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Rolleiflex SL26 lenses on a Sony NEX camera
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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 1:19 pm
Post subject: Rolleiflex SL26 lenses on a Sony NEX camera
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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 1:19 pm
Post subject: Rolleiflex SL26 lenses on a Sony NEX camera
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I've always been tempted by the 3 lenses of the Rolleiflex SL26 camera.
Why?
Well, first of all becouse they were designed for the 126 format (24x24mm) and therefor they cover well APS-C in the same time being smaller than the FF lenses.
Second, as the Rolleiflex SL26 was the most expensive camera for the 126 format. I expected its lenses to be of a higher quality than others. And they are Zeiss. When they were new, in the late ’60 and early ’70, the camera and the 3 lenses cost was ~ 1400DM(~700$). According to the site dollartimes (http://www.dollartimes.com/calculators/inflation.htm) in today's money this means ~4 800$. A lot of money!
In the end I have won on ebay a broken camera with the 3 lenses and extras and decided to make an adapter to use the lenses on my NEX.

The Lenses

The 3 lenses of the Rolleiflex SL26 system are : 40mm f/2.8 Tessar, 28mm f/3.2 Pro-Tessar and 80mm f/4 Pro-Tessar. The lenses are not complete lenses, they consists of an optical part permanently attached to the camera and a removable part. The attached to the camera part is in fact the rear optical block of the normal 40mm Tessar - therefore their name: Pro-Tessar. But they are not Tessar by design.
The schemes of the 3 lenses are:


The Adapter

I have just finished the adapter for using the 3 lenses on my NEX. I had to remove the shutter and fixed optical part from the camera and make them fit my NEX. It was not a simple task. The 80mm Pro-Tessar could not focus closer than 2m when used on the original SL26 and I wanted to address this shortcoming with my adapter. For this reason the adapter has a built in tube extension for close-up (and portrait with the 80mm lens).
In the end it looks quite nice, I think.

The adapter:


The adapter in normal and extended position:


The 3 lenses are quite well balanced with NEX body and quite comfortable to use.

The 3 lenses and the adapter


Pro-Tessar 28mm f/3.2 on Sony NEX:


Tessar 40mm f/4 on Sony NEX:


Pro-Tessar 80mm f/4 on Sony NEX:


Pro-Tessar 80mm f/4 with the adapter extended:



Today the light was not perfect for testing but I had to make some quick and very basic tests with my new toys, at least with the 80mm Pro-Tessar.

Pro-Tessar 80mm f/4









Some samples with 100% details:










Last edited by dan_ on Sun Aug 10, 2014 8:57 pm; edited 7 times in total


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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 1:57 pm
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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 1:57 pm
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What a fantastic job with the adapter. I'd love to see more samples. That 4/80 thick inner element design is very intriguing.


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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 5:48 pm
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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 5:48 pm
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+1, I didn`t expect such an interesting topic. The adapter look awesome! Very Happy


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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 6:30 pm
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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 6:30 pm
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+2 very cool adapter looks great. Interesting lenses.


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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 7:02 pm
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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 7:02 pm
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god that adapter is really put together well!! did you take any pictures during the construction process?

the images of the blossoms really impress me Smile


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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 7:03 pm
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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 7:03 pm
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Fantastic engineering - look "oldschool" yet is functional. Some more samples please Smile


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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 7:12 pm
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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 7:12 pm
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Super adapter, well done and congrats on your lucky find!


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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 7:54 pm
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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 7:54 pm
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What a g r e a t and impressive Job!
Congrats and thanks for letting us part in Your project!
I love the leatherette look and the near focus option of Your adapter.

Thanks
Thomas


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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 8:18 pm
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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 8:18 pm
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wow! Many thanks to share it!


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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 9:21 pm
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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 9:21 pm
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Really professional looking adapter! I am in awe!


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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 9:36 pm
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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 9:36 pm
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Great job. I've got the longer two of those lenses too, and even deconstructed a broken SL26 to accomplish the same goals as you, but got distracted somewhere on the way Smile I was planning to adopt the camera end of the lens to M42 and use a standard helicoid. It might be easier, I'd think.
I'm still in doubt about the IQ of these 'compromised' lenses; maybe your results will change my mind Question


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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 9:40 pm
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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 9:40 pm
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Great job, and it's true that those lenses looks great on the Nex!


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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 9:41 pm
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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 9:41 pm
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Superb job, and impressive results so far. Cool


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Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2014 6:02 am
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Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2014 6:02 am
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Here a link (only in German) how i adapted contaflex lenses to NEX and mft via VNEX/VmFT

http://www.digicamclub.de/showthread.php?t=18664&page=2&p=203229&viewfull=1#post203229


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Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2014 11:41 am
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Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2014 11:41 am
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Thank you all gentlemen! I very much appreciate your kind words.


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Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2014 12:12 pm
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Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2014 12:12 pm
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Fantastic job ! Rare lenses.. No wonder that Rollei could not survive with such a product strategy.


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Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2014 12:35 am
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Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2014 12:35 am
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Fantastic! I have the Pro-tessar 80 (in virtually mint condition) which I bought for a few dollars and was thinking of doing something like this. What components went into the adapter? The prices for SL 26 are very low as film is seriously problematic. Do you think it would work on EOS for a 60D (also an APS-C sensor)?


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Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2014 11:52 am
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Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2014 11:52 am
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jamaeolus wrote:
Fantastic! Do you think it would work on EOS for a 60D (also an APS-C sensor)?

Thanks jamaeolus and memetph!
The adapter has a thickness of 15mm., the back mask of the adapter's lens assembly is 1-1.5 mm thick (I don't remember exactly) and the NEX flange distance is 18mm. This gives a total distance of 34-34.5 mm between the back of the lens assembly and the sensor.


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Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2014 1:41 am
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Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2014 1:41 am
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dan_ wrote:
jamaeolus wrote:
Fantastic! Do you think it would work on EOS for a 60D (also an APS-C sensor)?

Thanks jamaeolus and memetph!
The adapter has a thickness of 15mm., the back mask of the adapter's lens assembly is 1-1.5 mm thick (I don't remember exactly) and the NEX flange distance is 18mm. This gives a total distance of 34-34.5 mm between the back of the lens assembly and the sensor.


I have managed to find a "parts" sl26. I was high bid (99c plus shipping) and it included the 40mm so as soon as I get an afternoon I am going to try to duplicate your efforts. I have an extra m42 extension tube I can sacrifice for the mount to EOS via a chipped adapter. I would be greatly appreciative of a more detailed explanation. I do not have a lathe or metal mill but I have jewelry metalworking experience and lots of hand tools, files, etc. my general plan is to extract the lens base with aperture from sl 26 and attach that to the m42 extension tube, (glue, rivets, somethin!) How did you build in the extension tube thingy?


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Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 6:46 pm
Post subject: Where could I find the pictures to the first post?
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Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 6:46 pm
Post subject: Where could I find the pictures to the first post?
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I stumbled upon a SL26 including the three lenses. In researching if adapting the lenses would be a worthwhile project, I found this thread - but could not see the pictures in the starting post. Reading the positive comments made me buy the Camera - it is now on its way to me... Smile

So I registered, hoping to see the pictures of Dan_'s Adapter - but they remain lost. Does anyone know where I might find them? Or would it even be possible to re-upload them - if not too inconvenient?

Many thanks in advance - jentzi


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Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 8:02 pm
Post subject: Re: Where could I find the pictures to the first post?
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Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 8:02 pm
Post subject: Re: Where could I find the pictures to the first post?
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Jentzi wrote:
I stumbled upon a SL26 including the three lenses. In researching if adapting the lenses would be a worthwhile project, I found this thread - but could not see the pictures in the starting post. Reading the positive comments made me buy the Camera - it is now on its way to me... Smile

So I registered, hoping to see the pictures of Dan_'s Adapter - but they remain lost. Does anyone know where I might find them? Or would it even be possible to re-upload them - if not too inconvenient?

Many thanks in advance - jentzi


The forum was down recently and some of the uploaded images were lost. Hopefully Dan will see your request and re-upload them. Best of luck welcome to the forum also!


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Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 8:36 pm
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Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 8:36 pm
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Oh, sorry to hear that. Thanks for the welcome an speedy reply.


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Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 8:59 pm
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Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 8:59 pm
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Pictures re-uploaded!


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Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 9:33 pm
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Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 9:33 pm
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And 2 more recent urban landscapes with the 80mm Pro-Tessar, this time with a lot of PP in Photoshop.






And 100% central detail of the above image:



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Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 2:23 pm
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Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 2:23 pm
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Nice job and interesting post! Thanks for sharing it!
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