Finally found the f1.8 35mm Switar for my H8 Bolex!

[ic-racer]

When I got my non-Rex H8 it had a Wollensak and a no-name lens and a 1.9 12.5mm Switar.

So, after years of searching I finally have the ultimate 3 lens "D-mount" combo (all with the matching lens hoods).

The first of the 'good' lenses I found was the 5.5mm 1.8 Switar. This kind of looks like a tiny wide angle Distagon. Its a retrofocus lens with a nearly flat front element surface like a Distagon.

Next I found the very cool f 0.9 13mm Switar. Perhaps one of the fastest mass produced consumer film lenses ever made.

Then I found the f2.8 35mm Yvar long focus lens (its called a 'telephoto' in the literature but I'm not sure if it really is one). This is a nice lens but the 'better' lens in the lineup was the f1.8 Switar 35mm.

So, last week I found a beautiful f1.8 35mm Switar with hood and screw-on rear cap in a box of stuff.

Here is a link to more info on these great little D-mount lenses.
http://www.bolexcollector.com/lenses/50kern.html

 

[Europan]

ic-racer, have you already shot with them? I am curious about the Switar 35-1.8 since I have the Macro-Switars 5.5, 12.5, and 36 on my H 8 Reflex plus 100 and 150 Yvar.

 

[ic-racer]

I have not shot with it yet but will soon. I also have the three RX lenses so I'll see how it compares. Since I have both the Rex and non-rex, I kind of think of the non-rex as my 'low light' camera. It has the slower effective shutter speed, brighter viewfinder and the 0.9 lens.

How do the 100 and 150 work on the RexH8? Do they focus OK at infinity etc? I have considered buying one of those longer lenses but was not sure if it would work.

Another project I am working on is putting a Kenko wide angle converter on the 5.5 Rex lens. I had SK Grimes make a custom step-up adapter to 32mm now I need to find the appropriate Kenko (or other brand) converter lens.

 

[Tjibs]

Congratulations, very nice!
Do you hapen to know what hoods belong to what D-mount lenses? I have a few, and a f1.9 5.5mm Pizar, f2.8 36mm Yvar, and a f1.8 13mm Yvar mounted to my D8L, but no idea what lens hoods go with what lenses. I rarely come across great D-mount lenses here, let alone in 'a box of stuff'.

 

[ic-racer]

I have many Bolex brochures and manuals and I am familiar with most (all?) the good Bolex internet sites, but there is very little info on the lens hoods and filters for the 8mm Bolexes. I have also collected a number of hoods and some Bolex branded filters for the 8mm lenses. I'll try to post a picture of what I have and what fits what.

 

[ic-racer]

First off, from what I understand and have measured, all these Bolex caps and adapters and hoods have a thread pitch that is DIFFERENT from the standard 0.75 pitch filter thread. Though I'm not exactly sure what the pitch is. When I had SK Grimes make an adapter for me I sent them the components and they said it was not the usual standard pitch.

Ok, this is the Yvar 12mm lens. It takes a lens hood/filter adapter that is about 21mm and it takes a Series 4 filter. Here shown with a non-Bolex series 4 ND filter. Also note that there are no threads on the end of the shade, so there are no screw-in lens caps on these.

 

[ic-racer]

Next is the Yvar 35mm which takes the same size adapter/hood (21mm and Series 4).

 

[ic-racer]

The SWITAR 13mm and 35mm lenses have a different arrangement . In these lenses, the series filter is larger and is held right to the lens with the lens shade. There is no 'adapter.'

Here is the Switar 13mm f0.9 showing the screw in cap, screw in shade (28mm) and the larger series 4.5 filter.

 

[ic-racer]

Here is the Switar 35mm (my 'new' lens!) with the 28mm screw in cap, 28mm lens shade and Series 4.5 filter:

 

[ic-racer]

This last lens is a little different. It is the Switar 5.5mm and because of its wide view, it needs an adapter. The adapter shown is one of my rarer pieces. You can see it is much larger than the Yvar adapters and it allows the Switar 5.5mm to take the same Series 4.5 filters as the 13mm and 35mm Switars.
The 'hood' portion of the adapter is shorter and larger in diameter to accommodate the wider angle of view.

 

[ic-racer]

The Series 4.5 ND filter shown in the above pictures is a Harrison filter that I purchased new. Later I found a series 4.5 BOLEX branded Neutral Density filter in a box at Photorama for a buck or so.
I have a bunch of Series 5, 4 and 4.5 'orange' #85 tungsten-daylight conversion filters but I don't shoot color. The ND filters are harder to find (but essential for B&W so you don't get into bad diffraction when outdoors).

 

[ic-racer]

Also note that all the above applies to only the "D" lenses. The "C-mount" lenses on the H8 REX all use a larger screw on hood (33mm I think) with a series 5 filter. There is a thin hood and a thicker hood and they screw together for the 35mm and 12mm lenses. The 5.5 Rex lens only uses the thin piece.

So, to sum it up:

D-Mount (H8):
Yvar = series 4
Switar = Series 4.5

C-Mount (H8-REX):
Switar = Series 5

 

[ic-racer]

Also note that the H8-REX does not have the behind-the-lens gel filter holder of the H16-REX. Therefore all filtering needs to be done with the series filters in front of the lens. So you will want to make sure you have the lens hoods because they hold the filters in place.