| One of my hobbies is
photography. I use a Panasonic and Olympus DSLRs. The
Panasonic Lumix and Olympus DSLRs use a standard known as 4/3. I
started looking at photos on sites like Flickr and noticed that many
people were using old Konica AR mount lenses on their Olympus and
Lumix cameras. What I discovered next really appealed to my Cornish
sense of thrift, no costly adapter needed! That's right, only a few
minor modifications to the lens. If you intend to use Konica AR
mount lenses on µ4/3 mount cameras such as the Panasonic Lumix G1,
you will need to use a µ4/3 to 4/3 adapter first.
There are many ways to modify these
lenses, and for just testing or very occasional use most of these
methods are satisfactory. However there are also some complex
conversions out there that would run about $150 per lens if a
machine shop were to undertake the process. I have seen conversions
where people cut down and modify m42 adapters, I have seen
conversions where people manufacture spacers out of brass and then
disassemble the lens and drill and tap very tiny holes, move
springs, and other very precise fiddly work that is beyond the scope
or ambitions of most of us. At the opposite extreme some folks
simply use a bit of epoxy or felt, or even rubber bands and cereal
boxes to take up the slack. I wanted a happy medium; inexpensive yet
secure and of quality that would last.
I priced making the adapters and it
was beyond ridiculous, $3314 for 25 pieces which was the minimum
from a machine shop in the US, this was just for a ring and the
small lock pin hole. Chinese manufacturers could make the part for
much less, but there is a 8000 quantity minimum! The best
alternative I could do would be to have just the rings manufactured
out of a stock thickness material and then offer to punch the hole
or leave it up to the customer. The customer would also have to do
minor filing and fitting for the aperture tab cutout and for the
hole(s) to mount the ring to the camera flange. The hard work
though, making nice brass rings would be taken care of by this
part. These rings are made in the USA from 260 brass, half-hard
annealed for good machining and wear properties.
Ideally we want 1.50mm spacer or
@.059", unfortunately stock material thickness is either
.050" or .064". So I had a dilemma, which to choose. After
a bit of testing I have settled on .064". This means you
may have to file the ring slightly to reduce the thickness by @
.005", although preliminary testing of a sample ring on a Konica
mount lens on my Panasonic Lumix L1 indicates no need to modify the
thickness with some lenses and the need to modify the thickness on
some others.
The spacers may be used with any
number of techniques found on the Internet, but the easiest
technique is to simply take a Dremel tool or a nibbler and files and
reduce one of the bayonet lugs on the Konica flange. If you look at
the flange there is one lug that has a notch in it. By grinding this
down slightly the lens will now enter in a different
position and the aperture scale will be more or less on top,
actually the lens turns a bit more than centered, but if you
position your spacer correctly you can make the lock pin prevent the
lens turning this extra bit and it can be centered. You will also
notice a small tab that rotates around the flange as you rotate the
aperture ring. A notch will need to be filed into the outer diameter
of the brass ring to accommodate this tab, this is not precise work
but you can, by making this notch shorter than the full travel of
the tab prevent the aperture ring locking in to the AE position
which we can't use anyway. If you look on the flange there is a
small step, this can easily be filed down, or alternatively the
inside diameter of the spacer can be filed to a bevel to account for
this, again nothing precise needed. Lastly the ring needs to be
attached to the flange in some manner, you do not want the spacer to
rotate once you have your lock pin hole in the proper position. A
single countersunk self-tapping screw should suffice, just make sure
any mounting screws are slightly below the spacer's surface, or if
you are ambitious you could mark, drill, and countersink the same
mounting holes as the flange, but it will require slightly longer
screws on some lenses.
You may order with or without pin
hole (note due to tolerances this hole may need slight filing to
line up with the lock pin). All prices are in US dollars and do not
include postage and packing. To see the total charge add the item to
your cart (you can cancel or change the order prior to actual check
out) If you are overseas there may be a customs charge, it is your
responsibility to pay this.
In the photo to
the right you can see three screws. The shortest one is what
came from the unmodified Konica lens. When we use a brass
spacer to allow use of Konica AR mount on 4/3 camera we must
use longer screws, at least one per flange.
The middle screw is from my
junk box and is the proper length and thread.
Unless you happen to have a few of these you will need to
source some longer screws.
The black screw is what I can
offer you, these are too long so must be shortened. I use a
cut off wheel in a Dremel. Notice the head size is
smaller. I advise drilling just large enough for the threads
to pass, and then using a 1/8" bit to countersink just
below the flange surface. Sold in pairs.
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