P+s New Nikon Mount

[Bob Hart]

Yesterday for few minutes, I managed to get my sweat and DNA all over the new mount P+S Technik have built for Nikon lenses and it is a huge improvement.

The locking pin arrangement remains however the lens is not longer rotated in the mount to secure it and is no longer latched by the locking pin moving in and out.

The mount now has a rotating collar which exerts positive pressure upon the bayonet lugs of the Nikon lens. The physical action of offering up and securing the lens is now identical to the rest of the system so there should be less likelyhood of operator mistakes.

There is now way the Nikon lens will rock in this mount with a follow focus driving it. The only movements of the image with focussing occur within the lens itself.

One thing for sure. In the event of a violent catastrophe, when the debris is swept up off the roadside or from the site of the airplane crash, the rear of the lens and the mount will be found firmly wedded together.

One upside of this style of mount is that there is no longer a wearing process occurring on the flange faces due to rotation of the Nikon lens.

The same care when offering the lens up to the mount needs to be taken as with the PL Mount or P+S Technik's own adaptor bridges. The locking pin must be in its correct position in the lens body otherwise the lens will not be secured and will rock on the pin.

The design on the surface appears to be very similar to the orientation arrangement used for the camcorder - Mini35 relay bridge piece except that the threaded rotating collar replaces the axial screws in applying the clamping pressure which secures the lens.

Gone for ever thank goodness, is that little awkard latch thing which is inclined to jam and frustrate the camera assistant with big fingers.

[Craig Chartier]

we upgraded to this new mount. It is much better (twice the money) but much better.

[Bob Hart]

On initial examination of the new Nikon mount, I had a nagging concern that the armstrongs and hamfists of this world might try to overpower this mount when the locating pin groove on the lens was not correctly located over the pin when the lens is offered up to the mount.

Yes it did eventually happen, however P+S seem to have provided a tiny protection feature though I have not seen it published.

The pin is an interference fit in its hole in the front of the mount behind the flange ring but the hole is a little deeper than it needs to be.

If a crewmember does a Tarzan and forces the mount ring whilst the lens is riding high on the pin, the pin can press into its hole a little furthur, thus offering some protection to the lens itself.

There will be a proper method of restoring the pin to its correct position. Mine in the meantime was to remove the flange ring which is secured by four tiny countersunk screws, then grip the now exposed stump of the pin very firmly with ratnose pliers from the side.

Then gently rotate the pin in its hole back and forth through about 50 degrees whilst applying draw tension to pull the pin outwards.

It may come right out or it may slowly work back to its correct position. Whichever happens, take time out to marvel appropriately at the precision of engineering that achieves such a fit on something so tiny and the extra mile that seems to go into their R&D.

There also seems to be two tiny lock screws on 180degree radial centres. These are styled after the focus ring lockscrew in the P+S relay lens for JVC GY-HD*** and Canon XL camera families.

I may have been attempting a wrongful method of dismantlement, however when these two screws are unscrewed, they only back off so far and then bind.

This seems to lock the lockring itself. If this is a designed-in feature, it would enable the mount to be secured against coming loose in a dynamic environment like a vehicle window mount or hood mount. I shall have to enquire about this.

The PL mount lockring can be secured similarly by substituting the limit screw with a longer one which then beds to the bottom of the slot.