Frames issue with LTM-M adapter - need your help

[elvispreasley]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Hello to everyone! I get some strange result with my new ltm ot m adapter for my Canon 50mm 1.2 LTM: the 50/75 frames get switched "in a half". When I'm saying "in a half" - I mean, that the frame lines are just two times slimmer, that they should be! It seems, that my ltm-m adapter, can't switch the frames completely due to some construction issue. I already tried to adjust it with scrubbing of 3mm of the part of adapter barrel, but it looks that I start to work in a wrong place, cause it doesn't make any affect. Please, refer to the pictures of the adapter itself and the part which I work on and tell me - what I have to do, to make this adapter work as it should. Thank you in advance for your answers!

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!

Edited December 8, 2014 by elvispreasley

[elgenper]

Hello to everyone! I get some strange result with my new ltm ot m adapter for my Canon 50mm 1.2 LTM: the 50/75 frames get switched "in a half". When I'm saying "in a half" - I mean, that the frame lines are just two times slimmer, that they should be! It seems, that my ltm-m adapter, can't switch the frames completely due to some construction issue. I already tried to adjust it with scrubbing of 3mm of the part of adapter barrel, but it looks that I start to work in a wrong place, cause it doesn't make any affect. Please, refer to the pictures of the adapter itself and the part which I work on and tell me - what I have to do, to make this adapter work as it should. Thank you in advance for your answers!

 

Yes, you´re working in the wrong place. FWIW, the bayonet lug that governs the frame selection is the one at around ten o´clock in your left picture (just outside the border of the right picture). That said, I wouldn´t recommend that you fiddle with it; in all likelihood there is something else that´s wrong here. The tolerances are such that it is quite uncommon that a decent adapter triggers the wrong frame set. So start with checking a few points before doing anything irreversible.

 

1) Do you really have the right adapter to begin with? There are three: the 50/75, the 35/135, and the 28/90. They should be clearly marked on the front, so you can see directly which one it is (yours looks more like the 28/90 judging from the pics, but it is difficult to say conclusively).

 

2) does it lock in place distinctly and securely when mounted on the camera? If it turns too far, or not enough, the bayonet locking button on the camera will remain depressed, and the frame selector position will be wrong.

 

3) does it work correctly (locking, and displaying the frames correctly) when mounted without the lens? If so, something on the lens itself might obstruct the mechanism.

 

If the problems persist, I recommend that you visit a Leica dealer, or another Leica owner, and tries the adapter/lens on another camera body, and, if necessary, get some advice about how to proceed. Filing away on these precision parts without really knowing what you do just isn´t a very good idea.....

 

Honestly

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[elvispreasley]

Yes, you´re working in the wrong place. FWIW, the bayonet lug that governs the frame selection is the one at around ten o´clock in your left picture (just outside the border of the right picture). That said, I wouldn´t recommend that you fiddle with it; in all likelihood there is something else that´s wrong here. The tolerances are such that it is quite uncommon that a decent adapter triggers the wrong frame set. So start with checking a few points before doing anything irreversible.

 

1) Do you really have the right adapter to begin with? There are three: the 50/75, the 35/135, and the 28/90. They should be clearly marked on the front, so you can see directly which one it is (yours looks more like the 28/90 judging from the pics, but it is difficult to say conclusively).

 

2) does it lock in place distinctly and securely when mounted on the camera? If it turns too far, or not enough, the bayonet locking button on the camera will remain depressed, and the frame selector position will be wrong.

 

3) does it work correctly (locking, and displaying the frames correctly) when mounted without the lens? If so, something on the lens itself might obstruct the mechanism.

 

If the problems persist, I recommend that you visit a Leica dealer, or another Leica owner, and tries the adapter/lens on another camera body, and, if necessary, get some advice about how to proceed. Filing away on these precision parts without really knowing what you do just isn´t a very good idea.....

 

Honestly

 

First of all - thank you for your reply! About the questions you posted above:

1. I have a proper 50/75 adapter

2. I have a feeling that it lock not in place when mounted on the camera - as you said "not enough". This is actually causing the issue I've mention before - it seems like an adapter stops on place right before the place, where it should switch 50/75 frame lines, so it starts to bring 50/75 frame lines in a half of all way, that's why they looks soooo tiny. If I'm moving frame switch (on the left side of the lens mount) - to the left a little bit, the frames became clearly visible and looks as it should be.

3. It works not correctly, cause it showing the issue, that I told you before.

 

Unfortunately following your advice "...visit a Leica dealer, or another Leica owner..." - it's not actually best way out, cause it's gonna cost me WAY MORE time, that fix this simple (and I have a feeling that this issue is pretty easy to fix) problem back home with help of right advice) How do you think: what way I have to adjust that "10 o'clock" lug, to make an adapter works properly?

[elgenper]

First of all - thank you for your reply! About the questions you posted above:

1. I have a proper 50/75 adapter

2. I have a feeling that it lock not in place when mounted on the camera - as you said "not enough". This is actually causing the issue I've mention before - it seems like an adapter stops on place right before the place, where it should switch 50/75 frame lines, so it starts to bring 50/75 frame lines in a half of all way, that's why they looks soooo tiny. If I'm moving frame switch (on the left side of the lens mount) - to the left a little bit, the frames became clearly visible and looks as it should be.

3. It works not correctly, cause it showing the issue, that I told you before.

 

Unfortunately following your advice "...visit a Leica dealer, or another Leica owner..." - it's not actually best way out, cause it's gonna cost me WAY MORE time, that fix this simple (and I have a feeling that this issue is pretty easy to fix) problem back home with help of right advice) How do you think: what way I have to adjust that "10 o'clock" lug, to make an adapter works properly?

 

Now, that lug works by pushing a tiny lever inside the bayonet ring into the right position. As you can easily see for yourself, when no lens or adapter is mounted, the finder shows the 35/135 frames; that´s the "rest position". If that lever is pushed a small distance by the bayonet lug, the 50/75 frames come into view instead, and some further pushing would make it show the 28/90 frames. Let´s assume your adapter does have the correct lug for the 50/75 frames. Now, if the adapter doesn´t turn far enough, that lug doesn´t push the lever far enough. Then, obviously any filing away on that lug will only make things worse; it would need to be made longer instead, which is simply not a realistic proposition.

 

The root of the problem is that the adapter doesn´t mount correctly; it might be damaged or badly made. Is it an original Leica adapter, a Voigtlander one, or some "no-name" import? Did you buy it new, or was it used before?

 

Another important consideration is that if the adapter doesn´t lock properly, you run the risk of dropping the lens as well. Since you´ve already worked on the adapter, you cannot return it to the seller, so you´d probably be best off by getting a new one. But, there´s always a chance the fault lies with the camera body; only way to know for sure would be to try another one. In any case, I don´t share your opinion that the issue is easy to fix, so I still recommend you consult some kind of expert.

[elvispreasley]

Now, that lug works by pushing a tiny lever inside the bayonet ring into the right position. As you can easily see for yourself, when no lens or adapter is mounted, the finder shows the 35/135 frames; that´s the "rest position". If that lever is pushed a small distance by the bayonet lug, the 50/75 frames come into view instead, and some further pushing would make it show the 28/90 frames. Let´s assume your adapter does have the correct lug for the 50/75 frames. Now, if the adapter doesn´t turn far enough, that lug doesn´t push the lever far enough. Then, obviously any filing away on that lug will only make things worse; it would need to be made longer instead, which is simply not a realistic proposition.

 

The root of the problem is that the adapter doesn´t mount correctly; it might be damaged or badly made. Is it an original Leica adapter, a Voigtlander one, or some "no-name" import? Did you buy it new, or was it used before?

 

Another important consideration is that if the adapter doesn´t lock properly, you run the risk of dropping the lens as well. Since you´ve already worked on the adapter, you cannot return it to the seller, so you´d probably be best off by getting a new one. But, there´s always a chance the fault lies with the camera body; only way to know for sure would be to try another one. In any case, I don´t share your opinion that the issue is easy to fix, so I still recommend you consult some kind of expert.

 

Your advise now sounds pretty reasonable. i have a new "no name" adapter( I guess it's better to get another one from the famous vendor...

[Ecar]

FWIW, of all the "no name", cheap adapters I have used, the jinfinance ones have been the most reliable. The Voigtlander ones are the best, but at a higher price.

[elvispreasley]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

FWIW, of all the "no name", cheap adapters I have used, the jinfinance ones have been the most reliable. The Voigtlander ones are the best, but at a higher price.

 

The weird thing is that all cheap chines adapters, which I used before - worked perfectly well on my M8. After I sold it and get Epson R-D1s, I got canon 50mm 1.2 LTM and bought for it another no name adapter from Thailand and today with my new M9 I found that this particular adapter don't work as it should! Bad luck, what to say...

[richfx]

My advice is to buy only high quality LTM adapters manufactured by Leica, Leitz or Voigtlander. They're well worth the cost.

[iaeaix]

Get a Leitz one or Voigtlander one, your problem will be gone for sure. A leica M9 and Canon 50/1.2 deserve the best adapter.