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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Cheap Nikon mount

S

sander kamp

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I really wanted a Nikon mount and was tired of waiting for RED or others to manufacture one so I dissected an old Nikon slr and with help of a cheap Chinese vernier and some guessing I made a drawing for the front plate and went to a local metal workshop here in Bangkok.

I must have been really lucky and the guy at the workshop a craftsman because it seems to work perfectly. Needed only just a little bit of back focus adjustment. Okay, the screws still stick out a bit and it needs black anodizing. And maybe I have to make a locking pin, although without it it works just fine. Also thinking about a way to control aperture on G-lenses like my 12-24 so I don't have to stick some paper in the back of the lens ;-)

Best thing was the price: 25 dollars (plus an old camera).

Picture is of the Nikkor 12-24 at 12mm f4.
 
A cheaper source of Nikon mounts is their extension tunes which I believe are called PK tubes. That way you get a quality Nikon mount.
 
Nice! Wish I was more handy like that, it looks simple enough. Post more if you can :)
 
I love that people are cracking open their Reds and making things that work for them.. Viva La Revolution !
 
Great work Sander! If possible, could you write up the particulars/specs - this may be something to work on as we wait for our mounts.

Nick.
 
Okay, some more pictures and specs. I measured the thickness of the RED PL mount and subtracted the difference with the Nikon flange focal distance and the stainless mounting ring I got from the camera and came out with exactly 4mm. I had the outer diameter of the ring made at 96mm and the hole at 47.5mm. I gave my old camera and the ring to the guy at the workshop so he could measure the mounting holes for the ring and the space for the spring. The ring and the spring came from my camera but I believe there are other systems where they are in one piece.

Once that was ready I went back to the workshop with the PL mount and had them made the mounting holes to the camera exactly the same as on the PL mount. I think this is very important because if they are off you might damage the camera and/or the mount would not fit. They also made some space at the back for the connector.

The guy used some special Swiss made aluminum which helps I think because the front and back surfaces are extremely smooth. He also made screw threads for the little screws that attach the stainless ring.

This was made in a rather simple machine shop with just a lathe and a mill. Nothing fancy CNC. Next time I go I should make a picture of this shop in a Bangkok back alley making parts for a state of the art 4k camera while kids and dogs run through the shop and street vendors selling noodle soup and ice creams. Kind of Blade Runnerish.

I have some more plans for simple RED accessories, for instance to mount the LCD in an easy way. I'll keep everybody updated.

Use this information and the pictures as you wish, but don't hold me responsible for doing anything wrong.
 
Great job, couple more specs?

Great job, couple more specs?

Sander,

Great job. I knew this should be pretty simple but you've proven it isn't that hard.

I am mainly going to use the Birger smart mount for Canon. But would like to fool with some nikons too and have an old Nikon mount here.

I wonder if you could have your machinist tell you/us the dimensions of hole patterns for the RED (I think we just need the radius of the hole pattern since they look equally spaced) and the hole positions for the Nikon mount.

We could probably figure that pretty easily ourselves but it looks like your guy did a great job and it would save a little work and uncertainty here.

Thanks, again.
 
As I said I took the PL mount to the shop. I think what they did is align the machine with the holes in the PL mount and make a 45 degree turn for each hole. Easier than trying to measure.
 
Sander, I'm just trying to get my mind around your calculations:

(thickness of red pl mount) - (nikon flange focal distance - 46.5mm) - (the depth of the nikon female f-mount) = 4mm.

Assuming the female f-mount I use shares the same depth as your's, do you believe 4mm will work for me. What is the depth of your f-mount? I'm trying to understand how you came to your measurements - any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Nick.
 
Hey Nick,

I don't really have the tools to measure precisely but I think the Nikon f-mount that I detached from my camera is a little over 2mm thick, maybe 2.3mm? That is the thickness of the central ring that has the screws in it. So the total thickness from back of the plate to front of the mount is something like 6.3mm.

If I am going to do this more I have to buy me some proper tools but for now I guess I was lucky that it works ;-)
 
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