albert Posted January 9, 2011 Share #1 Posted January 9, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) I will receive my new Panasonic DMC GF1 on Tuesday. I already received the live optical viewer and the Leica DG 45mm Macro micro 4/3rds Lens. I purchased the GF1 rather than the GF2 because it was half price and I really didn't want to do everything by touching the LCD screen. When I decide to get more Leica lenses should I get Rs or Ms and why ? Please forgive the stupid question but you must remember that I have very little technical knowledge. Thank you for considering my question. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 9, 2011 Posted January 9, 2011 Hi albert, Take a look here M or R Lenses with my GF1. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
vickko Posted January 9, 2011 Share #2 Posted January 9, 2011 You are going to need an adapter to the 4/3 Micro mount. Novoflex makes the best. The M lenses are the current hot item, smaller, and stellar performers. The R lenses are larger, due in part to their iris mechanism, and longer back focal length. If you shoot telephotos, the R lenses are the only way to go, for longer than 135mm. But, in the inventory of R lenses, there are some stunning performers, notably: 50mm f1.4 E60 version, 35mm f1.4, 80mm f1.4, 100mm f2.8 APO Macro. So, it isn't such a straight-forward decision. The easy decision is to buy M lenses, for their compactness. Hope this helps Vick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
albert Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share #3 Posted January 10, 2011 Vick, Thank you very very much. I am entering unknown territory for me and need all the help I can get. The method to my madness is to continue as a posting member of this forum on a limited budget. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vickko Posted January 10, 2011 Share #4 Posted January 10, 2011 ummm, "limited budget" and Leica lenses aren't going to get you too far. Consider Cosina lenses too - they are stunning performers, at fraction of the Leica price. Same for Zeiss lenses, in Leica mount. Some other resources: Buy & Sell New & Used Cameras – Canon, Nikon, Hasselblad, Leica & More - KEH.com for bargain lens prices CameraQuest Home Page for tons of info on RF cameras, and Cosina lenses http://www.rangefinderforum.com ...for another very active group of Leica RF shooters, and lens enthusiasts Welcome aboard, and may god have mercy on your pocketbook..... :-) Vick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
albert Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share #5 Posted January 10, 2011 Vick, Here is what I mean by limited. My Digilux 1 was 900. My Digilux 2 was 2500. My C-Luxs and D-Luxs were from 400 to 700. My new kit will be 1600. Limited means that I can neither afford an M, R, or S nor fancy new Leica lenses. I have been a proud member of this forum since earle 2003 and must have some type of Leica equipment in order to qualify for posting images. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shard Posted January 10, 2011 Share #6 Posted January 10, 2011 In my opinion, the best Leica M or R to M43 adapter is the Panasonic one. I have the Novoflex, Panasonic and Voightlander adapters and while they all lack nothing in terms of quality the Panasonic ones just feels better in terms of the tightness of the release and the overall fitting and mounting of the lenses. Now the hard question, M or R lenses for a M43 camera. There are a few things you will need to consider: 1. R lenses are no longer in production and there are currently no R bodies being planned, meaning you can only buy used and your body upgrade path is severely limited since the lenses will not be going to a digital R body without an adapter anytime soon if ever. Of course this also makes R lenses alot cheaper than M lenses. 2. M lenses are still being produced and there are alot of M bodies still being manufactured today, if you choose to upgrade, the option is there. Of course M lenses cost quite a bit more. 3. M lenses are quite a bit smaller than their R counterparts. 4. I see M lenses appreciating in price but R lenses either going nowhere or depreciating alot more because of the lack of a body and therefore a lack of demand. 5. The R lens range has much bigger zooms than the M. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gyoung Posted January 10, 2011 Share #7 Posted January 10, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) I will receive my new Panasonic DMC GF1 on Tuesday. I already received the live optical viewer and the Leica DG 45mm Macro micro 4/3rds Lens. I purchased the GF1 rather than the GF2 because it was half price and I really didn't want to do everything by touching the LCD screen. When I decide to get more Leica lenses should I get Rs or Ms and why ? Please forgive the stupid question but you must remember that I have very little technical knowledge. Thank you for considering my question. I have a G1, and M lenses 50mm and longer work well, 35mm is OK but a bit soft in the corners due to the short back focus. A 28mm Voigtander is too poor to be bothered with, better use the Panasonic 20mm if you want shorter than 35mm. I dont have any R lenses, but Nikon F mount ones work better at the shorter focal lengths, 24 and 35 are good, due to the longer back focus of the reflex lenses, there are quite a few threads exploring/explaining this in depth. I have an SRB adapter which is good and much cheaper than the othersmentioned, and a really cheap ex Hong Kong one which is rather stiff when mounting the lens, and the lenses focus beyond infinity, the Nikon one from the same source is fine. Gerry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted January 10, 2011 Share #8 Posted January 10, 2011 Frankly, I tried it and I wouldn't recommend it. I used Leica M and R lenses on an Olympus EP1 and found it an unhappy marriage. Regards, Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
albert Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share #9 Posted January 10, 2011 Thanks everyone. You have helped me very much. Let the party begin! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted January 10, 2011 Share #10 Posted January 10, 2011 Frankly, I tried it and I wouldn't recommend it. I used Leica M and R lenses on an Olympus EP1 and found it an unhappy marriage... Was it a vignetting problem mainly? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted January 10, 2011 Share #11 Posted January 10, 2011 Was it a vignetting problem mainly? In my case it was just the slowness of use. If you are shooting macro, or landscape they may work, but as far as anything moving goes it's useless. I've found reliable focusing impossible without using the magnified view - hence the slowness. The EVF halps, but it's still nowhere near as fast as using say an M or an MF SLR. All IMHO of course. Also the camera doesn't work well with wider lenses as they have a dramatic fall off in sharpness towards the corners. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gyoung Posted January 10, 2011 Share #12 Posted January 10, 2011 In my case it was just the slowness of use. If you are shooting macro, or landscape they may work, but as far as anything moving goes it's useless. I've found reliable focusing impossible without using the magnified view - hence the slowness. The EVF halps, but it's still nowhere near as fast as using say an M or an MF SLR. All IMHO of course. Also the camera doesn't work well with wider lenses as they have a dramatic fall off in sharpness towards the corners. Its just like using a groundglass screen really, such as a 5x4 (etc) or a Rollei, or even an SLR in the microprism era, you have to prefocus on a point before hand, not so easy with moving subjects but not impossible, I did motor racing with a Pentax S1a for a couple of seasons. Ihave used an M lens on the G1 to photograph the grandson A rangefinder of any kind, even a split image on an slr, makes it much easier of course. Surely someone can come up with a software split image for evf cameras Gerry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
usayit Posted January 11, 2011 Share #13 Posted January 11, 2011 My E-PL1 shares lenses with my M. It works well but a high quality EVF is a must. I wouldn't specifically buy Leica M lenses for m4/3rds.... for me it was a matter of convenience as I already shoot with M-mount lenses. The system is fun to use with m42 lenses (I have a collection of Takumars). I did look at the GF1 but I found it a bit difficult to work with manual focus lenses. Even with the GF1's attached EVF, it was difficult. The EVF attachment for the GF1 is significantly lower in resolution, size, and quality to that of the other Panasonic m4/3rd bodies as well as the Olympus EVF for the E-PL1 and E-P2. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
albert Posted January 11, 2011 Author Share #14 Posted January 11, 2011 Thanks again everyone. I'll stick with Panasonic's 1.7 20mm and Leica's 4/3 45mm Macro. Also, I'll patiently wait for Leica to catch-up and mfgr. a few more 4/3rds for my beautiful little camera. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shard Posted January 12, 2011 Share #15 Posted January 12, 2011 Thanks again everyone. I'll stick with Panasonic's 1.7 20mm and Leica's 4/3 45mm Macro. Also, I'll patiently wait for Leica to catch-up and mfgr. a few more 4/3rds for my beautiful little camera. Alternatively, you can always get the excellent Panasonic Leica 4/3 lenses. With the Panasonic 4/3 to m4/3 adapter you will even retain autofocus and in lens stabilization. The 25mm Summilux is a little big but a pretty good lens and the 14-50 and 14-150 are decent alternatives to the existing m4/3 lenses. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted January 12, 2011 Share #16 Posted January 12, 2011 Frankly, I tried it and I wouldn't recommend it. I used Leica M and R lenses on an Olympus EP1 and found it an unhappy marriage. I agree with Bill. I was one of those who got all excited about putting M lenses on the front of an MFT body, in my case, a G1. In the end, it didn't work that well and the image quality is not as good as you might hope with shorter focal length lenses. The much admired 28mm Summicron M doesn't do well and still gives an angle of view which is narrower than "normal". Even the WATE at 16mm is only moderately wide. The problem is that the Panasonic body is not corrected for the particular characteristics of M lenses which were what originally caused Leica to think a Digital M would never see the light of day. The best thing about M lenses on an MFT body is that the live view (and focus zoom) allow you to precisely focus with lenses which are notoriously difficult to focus on an M wide open - the Noctiluxes, the 75mm Summilux and the 90mm Summicron. That points the way to how a future M lens supporting camera might provide alternative focussing to the M rangefinder. Added to that is the fact that the Panasonic lenses are not at all bad, I only have the 14-45mm zoom and the Pancake 20mm but they are good performers in the scheme of things. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted January 12, 2011 Share #17 Posted January 12, 2011 Thanks again everyone. I'll stick with Panasonic's 1.7 20mm and Leica's 4/3 45mm Macro. Also, I'll patiently wait for Leica to catch-up and mfgr. a few more 4/3rds for my beautiful little camera. I think you will be waiting a long time. First, 4/3rds seems to be dead, with MFT replacing it. Second, Leica have said they will not be getting involved with MFT after their fingers were seriously burned with the unloved Digilux 3. Third, the lenses are not manuifactured by Leica and never have been. At best, Leica may licence their IP to Panasonic and were involved with lens quality control at Pansonic. Leica's own track record of QC is hardly a roaring success and my view (cynical though it may be) is that Leica have more to learn from Panasonic than Panasonic do from Leica. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted January 12, 2011 Share #18 Posted January 12, 2011 ...Leica's own track record of QC is hardly a roaring success and my view (cynical though it may be) is that Leica have more to learn from Panasonic than Panasonic do from Leica. +1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
albert Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share #19 Posted January 12, 2011 I Repeat: My #1 priority is to to continue posting photographs on The Leica Photo Forum. I will purchase some 46mm Leica UV Filters, screw them onto Panasonic 4/3 lenses and become a legal poster............. because I will be shooting through Leica Glass. Thanks again for all the good help and advice. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paolo.Battista Posted January 14, 2011 Share #20 Posted January 14, 2011 I use regularly R lenses with my 4/3 bodies. Yes, focusing is not very fast and you must often rely on the focus confirmation from the body itself, but these lenses are really great performers. At least starting from 28 mm lenses, I have not experienced any problem in their perfomance, even at the borders. More, you can find superb Leica glasses for really low prices: the 35 and 50 Summicrons and the 135 Elmarit are superb performers on 4/3 bodies and can be found at a price lower than the Pana 20 f:1,7. The APO Telyt 180 f:3,4 and Telyt 250 f:4 (last version) are bargains too, and work really well. Paolo (Oly E-3, Summilux 80, ISO 1600) 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/141324-m-or-r-lenses-with-my-gf1/?do=findComment&comment=1557971'>More sharing options...
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