audidudi Posted May 9, 2007 Share #1 Posted May 9, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Yes, as I predicted previously, it's not only possible -- see the photo below! -- but so far, it seems to work quite well indeed. Although I'll admit it's a bit of kludge-like setup (you must compose images on the LCD using the "Live View" mode and because the rear lens element extends so far into the body, the mirror makes light contact with it when you trip the shutter, something I'll ultimately address by putting a thin piece of rubber padding betwen the two to cushion the impact), there are also quite a few positive factors to be considered: 1) The lens is very light and compact; 2) The effective focal length is 24mm, which is noticeably wider than the (effective) 28mm end of the 14-50 zoom that comes with the camera; 3) Unlike the Olympus wide-angle zooms, it has manual aperture and focusing rings; and 4) The vignetting that affects images shot with this lens on a 24mm x 36mm format camera is pretty much non-existent when it's used on a 4/3-system camera with a 13mm x 18mm sensor. Alas, the F-mount version of this lens has been discontinued, so you'll have to hustle to find a NOS one sitting on a dealer's shelf if you wish to follow in my footsteps. I bought mine on eBay from an outfit in Japan and the total cost, including shipping and a 4/3->Nikon lens adapter which I also bought on eBay from a seller in Hong Kong, was approx. $695. For roughly the same money, you could buy an Olympus 11-22mm zoom instead, which, quite frankly, would be an infinitely more practical choice. However, if you want a compact lens with manual aperture and focus rings, and aren't concerned about giving up coverage at 11mm and 13mm (which you'd also get with the Olympus) or switching back to the 14-50 lens for coverage from 14mm through 22mm, then there are no other alternatives. My only regret is that I waited long enough to buy this lens that I wasn't able to find an all-black version, which I think would have been a more attractive choice for my L1K... Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/23636-voigtlander-12mmf56-on-an-l1d3/?do=findComment&comment=249717'>More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted May 9, 2007 Posted May 9, 2007 Hi audidudi, Take a look here Voigtlander 12mm/f5.6 on an L1/D3.... I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
dugby Posted May 9, 2007 Share #2 Posted May 9, 2007 Well done Jeffery......... where are the sample images..? Are you suggesting this lens is no longer available on cameraquest-dot-com ? regds Australia Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
audidudi Posted May 9, 2007 Author Share #3 Posted May 9, 2007 Well done Jeffery......... where are the sample images..? Only a dozen test images so far, nothing particularly artistic ... I'll post back with real samples by the end of the week. Are you suggesting this lens is no longer available on cameraquest-dot-com? regds Australia Yes, they show it as discontinued. When I saw this, I decided it was time to get serious and I found mine on eBay. I've been pondering whether I should pick up the 15mm and 40mm lenses as well, but decided I'm happy enough with the Leica 14-50 in those ranges ... of course, the pair of them would only cost another $700 or so, but I have a view camera habit to support as well, so I can't afford to scratch every itch... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
spylaw4 Posted May 9, 2007 Share #4 Posted May 9, 2007 Fascinating Jeffrey, looking forward to seeing results. Personally I would be worried about the lens/mirror contact over time even with padding. The main advantge IMO is compactness, but I think I"ll be heading for the 11-22 Oly eventually. As far as alternative lenses go I'm looking at Contax (adapters are cheaper than Cameraquest!) Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dugby Posted May 9, 2007 Share #5 Posted May 9, 2007 Jeffrey.... Thankyou for sharing this valuable information. I've been a closet M-8 potential buyer....so know a little about M8 and VC. What I do not know, and guess you might......what if any....is required to get Leica-M glass working on a D3 / L1 ? regards Dugby Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
audidudi Posted May 9, 2007 Author Share #6 Posted May 9, 2007 What I do not know, and guess you might......what if any....is required to get Leica-M glass working on a D3 / L1 ? Unfortunately, you can't there from here ... the flange-to-focal plane distance for M-glass is approximately 10mm less than for the L1/D3. (And it's approx. 18mm compared to the Nikon F-mount spec, which is why the rear element of these VC lenses is recessed so far into the body.) When it's the other way around, it's a fairly simple matter to make an adapter that spaces the lens out the proper distance; in this case, though, you need to move the lens closer and if you can't do it physically, then you have to do it optically by including an additional lens element in the adapter. To my knowledge, no such M-glass->4/3 adapter is available commercially. (I suppose you could also have the elements and aperture assembly remounted in a custom mount, which is essentially what Voigtlander did here, but the cost would surely be prohibitive on a one-off basis unless you were somehow able to do it yourself.) On the other hand, there is an adapter for the 12mm and 15mm VC F-mount lenses that will allow them to work on a M-camera. So, if you buy the F-mount version of these lenses now, you can mount them on your M8 later using the adapter ... at least that's my plan, although I'm not sure I really want an M8 because I don't like the 3:2 format and by the time you crop it to 4:3 or 1:1 (my favorite format), you've thrown away a considerable number of pixels, which sort of defeats much of the purpose of shooting with an M8 versus a less expensive 4/3 system camera... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
audidudi Posted May 9, 2007 Author Share #7 Posted May 9, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Personally I would be worried about the lens/mirror contact over time even with padding. Actually, my long-term plan is to remove the mirror assembly from my L1 and dedicate it to use as a digital back for my view camera and with this and/or any other Voigtlander SL series lenses I might buy. Obviously, when the camera is used as a digital back, I have no need for a viewfinder and with these lenses, I couldn't use the viewfinder even the mirror was still present to reflect an image into it! I'm hopeful I can do this in such a way as to make the process reversible for whenever I do sell the camera, but seeing that used ones can now be had for less than $1k on eBay on a good day (for the buyer, anyway!), I'm not sure how much value there will be to recover from it in another year or two, with or without a working mirror assembly... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dugby Posted May 9, 2007 Share #8 Posted May 9, 2007 Unfortunately, you can't there from here ... the flange-to-focal plane distance for M-glass is approximately 10mm less than for the L1/D3. (And it's approx. 18mm compared to the Nikon F-mount spec, which is why the rear element of these VC lenses is recessed so far into the body.) When it's the other way around, it's a fairly simple matter to make an adapter that spaces the lens out the proper distance; in this case, though, you need to move the lens closer and if you can't do it physically, then you have to do it optically by including an additional lens element in the adapter. To my knowledge, no such M-glass->4/3 adapter is available commercially. (I suppose you could also have the elements and aperture assembly remounted in a custom mount, which is essentially what Voigtlander did here, but the cost would surely be prohibitive on a one-off basis unless you were somehow able to do it yourself.) On the other hand, there is an adapter for the 12mm and 15mm VC F-mount lenses that will allow them to work on a M-camera. So, if you buy the F-mount version of these lenses now, you can mount them on your M8 later using the adapter ... at least that's my plan, although I'm not sure I really want an M8 because I don't like the 3:2 format and by the time you crop it to 4:3 or 1:1 (my favorite format), you've thrown away a considerable number of pixels, which sort of defeats much of the purpose of shooting with an M8 versus a less expensive 4/3 system camera... Thankyou Jeffrey. So am I correct in my understanding that you have an F-mount (ie Nikon mount) VC lens with the "Nikon to 4/3 adapter" on the L1..... in that first image of this thread? Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/23636-voigtlander-12mmf56-on-an-l1d3/?do=findComment&comment=250000'>More sharing options...
audidudi Posted May 9, 2007 Author Share #9 Posted May 9, 2007 So am I correct in my understanding that you have an F-mount (ie Nikon mount) VC lens with the "Nikon to 4/3 adapter" on the L1..... in that first image of this thread? Yes, that's exactly what I'm using. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
audidudi Posted May 9, 2007 Author Share #10 Posted May 9, 2007 I took the camera with me this morning when I took the dog for a walk and am surprised by a few of the results. Specifically, it appears there's quite a bit of softness at the sides of the images I shot at f5.6 that goes away by f/11 ... not sure if this is an extreme depth-of-field issue or what -- need to look into this further, which I'll do as soon as time permits -- but I am disappointed by this aspect of the images I shot this morning. Sorry I don't have time to post any of them but I wanted to post this cautionary note lest someone run out and buy one of these lenses based upon seeing this post... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cme4brain Posted May 9, 2007 Share #11 Posted May 9, 2007 Jeffrey.... Thankyou for sharing this valuable information. I've been a closet M-8 potential buyer....so know a little about M8 and VC. What I do not know, and guess you might......what if any....is required to get Leica-M glass working on a D3 / L1 ? regards Dugby If you are a closet potential M8 buyer- save your pennies and buy it! I took the plunge months ago and have all CV glass (15mm Heliar, 21mm Skopar, 25mm Skopar, 28mm Ultron, 35mm Skopar, 50mm Nokton, 90mm Lanthar) and I couldn't be happier. The images are incredible as is the camera. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
audidudi Posted May 9, 2007 Author Share #12 Posted May 9, 2007 I brought the camera and lens to work with me today and snuck down to the parking garage (my present photo project) at lunch to experiment a bit. It turns out that edge sharpness improves considerably at f8 and a teeny bit further still at f/11 ... as such, it's unlikely I'll be using this lens very often at f5.6 but it's adequately sharp at f8 and f11. I've also confirmed that depth of field isn't as great as I'd been lead to believe ... considerable, to be sure, but definitely not front-of-the-glass-to-infinity as some reviews have suggested. So far, so good (and Yes, I have decided to buy the 15mm version as well, along with the adapter that allows them to be used on M-series bodies, just to keep my options open for the future. It's only money, right?) Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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