GXR M Mount, adapter and vintage SLR lenses

[RDM]

Thanks Tom.

I have placed a few more photos on the following flickr link if anyone is interested in seeing more results from this old APS lens. You may have to avert your eyes if post processing offends you however - sorry, but I'm a little addicted to strong (unrealistic) colurs and contrast.

I'm pretty happy with how this inexpensive lens performs. Although I have to make sure I'm not lazy when it comes to focusing and then recomposing/zooming as it's not parfocal - I'm sure you will notice this error of mine on more than a few images.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/trudes200 ... 955034136/

Cheers

Rohan

 

[Tom Caldwell]

Rohan

Thanks, I do get a big kick out of other cultures and your shots give an impression of them. My images of a trip to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore a while ago do not have such an "involved" feel. But I have others which get closer to the culture level that I should put up as well.

www.flickr.com/photos/49387980@N00/sets ... 229453218/

Tom

 

[RDM]

Your shots look pretty good to me Tom.

As far as "involvement" goes, I don't think it's anything in particular I have done in what or how I have shot. Vietnam just feels to me much more involving place in my experience than either Singapore or Malaysia - if that makes sense. Maybe that naturally reflects in the photographs taken there.

Cheers

Rohan

 

[RDM]

I've been toying with the idea of making a Tilt Adapter to suit mounting a Pentax/Ricoh Manual SLR lens on to a Leica M Mount flange.

Here's what I've got so far.

It would involve removing the Pentax/Ricoh lens mount flange screws from your chosen lens and attaching the inner part (shown in yellow) with slightly longer screws (leaving the lens mount flange in place). Then screwing the other two outer halves together and attaching a Leica M Mount lens flange at the rear.

The design will retain proper infinity focus in the "dead ahead" position.

Just waiting for my company's 3D printer to come back on line and I should be able to make one up.

If anyone else out there has access to a 3D printer and would like to have a go at making one just let me know as I would be happy to share the files I've made.

Cheers.

Rohan.

 

[Tom Caldwell]

Clever one Rohan,

I am presuming that this is incorporated in a PK to LM adapter mount? I am a little confused.

Looks like the Ricohforum should be re-invented as the "Ricoh Inventor's Society".

I have pretty well sorted out a mount system or a removable lens piece that turns the lcd into a giant evf.

This is just a folding lens on a stalk and is not enclosed. There is already a product on the market called the "Clearviewer" that does much the same thing. My refinements include all metal and glass parts instead of plastic/acrylic and a universal mount system that allows the "VEfinder" - my adopted name to easily mount on a variety of cameras. The Clearviewer needs to be custom made for each and every camera it mounts to. But the hot shoe mount for the GRDIII/IV is close enough to work fine on the GR. The trouble is that the manufacturers (nasty types) pay no attention to maintaining the relative position of hot shoe or tripod mount to the lcd.

I have this working on a Panasonic GM1. I made it because I did not like the way the Clearviewer works when attached to the tripod mount. Along the way I have made improvements and I have tested the device over several months and quite a few photographs. It has become an essential tool.

Needing something similar for the GXR the method of mounting used on the GM1 is night on impossible, but I have hit on a very simple way to overcome this. All the best inventions are dead-set simple. The first made version is now working fine on a GXR. I need to refine it a bit more to simplify the design even further.

I knew that the principle would work as the hot shoe mounted Clearviewer is excellent when used with the GXR and all users should have one.

The basic principle is that eyes adjusted to ambient light conditions on a bright day simply cannot see the lcd very well. Glare is blamed but it is not glare as can be seen by camera manufacturers allowing the lcd brightness to be turned up to try and compete. Not much chance against the power of bright sunlight. So most solutions try and shut out all ambient light (evf/ovf/hoodman-style devices) but if you attach a lens on a stalk and look at the lcd and nothing else your eye tends to adjust to the light emitted from the lcd. It can never be quite as good as total ambient light shut-out but in reality is is usually good enough.

The other "bonus" is the camera grip improves - eye to VEfinder left hand supports lens, right hand holds camera and presses shutter button.

With these sort of devices a built in evf is not nearly as necessary.

Tom

 

[RDM]

Hi Tom.

As you suspected, my design is basically just a PK to LM mount adapter with a tilt mechanism incorporated into it. Unfortunately there's not quite enough space to easily include a quick change mechanism as the normal adapters do. This could be done but the adapter size would need to be increased in diameter. This is something I might look at doing if I can prove the concept works with this simpler version.

Your viewfinder sounds good. What are you using as a lens?

Cheers

Rohan

 

[Tom Caldwell]

Hi Tom.

As you suspected, my design is basically just a PK to LM mount adapter with a tilt mechanism incorporated into it. Unfortunately there's not quite enough space to easily include a quick change mechanism as the normal adapters do. This could be done but the adapter size would need to be increased in diameter. This is something I might look at doing if I can prove the concept works with this simpler version.

Your viewfinder sounds good. What are you using as a lens?

Cheers

Rohan

Rohan I am just using a commercial linen tester as a base for the device and am designing my own mount system. The Clearviewer product works well but is made using a "$2" Chinese plastic linen tester with the lens exchanged for one with a better resolution. I use a metal based system with a glass lens that would normally price the remanufactured product out of viability as the conversion process is fiddly, precise and labour intensive.

Luckily the linen tester I have found has a really good lens and it is a suitable focal length. I only started on the project I needed a different mount system for my GM1. (Necessity breeds invention). This I made and it has been in use for several months and some thousands of images - I consider it now refined, a success and a very useful tool . But then I got thinking on how I might make a mount system for the GXR (my baby). It is quite difficult as the GXR design is not very helpful to this. But in the process I seem to have figured out a universal mount system that might be cross platform, but I have to give it a good try first. I have a prototype up and working well on the GXR already but I have to revise the working design to make it a more professional construction.

The trouble with all non traditional viewfinder devices is that they are hard to mount on camera and that every camera is different and requires a custom fit. Surmounting this problem with the most universal type fit with the least amount of mount brackets is the secret here. I have a notebook of drawings where I have been trying to figure out the solution, but the answer came to me eventually. The lens part is easy - the mount system is harder.

Having used the Clearviewer on the GXR since I bought it the device has become an almost necessity and I can recommend one to anyone who wants most of the benefits of the evf without the bothers of carrying it and using it. I find the Clearviewer more convenientl than the evf and I use it whilst I could never quite get myself to bother with the evf.

These style of devices almost make the idea of a built in evf rendundant. The GM1 has no hot shoe, tilt lcd nor built in evf. But it is a perfectly viable, if tiny, host to all sorts of lenses when my VEfinder is clipped on and used.

Tom

 

[Tom Caldwell]

Hi Tom.

As you suspected, my design is basically just a PK to LM mount adapter with a tilt mechanism incorporated into it. Unfortunately there's not quite enough space to easily include a quick change mechanism as the normal adapters do. This could be done but the adapter size would need to be increased in diameter. This is something I might look at doing if I can prove the concept works with this simpler version.

Your viewfinder sounds good. What are you using as a lens?

Cheers

Rohan

Rohan I am just using a commercial linen tester as a base for the device and am designing my own mount system.

Tom