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Cyclop - The One-Eyed Monster
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 10:12 pm    Post subject: Cyclop - The One-Eyed Monster Reply with quote
It's called a Cyclop and is - I believe - based on the Helios-40 range. It's an f/1.5 85mm unit, modified for use by the Russian military as a night-vision device, and renamed the Cyclop H3T-1.

It weighs a ton, is carved out of a former Soviet tank, has no diaphragm, and produces absolutely insane results.

The good news is that it's a native M42 mount lens, practically indestructible, and will no doubt raise a few eyebrows when I take it to the Botanic Gardens on Sunday and mount it on a bellows!!!

It also helps that it was one of the cheapest lenses I've bought - a very, very small fraction of what the Helios fetches. Okay, it's not the prettiest thing in the world, may not be the sharpest, and the focusing ring is best described as being agricultural, but it's a heck of a lot of really cheap fun...

Last edited by Mal1905 on Tue Mar 06, 2012 4:10 pm; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 10:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Well I hace a russian night vision system (battery operated) using that lens and it looks far from being a "monster". Quite compact actually and a f1.5 85mm lens...

Nice shots!


PostPosted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 1:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Try making some Waterford stops for the front.
Thank your lucky stars you didn't go for the 1.2 with that dammed protruding end piece.


PostPosted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 4:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
You should have some fun with that lens. Shocked


PostPosted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 11:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Do you have a photo of what the lens looks like??


PostPosted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 12:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I guess it's something like this:


From: http://www.kievusa.com/nightvision.html

What a monster Smile


PostPosted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 2:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
That's the one I have. I love it


PostPosted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 6:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
dnas wrote:
Do you have a photo of what the lens looks like??


Here are a couple of images - the first shows the stylised onion-dome logo which signifies that the lens comes from the Ros­tov Op­ti­cal and Me­chan­i­cal Fac­to­ry (ROMZ) - a military production facility.

The second shot of the rear-end shows the M42-EOS adapter in place.

Last edited by Mal1905 on Tue Mar 06, 2012 4:10 pm; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 6:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
The front ring really looks like the Helios-40-2


PostPosted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 6:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Farside wrote:
Try making some Waterford stops for the front.
Thank your lucky stars you didn't go for the 1.2 with that dammed protruding end piece.


I was looking at the night-scope with the 1.2 attached and it's thanks to you I didn't go for it Wink

I'm going to have a crack at making a set of stops - if I can find the right lens-caps, I'll experiment with those.

Bob wrote:
You should have some fun with that lens.


Took it out today as the sun was shining and we had blue-skies...it's fun alright, but keeping it on a leash is sometimes a bit trying Laughing

Last edited by Mal1905 on Tue Mar 06, 2012 4:11 pm; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 6:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
You can make your own aperture diaphragm, just put a disc with a whole in front of the lens.


PostPosted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 11:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Mal1905 wrote:
Farside wrote:
Try making some Waterford stops for the front.
Thank your lucky stars you didn't go for the 1.2 with that dammed protruding end piece.


I was looking at the night-scope with the 1.2 attached and it's thanks to you I didn't go for it Wink

Glad to have helped you avoid a waste of money. Smile Having said that, I'm fairly sure I can dismantle mine enough to get the endpiece out, but a tiny drill bit is needed. Russian cheesemetal screws don't help in the dismantling process.

Quote:

I'm going to have a crack at making a set of stops - if I can find the right lens-caps, I'll experiment with those.

It'll be interesting to see what works. I've a feeling it might turn out ok.

Quote:




The bokeh is very Helios 40-2-ish, isn't it? As I said, I suspect it's either reject or finished to a lower standard H40 optics. For nightvision use I wouldn't think border guards would need high quality glass.


PostPosted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 1:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Very interesting. Where can I get one? Very Happy


PostPosted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 12:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
rawhead wrote:
Very interesting. Where can I get one? Very Happy

ebay.de look for nachtsichtgerät /cyklop /H3T-1 and avoid the 85/1.2, get the 1.5.
Thirty-ish Euros if you're lucky, but sometimes twice that.


PostPosted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 8:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
rawhead wrote:
Very interesting. Where can I get one? Very Happy


Sorry, just seeing this now - I'd already responded to your query over at Flickr, but Dave has pretty much nailed it on the head Wink

I was looking for a couple of weeks until one came up in Italy - but it's well worth the wait, especially for the little money you'll spend. Just don't expect anything fancy - like I said in my first post above, it's agricultural at best, but beneath that lies something pretty special...


PostPosted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 11:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks for the tip! I've already found one (I think). Very Happy


PostPosted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 12:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Nice looking images. I'll look for one later otherwise I'll end up in a bidding war with the rest of the crew on this thread.
Laughing Laughing Laughing


PostPosted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 12:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Spotmatic wrote:
Thanks for the tip! I've already found one (I think). Very Happy


Well done you - best of luck with it, but just make sure it's the 'right' version which won't require major rear-end surgery!!! Ask the seller to get a shot of the lens removed from the device - that should alleviate / confirm any doubts.

martinsmith99 wrote:
Nice looking images. I'll look for one later otherwise I'll end up in a bidding war with the rest of the crew on this thread.


Thanks Martin - they come up fairly frequently, but if I spot one on my virtual travels, I'll PM you Wink


PostPosted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 3:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I guess I'll try to time my bidding as well. Besides, I'm currently going through the process of selling stuff for my 5D fund, I shouldn't be buying anything anyway!

So to speak Very Happy


PostPosted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 5:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
This one offers the same thing:
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250394197657&indexURL=3


PostPosted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 6:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks Mal

Aoleg> That looks like the 1.2/85 that the others have said to avoid. I'm not sure why. Maybe the weight is the issue? 1.2/85 does sound very nice.


PostPosted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 12:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
martinsmith99 wrote:
Thanks Mal

Aoleg> That looks like the 1.2/85 that the others have said to avoid. I'm not sure why. Maybe the weight is the issue? 1.2/85 does sound very nice.

Hah! That's exactly what I thought, but the 1.2 has a ^*^(^&*$! pokey-outy collimating element at the rear which uttterly eliminates mounting it on a normal M42 mount. The rear element can be removed, but its housing remains in place, such that the lens has to be stripped to remove it.






I've tried to dismantle mine, but have been stymied by rubbish steel used in the screws, as it seems to be made of donkey dung.
The good news, is that by holding the lens without the collimator in front of a cam, I can see it will focus ok and likely achieve infinity, so the idea is a go-er.


PostPosted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 6:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
martinsmith99 wrote:
Thanks Mal

Aoleg> That looks like the 1.2/85 that the others have said to avoid. I'm not sure why. Maybe the weight is the issue? 1.2/85 does sound very nice.


Nope, this was the 85/1.5 lens, despite of what the description says! I asked the seller for an extra picture, and here it is:



PostPosted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 7:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
aoleg wrote:
Nope, this was the 85/1.5 lens, despite of what the description says! I asked the seller for an extra picture, and here it is


Looks like the correct version alright - but that one seems to be the deluxe model, there's a rubber covered focusing ring. My 3rd class version has cold, bare metal - just the thing for taking the skin off your hand when doing some covert surveillance in -40 degrees!!!


PostPosted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 7:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
aoleg wrote:
martinsmith99 wrote:
Thanks Mal

Aoleg> That looks like the 1.2/85 that the others have said to avoid. I'm not sure why. Maybe the weight is the issue? 1.2/85 does sound very nice.


Nope, this was the 85/1.5 lens, despite of what the description says! I asked the seller for an extra picture, and here it is:


It look like the right one. The description said "Objektiv 1,2/85 - s. gut Zustand" which led me to believe it was the 1.2/85.
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