michali Posted February 22, 2010 Share #1 Posted February 22, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) I've been sitting with a couple of Leica R Lenses and was undecided whether to sell or keep them. I came across the LEITAX website: Leica lens for Sony cameras I went out and bought a Sony Alpha 850 which is a reasonably priced full frame DSLR, with the sole intention of using this as my R solution. I ordered a couple of mounts from Leitax and have so far converted 2 R lenses myself. It’s fairly straightforward, it took me all of 10 minutes to convert the Elmarit 100mm f2.8 Macro, and about half an hour to convert the Vario-Elmar 105-280mm as there was an extra cam to remove. BYTW I also converted my Carl Zeiss 300mm f2.8 (a monster of a lens) from Contax/Yashica mount to Sony Alpha. Focus to infinity is achieved. Exposure and focus settings are all fully manual. I much prefer it this way, especially for wildlife photography which is what I’m using this kit for. I'm posting some sample pics in the nature & Wildlife section of the Forum. The mounts are extremely well machined and well made, the website has fully illustrated concise instructions on how to convert a large number of R Lenses. I also found David Llado from Leitax to be extremely helpful and responsive to my email queries. They also make mounts to convert R lenses to Canon, Nikon and Pentax. I’m not in any way connected or associated with Leitax, I’m posting this here for those who may be interested in this solution. 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! 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/113336-r-lens-solution-via-sony-dslr/?do=findComment&comment=1234416'>More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted February 22, 2010 Posted February 22, 2010 Hi michali, Take a look here R Lens solution via Sony DSLR. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
andybarton Posted February 22, 2010 Share #2 Posted February 22, 2010 I now have 4 of my R lenses converted to Nikon via Leitax mounts. I have been very pleased with the results. If I had hone down the Canon route, however, I would have used a different solution. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
berndr Posted February 22, 2010 Share #3 Posted February 22, 2010 Hello Mike, I'm on the way to buy a Sony Alpha 850 to use it with my R Lenses. I hope the prices will fall again after the PMA. I think the camera has the best viewfinder for manual focusing. What are your experience with manual focusing with the Sony Alpha 850? My idea is to change the body mount to Leica R to get a real Leica R DSLR. I hope I can realize a mechnical connection for aperture control. Kind regards, Bernd. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted February 22, 2010 Share #4 Posted February 22, 2010 I don't know of anyone who changes body mounts to Leica R mounts, but certainly with the Nikon bodies, connection to auto-stopdown the aperture isn't possible because of the way that Nikon bodies work with Nikon lenses. The Sony's might be different. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
berndr Posted February 22, 2010 Share #5 Posted February 22, 2010 At the moment I just studied some mechanical drawings. The Sony Apha concept has a affinity to the old minolta bajonet. As you might know the old R3-R7 cameras are modified minolta bodys. The direction of the aperture control level of Leica R and Sony Alpha is the same and with a little bit of good luck the stepping correspond. The rest must be doen via lens coding (starting and end aperture, focaldistance,..). The Bajonet exchange will I try to do on my own. When I find a working solution I will share it here in the forum. But I'm still interested in Mikes answer about focusing with the Sony Alpha 850 viewfinder... Kind regards, Bernd. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
michali Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share #6 Posted February 22, 2010 If I had hone down the Canon route, however, I would have used a different solution. Andy- Just for interest sake, what would you have done in the case of Canon? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
michali Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share #7 Posted February 22, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hello Mike, I think the camera has the best viewfinder for manual focusing. What are your experience with manual focusing with the Sony Alpha 850? My idea is to change the body mount to Leica R to get a real Leica R DSLR. I hope I can realize a mechnical connection for aperture control. Kind regards, Bernd. Hi Bernd- I have absolutely no problem with the Sony viewfinder for focusing. I focus at full aperture and then stop down. I have had a look at both Canon & Nikon and I agree with you the Sony viewfinder works very well for manual focusing. I also much prefer the controls on the Sony, IMO they are more logical than either Nikon or Canon. I can't comment on changing the camera's body mount, it sounds more complicated than changing the lens mount. I would be very interested to hear how that goes. Regards Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ns_ng Posted February 22, 2010 Share #8 Posted February 22, 2010 Hi, I have gone FF with the Sony A850 as well. I have converted 2 of my R lenses, 19mm (2nd ver and 28mm 1st ver) using the Leitax mounts. I have the focus confirmation chips which also activate SteadyShot, installed on the mounts. As for focusing, the standard screen that comes with the A850, is not designed for manual focusing. I changed this to the M-type screen and this is much better for manual focusing. Brightscreen.com is offerring screens with split image and microprism for the A850/A900. The A850 is a great FF solution, but the DMR which I used to have has better colour. . N.S. Ng Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted February 22, 2010 Share #9 Posted February 22, 2010 Andy- Just for interest sake, what would you have done in the case of Canon? Not Andy but I think he would give the same answer - with Canon bodies you can use a simple R/EOS adapter, leave it fixed on the body so no need to change the mounts on the lenses. I do this because I use a film Leica and digital Canon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted February 22, 2010 Share #10 Posted February 22, 2010 Quite right James. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
leicanut2 Posted April 26, 2010 Share #11 Posted April 26, 2010 Hi N.S. ng Where did you find the confirmation chips that activates the steady shot?? Jan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ns_ng Posted April 27, 2010 Share #12 Posted April 27, 2010 Hi N.S. ng Where did you find the confirmation chips that activates the steady shot?? Jan Hi Jan, Follow this link, M42 M42-MAF/SONY alpha Adapter With Focus Confirmation. Contact James. N.S. Ng Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
leicanut2 Posted April 27, 2010 Share #13 Posted April 27, 2010 Thank You. Jan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posto 6 Posted October 7, 2010 Share #14 Posted October 7, 2010 At the moment I just studied some mechanical drawings. The Sony Apha concept has a affinity to the old minolta bajonet. As you might know the old R3-R7 cameras are modified minolta bodys. The direction of the aperture control level of Leica R and Sony Alpha is the same and with a little bit of good luck the stepping correspond. The rest must be doen via lens coding (starting and end aperture, focaldistance,..). The Bajonet exchange will I try to do on my own. When I find a working solution I will share it here in the forum. But I'm still interested in Mikes answer about focusing with the Sony Alpha 850 viewfinder... Kind regards, Bernd. Did you ever mange to go forward with this? I have started another thread to try to take this forward. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhsimmonds Posted October 10, 2010 Share #15 Posted October 10, 2010 Hello Mike, I'm on the way to buy a Sony Alpha 850 to use it with my R Lenses. I hope the prices will fall again after the PMA. I think the camera has the best viewfinder for manual focusing. What are your experience with manual focusing with the Sony Alpha 850? My idea is to change the body mount to Leica R to get a real Leica R DSLR. I hope I can realize a mechnical connection for aperture control. Kind regards, Bernd. I use the A900 which has 100% viewfinder which is perfect for manual focusing. It is this bright viewfinder which sets this Sony apart from other DSLR's IMHO. Whilst other screens are available, most MF users prefer to stay with the standard screen. Incidentally this cam is now two years since it's launch and is still on firmware 1 with no user complaints...must be a record! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posto 6 Posted October 10, 2010 Share #16 Posted October 10, 2010 I am not sufficiently familiar with the A900 to know whether there would be any mechanical linkages permitting the fitting of the Leica R mount. Has anyone ever tried doing this recently? Theoretically, it would appear possible by cannibalizing something like an R3, but in practice, I do not have the skills to research this in a viable manner. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
roguewave Posted October 14, 2010 Share #17 Posted October 14, 2010 The real issue is that the SONY senor is so far inferior to both the DMR & the M8/M9. The Canon & Nikon files are easier to fiddle with & bring them along, but they don't match up to the M8/M9 or DMR colors either. Yes, they are plenty good, but just don't do it for me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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