6 Bit your old lens (DIY)

[d.clin.design]

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I had some time over the US Thanksgiving break to write up a quick DIY tutorial for modification that I'm sure a lot of you been wanting to do!!

 

It's actually a fairly simple process and totally reversible if needed. Not to mention, pretty economical!

 

All you need is a screw driver, some nail polish, some common things around the house, and an ebay account. I'm not affiliated with the ebay seller. You should be able to find the bracket from other places as well. This is the one I ordered and it works!

 

I have more detail on my blog.

 

6 Bit your old lens!

[lct]

Works well or not depending on lenses: http://tinyurl.com/6yuhsgd

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[brianv]

Did you check the thickness of the replacement mounts?

 

The thickness of the Chinese made LTM adapters are "all over the place". Probably unusable for any focal length except 50. Are the replacement mounts any better?

[Double Negative]

I'd have to agree with the others. Those replacement flanges are of dubious quality and only work with a very small subset of lenses (or even just a couple).

 

I tried some LTM/M adapters in the past and even they were kind of lame.

 

A real bummer, since these would be a couple of great products otherwise. The intention is there, but the execution fails.

[250swb]

I don't think anybody who is going to set up a lathe and miller to machine these flanges is going to do it with the intention of being sloppy, that would be a total waste of time for them. Its just as lct points out, we have discovered that Leica mounts are subtle in their variations and more options are needed in aftermarket mounts to address the problem for all Leica lenses that can be coded. But for the Leica flanges I have replaced they do work very well imo. Equally I have never come across a bad Chinese made LTM adapter, just people with unwarranted expectations.

 

Steve

[d.clin.design]

I don't have a gauge to check the thickness. But it worked fine on my 24mm Elmarit. Of course, sending it in to Leica is the best option, but for a more economical option even though manufacturing tolerance might not be up to par, it's still a worthwhile try. It might just work. I'll try to borrow a gauge from my friend and post up some comparison with the original vs eBay.

[brianv]

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I have seen several bad Chinese made LTM adapters.

 

1) focus Index marks come up in different places;

2) thickness is off;

3) Mounting flanges hang up on the camera;

4) Lenses overshoot/undershoot infinity

 

It is not unreasonable to want the distance scale, focus, and rangefinder to agree with each other. With a 50mm lens on an adapter of improper thickness, the actual focus and RF will agree- but distance scale will be off. With a telephoto and wide-angle, if the adapter is the wrong thickness- neither focus nor distance scale will agree with the rangefinder.

 

Hopefully the quality of the replacement lens mounts is better than the LTM adapters.

[250swb]

I have seen several bad Chinese made LTM adapters.

 

1) focus Index marks come up in different places;

2) thickness is off;

3) Mounting flanges hang up on the camera;

4) Lenses overshoot/undershoot infinity

 

It is not unreasonable to want the distance scale, focus, and rangefinder to agree with each other. With a 50mm lens on an adapter of improper thickness, the actual focus and RF will agree- but distance scale will be off. With a telephoto and wide-angle, if the adapter is the wrong thickness- neither focus nor distance scale will agree with the rangefinder.

 

Hopefully the quality of the replacement lens mounts is better than the LTM adapters.

 

Well every case can be different, but in general the main complaint people have about 'Chinese' LTM adapters is simple.

 

And the complaint is that the LTM lens is offset to the left when mounted on an M body (looking from behind the body). Now with a true LTM adapter this is absolutely correct, LTM lenses are supposed to be offset. This is because when an accessory viewfinder is mounted on an LTM body it means the scale readings can be seen by looking to the side, otherwise the viewfinder would obscure them. So you say why is the lens still offset on an M body? Well the lens was designed so the focus throw begins and ends so your finger on the focus lock button doesn't get in the way of the viewfinder. If the LTM adapter did in fact set the LTM lens square on an M body it would mean your finger will end up obscuring the viewfinder at the closest focus distance. So in short, a proper LTM adapter should mount the LTM lens off centre on an M body.

 

But what then happens (just to confuse things) is that Voigtlander make LTM lenses designed to be square on a Voigtlander body, but people use a 'Chinese' (by way of blaming a foreigner) LTM adapter and complain when their 'differently designed' LTM Voigtlander lens is now mounted off centre on an M body. So the answer is simple, take it totally literally that when an adapter is marketed as an 'LTM adapter' it is to adapt Leica LTM lenses to an M body with the correct amount of offset. Otherwise buy the special Voigtlander adapter that mounts Voigtlander lenses square on an M body.

 

Steve

Edited November 28, 2011 by 250swb

[brianv]

The Chinese LTM adapters that I have and use "are all over the place" with regard to centering. They are inconsistent. I pair them with Russian mounts that are also notorious for not being consistent with regard for coming up to center. Do the right pairing, the errors in centering cancel. Some lenses stop before coming to top-center, and are to the right of center as you look down. Some are close to center, others are to the left of center. Some focus past infinity, others stop short of infinity. One is so far off that I use it only with the Olympus EP2 with an M-adapter to u43, to use with screw mount lenses.

 

The tolerances on the Chinese LTM adapters are not within spec. The Cosina/Voigtlander adapters that I use are all within spec. Perhaps the vendor of the M-Mount flanges takes more care in their product.

 

It would probably be useful to post a thread on reliable vendors of these products. Ebay is luck of the draw, and the majority of Chinese LTM adapters that I have handled (20 or so) were out of spec.

Edited November 29, 2011 by brianv

[250swb]

You are without any doubt a very unlucky person.

 

Steve

[jaapv]

I don't have a gauge to check the thickness. But it worked fine on my 24mm Elmarit. Of course, sending it in to Leica is the best option, but for a more economical option even though manufacturing tolerance might not be up to par, it's still a worthwhile try. It might just work. I'll try to borrow a gauge from my friend and post up some comparison with the original vs eBay.

The economic argument is moot - having a lens coded by a third party costs only marginally more than these adapters, and if you have a bit of manual skill, DIY coding with a Dremel is perfectly doable- for free.

[250swb]

The economic argument is moot - having a lens coded by a third party costs only marginally more than these adapters, and if you have a bit of manual skill, DIY coding with a Dremel is perfectly doable- for free.

 

Not the one's I got from Ebay, I think it was $35 for three (50-75, 28-90, and 35-135), and they work perfectly. Of course you need to add labour which is ten minutes spent with the correct sized screwdriver, plus a lifetime's worth of whatever common sense you can muster.

 

Steve

Edited November 29, 2011 by 250swb

[brianv]

You are without any doubt a very unlucky person.

 

Steve

 

No- luck has nothing to do with it. I am not the only one that has problems with these adapters, They are not very well made. Perhaps in the future, the quality will get better. But they are not there yet.

[zombii]

The big question I have about these mounts is who makes them with accurate thickness? Sloppiness on that score is indeed a problem and if they're not right, they're worthless.

[lct]

Only risk is to ruin the screw heads of the flange with a wrong screwdriver.

[250swb]

No- luck has nothing to do with it. I am not the only one that has problems with these adapters, They are not very well made. Perhaps in the future, the quality will get better. But they are not there yet.

 

The problem you have when you make absolutist statements like that is that you prove yourself wrong. My experience, plus that of many other people, shows they all can't be bad. And hyperbole to the contrary and used to tarnish perfectly good companies doing accurate work isn't very nice. This is somebody's income you are affecting with your sweeping gestures.

 

Steve

[ksporry]

Actually, if the adaptors come from china, then do not expect quality. I live and work in China. They don't care about quality, only about making a quick buck. Sorry, but that's experience talking. Ofcourse that does not mean that all manufacturers are bad, just the Chinese ones.

[jaques]

I for one am sick of all this China bashing. How can you say, 'they don't care about quality'. you are talking about over 1 Billion people- one in 8 of the global population... Just because you live or work there does not make you an expert. I have been there several times- I hardly claim to know much about such a gigantic and diverse country. It could take a lifetime to learn anything... one thing I did notice: they have a long reputation for being masters of manufacture and technology. Who invented printing, the barbed fish hook, paper money, the two way valve double stroke bellows and mastered fine porcelain ware and silk production?

 

and it is just straight out simplistic crap- like everywhere else you get what you pay for. There are absolute first rate products coming out of China- as well as the crappiest stuff you can't even imagine. In either case there is someone (in a different country) ordering the items- at a cost they agree to...

 

One has to ask: who do you blame most for a crap product: the manufacturer- or the entity that ordered and imported the goods- and set the price they were wiling to pay (thereby setting the quality)?

 

My bet is that you actually have many items (your computer?) in your own home made in China that you are perfectly happy with (price and quality).

 

Yet you can say, "They don't care about quality..."

 

it's straight out zenophobia talking if you ask me.

 

And to bring it back to topic: I have several Chinese made rings that work perfectly- focus is spot on. I have had one that was terrible- rough mounting, rough edges- and focus off. Well guess what: I paid 8$ for that one- and only have myself to blame.

Edited January 9, 2012 by jaques

[01af]

There are absolute first rate products coming out of China—as well as the crappiest stuff you can't even imagine.

SanDisk memory cards, for example ...

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[Double Negative]

I for one am sick of all this China bashing. How can you say, 'they don't care about quality'. you are talking about over 1 Billion people- one in 8 of the global population...

 

Okay, so 12% of the crap comes from China, then.