Steinheil Culminar VL 135/4.5 -- remove LTM body for bellows

RioRico

I'm not sure if this belongs in REPAIRS or ADAPTERS or here, so here goes:

I recently bought a Steinheil Culminar VL 135/4.5 on a Leica-LTM focusing body. I want to use the lens on bellows. I have another Culminar VL, a 105/4.5, that came on a Bellowscope. But I cannot see how to remove the lens from the LTM body, for which I have no need. Has anyone here successfully pulled a VL lens from its body? Thanks.

luisalegria · Expire: 2018-01-18

I have pulled the lens head from an Exakta version.

The thing just unscrews. Its an M40 thread btw.

RioRico · Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 4:29 am Post subject:

On my copy, the front element (with M40 thread) unscrews easily from the head section. The rest of the head section, with iris and rear elements, does not unscrew when I apply my fairly strong hand pressure.

Just behind the head section's 21mm-wide aperture ring is gnurled ring and section with distance markings (in feet), secured by grub screws. That ring-and-section are about 32mm wide. With the screws removed, that section slides up about 4mm, against the aperture ring.

Sliding that section up does not reveal any useful features of the long body, which bears the aperture DOF markings. What *is* revealed are about half of two 6mm diameter holes on opposite sides of the long body. The holes are filled with black metal, which seems to be the lower extension of the head section. Feeling inside with a finger, that extension stops just below those two holes.

I had thought that VL lenses were meant to be unscrewed form focusing bodies, to allow bellows use. Did Steinheil build their Leica-mount VL's differently?

Possibly my only option is to cut the body off, just below those holes. I really don't want to do that. For one thing, it is physical WORK. Sad

(I am quite lazy.) And it would destroy the body. The lens only cost me US$20, but I would rather sell it than destroy it.

luisalegria · Expire: 2018-01-18

Post pictures, lets have a look.

std · Joined: 09 Feb 2010 Posts: 1826 Location: Bulgaria

I had this lens in exakta mount and i think the front was fully detachable. Actually the lens itself including the aperture assembly is very short and can come off in one piece.

check the pictures here: Click here to see on Ebay

Doed yours looks like this?

calvin83 · Joined: 12 Apr 2009 Posts: 7555 Location: Hong Kong

RioRico · Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 7:29 pm Post subject:

Sorry for the delay. Here are pictures. First, the product shots when I thought I might sell it, then shots of what I could move or remove from the lens.

What I can feel inside the lens, but can't show because I don't have an endoscope, is that a thick inner sleeve (threaded black metal) of the upper lens body (the front section) seems to extend as far back as the holes revealed when the aperture ring is pushed forward. Those holes are visible in the bottom pictures.

In the bottom right picture (next to the 6,5 mark) the black metal does not seem to extend into the hole. In the bottom left picture (next to the 50 mark) the hole is filled with black metal. I suspect that is a screw or plug that extends into the inner sleever, preventing the lens' front section from being removed.

luisalegria · Expire: 2018-01-18

Yours is similar to mine, but not quite the same. Its possible that the lens head on yours is not so easily separable.

The thread for the lens head on yours would seem to be just above the knurling on the focus ring.

Have you tried grabbing the whole head above the focus ring and unscrewing it ? It may be a bit tight.

RioRico · Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2011 4:33 am Post subject: