Leaf Shuttered lenses for small format.

[waynecrider]

My Mamiya 645 SLR has a shutter with leaf lenses available, but I was wondering if there were leaf shuttered lenses ever available in the smaller 35mm format? Any for SLR's?

 

[Dave Parker]

I don't remember seeing any seperate lenses for 35mm bodies, but many of the older rangefinder 35mm cameras are leaf shutter lens cameras such as the Yashica 35 electro and the Minolta Hi-Matic.

Dave

 

[John Koehrer]

If you have a bellows for the 35 you can put just about any lens with a leaf shutter on it. I did that years ago with a Nikon & 135 Tessar & had fun with it. You may have to cobble a mount for the lens but that's part of the challenge.
Vivitar made a T mount bellow many years ago that was really good quality & had the advantage of the mount being somewhat larger to accomodate the T mounts. Made using gaffers tape really easy.

 

[Nick Zentena]

Pentax sells an adaptor to fit MF lens on it's k mount cameras. I don't know if you could fit a 645 leaf shutter lens onto the adapter but it's something to look at.

 

[jmdavis]

Canonette QL17 is a leaf shuttered fixed lens Rangefinder. I'm not sure of any others.

Mike Davis

 

[Dan Fromm]

My Mamiya 645 SLR has a shutter with leaf lenses available, but I was wondering if there were leaf shuttered lenses ever available in the smaller 35mm format? Any for SLR's?

There have been a moderate number of leaf-shutter 35 mm SLRs, e.g., Kowa, Contaflex, Retina Reflex, and more. But all, AFAIK, with convertible lenses (interchangeable front elements) or lens in front of shutter. That is, none with interchangeable lenses in shutter.

Also many, many leaf-shutter 35 mm folders and rigid bodied cameras. So many that I'm surprised you asked.

What do you hope to accomplish?

 

[waynecrider]

There have been a moderate number of leaf-shutter 35 mm SLRs, e.g., Kowa, Contaflex, Retina Reflex, and more. But all, AFAIK, with convertible lenses (interchangeable front elements) or lens in front of shutter. That is, none with interchangeable lenses in shutter.

Also many, many leaf-shutter 35 mm folders and rigid bodied cameras. So many that I'm surprised you asked.

What do you hope to accomplish?

The 35mm models you mention above I did not know of. I was more interested in any lenses w/shutters available for a typical SLR line. It was just a matter of my inquisitiveness as to whether a leaf shuttered lens for a 35mm camera would give less vibration then a body shutter or a body shutter and mirror combo, especially at slow speeds.

 

[Tom Hoskinson]

The 35mm models you mention above I did not know of. I was more interested in any lenses w/shutters available for a typical SLR line. It was just a matter of my inquisitiveness as to whether a leaf shuttered lens for a 35mm camera would give less vibration then a body shutter or a body shutter and mirror combo, especially at slow speeds.

Yes, lenses in shutters (Copals, Compurs, Prontors, Seikos, etc.) can work well on both 35mm SLRs and MF SLRs. In general, you need a bellows or extension tube/focusing helicoid to make them work. As a consequence, you are limited in terms the focal lengths you can use.

For example, I routinely use a bellows mounted 150mm Rodenstock Apo Ronar in Copal 0 shutter on my ARAX CM 6x6 SLR for macro photography (thus slow shutter speeds).

 

[Dan Fromm]

The 35mm models you mention above I did not know of. I was more interested in any lenses w/shutters available for a typical SLR line. It was just a matter of my inquisitiveness as to whether a leaf shuttered lens for a 35mm camera would give less vibration then a body shutter or a body shutter and mirror combo, especially at slow speeds.

Tom Hoskinson suggested one way, but you have to understand that it can be awfully slow working. Open lens shutter. Open diaphragm up to widest. Focus, compose; or compose, focus. Close lens shutter. Stop lens down to shooting aperture. Cock lens shutter. Fire SLR shutter on B or T. Fire lens shutter. Close SLR shutter. lower mirror, advance film. Open lens shutter. And so on.

I think on the whole -- Tom may disagree -- you'd be better off with good support or, where possible, illumination by electronic flash to eliminate the effects of camera and subject movement.

FWIW, I also use process lenses in barrel on my Nikons. With good support and, where possible, shooting mirror up (mirror lock or the self-timer trick) I get good results. My current daydream is to put a male Nikon mount on a plate that will fit a 2x3 Graflok back so I can use my Graphics to get the extension needed and shoot cheap 35 mm film. See my report in the "roll y'r own" forum on my tandem camera.

Sorry, ain't no magic bullets where you're looking,

Dan

 

[waynecrider]

Tom Hoskinson suggested one way, but you have to understand that it can be awfully slow working. Open lens shutter. Open diaphragm up to widest. Focus, compose; or compose, focus. Close lens shutter. Stop lens down to shooting aperture. Cock lens shutter. Fire SLR shutter on B or T. Fire lens shutter. Close SLR shutter. lower mirror, advance film. Open lens shutter. And so on.
Dan

Sounds like LF photography.

Ok, then essentially then there isn't any.

 

[Tom Hoskinson]

Sounds like LF photography.

Ok, then essentially then there isn't any.

Not really. If I'm not doing macro photography, I just trip the lever on the Copal shutter to lock the lens diaphragm open, meter through the lens and bang away with the focal plane shutter in the camera. I do this with both the 35mm and the 6x6.

I also use barrel mount process lenses with the focal plane shutter. If I'm doing macro photography with them, I either use flash or lock up the mirror (my 35mm SLR and my 6x6 both have mirror lock up).