Premium Member Sebastian Bock Posted January 22 Premium Member Share Posted January 22 I have a set of the Zeiss S16 MK II lenses with PL mount. Now I am getting an ARRIFLEX SR I camera with a Bayonet mount... As far as I know, it was easily possible to convert the MK I bayonet mount lenses into PL. My question is, if it would be possible vice versa - to unscrew the PL-part from the lenses and slide a bayonet mount over the rear lens barrel. Thanks for your help, Sebastian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Mavrokefalos Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 (edited) Hey Sebastian, I think I've done this in the past, I had exchanged a PL mount from an 8mm T2.1 to an Arri B mount 25mm T1.3 mk2 and vice versa. I also have some spare Arri B mounts from a 35mm mk2 mini set I used to have (16/24/40), but I'm not sure if they would fit the S16 lenses (I think I recall my lens tech telling me there was a small difference in the screw placement but not 100% sure, it's been 7-8yrs) Edited January 22 by Jason Mavrokefalos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Dom Jaeger Posted January 22 Premium Member Share Posted January 22 If you can source the right Bayonet mounts (with 8 screw holes in the base) then yes you can convert them to B mount. The first generation S16 Super Speeds (I call those Mk1, some call them B Speeds) used an earlier Bayonet mount with a single locating slot and a locking ring - those mounts won’t fit later Super Speed versions. You may need to adjust the shimming, best to have a tech check the back-focus after conversion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Sebastian Bock Posted January 23 Author Premium Member Share Posted January 23 Thank you for sharing your experience, Jason and Dom! @Jason Mavrokefalos When I receive the Arriflex SR and it is in good working condition, I might get back to you and ask for more details, if I can't find bayonet mounts ?@Dom Jaeger Do you by chance have a hint where I could find the right bayonet mounts? I assume a lot of them are lost in attic-boxes side by side with screws, washers and gears, considered as being worthless old camera parts... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Dom Jaeger Posted January 23 Premium Member Share Posted January 23 1 hour ago, Sebastian Bock said: @Dom Jaeger Do you by chance have a hint where I could find the right bayonet mounts? I assume a lot of them are lost in attic-boxes side by side with screws, washers and gears, considered as being worthless old camera parts... I would ask some older rental houses if they perhaps kept any Arri Bayonet mounts, otherwise perhaps rehousing companies like P&S Technic or TLS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Dom Jaeger Posted January 23 Premium Member Share Posted January 23 Here’s one of the sort you need on eBay, but overpriced I think: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/304611190863 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Sebastian Bock Posted January 23 Author Premium Member Share Posted January 23 Thank you so much ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuel Preston Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 I just did this the other way around so I have two 8 hole arri standard mounts for the super speeds, shoot me a message! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Sebastian Bock Posted January 23 Author Premium Member Share Posted January 23 Nice! What a coincidence... I'll write you a a message. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Dom Jaeger Posted January 23 Premium Member Share Posted January 23 You will need the right screws too, the ones for a PL mount are a bit longer than the ones for a B mount. If memory serves you need something around 6mm long I think. The head needs to be quite small to fit inside the recessed hole as well. Original Zeiss mount screws are your best option. Perhaps Samuel kept the screws with his mounts? Otherwise try the sources I listed before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuel Preston Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 they’re the same screws for both mounts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregg MacPherson Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 (edited) I had to figure this out a while ago (screw length on Arri-B vs PL mount). In the end the simplest thinking was best. I measured the screw length from a factory PL mount on a 16mm format lens as 6mm. The screw for Arri-B was I think 5mm long. There isn't much thread engagement length at 6mm for the PL mount, but at about 7mm the screw is bottoming out. If you have 6mm screws, it may not be safe to use them on the Arri-B mounts. The screws are DIN 920 standard, M2 with coarse pitch=0.4mm. They have a 2.8mm diam cheese head, narrower than normal screws. Zeiss were helpful but didn't work out. ACCU in the UK sold us 50 stainless screws for about 25 Pounds, similar shipping. Very hard to find in small quantities. There may be lots of used 5mm screws left over from all the conversions from Arri-B to PL. The people selling you the mounts may have them. If you are searching, the screw spec will look something like DIN 920 M2x5, then maybe something specifying the steel and finish. Trimming the screw length is pretty easy for those with skills, familiar with tiny screws. Good luck. Edited January 24 by Gregg MacPherson more words Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Sebastian Bock Posted January 24 Author Premium Member Share Posted January 24 Wow, this forum is really a great knoledge base! Thanks for the details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregg MacPherson Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Meant to add...Keep the PL mounts and screws, may be very useful later, and the lenses are more valuable with PL mounts. If someone is buying the good aftermarket PL mounts to convert, they're almost USD400 each. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuel Preston Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Not sure if my Visual Products mounts can use the shorter screws but Arri here reused the screws when they mounted my pl mounts, I could obviously also do a screw swap with Sebastian but I dont know if its absolutely necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M Joel W Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 (edited) I might have a mount like this somewhere (and I'm trying to get rid of it) but won't be able to look for it for a month. PM me if you're still looking then, though. Not sure what pattern of holes it has but I was looking to replace the mount on a 50mm PL lens with Bayonet to covert it to Aaton before giving up on all that. Edited January 24 by M Joel W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Sebastian Bock Posted February 15 Author Premium Member Share Posted February 15 On 1/24/2024 at 11:27 AM, Gregg MacPherson said: The screws are DIN 920 standard, M2 with coarse pitch=0.4mm. They have a 2.8mm diam cheese head, narrower than normal screws. Thank you very much for this detailed information. That saved me from a lot of try and error ordering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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