 50mm f2 @ f2

Mellow Yellow - Sony A7 & Schneider-Kreuznach Retina-Xenon C 50mm f2 @ f2

Bokeh - Sony A7 & Schneider-Kreuznach Retina-Xenon C 50mm f2 @ f2

Photo Set from the Meyer-Optik Primoplan 58mm f1.9

I have only used the Meyer-Optik Primoplan 58mm f1.9 once on the Sony A7, and very briefly. Took it out again the other day and spent a couple of hours shooting around the neighbourhood. This exercise brought back some pictures that remind me how good some of these East German gems are.
The Primoplan has a very beautiful and interesting bokeh but I don't think it justifies how much people are paying for one on eBay now. It's total insanity. I wouldn't buy one at these ridiculous prices but if you already have one, take it out and take some awesome pictures!  Just remember that this lens has very soft coating; be sure not to rub it too hard.  All the pictures below were shot wide open at f1.9 with the Sony A7.

Black & Yellow - Sony A7 & Meyer-Optik Primoplan 58mm f1.9. Click for larger.

White on Green - Sony A7 & Meyer-Optik Primoplan 58mm f1.9. Click for larger.

Red, White & Green - Sony A7 & Meyer-Optik Primoplan 58mm f1.9. Click for larger.

Punk garden gnome - Sony A7 & Meyer-Optik Primoplan 58mm f1.9. 

The Primoplan. You can see the coating is starting to go in the picture.