Body Caps

Who knew body caps could be so interesting? I noticed I had four different types of body caps. They are:

1. From a later, Kyocera made, body.

2. From an early, Yashica made, body.

3. From an Aria but not sure if it's original to the camera or not.

4. A (Chinese made?) after market cap.

Besides the differences in the patterning on the front and the text on the back, the way the bayonet is moulded is different on no. 4 to the other three. No. 4 has an extra bit that prevents the cap from fitting properly - it shouldn't be there and I always cut it out when I buy them.

I know 1 and 2 are original equipment, I know 4 isn't. Not sure about 3 though.

Canon EOS EF Eyecup will fit Contax and Yashica

The Kyocera F-3 eyecup was used on the Contax S2, 167, Aria and maybe other bodies. It also fits earlier bodies like the 139, 137 and 159 and also Yashica bodies like the FX-3, FX-D, FX-103 etc. I, personally, prefer it to the round eyecups that were used on the earlier Contax and Yashicas.

However, the Kyocera F-3 eyecup has become scarce and when they do become available they are expensive. So I looked for an alternative and found the Canon EOS EF eyecup fits perfectly. It's the same style as the Kyocera F-3 though slightly different in shape. Original Canon eyecups are available and are not expensive but there are Chinese made copies that are available very cheaply on ebay.

The Canon EF eyecup fits Canon EOS 350D, 400D, 450D, 500D, 550D, 600D, 1000D etc. bodies. There are other similar models so, if buying, check it's the correct one.

Here's a few pics of one I bought fitted to a FX-3, a 139 and the KF-M1 mentioned in my previous post.

And a couple of pictures of the eyecup itself.

Zeiss Contax 18mm f/4 Lens Hood - part 2

I managed to get a few example images of the lens with and without the hood.

This one is indoors with the sun coming through a window and falling onto a plain wall. I folded the hood back then just angled the camera until I saw the flare, took one picture then pulled the hood forward - flare gone.

This second example was taken outside. I did the same procedure as before.

The second pair of pictures have another area of flare that wasn't removed by the hood. It's not obvious so I've ringed it in the next picture.

 I could also get the lens to produce some more obvious flare even with the hood in place so it's not a 100% solution, but hoods never are. But I think it's a worthwhile addition.

I also wanted to add a note to say that the lens I have is an MM type with a serial 72*****. There was, apparently, an earlier version of the 18mm which may behave completely differently.

Zeiss Contax 18mm f/4 Lens Hood

The 18mm f/4 doesn't have a filter thread. It takes 70mm push-fit accessories and Zeiss made a 70mm to 86mm ring to take 86mm filters and which they also suggest will act as a hood. The problem now is the difficulty in finding one and then the probably extortionate cost you'll have to pay for it. At the time of writing, there is one on ebay with a buy-it-now price of $110 with shipping from Japan so, in the UK at least, there will also be VAT and import duty etc. to pay on top - no thanks.

As I've found the 18mm is a bit prone to flare, I thought I would look for an alternative. What I found was a hood for a Mamiya 45mm lens for the 645 system. It is a 70mm push fit hood and fits perfectly straight onto the 18mm. I paid about £20 for mine including postage. This seems a typical price. The only problem is is that it's a bit deep so I took a knife to it and cut it back (rather badly as it happens).

The hood has a square section on the front. Not  a lot of use with the 18mm as the front of the lens rotates so it's impossible to keep the hood square. Some experimentation suggested the whole square section needed removing anyway to stop vignetting on the 18mm so that's what I did. You end up with a round hood so it doesn't matter that it rotates.

Here's a few pics.

Some testing afterwards showed there was a tiny amount of vignetting in the corners so I trimmed another, maybe, 3mm off it which cleaned up the cut edge and got rid of the last bit of vignetting.

Being such a wide angle lens, a hood is never going to be very effective but it's better than nothing. I'll see if I can get some example shots with and without the hood to show the difference.

Just one thing of note, there is a Mamiya hood available that is said to fit the 645 45mm lens and also the 65mm RB67 lens. This is not the correct hood. The original version of the 45mm had an 80mm diameter front and that hood is for the original version lens. Check what is written on the side of the hood. It should be as shown in my picture above. If it mentions RB67 lenses, it's the wrong one.

(Edit: There is now a second part to this post with some examples).

What a softie

A 'softie', in case you don't know, is an accessory that screws into a standard cable release socket, on cameras that have them, to increase the height of the shutter release and create a wide button to press. They allow the finger to be wrapped over the top of the release so the release can be squeezed, like a trigger on a gun, rather than pressed with the tip of the finger. The idea is, just like a gun, by squeezing the release 'softly' you are less likely to cause movement of the camera.

While experimenting with the grips I fitted to the 139 I noticed I was causing a small movement of the camera each time I pressed the release. I've used softies before on other cameras and thought it might help. But, of course, there's no cable release socket on the 139 release. My answer? I cut a small round piece of foam and stuck it to the release button. I used some 3mm thick, closed cell, foam and cut it with a 10mm punch. It fits well and gives exactly the same effect as other softies. And, most importantly, it stopped the small movement that I was previously introducing when pressing the shutter release.

Update: I've since changed the foam softie for a circular, domed, rubber foot. The harder rubber works better than the foam and the domed shape is better for wrapping your finger over it. You can see it on this picture.