Disks for Fujinon 180mm Soft Focus lens

mfohl

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Hello Folks, I recently acquired the Fujinon 180mm SF lens, but there were no disks with it. I'm wondering how I can get the disk or disks for it. I can't find any for sale in the forums or on the auction site. Is it possible that I can have them 3D printed? If somebody has the disks, could they scan or copy them, then send me the file? Any other advice/suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

-- Mark
 

xya

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mfohl

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neilt3

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mfohl said:
Thanks, but these are the lenses. I already have the lens, and only need the disks.

-- Mark
Click to expand...

That's because you won't find the discs on their own .
I've been keeping an eye open for one for the 250mm for about ten years . I've got one , but I still need the other .

Your best bet is to buy a complete lens , to obtain the discs , and sell it on .
Or better still , buy the lens , and use the discs to make more discs and start selling them on ebay as replacement discs .
Again , sell the lens on .

And if your doing that , get the 250mm SF lens and start selling both discs for that , and when you do , let me know and I'll buy a pair off you for mine !
You could corner the market , most of these lenses you see for sale are missing one or both of them .
 

BrianShaw

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A long time ago (20 years, probably) Midwest Photo in Columbus OH had a stash of discs for the 250. I think the guy who knew about them was named Jim. Might be worth a call but make sure you ask if they still have a LF specialist. The rest of the folks were very nice but didn’t know LF gear.
 

neilt3

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When I get around to it I shall see if I can make contact with them and see if they still have some and ship to the U.K .
 

neilt3

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BrianShaw said:
Didn’t we have this same conversation in Feb of 2018?

https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/fujinon-soft-focus-disk-question.157751/
Click to expand...

Wouldn't surprise me , I can't remember that far back !
I have had a piece of metal laser cut to the main external and internal diameter and then I drilled out the remainder of the holes .
That was also a while ago .
I still need to chemically blacken the metal , and centre it with an O ring and take a few test shots to see how it works out .
Expect an update sometime next year !
In the meantime I would still prefer an original part .
 

BrianShaw

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Understand the desire for original part. I jumped on it when I found one... twenty years ago. Should have bought two.

if constructing with aluminum there is a gunsmithing product called Aluminum Black. I Successfully used it once in a different application.
 

AgX

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I have not yet held that lens in hand. But I assume a sheet of brass or polystyrene, a divider, a fretsaw, a drillstand and matte black paint would produce something useful.
 
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mfohl

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I will definitely do that. I live in Columbus, and Jim still works there. Although I spoke with Mat, and he wasn't aware of any disks. And there is another used place in Columbus. I'll check there as well.

Thanks!

 

neilt3

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AgX said:
I have not yet held that lens in hand. But I assume a sheet of brass or polystyrene, a divider, a fretsaw, a drillstand and matte black paint would produce something useful.
Click to expand...

I did have a piece of thin steel cut to the right inner and outer diameter , then drilled the smaller holes on a pillar drill .
I've not got around to finishing it yet ( well , you can't rush these things ; it's barely been a couple if years since I started it ! )
One thing I did notice is the thinnest piece of steel I could get is a heck of a lot thicker than the (red) disc I have .
I'm not sure if the extra thickness will matter , after all these are intended to make the image softer , so unlike a Waterhouse stop on a barrel lens where they need to be thin , this shouldn't matter .
Getting some thin brass might be a better idea , bending flaps to grip the back if the front lens group can be done then , whereas with mine I need to fit an O ring on it to keep it centred .
 

AgX

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The disadvantage of a homemade soft-focus diaphragm is that you do not know what actual aperture you achieved, unless you are shure of the effective maximum opening. Then based on that diameter and the sum of your hole diameters you can calculate your homemade aperture.

The benefit is that you deliberately can adjust the ratio of "good" versus "bad" holes, can play with hole shapes etc.
 

neilt3

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Working out the size of the holes wasn't too hard .
There is red disc and a yellow disc .
I do have the red one , so measuring the holes and size is simple .
It's the yellow one I want , so I found a picture of lens with the yellow one in , and took a picture of the lens with the red one in .
With both printed so they are at the same scale I was able to measure the large centre hole on both , and both rings of holes ( two sizes ) .
Measuring off a picture threw the lens element alters the measured size which is why I measured the discs of both so I had a sense of scale and the red disc as a reference .

Drilled out right , you use the aperture scale on the lens , one for the red disc , one for the yellow disc and one for the lens without the discs .
You obviously have to drill the correct amount of holes , and at the right distance from the centre so the dont overlap the edge of the glass element .
Fortunately it worked out that I could buy drill bits that were the right size for the small and medium holes . I just had the main disc cut to size on the inner hole and outer dimension .

The discs and holes are different on the smaller 180mm SF , so wont help the OP .
 

BrianShaw

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Ian provided detailed measurements in the 2018 thread referenced above. He gave all but an engineering drawing.
 

neilt3

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BrianShaw said:
Ian provided detailed measurements in the 2018 thread referenced above. He gave all but an engineering drawing.
Click to expand...

Indeed he did .
I'd already worked out the sizes before that thread , but it was nice to see my workings out matched up with his measurement's taken off an actual discs .
If the OP want's to make his own , he'll probably have to do something similar .

Those measurement's are only suitable for the Fuji 250mm SF though , not the Fuji 180mm SF that the OP is asking about .
The OP in the thread linked too also has the 180mm SF , so it really needs someone with that lens , and preferably both discs to give out the measurements so they can make their own .
The discs proportions are somewhat smaller being a smaller shutter , one being a Copal 1 and the other a Copal 3s .
 

BrianShaw

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I stand corrected... sorry.
 

Alan Gales

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Whenever looking a the Fujinon SF, Rodenstock Imagon, or Mamiya RZ/RB SF lenses you need to make sure the discs are included. They are often lost. Trying to find just the discs is like looking for hen's teeth.
 

BrianShaw

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neilt3 said:
Not anymore .
It's about to set off on a journey to join a red disc in the U.K !

Thanks for the heads up BTW .
Click to expand...
Now don’t lose it! They are as easy to misplace as Graflex viewfinder masks. Just a lot more difficult to replace!
 
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