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Steinheil's M39 mount lenses
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 7:15 pm    Post subject: Steinheil's M39 mount lenses Reply with quote
Looking at eBay I see quite a few Steinheil lenses for sale with an M39 mount. However, to my knowledge there are at least two (but possibly more) different flange distances with an M39 mount: Leica and Braun Paxette.

Does anyone know whether the Steinheil M39 lenses are Leica or Paxette? Or possibly both which would make things even more complicated.

I can adapter Leica M39, but not the Paxette. At least not easily.

Regards, C.


PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 7:48 pm    Post subject: Re: Steinheil's M39 mount lenses Reply with quote
connloyalist wrote:
Looking at eBay I see quite a few Steinheil lenses for sale with an M39 mount. However, to my knowledge there are at least two (but possibly more) different flange distances with an M39 mount: Leica and Braun Paxette.

Does anyone know whether the Steinheil M39 lenses are Leica or Paxette? Or possibly both which would make things even more complicated.

I can adapter Leica M39, but not the Paxette. At least not easily.

Regards, C.

Quite possibly not either.
I believe there are at least five M39 mounts excluding enlarger lenses (many of which are M39 but have rear focal distance similar to their focal lengths). Zenit M39 is probably considerably more common than Paxette (though unlikely to be made by Steinheil) , the Leitz Visoflex I & Russian Chaika are rarer...
IIRC my Steinheil lenses are non standard registrations and seem to have come from medium format cameras in Copal #1 shutters (m39x0.75 rather than m39 26tpi).
However adapting any of the the 26tpi versions via a M42 helicoid or two & a m42-m39 stepping ring is very easy & Copal #1 lenses can often be mounted into a M42 body cap & adapted via a helicoid...

FWIW current e-bay listings include Steinheil M39 lenses listed in both LTM & Paxette as well as at least one that's neither.

Last edited by DConvert on Fri May 07, 2021 8:06 pm; edited 3 times in total


PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 7:56 pm    Post subject: Re: Steinheil's M39 mount lenses Reply with quote
connloyalist wrote:

Does anyone know whether the Steinheil M39 lenses are Leica or Paxette? Or possibly both which would make things even more complicated.

Could be both. Or maybe even none.
Paxette lenses are almost allways visually recognizable though - look at that focus ring (middle one) with interrupted serrations.



PostPosted: Sat May 08, 2021 6:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
My 135mm Steinheil Culminar (the one in my profile pic) is Leica 39mm, or at least it fits my L39 adapter perfectly. The lens has a Tower logo on the barrel and the little rangefinder coupling tang inside the mount.


PostPosted: Sat May 08, 2021 7:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
KEO wrote:
My 135mm Steinheil Culminar (the one in my profile pic) is Leica 39mm, or at least it fits my L39 adapter perfectly. The lens has a Tower logo on the barrel and the little rangefinder coupling tang inside the mount.


Do the Leica M39 lenses always have the "coupling tang"? Or is that only certain focal lengths?

Regards, Christine


PostPosted: Sun May 09, 2021 9:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
According to the Lens Vademecum these lenses were available in leica mount made for the ill fated Casca II camera

Culminar 35mm f2,8
Quinon 50mm f2
Culminar 85mm f2,8
Culminar 135mm f4,5


and 'Tower' versions of:
Cassar 100mm f2,8
Triptar 135mm f4,5
Culminar 135mm f4,5
Tele-Quinar 200mm f4,5
Sold in the US only

Regards rangefinder coupling. Both Leica and Paxette have a similar looking arrangement at the rear end. The paxette versions will have shorter barrels too. I would go by rule of thumb if its not on the above list it wont be LTM.

hope this helps


PostPosted: Sun May 09, 2021 10:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Some Steinheil M39 lenses are for half-frame cameras, although they may actually cover APS-C (can be adapted to mirrorless by adding some M39 extension tubes on top of a Leica M39 adapter).


PostPosted: Mon May 10, 2021 1:47 pm    Post subject: Re: Steinheil's M39 mount lenses Reply with quote
connloyalist wrote:
Looking at eBay I see quite a few Steinheil lenses for sale with an M39 mount. However, to my knowledge there are at least two (but possibly more) different flange distances with an M39 mount: Leica and Braun Paxette.

Does anyone know whether the Steinheil M39 lenses are Leica or Paxette? Or possibly both which would make things even more complicated.

I can adapter Leica M39, but not the Paxette. At least not easily.

Regards, C.


I have a Schneider lens with M39 mount which it turns out seems to have been designed for something like a Paxette which I believe has a flange distance of 45.7mm compared with 28.8 for Leica mount. 45.7mm is sufficiently close to M42 flange distance (45.46mm) that all I needed to use this lens on a mirrorless camera was to buy an M39 to M42 adapter ring (which merely makes the 39mm ring fatter) and then mount it on an M42 to Sony adapter (to use, of course, on a Sony camera). The small discrepancy between 45.7mm and 45.46mm turns out not to have much effect (so long as I stop down when focusing at infinity to make up the distance through the extra DOF stopping down gives.) Long story short I would not be surprised to find at least some Steinheil lenses designed for Paxette.


PostPosted: Mon May 10, 2021 8:36 pm    Post subject: Re: Steinheil's M39 mount lenses Reply with quote
yoyomaoz wrote:


I have a Schneider lens with M39 mount which it turns out seems to have been designed for something like a Paxette which I believe has a flange distance of 45.7mm compared with 28.8 for Leica mount. 45.7mm is sufficiently close to M42 flange distance (45.46mm) that all I needed to use this lens on a mirrorless camera was to buy an M39 to M42 adapter ring (which merely makes the 39mm ring fatter) and then mount it on an M42 to Sony adapter (to use, of course, on a Sony camera). The small discrepancy between 45.7mm and 45.46mm turns out not to have much effect (so long as I stop down when focusing at infinity to make up the distance through the extra DOF stopping down gives.) Long story short I would not be surprised to find at least some Steinheil lenses designed for Paxette.


I think your Schneider lens must have at least a moderate focal length. an adapter that was short by 0.5mm was enough that one of my lenses had to be taken nearly all the way to the minimum focus stop to get infinity focus. Even after I shimmed the adapter so it was only 0.05mm out the infinity focus is significantly off the infinity mark.

With screw mount lenses it is at least quite easy to compensate for an adapter being slightly short - with a suitable washer the lens wont screw so far onto the adapter, I've had to do this quite often with c-mount lenses. Smile


PostPosted: Tue May 11, 2021 12:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I had some ltm lenses, and I have Steinheil quto quinar 135/3,5 in silver finish it has L39 mount. I believe it's paxete one. The flange register is longer than LTM one. I have to add thinnest extension tube with LTM adapter
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