terrible Posted May 5, 2011 Share #1 Posted May 5, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) hello I bought a Leica R8 and some very nice lenses several years ago. At the time Leica were making a digital back for the R but I didn't get one, thought I'd wait for the technology to iron out any bugs. As it turns out I haven't been near the camera since and have not been on this forum either. So I have no idea whatever happened to the camera technology. Can someone point me in the right direction for information on the possibility to use my Leica R lenses (28mm, 100mm macro and 560mm f4) with some kind of digital camera. many thanks terrible Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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tobey bilek Posted May 5, 2011 Share #2 Posted May 5, 2011 I have removed the mounts and replaced them with Leitax mounts. They then fit on Nikon digital cameras. Similar mounts can be sourced from Fotodiox. The interchange is reversible. Some lens modification on the 560 is required if you have an R tube. M tube is just with the Camera Quest Leica to Nikon adapter. An adapter can be used to put them on Canon cameras. With either solution, diaphragm automation is totally lost and the lenses become fully manual. Auto focus does not work of course. The metering on the Nikons works in manual metering and aperture priority. Leitax has a website. Many people use them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adan Posted May 5, 2011 Share #3 Posted May 5, 2011 The options are Leitax replacement mounts as Tobey mentions, or: Adapter to use on Canon SLRs - some lenses have rear clearance problems, but not the ones you list (28, 100M, 560). Full frame or 1.6x crop factor. No auto-aperture (if the aperture is set to f/11, you are focusing at f/11) - but manual or Aperture-priority metering works. Adapter to use on 4/3rds cameras (Leica Digilux 3, Olympus E) - 2x crop, no auto-aperture stop-down, Auto aperture-priority metering, however. As to what happened to the Leica digital-back technology: It was being made by scanner and digital-back company Imacon. Hasselblad (or more accurately the Far East consortium that bought Hasselblad) bought Imacon and cancelled the cooperation with Leica after about 4500-5000 "DMR" digital R8/9 backs had been sold. Leica then planned to build their own new digital-R SLR - but cancelled the entire R system instead. Leica now makes the larger-than-35mm-sensor S system, which has no compatability whatever with R lenses. The S system has its own sub-forum here - $24,000 or so for a body. Used DMRs with or without R8/9 bodies are available and well-thought-of by many - crop factor 1.4x, some questions about battery and parts availability (search the forum). Me, I use an adapter to mount 21 f/4, 180 f/3.4 and 400mm lenses on my Canon 5Dii (I use no Canon lenses). Attached image is 180 APO-Telyt @ f/3.4 on the 5Dii, full-frame and cropped detail. Lens is so nice wide-open that the lack of auto-stop-down is irrelevant, fortunately. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted May 5, 2011 Share #4 Posted May 5, 2011 I am a more than satisfied DMR user. Despite niggles (1.3x crop factor, limited high ISO, future service doubts) it still delivers the best digital files I have ever seen. I would only change it for a Nikon/Leitax sytem if forced by need. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted May 5, 2011 Share #5 Posted May 5, 2011 The easiest option is to use a Canon body. I have an adaptor I bought from an ebay seller in the far east with focus confirmation, works fine. Leitax if you really don't want to use a Canon body, but I'm a bit of an eccentric and also like to shoot with my R3 and film, so I need the R mounts intact. That's another option of course, use your R8 and film! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posto 6 Posted May 5, 2011 Share #6 Posted May 5, 2011 Buy a DMR, and you keep both options open- film and digital. The files and handling are really special compared to the alternatives, without the compromises involved with using third-party bodies.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuny Posted May 5, 2011 Share #7 Posted May 5, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Another possibility is an adapter for the Sony Alpha cameras. For me, I'm sticking with my DMR. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkP Posted May 5, 2011 Share #8 Posted May 5, 2011 I am a more than satisfied DMR user. Despite niggles (1.3x crop factor, limited high ISO, future service doubts) it still delivers the best digital files I have ever seen. I would only change it for a Nikon/Leitax sytem if forced by need. Jaap, preferable to M9 files? And if so why do you think that would be? Mark Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted May 6, 2011 Share #9 Posted May 6, 2011 Hello terrible, Welcome to the Forum. Looking @ the above - What a thing to wake up to. What you want to do is do-able in a number of ways depending on your parameters. You may be better able to ask questions reflective of your needs after you get a general idea of what the World has become. You might want to read some different areas of this Forum such as the Digital Subsections as well as the Historical, Customer & Film portions to get some ideas about what has changed as well as what has not. Don't forget to ask a lot of questions. Best Regards, Michael Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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