Cintagon II 48mm f2 from Argus V-100 Rangefinder

The Argus V-100 I got from the camera show was a nice surprise.  That beautiful 48mm f2 Cintagon II lens caught my eye immediately :)  I was afraid the price would be high, as the seller has some very expensive stuff, but it turned out to be very cheap, because it was in the junk bin.  Fast lenses were expensive and not often seen in the old, old days, so I was super excited.

This V-100 was made in Germany, probably by Iloca.  I read somewhere that Iloca was bought out by Argus.  This may explain why this American company had cameras made in Germany.  Most models of the V-100 came with a 52mm f2.8 Triplet lens, rather than this faster 48mm f2.  If you are looking for a V-100 with a specific lens, be sure to check what lens it has.

Blue Eye looks good, no?

The camera seemed to be working; shutter opened and closed, winder worked too.  The only issue it had, was the missing plastic button that ejects the knob/crank to rewind the film, and also to opens the film chamber as well.  I was hesitant to take it apart, fearing the reprisal from Camera God, but now that it was "broken", I guess it was OK to take the lens out to give it a second life :)

The lens module was easy to take apart, and the lens is more or less self-contained, which was a relief.  I will post some pictures in a later post on how it was taken apart and how I converted it to Sony E-Mount.  One surprise was that this lens shares the exact same helicoid/focus design as the Rodenstock Ysares 50mm f2.8 lens.  There is a certain mystery about who made some of the lenses for Argus.  I know Steinheil and Enna were two of the manufacturers that made lenses for Argus.  It's interesting that the Cintagon 48mm f2 has the same focusing mechanism as a Rodenstock lens.  Could there be some links between the two companies?

Argus Cintagon II 48mm f2 on Sony E-Mount, with Series VI hood

Another nice thing about the lens is that the front group of elements can be unscrewed, exposing the shutter blades.  I used a pair of long nose pliers to remove the blades, so that I don't have to worry about the shutter closing on me.  It also allows me to clean the lens easily.

But wait, there is more!  The lens uses Series VI filters and hoods, which is relatively easy to find, and I have few hoods in this size.  How's that for nice surprises?

My gut feeling was correct.  This is a nice lens. It's relatively sharp at f2, and even the edges are not bad wide open. From f8 on, the edges are reasonably sharp too.  Of course, even a coke bottle can be sharp at f8 at infinity, I am more interested in the rendering characteristics in closer distance. This Cintagon does not disappoint.

Wide open at minimum focus distance, the bokeh is a bit swirly but not distracting, not unlike the Rodenstock Heligon 50mm f2, which I rather like. I won't be surprised if they share similar optical designs.  Sadly, the Lens Collector's Vade Meccum (http://antiquecameras.net/lensvademecum.html) does not have any information on the Cintagon II 48mm f2 lens.  I rather like the rendering characteristic of this lens.  To be sure, it's not a very contrasty lens, but pictures hold a lot of details, and very malleable in post processing from RAW.

I only had one session shooting with this lens.  The rather long minimum focus distance sometimes leaves me wanting, and I may convert it again to be used with a focus helicoid, I found it to be an enjoyable lens to use nevertheless.  Who knew a few dollars could provide so much fun?  New Year Resolution be damned!

All pictures below were taken with Cintagon II 48mm f2 & Sony A7

Mega G.A.S Attack

I went to the camera show today.  In fact, I planned to go this time.  In order to preserve my pseudo New Year Resolution, I sold my Gitzo carbon fiber tripod to fund the purchases.  In a way, it's an exchange and not new purchases.  How's that for an excuse, eh?

Very happy to see my good friend Paul at the show.  It had been a long time.  Also met Professor Bob, and many other familiar faces.

The Camera God must be smiling at me today.  The very item I have been looking for a long time, is the Pentax M42 focus helicoid, and I found it today.  In fact, Bill had two of them.  One still in the original box, like new.  The one I got looks like new in its leather case and is cheaper.  One turn on the focus ring, and the sensation of the silky smooth focusing of Takumar lenses was flooding back.  It's still pretty expensive at $80, but I know it will last my life time.

Pentax Focus Helicoid. 

One item I unexpectedly bought, was a New Canon F1 camera with a 50mm f1.8 lens, also $80.  Not even sure what the going rate is for this camera, but I remember it to be quite expensive.  I had the original F1 but didn't shoot too much with it.  This one has some nice brassing on the top and bottom of the camera and seems to be working.  I might have to shoot a few rolls of film now that I have it.

New Canon F1.

Bought a bunch of rangefinder cameras, mostly dead.  Of interest is the Olympus 35 RD with a 40mm f1.7 lens.  I was really looking for the 35SP with the 42mm f1.7 lens, but there wasn't one, unfortunately.  This one has a jammed aperture, and some dust/fungus inside, but I was willing to risk $10 for it :)  The other interesting one is the Argus V100 with a 48mm f2 Cintagon lens.  I can't wait to try this one out.  Hopefully I will be able to make it with with the aperture and focusing working.  I also had in mind a Yashica Lynx-5000E, but only found the Lynx 5000.  Wonder if the lenses are the same.  Matt thinks highly of the one from the 5000E.

Yashica Lynx-5000, Olympus 35RD, Canonet GIII-QL

Argus V-100 -- Best deal of the day at $5.

Few other misc bits, including the Nikkor-P 7.5cm f2.8 medium format lens for Bronica.  Will be interesting to see how this one renders.  I have a good feeling that it will produce nice pictures.

Nikkor-P 7.5cm f2.8 with Bronica focusing helicoid.

Overall, I think it was a productive day.  Got some stuff I was looking for.  Good exchange of goods for the Gitzo tripod that I hardly used.