Contax/Yashica to PL Without Rehousing?

[Matthew J. Walker]

I was wondering if there was any way to convert a C/Y mount to PL mount without a full rehousing. I would love to have a set of MMJ Contax Zeiss lenses in PL mount but so far I haven't seen little to any information regarding this subject. I know it's possible to convert a C/Y mount to M42 so maybe it would be possible to convert it to M2 first, then screw on an M42 to PL adapter which might work on few C/Y lenses but I know for sure the diameter of the particular Contax lenses I want would be too wide to fit inside of the adapter. And I I know It wouldn't be possible to make the flange of the PL mount adapter flush with the flange of the C/Y Mount because the flange focal distance of a C/Y mount needs to be 45.50 mm from the film plane and a PL mount needs to be 52.00mm from the film plane so in theory would need to remove 6.5mm worth of material from the rear of the lens to accommodate for the difference in FFD (Which wouldn't normally be TOO hard), however of course on majority of the C/Y lenses the aperture ring is pretty much right up against the flange of the mount. I guess I could remove the aperture ring but then what? Maybe someone has any input as to how I could possibly pull this off but I believe I've hit a dead end.

[Daniel Klockenkemper]

You've hit a dead end because it is a dead end. 

In the "gold rush" of adapting stills lenses for digital cinema cameras over the last decade, if what you hope to do were economically feasible, it would certainly have been done already. 

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

[Aapo Lettinen]

The problem with PL adapting is normally that the back part of the lens is too large diameter and does not physically fit inside PL mount. The maximum outer diameter is about 50mm and most still lenses are much larger on the back part of the housing. This makes it impossible to adapt shorter ffd lenses to PL without rehousing which tends to necessitate at least redesigning the iris mechanics and in most cases also the focusing system needs to be redesigned and rebuilt. That is way too much work and expense to spend on a low or mid quality still lens. For very special lenses with distinctive look it may be feasible but for most still lenses it does not make sense in any way. 

[Aapo Lettinen]

There is one good application for low range still lenses in cine PL mount world...that is shooting macro stuff with extension tubes and bellows. You don't need to worry about the ffd and you hqve unlimited possibilities compared to a dedicated PL macro

[Daniel Klockenkemper]

There is one other possibility, which is to adapt a teleconverter to change the optical path so that the adapted lens is outside the PL mount.  This does already exist as a product:  https://www.newsshooter.com/2017/04/27/tokina-ef-to-pl-mount/  The downsides of course are that the focal lengths of the lenses become longer, and the aperture/transmission becomes slower, but it is cheaper than rehousing... 

[Matthew J. Walker]

19 hours ago, Daniel Klockenkemper said:

There is one other possibility, which is to adapt a teleconverter to change the optical path so that the adapted lens is outside the PL mount.  This does already exist as a product:  https://www.newsshooter.com/2017/04/27/tokina-ef-to-pl-mount/  The downsides of course are that the focal lengths of the lenses become longer, and the aperture/transmission becomes slower, but it is cheaper than rehousing... 

I did see that converter once before. It would work, however a 50mm becomes an 80mm and as you said, you lose one and a third T stops. Not worth it but thank you two for the input.

[Stuart Brereton]

Another possibility might be a C/Y to LPL adapter. The shorter FFD and large physical size of the LPL mount have made a lot of stills lenses adaptable. LPL mount is standard on Alexa LF and Mini LF, and it's an option on other Alexas. They are also available for RED cameras, and I would assume for other brands as well.

[Dave Tree]

Why PL mount? I've been using CY glass on my Amira and Alexa mini for years. Simply convert the CY lens to EF and run the EF mount on Alexa (or EF on whatever camera you are using).