Schneiderstock heligonon 50/35 frankenlens

jamaeolus · Expire: 2015-08-20

So looking through ebay listings for synchro compur I came across a listing for a shutter with a rodenstock retina heligon 50mm f2 in a camera. I looked for images by this lens and saw an old posting on here of one sans rear element. That got me thinking. I had purchased some retina heligon with various lots in the past. So I dig out the 35mm f4...hmmm ....what element can I use to approximate the rear element. So I dig in my enlarger lens bin and come out with a schneider componon 50 f4. Might work. Takes off the three screws holding the spring mount bayonet on the rodenstock, unscrew the front element of the schneider and the rodenstock has a shoulder that fits nearly perfectly inside the componon. Lucky! Alignment done just like that. Side to side no movement. The front rim mates nice with the ring. So if the lenses can be held together fore and aft it should all stay that way. BLU TAK to the rescue! So after a couple tries with different helicoids I find one that will get infinity. The schneider fits in an m42 to 30mm (IIRC) adapter I already have.

calvin83 · Joined: 12 Apr 2009 Posts: 7572 Location: Hong Kong

That is a match!

jamaeolus · Expire: 2015-08-20

alex ph · Joined: 16 Mar 2013 Posts: 1674

Wonderful result of a courageos experimenting! I especially like the balance between sharp center and gently dissolved borders.

Your new hybrid lens style makes an allusion to old timer photography. I just quickly experimented to test how it could look in BW / seppia, using you two shots which seem to me the most fit for this.

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jamaeolus · Expire: 2015-08-20

Yeah it seems much better at midrange than close, though you do get some ethereal effects up close.

eggplant · Joined: 27 May 2020 Posts: 517

Very interesting.

I was having a sort of related thought about putting the interchangeable-front components of the Kodak Retina leaf shutter camera (native 50mm f/2 Double-Gauss) on other Double-Gauss lenses. I know a handful of SLR ones whose front groups easily come out at once. But I think an SLR flange distance Double-Gauss quite different to a non-SLR one. But from cursory searches, the Retina Xenon 50mm f/2 seemed to be put on a folder and SLR? Or are they different construction?

I don't own any of the components to do this though Very Happy

That being said, I have mixed and matched Double-Gauss SLR lens groups before for interesting results..

jamaeolus · Expire: 2015-08-20

Some cat pics

Missed focus a smidge:

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Kiko appears "displeased"
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Outside the range of good focus for optic "system" I think.

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Another "too close" portrait. Kiko saying "ape, sometimes you puzzle me"

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Just a shot of my side yard fountain with some bonsai in the background.

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Architecture shots in the neighborhood. I found a hood that fits but extends too far giving a lot of vignetting. I notice also that if I have a lightsource behind the scene it loses contrast.
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All in all an interesting and fun experiment.

eggplant · Joined: 27 May 2020 Posts: 517

Nice results. Maybe I should mix and match a bit more. The bokeh up close has a nice vibe to it, I wonder about some more close up shots.

jamaeolus · Expire: 2015-08-20

Yeah it gets really wonky for the close up stuff. Interestingly, I unscrewed the back element from the schneider portion and swapped in the back element from a 75mm schneider componon enlarger lens and it was much better up close but I could not get focus any further away than a few inches.