Macro with Leica.

[rob_x2004]

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Before I do the sensible thing and jsut go out and buy a canon, is there anyone set up for Leica M or R macro work? I cant think M could lend itself in any meaningful way but maybe someone has it sorted.

[jaapv]

Both M and R.

 

M - Visoflex and whatever lens and/or bellows takes your fancy, R? well, take your pick. Professionally I use a 60 Macro and ring flash, and when toting the thing around privately the Macro setting on the 35-70 does a surprisingly good job.

I'll happily admit that the Visoflex is a kind of goofy contraption, albeit rather nice and efficient in actual use, but it is hard to see what advantage a Canon would offer over a DMR/R9, seeing you would have to use an adaptor to mount a 100 APOMacro or 60 Macro anyway to get the best quality.

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[Michael Hiles]

Before I do the sensible thing and jsut go out and buy a canon, is there anyone set up for Leica M or R macro work? I cant think M could lend itself in any meaningful way but maybe someone has it sorted.

 

I have been using a Visoflex plus bellows plus 65/90/135mm lenses on an M2 and M3 since forever. It is wonderful. Many have found this set up is very applicable to the M8. M Leicas do macro as well - maybe better considering the quality of the lenses - as anything else available, old or new.

[mooky]

The Leica bellows for the R system was really nice especially for extreme close-up work with what I believe were called Photar lenses for the bellows.

 

It was a very robust bellows - this is not the same as the later bellows from Novoflex (I believe) which was okay but not as nice. Too, I'm pretty sure the older (and better) bellows unit did not offer auto-exposure mode use, as it was originally designed for the SL series bodies. I've also used the 100 Macro Elmar and the 100 Macro Apo and 60 Elmarit. I actually liked the 100's because of the longer working distance they provide.

 

Understand that the bellows units were designed before the days of 'close-up' long throw lenses. I still have my father's old Viso I bellows kit and I used to study Sun-lit window frost with it before my college days. A bellows with it's extreme close-up capabilities can really open a fascinating world.

[adan]

I posted some studio shots in the photo forum:

 

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/other/81701-m8-studio.html

 

...that verge on macro, thanks to the M8 crop factor (75 or 90 lenses at minimum focus).

 

But I guess you are looking for "even closer", and I'm kind of in the same boat.

 

I've tried the Viso a couple of times since moving to Leica for my personal work, and I guess with enough decades of practice it can work great - but it is a real kludge to learn (no metering, a whole system of adapters and lenses (many now rare and collectible)). I shot for 3 years with one in my first job (hospital copy-stand work) using the 65 Elmar, and that unit was not too bad.

 

The 90-Macro gets closer than the regular M lenses, with only a set of goggles - but probably still not quite real macro (1:3 - about a 2" x 3" area with an M8). And while the goggles correct for framing and focus at the subject plane quite well, they do not correct for internal parallax (how foreground and background line up) due to the 2" difference between the lens and viewfinder. Depends on what you are doing - for flat copy work it is great, or if you're going to stick to simple backgrounds (as I did in my almost-macro shots). But if you want a fuzzy flower in the background to exactly line up with your main subject, for example - the SLR or Viso is a must.

 

As I said, I'm in the same boat. Hoping to move back into studio/medical/scientific work, I need something beyond my M8s and non-macro 90, but I have not yet figured out what.

 

I did this shot years ago with a Nikon F and plain old (but close-focusing) 28mm AIS Nikkor - and I'd kind of like the flexibility to shoot "macro" with a wideangle as well as a short tele (60-120). It can be pretty interesting. Torn between a Canon with Leica glass, or just a D700 with the old AIS (plus other macro lenses).

 

In vitro fertilization (ICSI) of a mouse ovum throught the microscope, Ohio University

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Edited March 28, 2009 by adan

[farnz]

Rob,

 

Depending on what you're need is, you might like to at least consider the D-Lux 4 for macro work, which produces surprisingly good results. It's a P&S, so it's unlikely to rival the more expensive Canons, the Ms or the Rs for professional work, but it offers excellent portability and the price won't leave you homeless. Just a thought ...

 

Pete.

[marknorton]

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Panasonic G1 with a Novoflex M to MFT adapter, the Leica OUTRO extension ring and the M lens of your choice. I use the 75mm or 90mm Summicrons. Llive View is great for macro work because of the critical focussing required.

 

[Forgot to mention that this combination gives good camera to subject distances, one issue with macro work is that the lens is too close to the subject which makes lighting difficult].

Edited March 28, 2009 by marknorton

[symmetron]

Get a Leica R body and 60 mm Macro for serious macro work, or if you can afford it, the 100 mm APO. Forget the M; it's too clunky in spite of what you may be advised

[tollie]

Rob,

 

Depending on what you're need is, you might like to at least consider the D-Lux 4 for macro work, which produces surprisingly good results. It's a P&S, so it's unlikely to rival the more expensive Canons, the Ms or the Rs for professional work, but it offers excellent portability and the price won't leave you homeless. Just a thought ...

 

Pete.

 

I saw Farnz's comment about the D-Lux 4 and on a whim went and pulled out my wife's D-Lux 3. Set to manual, hand held, auto-focus macro, using the on-board flash and producing jpgs which were very lightly treated in Lightroom... this is what I got in about 5 minutes:

 

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What is really nice is that this little P&S has this wide angle lens so you can get a close and wide perspective.

 

 

I love the way this camera renders color...

 

Ok... not a prosessional job but not bad not bad.