# Voigtlander to Nikon Lens Adaptor



## dinodan

I have several Nikons and a Voigtlander Bessamatic that my dad bought new in 1962. I saw this item on Ebay and could not resist ordering.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180169945456&_trksid=p3907.m32&_trkparms=tab%3DWatching#ebayphotohosting

It's an adaptor that will (allegedly) allow me to use the vintage Voigtlander glass (and my converted Retina lenses) on the Nikon bodies.

I haven't received it yet, but am wondering if anyone else here has used something similar. Supposedly, the aperture setting is fully converted so that it can be read by the Nikon body, hence all AI metering functions are maintained. It seems to me that there would have to be some increase in focal length, but I don't know for sure, or what that factor might be.

I'll be sure to post full details and sample photos once I receive it!


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## Mitica100

> I'll be sure to post full details and sample photos once I receive it!


 
That'd be great!


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## Don Simon

:O Sweet... I'd love to see what a classic Color Skopar lens can do on a digital body.


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## dinodan

ZaphodB said:


> :O Sweet... I'd love to see what a classic Color Skopar lens can do on a digital body.


 
Stay tuned. Hopefully, it'll arrive this week...

Of course, the old glass won't meter with the D80, but that's not a big deal.


Here is a list of my vintage lenses:

Voigtlander Color Skopar 50 f/2.8
" " Skoparex 35 f/3.4
" " Super-Dynarex 135 f/4
Retina Schneider-Kreuznach Tele-Arton 85 f/4
" " " " " Tele-Xenar 200 f/4.8
Plus a variety of close-up attachment lenses.

This should be interesting!


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## dinodan

I was out of town for a few days, so I had to go to the P.O. to pick it up. They sent the wrong one! It's a Voigtlander lens adaptor all right, but it's for a screw-mount camera, probably a Pentax. I sent the guy an email, but of course it's the middle of the night there, and the weekend. What a pain!


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## Mitica100

dinodan said:


> They sent the wrong one!


 
That sux!!!


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## dinodan

After sending the wrong one back, I finally got the right adaptor today.

First shot shows my Super-Dynarex 1:4 135mm mounted on the FE2. Bottom one is a quick backyard shot with the D80 and Skoparex 1:3.4 35mm. This should be interesting...


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## dinodan

D80 w/ the superb Schneider-Kreuznach Retina Tele-Arton 1:4 85mm. Interesting that even though the meter doesn't work with these lenses on the D80, it's really not a big problem as one can see the result right away and adjust exposure on the fly. (Stop-down metering on the film bodies.)


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## dinodan

D80 w/ 35mm Skoparex


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## nealjpage

That's pretty sweet, Dan.  It's always nice to see good vintage glass get adapted to todays modern bodies!


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## dinodan

The Tele-Arton on my F100.  I went out yesterday and shot some Kodachrome with the vintage lenses on this camera.  I love the way the modern electronic rangefinder works with the 40+ year-old glass!


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## dinodan

I found out today that my old-style 52mm Nikon caps fit the Voigtlander lens shade perfectly. Talk about system integration. By the way, that's a vintage Zeiss Ikon 40.5 mm orange filter.  The FE2 prism picks up the aperture readings off the adaptor quite well.


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## Milanos

Hi Dinodan,

I´m new user member of this forum and I have few questions regarding the Voigtlander lenses. The super-dynarex is rangefinder lens? I´m asking because I have a Nikon D60 and get very cheap the Super-dynarex 135 f4 and would like to put together. Would it be fully functionable with any kind of adapter?

Many thanks

Milan


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## dinodan

Milan:

The Super-Dynarex was designed for the Bessamatic SLR, and it's a very good lens.  Using an adaptor like mine, it will work on your D60 with one caveat: the light meter is not functional as there's no stop-down metering on the D60 (I'm assuming this as it's the case with my D80) and of course no electronic indexing.  You have two options, exposure by trial and error to find the correct exposure settings (not so difficult with a DSLR), or to use an external light meter.  Although I use the adaptor mainly with my film bodies (which have stop-down metering), it is fun to shoot digital with the vintage glass.

Dan


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## Milanos

Hi Dinodan:
many thanks for reply. I have heard that the rangefinder lens will work on Nikon DSLR just like a macro lens. True or false? I´m not so much clever about rangefinders but I hope it will be fully functionable on my D60. The light meter is not a problem, I love experiments. I have found one adapter for sale, could You tell me please the brand name of adapter You are using?

Thanks


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## dinodan

Milan:

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "rangefinder lens".  As mentioned previously, the Super-Dynarex is an SLR lens, not a rangefinder lens.  As far as "just like a macro lens", well... no.  The Super-Dynarex is a short (135mm) telephoto, and does not have macro (i.e. close-up) capability.

I'm not sure about the brand name of my adaptor, it does not have any brand markings, thought the leatherette case is embossed with the name "Roxsen".  I bought it on Ebay, I think from this same company.

I hope all of this helps.  Good luck.

Danhttp://cgi.ebay.com/Voigtlander-Ret...4|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:1|293:1|294:50


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## Milanos

Dan,
that is the info I wanted to hear - Super Dynarex is SLR lens!!! That is it. And the adapter is the same as I found so, I have to buy it. Are there any others Voigtlander lenses which are worth buy? Some wide angle, portrait lens or os? what about any longer telephoto 300-400 mm?

Thanks


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## usayit

Voigtlander rangefinder lenses use a different mount than the adapter you have purchased.  They are M39/LTM (Leica thread mount).  Also, the film plane distance of rangefinders are extremely short making them very difficult to use on SLRs that have a relatively long film plane distance (mirror box clearance).   For Macro work, you are better off with a real macro, bellows+rails, or tubes.


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## dinodan

usayit said:


> Voigtlander rangefinder lenses use a different mount than the adapter you have purchased. They are M39/LTM (Leica thread mount). Also, the film plane distance of rangefinders are extremely short making them very difficult to use on SLRs that have a relatively long film plane distance (mirror box clearance).


 
All true, but the Super-Dynarex 135 is an SLR (Bessamatic) lens, so this is not an issue.


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## dinodan

Milanos said:


> Dan,
> that is the info I wanted to hear - Super Dynarex is SLR lens!!! That is it. And the adapter is the same as I found so, I have to buy it. Are there any others Voigtlander lenses which are worth buy? Some wide angle, portrait lens or os? what about any longer telephoto 300-400 mm?
> 
> Thanks


 
There are lots of lenses available.  The longest one I have is the 350mm f/5.6 Super-Dynarex.   The adapter also works with Retina Reflex lenses, which have a mount that is almost identical to the Voigtlander Bessamatic.  PM me with your email address and I can send you a complete list this weekend (working now).

Dan


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## usayit

dinodan said:


> All true, but the Super-Dynarex 135 is an SLR (Bessamatic) lens, so this is not an issue.



Yes, I knew that... my post was in response to Milanos' inquiry about rangefinder lenses by Voigtlander.  I am aware that the adapter works with Voigtlander SLR lenses.


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## dizzyg44

Awesome!  This thread of full of great stuff.

What part of chuck?  the first test looks like Boone Hall maybe, as well as the other somewhere nearby in MT.P.

Hi neighbor.  I'm up the road off of 41.


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## dinodan

dizzyg44 said:


> Awesome! This thread of full of great stuff.
> 
> What part of chuck? the first test looks like Boone Hall maybe, as well as the other somewhere nearby in MT.P.
> 
> Hi neighbor. I'm up the road off of 41.


 
Hi there!

Both photos were taken in my backyard, literally.  James Island.

Glad you enjoyed the thread.  I had pretty much forgotten about it, until it was resurrected by Milanos.


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## dizzyg44

ahh.....

in/around camp road area then?  lots of trees like that in that area.  I forgot about them.

I was thinking Boone hall because of the similar landscaping.

Those lenses look like lots of fun.


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## dinodan

dizzyg44 said:


> ahh.....
> 
> in/around camp road area then? lots of trees like that in that area. I forgot about them.


 
Close.  Stiles Point.



dizzyg44 said:


> Those lenses look like lots of fun.


 
They really are.  Two of them (and my Bessamatic) belonged to my dad and have been in the family since they were new.


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## compur

Sorry, I couldn't resist ...

Here is an old M42 Meyer Trioplan 10cm f/2.8 adapted to my D70.







And, here's a back yard snap with the combination:


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## dinodan

Very nice! I just love seeing these modern cameras with vintage glass. Do you use a light meter or the "best guess / trial and error" method? Where did you get your adaptor? 

Thanks for posting.

Here's a shameless repost of my F100 with the Super-Dynarex 350 f/5.6


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## compur

OK, I see your 350 f/5.6 Super-Dynarex and raise you one Schneider Tele-Xenar 360mm f/5.5 






I have a couple of adapters that I've picked up at cameras shows over the
years.  The one in the picture is actually not that great because it doesn't
lock in place properly.  I would have to dig to find my better one.

In the earlier pic taken with the Meyer lens I just guessed at the exposure and fiddled until it
seemed about right.


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## dinodan

compur said:


> OK, I see your 350 f/5.6 Super-Dynarex and raise you one Schneider Tele-Xenar 360mm f/5.5


 

Arghhhh! :x


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## Milanos

Hi guys, I have been few days of and wonder how this thread developed.

I´m really stupid, but I have no idea how to post a personal message so Dan, could You send me the list of lenses to milanosviko@seznam.cz ?

Nice gear on DSLR bodies, I´m still waiting for the adapter.

Thanks

Milan


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## glynn_w

Hi all, I came across this thread through a google search and am really interested.   I have a Voigtlander Zoomar 36-82 1:2.8 that always performed great on my old Bessamatic but I have been wondering lately if an adapter to a Nikon D70 was available.... anyone know if the lenses you're having great luck with has the same mount as the Zoomar?   Great shots by the way,,, that shot of the tree is pretty darn good.


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## compur

^ The Zoomar was made in several different mounts.  If your Zoomar fits 
your Bessamatic then that's the mount it has.  The earlier pictures and
comments in this thread about adapting Voigtlander lenses would apply.


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## rinzi

Milanos said:


> Hi guys, I have been few days of and wonder how this thread developed.
> 
> I´m really stupid, but I have no idea how to post a personal message so Dan, could You send me the list of lenses to milanosviko@seznam.cz ?
> 
> Nice gear on DSLR bodies, I´m still waiting for the adapter.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Milan



Hi, new to this. Own a Nikon D90. Really interested in using these type of old lenses. 

Dinodan,
The adapter should be the same as you have on your D80 right? Would you also send me the list of lenses please? 

And to Dinodan and Milan, which adapter are you using? Is the brand name known?

Thanks!


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## Proteus617

rinzi said:


> Dinodan,
> The adapter should be the same as you have on your D80 right? Would you also send me the list of lenses please?



Most of the DKL mount lenses via Retrography.




rinzi said:


> And to Dinodan and Milan, which adapter are you using? Is the brand name known?
> Thanks!



They usually turn up on ebay from small Chinese manufacturers.  Just search for "Bessamatic adapter".  Both the Bessamatic and Retina Reflex use two versions of a mount known as DKL or Deckel.  The 2 versions differ in the location of a small tab on the bayonet used to disallow use of Voigtlander lenses on Kodak bodies and visa-versa.  No tab on the adapter would allow use of both lenses.  Users of the original bodies file a notch into the mount of the lens for compatibility between the systems.


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## dinodan

rinzi said:


> Milanos said:
> 
> 
> 
> Hi guys, I have been few days of and wonder how this thread developed.
> 
> I´m really stupid, but I have no idea how to post a personal message so Dan, could You send me the list of lenses to milanosviko@seznam.cz ?
> 
> Nice gear on DSLR bodies, I´m still waiting for the adapter.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Milan
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hi, new to this. Own a Nikon D90. Really interested in using these type of old lenses.
> 
> Dinodan,
> The adapter should be the same as you have on your D80 right? Would you also send me the list of lenses please?
> 
> And to Dinodan and Milan, which adapter are you using? Is the brand name known?
> 
> Thanks!
Click to expand...

 
I just sent you a PM, Rinzi.


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## Dallmeyer

Picture-making qualities very similar imo to a FED Industar 3.5/50 (Tessar). Color Skopar was of Tessar type? This particular shot sharing also the yellow/green look - different from CZJ Tessar (which seems to like drawing things more green/blue whenever possible) but present in the FED and the Steinheil Cassaron i have also. At which aperture was this taken, f8?

You have a nice lens there Dan.


dinodan said:


>


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## Dallmeyer

A good webpage: Voigtlander Historical Lenses and Cameras


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## D-B-J

thats cool!


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## Dallmeyer

Milanos, an answer to your question: Most if not all rangefinder lenses adapted to DSLRs are limited to use only as close-up lenses. This is due to the SLR mirror-box preventing normal registeration for infinity/distance focus (rangefinders have a smaller flange distance than DSLRs) 



Milanos said:


> Hi Dinodan:
> many thanks for reply. I have heard that the rangefinder lens will work on Nikon DSLR just like a macro lens. True or false?
> 
> Thanks


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## macgeeyall76

Hello there! I know this is an old post but I have a Nikon D3100 and was just given a Voigtlander 3.4/35 lens like you have pictured. Could you give the specs for the adapter you purchased? It is no longer listed on the eBay link you provided. Thanks!


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## compur

DKL to Nikon adapter


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## vintagesnaps

Try looking up Steve Gandy's Cameraquest  CameraQuest Home Page , he's an authorized Voigtlander dealer and has lot of info. including adapters on his site.


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## macgeeyall76

Sweet, thanks guys!


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