Lens adapter

[Terao]

Am I right in thinking that all a basic lens adapter needs to achieve is to provide the correct mount to film distance? Therefore, in theory any lens that is physically small enough can be made to fit a body as long as the film to mount distance it requires to focus is longer than that of the camera you are trying to adapt it to?

I'm looking for a way to mount some old Agfa rangefinder lenses (from the Ambi Silette) on an M or screw-mount body. The lenses physically fit the diameter of the mount and don't intrude into the body but it looks like they need standing off from the body a fair bit to get even infinity focus (to be expected, the Ambi Silette is very thick)

Is it really as simple as getting a suitable diameter/length tube, cutting an LTM thread on one end and perhaps cannibilising a Silette body for mount to attach to the other end? The Ambi Sillette lenses have an interesting and somewhat complicated bayonet mount.

Be interested to hear your thoughts on this, its probably a hare-brained scheme (the Agfa lenses aren't that good) but I have an interest in and emotional attachment to these lenses...

[ferider]

You are correct as long as you are not worried about RF coupling
and the lenses were used for the same film format.

Best,

Roland.

[Terao]

Well, r/f coupling would be nice but not essential and of course would add complexity. 35mm format lenses so that would be OK.

Anyone here interested in a commission? I have precisely zero metalwork experience The lenses and bodies are plentiful and cheap so raw materials are readily available.

[Terao]

Well, I've slept on this and it looks simple - too simple probably!

Parts needed would be:

Tube of right length with flanges either end to hard-mount the two mounts

A Leica M-mount (screw to M adapter would suffice, or I assume a proper mount is available as a spare part? Or cannibilise from a dead lens)

The lens mount removed from a donor Ambi Silette. This page and this one indicate that its reasonably easy to extract the mount and shutter assembly.

Thoughts?

[Terao]

A bit more work on this, here is the disassembled Ambi Silette mount

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kiloran...7600437114583/

Neat outer bayonet system

[sepiareverb]

This is fun! Great to see the old AS getting put to a good use! This should be perfectly suited to adapting with the thickness of the AS body allowing you plenty of room to work. Please keep us in the know!

[Terao]

The strange thing is that the AS body isn't that thick - pressure plate to outer edge of the mount is about 33mm. It looks much thicker but with the mount off its only slightly deeper than a Bessa T. Going to be quite tricky to adapt the mount...