Showcase Argus Cintagon 35mm f4.5 (Steinheil München)

[gnarlydog australia]

When I saw the image of the Argus Cintagon 35mm lens I was drawn by the incredible slick looks: it had great bling appeal for me. Then I found one for relatively little money and while I was not expecting that much from it, the maker Steinheil was promising.
I am pleasantly surprised: pretty sharp at wide open and much smaller than a typical SLR lens and the flange distance is approx 40mm. The focusing is butter smooth (unlike some Russian lenses I have!).
The downside is that no commercial adapters are available so I had to hard mount (rather permanent) onto a DIY adapter with C-mount and M42 extension rings. Also the filter thread is a wacky one, somewhere around 44mm, no idea of the pitch. I got my lens with lens hood included. The lens does not flare badly but any lens hood is a good idea in my book
The max aperture is glacially slow at f4.5 but totally usable, unlike some vintage lenses of mine that need stopping down to f4.5 to be sharp anyway
Here are some basic samples, all wide open (OOC):

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DV230034 by gnarlydog, on Flickr

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DV230055 by gnarlydog, on Flickr

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DV230035 by gnarlydog, on Flickr

 

[gnarlydog australia]

I missed the focus by a tiny bit at wide open f4.5 but the highlights are not glowy. I like this lens

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Shadow running_c by gnarlydog, on Flickr

 

[Turbofrog]

Interesting lens, and quite nice results you've got out of it!

Would you mind posting a picture of your DIY Frankendapter? I'm always intriguing by that kind of tinkering and enjoy it myself.

 

[gnarlydog australia]

Interesting lens, and quite nice results you've got out of it!

Would you mind posting a picture of your DIY Frankendapter? I'm always intriguing by that kind of tinkering and enjoy it myself.

Yes, it is a "Frankenadapter" for that lens since none are available commercially. So far I only have this ghetto shot of it but I will try to add a decent one later to show the work.

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The mounting is a combination of a short M42 extension tube, epoxy bonded to lens (diameter fits perfectly) and base M42 to M43 helicoid adapter (like a very short M42 to M43).

 

[gnarlydog australia]

here are more detailed images of the Cintagon 35mm f4.5, shown with lens shade/hood

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Cintagon 35mm adapted to M43 by gnarlydog, on Flickr

The fixed extension (adapter) measures at 20.5mm and is semi-permanently bonded to the lens. The thin spacer ring between M42 extension tube and M42 base comes from a 43mm Ø UV filter (it holds the glass against the filter case).

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[eteless]

The filter might be 43.5mm, it was pretty common for smaller lenses not so long ago. Some of the old Olympus rangefinders use the size as do some Pen-F lenses (the 38mm f1.8 for example).

The lens also has a really good depth of field scale (actually usable), unlike many.

 

[gnarlydog australia]

The filter might be 43.5mm, it was pretty common for smaller lenses not so long ago. Some of the old Olympus rangefinders use the size as do some Pen-F lenses (the 38mm f1.8 for example).

The lens also has a really good depth of field scale (actually usable), unlike many.

I do have a Pen-F 38mm f1.8, I will try if the filter fits.

 

[gnarlydog australia]

I do have a Pen-F 38mm f1.8, I will try if the filter fits.

I tried the filter off the Pen-F 38mm1.8 and it doesn't fit: it's a 43mm diameter and the Cintagon requires about 44.5mm
Somewhere I read it's a coarser thread (not the typical 0.75mm pitch), something called series #6?
Anyway, tested the lens against flare and it handles OK but at certain angles against the direct sun gives crazy looking rainbows.
Here is one where the flare actually enhanced the mood of the scene

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Fence at sunset_c by gnarlydog, on Flickr

 

[exakta]

Somewhere I read it's a coarser thread (not the typical 0.75mm pitch), something called series #6?

Series filters were unthreaded. The adapters were two threaded pieces, you put the filter in between. It was an attempt to standardize filters back when thread sizes were all over the map.

I'm curious why you would go to so much trouble to use such a oddball lens. That was originally for the Argus C4 or C44 as I recall (Argus C3 as my first 35mm).

 

[gnarlydog australia]

d

Series filters were unthreaded. The adapters were two threaded pieces, you put the filter in between. It was an attempt to standardize filters back when thread sizes were all over the map.

I'm curious why you would go to so much trouble to use such a oddball lens. That was originally for the Argus C4 or C44 as I recall (Argus C3 as my first 35mm).

I found a page with filter thread for all Argus lenses: Argus Lens Filter Sizes
Also I quote:
Wide Angle Cintagon
Lens: 35mm, color-corrected, hard-coated anastigmat; helical focusing, 3 ft to infinity
f stops: Click stop settings at F:4.5, 5.6, 6.3, 8, 11, 16, 22
Hyperfocal distance: 17 feet 7 inches at f:4.5
Full Field Angle: 64 degrees 30'
Filter Size: Series VI (1 5/8")
Carrying Case: Available as an accessory in genuine leather

as for the question for this oddball lens?
well, I have a bunch of M.Zuikos and they are absolutely superb if sharpness was my only goal. I have several Russian lenses and some of them are a little bit too soft for my liking (although still pretty usable for portrait) with strong character (bokeh), I have several old Japanese ones and some of them are very interesting (SMC Takumar 50mm f1.4 and the mighty Vivitar 28mm f2.0 close focus). Trouble is that those lenses need a whopping big adaptor to space them out correctly (apart M39 mount).
I like small and to match the Micro Four Thirds style I am out on a quest to find lenses that perform and are smaller than the average SLR ones. I know, I could just stick to native ones if small was the ultimate thing, but manual focus with instant feed back on the bokeh at a given aperture is sometimes crucial to me. I like to see exactly what my picture will look like when taking it, before the click, instead of reviewing/chimping to see how much DOF I really got (the preview button when using auto-focus lenses is not really that useful to me).

But beside all the above, have you noticed the look of that Cintagon? to me that is superb, in a art-deco kind of way . To top it all it is a Steinheil München piece of glass too that so far has not disappointed me. If I only my E-P5 would be silver to match the Cintagon...

 

[eteless]

I like small and to match the Micro Four Thirds style I am out on a quest to find lenses that perform and are smaller than the average SLR ones. I now, I could just stick to native ones if small was the ultimate thing, but manual focus with instant feed back on the bokeh of a given aperture is sometimes crucial to me. I like to see exactly what my picture will look like once it's taken, instead of reviewing to see how much DOF I really got (the preview button when using auto-focus lenses is not really that useful to me).

The Nikon E series glass is generally smaller than most... although the flange distance is pretty long. The 50mm is the main one I would look at because by all accounts an excellent performer (it's a pancake). It doesn't compare at all in the looks department though, older cine glass is generally made to a much higher standard.

 

[gnarlydog australia]

The Nikon E series glass is generally smaller than most... although the flange distance is pretty long. The 50mm is the main one I would look at because by all accounts an excellent performer (it's a pancake). It doesn't compare at all in the looks department though, older cine glass is generally made to a much higher standard.

I understand that Nikon has indeed the longest flange distance of most SLRs but I went for the uncommon RF (Nikon-S mount, with shorter flange distance) 105mm f2.5.
Size is OK, adapter shorter than others but the weight! holy smokes, that is one heavy beast, all brass and huge chunk of glass.
I am hoping the Argus Cintagon 100mm f3.5 will be somehow lighter even if not as fast. Actually the Nikkor 105 wide open is a bit soft/low contrast...

 

[Boyd84]

I designed an adapter for the Argus Cintagon to L39, so with a cheap L39 adapter it will also go on micro 4/3rds or E-mount...
It's avaliable to download from shapeways, https://www.shapeways.com/product/5FCG4RLSE/argus-quot-the-brick-quot-lens-adapter-to-leica-l39
or if you can 3D-print it yourself, a file is on https://cults3d.com

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It's in two parts, to include a raised ring (here printed in blue!) to make it easier to grab the otherwise rather thin focus ring, and the L39 mount (with a pattern to mimic the art deco style of the lens).