35mm Shift CA question

[smbmakro]

Does anyone know the diameter for the lens hood for the Minolta MD 35mm shift. It has two front threads an inner 55mm filter thread and an outer thread for the hood. I thought it was 67mm after measuring but trying a couple of step rings the 67 is too big, 62 is too small? 

[XKAES]

My guess is that it is exactly the same as the Minolta 40-80mm zoom -- which had a 55mm filter thread and a 62mm lens shade thread.  However, there were three (or four, depending on how you look at it) versions of the Minolta 35mm SHIFT lens.  I doubt that the filter and/or lens shade thread sizes changed in any of the versions -- but anything is possible.

For more information about Minolta's great lenses check:

http://www.subclub.org/minman/slrlens.htm

[XKAES]

Please note that you cannot use a regular 35mm lens shade on the 35mm shift lens -- because the lens shifts.  You need an extra-wide shade -- that is what Minolta provided.

A regular 35mm shade will work if you don't shift it, but it will cut off the edges of the image if shifted.

Edited May 28, 2021 by XKAES

[smbmakro]

thanks for your answer but I have tried 62mm and it is too small,  I dont have anything inbetween 62-67 to try

[XKAES]

There are no standard sizes between 62mm and 67mm, so I suggest something is wrong.  Pehaps the filter thread is dented or obstructed.

If you are able to figure out the problem, do not just use a 62mm or 67mm lens shade.  You need to test it to make sure it works at full tilt.

[michelb]

te rely but here we go.

 

This shade does have what appears to be 62mm threads but the same could apply to both the 40-80 zoom and the 35-70 F 3.5 MD Zoom Rokkor (1st version) but i own all 3 lenses and the shades of all of them can not fit on the other 2 lenses for a reason i can not understand. So your search should be on the actual original shade

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[XKAES]

Minolta made six versions of 35-70mm zoom and all of them had only one filter thread -- 55mm -- unlike the 40-80mm zoom and the 35mm CA Shift lenses, which both had two front threads -- the inner one for filters and the outer one for the lens shade/hood.  On both, the filter thread was 55mm.  The shade thread on the 40-80mm is 62mm.  The question is what is the diameter of the shade thread of the 35mm CA Shift lens?  The photo (thank you) looks much wider than 62mm to my naked eye.

[michelb]

42 minutes ago, XKAES said:

Minolta made six versions of 35-70mm zoom and all of them had only one filter thread -- 55mm -- unlike the 40-80mm zoom and the 35mm CA Shift lenses, which both had two front threads -- the inner one for filters and the outer one for the lens shade/hood.  On both, the filter thread was 55mm.  The shade thread on the 40-80mm is 62mm.  The question is what is the diameter of the shade thread of the 35mm CA Shift lens?  The photo (thank you) looks much wider than 62mm to my naked eye.

6 versions of 35-70 ? Really ? Are you counting AF in the 6 ?

I know of only 4 one of which was not even made by Minolta (the 3.5-4.8 version) 

The first version of the 35-70mm F 3.5 (MD ZOOM ROKKOR (X)) had similar separate threads for its lens shade of about 62mm but like i mentioned, that shade won't fit on either the 40-80 nor the Shift CA. After revisiting them, this shade won't even fit a 62mm filter by about 1mm. So i guess this one is 63mm which is not a standard filter size.

The shade thread diameter on both of my SHIFT CA ROKKOR's  are also close to 62mm but they appear to be closer to 64-65mm since they won't fit either on a 62mm filter but by a larger margin than the 35-70 shade. It also won't fit on a 67mm threaded lens being too small. So about 64-65mm here

Finally, the shade for the 40-80 is 62mm since i can fit it to a 62mm filter.

 

So i guess what we have here is:

-1-62mm (Zoom Rokkor 4-80)

- 1 about 63mm MD ZOOM Rokkor)

- 1 about 64-65mm (Shift CA Rokkor)

My measuring tools are all in storage after i just moved so this is the closest i could get to compare all 3

 

 

[XKAES]

I'm only talking about the Minolta lenses before MAXXUM -- so they were all manual focusing.  Only one -- the first -- was labelled "ROKKOR".  And you are correct, the last version was labelled "MINOLTA", but made made by Cosina.  The differences between the six versions are not huge -- such as changes to the inscription of the lens, changes to the lens coating, changes to the optical design, changes to the close-focusing ability, etc.  You can see the specs on each version at:

http://www.subclub.org/minman/287035.htm

But I've never heard of one with a wider filter thread.  That's not listed on this great Minolta lens list either:

http://minolta.eazypix.de/lenses/

I would be very interested in seeing a picture of your 35-70mm ROKKOR with a wider filter thread.  You might have a really rare lens!

Here's what I know about the only 35-70mm ROKKOR:

FOCAL LENGTH: 35-70mm
f-STOPS: 3.5-22
PERIOD: 1977-1981
INSCRIPTION: MINOLTA MD ZOOM ROKKOR-X 35-70mm 1:3.5 LENS MADE IN JAPAN
DESIGN: 8/7
FILTER: 55
DIAPHRAGM: auto
MC: yes
MD: yes
CLOSE FOCUS: 3.3'
SIZE: 2.7"x2.6"
WEIGHT: 12.9oz.

A new lens to the Minolta line-up of SLR lenses in the MD Rokkor-X series. A two-touch, super-quality zoom that Leica liked so much they sold it as the Leitz Vario-Elmar R 35-70 f3.5. Its main limitation is its limited close-focusing ability. Since it is a two-touch zoom, it's not too convenient to use, but the quality makes up for its other deficiencies.

[michelb]

The filter thread is still 55mm on the MD ZOOM ROKKOR (X) first version lens . But the lens shade is a screw-in mount on a secondary thread that is a bit larger than the filter thread just like the 40-80 Zoom and the Shift CA lens. The info on the easy pix site only mentions screw-in for all 3 of these lenses but does not provide the info that these are a different size from the filter thread size.

 

As for the 4 versus 6 versions, i can't access the minman site but here is what i know after seeing in excess of 200,000 Minolta SR lenses over the last 8 years

 

1st version was MD ZOOM ROKKOR 35-70mm 1: 3.5 (also available as ROKKOR-X for the North American market but they are the exact same lenses. (lens no 257 on the easypix site) and this one has the 63-64mm screw-on shade that fits outside of the regular 55mm filter ring

2nd version with clip-on lens shade was called MD ZOOM 35-70 1:3.5 and had different zooming ring and close focus down to 1.3m which was the same as the first version

Then came 3rd version with similar markings and features like lens shade etc as No 2 but this time there was a macro Mode button added that allowed close focusing down to 0,8m

Much later when MD lenses were being phased out due to the popularity of the AF system, there was a 4th version called MD ZOOM 35-70mm 1:3.5-4.8 that was likely made by a third party like Cosina.

 

Where are the other 2 versions ?

Edited July 31, 2021 by michelb

[XKAES]

OK.  I checked into it and you are correct.  Here it is.  I'm amazed -- but the extra shade thread is easy to miss.  It seems odd that Minolta would take this approach, and it might be an unusual mm thread size -- NOT 62mm.  It sure looks like 62mm, but a regular shade might not fit due to the space restriction created by the the 55mm part of the lens.  I guess Minolta decided to take the same approach as they did with the 40-80mm zoom.  I don't have any trouble getting a 62mm lens shade on my 40-80mm, but I can't, of course, put a 62mm filter on the lens -- because the lens sticks out too far.

Yashica took a similar approach with one of their zoom lenses as well -- so there must be a reason.

Thanks very much for pointing this out!!!!  Unfortunately, this is probably of little help to the original poster -- it is very possibly an unusual thread size.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Edited July 31, 2021 by XKAES

[Monochrome]

Thanks for this info on a second, larger than 55mm, threading. I missed noticing it on my 35mm shift.

If you are looking for a reversible lens hood, read on. I missed the convenience of a modern lens hood that can reverse-mount for more compact storage, so I bought the Sensei 55mm Quick Clip Lens Hood from B&H. The force required to clip this hood's four small ball bearings in and out of the mounting ring's ball-race grooved track (which stays attached to the lens) was a bit more force that I was comfortable with using on a lens, so I modified mine. I made four small channels from the ball-race groove to the front of this mounting ring until the force was just right when the four ball bearings aligned with the four channels. Widen these channels slightly at both ends so that when the hood is rotated it detents into alignment with the channels.

You can precisely mark the location for the four channels by holding both parts of the lens hood in your hands and repeatedly snapping them together and apart without rotating them to make four small marks in the black anodized aluminum ball-race track. Then I used a Dremel tool mounted in a Dremel drill press to carefully make the initial channels (NOT a hand-held Dremel tool, you do not have enough control). Last, I did the final fitting with a small round needle file.

I am not at home but if someone wants photos of the modified hood, please let me know and I can post some late next week.

[Monochrome]

Here are two annotated photos of the modification so the lens hood is easily clipped on/off with minimal force.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!