Larry Miles Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 Is it possible to re-house a c-mount lens to an Aaton or Arri Bayonet mount and if so, who would I contact about doing so? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Dom Jaeger Posted May 13, 2018 Premium Member Share Posted May 13, 2018 Generally no, since C mount lenses seat 17.52mm from the film plane which would place them too deep inside the mount of either of those options (Aaton mount has a 40mm flange depth and Arri is 52mm). It also depends if you want to use the lens on a reflex camera, where clearing the mirror/shutter becomes an issue. However some longer focal lengths or lenses that were designed for multiple mount options might be convertible (Angenieux's retro-focus 5.8mm for example came in C mount or Arri B as well as other mounts, as did certain Kinoptiks and Cookes). You could contact True Lens Service in the UK or P&S Technik in Germany or GL Optics in China or possibly Duclos in the states. Many C mount lenses aren't worth the effort IMHO. What lenses did you have in mind? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Miles Posted May 13, 2018 Author Share Posted May 13, 2018 Thank you for your informative reply. I was thinking of an Angenieux 15-150 for an Aaton LTR 54 with an Aaton mount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregg MacPherson Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 Ideas about re mounting a C mount on a 15-150 have come up before... http://www.cinematography.com/index.php?showtopic=50129 Jean-Louis is a current member and may have some insights. So may Dom now that he knows what lens you are thinking of. If you were searching online, the term "re-house" would take you down a different rabbit hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Dom Jaeger Posted May 14, 2018 Premium Member Share Posted May 14, 2018 Those old Angenieux zooms often came in a variety of mounts, including C mount, Arri Standard, Arri Bayonet, Eclair CA and others. The 15-150 seems to mostly come in C mount but I'm sure I've seen a B mount version. Definitely capable of being remounted, but it could be expensive, since it would probably be a custom job these days. Someone was selling a PL mounted version here last year: http://www.cinematography.com/index.php?showtopic=74624 As Greg said, lens re-housing is a different question, usually involving a full exchange of the lens mechanics. You just need the mount changed, which is much simpler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Adam Frisch FSF Posted May 14, 2018 Premium Member Share Posted May 14, 2018 TLS as mentioned are the gold standard. They make wonderful conversions. But it takes years to get it done with them and it costs a fortune, so not for those who are in a hurry or light of wallet. Also, for one-off lenses that have not been done before, the engineering costs here in the West are just not competitive. You'll pay way much more for a conversion that for buying a brand new lens, in many cases. But, if you want to go down that route, then your best option is Nan at GL Optics in China. They'll convert anything and do one-offs. I just had my set of vintage 60's Lomo sphericals (don't think a set has been converted before) done by GL Optics and they did a great job on them. Had to send the 28mm back to get it re-engineered as it vignetted a bit, but other than that very happy with the workmanship. Just to give you an idea, it's about $2.5-$3K/lens to convert an old set in China. You can triple that cost at least if you want to do it here in the West. There's a new player that converts here in Los Angeles called Zero Optik. Their conversions look great, but not sure of the cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victor huey Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 how is the lomo conversion? I have a couple of jammed up lomo superspeed lens, they are basket cases, can they rehouse, if the elements are ok, bu the aperture or focus is jammed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Adam Frisch FSF Posted May 18, 2018 Premium Member Share Posted May 18, 2018 Haven't really shot with them yet, just tested them. But I love the lenses - they have a look that reminds me of the old 60's Schneider Xenons, which I love. Yes, they would be able to fix that and rehouse it. Iris's are pretty easy to free up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Miles Posted May 23, 2018 Author Share Posted May 23, 2018 Thank you all for all the very valuable information. I guess I should have said "re-mounting" instead of "re-housing." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Site Sponsor Paul Scaglione Posted July 19, 2018 Site Sponsor Share Posted July 19, 2018 Hi Larry, I just happened across your post looking for something else..... Why don't you contact Paul Hillman here at Visual Products. He's done many, MANY of those through the years and we had parts made specifically for those lenses so should have something in the drawer to sort you out. Our number here is (440) 647-4999 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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