I don't know, I think this lens looks more at home on the M2 than the Zeiss 50 f2. I just got this today and it's in superb condition and the glass looks as new. Focus is as well. I wish it had came yesterday as I was just finishing up a roll of Tri-X and developed it just an hour before the DR arrived. that just gives me a reason for shooting another test of side by side of the Zeiss/DR to see which may be best or different. The other one I let slip away in the late 80's was a marvelous lens. Maybe this one will be as well.
Than spurs a hell of GAS to the rest of us. Just when I told myself to go easy on this, I had enough, and a beauty like this pops out of nowhere just to hate myself for not having one yet.
Simply stunning! Will you use it? I tend to store my beauties away and treat them with caution when taking them out to just look at them
Use it? You bet and if fact I had it out doing some street shooting recently and put two rolls through it in about and hour and a half. I don't have any safe queens; they're all user items.
The filter came with the lens and I was surprised about that. It's a UV filter but, I usually keep a B+W yellow filter on lens for B&W shooting.
I've heard that before. I always keep some sort of filter on depending on what I'm shooting, yellow for B&W and a UV/Haze filter for color. I don't like cleaning glass at all. Filters are terrible to clean if yo get a finger print on them. It seems the more you clean the more it smears. I use Kodak Lens Cleaner with their tissues.
I'll second. The front element coating is pretty soft so don't clean and keep a filter or a big hood on at all times. Hood is recommended anyhow. Where are the eyes?
I have a hood ordered and should be here any day. The eyes are in a small velvet bag. I haven't tried them as yet. There's a trick to putting them on and I need to read about that.
Here is how to transfer the cam for close focus and place the eyes:
Move to the closest normal focusing position, and then pull the focusing ring away from the base of the lens, moving it over the notch to the other side to enter close focusing mode. On mine it is a bit tight and I almost have to force it over so a little pressure may be involved. At this point, the lens is locked into this position.
There is a ball bearing on the flat portion where the eyes are attached. The eyes depress the bearing which releases the focus cam so you can focus normally. Slide the eyes on and presto the focus will work in close focus mode.
Many thanks. I was wondering how I was going to get the lens/eyes on the camera and knew there was a trick to it. I had read a few days ago the steps involved but lost the link.
BTW-I found out that lens was made in 1958. I can't believe it still looks that good.
I'll soon know. I ran a roll of FP-4 through the M2 today but want to wait till Monday when(hopefully) that bottle of Rodinal gets here. That's what I use to use back in the day I was shooting a lot of Tri-X and FP-4...great combination. The shots on this roll are nearly all with the DR and some similar with the Zeiss 50 f2 for comparison's sake.
They also need a CLA about every 6 or so years due to fogging. An odd phenomena no one quit understands, something to do with the original grease perhaps. After about 10 years mine was a quite foggy, which was OK since I tended to use it in high contrast situations. Also keep an eye on the blades for grease migration that can occur with newer greases used after a CLA. What the heck one more, from the same roll. I'm a sucker for this stuff.
Also, the VTROO aperture setting ring is an excellent hood. The lens head can be unscrewed and screwed in a special mount for use as an enlarging lens on a focomat. The VTROO slides into the slots on the aperture ring and screws into the filter threads, quite ingenious, so you can easily adjust aperture on the enlarger. Used on the camera it makes a great hood. I find them now and then on ebay for 60 or 70 bucks.