Lenses better than cameras?

[Me Leica!]

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Here is a question for people who also use DSLR.

 

I am interested to try Leica "R" lenses on my Nikon D700. I once did this on an old Canon DSLR and I enjoyed both to take the photos and the results I got. I now want to try the same thing with D700. There are adapters you can get to fit "R" lens to DSLR, although some lenses do not work. Most do, though.

 

I am to believe that, even if the "R" lenses are not as great as the "M", they are still very good.

 

The fact that many DSLR users like to use the "R" lenses, suggests to me that (maybe) Leica's lenses are better than their camera bodies. Or just not as expensive, for the most part! For instance, I would like M9 but it is simply so expensive and limited in application that it is not worth it to me. To use Leica lens on DSLR is almost like "best of both worlds" to me. I do not know much about the "R" cameras, except that they seem to be on hold at the moment.

 

What is the experience of people who have used such lenses on a good DSLR (say, for Canon the 1D series and the 5D2, for Nikon the D3, D700 etc)?

[stuny]

A number of Forum members have used their Leica R lenses on Canon, Nikon and Sony Nex and seem quite happy with the results. For Nikon you'll need to do a bit of minor surgery, removing part of the Leica mount and installing something like the Leitax mount. At least for the Canon some mounts have a chip on them to give focus confirmation. Also on the Canon, a few R lenses protrude into the camera body so much that the owner must shave off some of the Canon's mirror so that it will work without having the mirror and lens hit one another. As far as I know, none of the solutions provides automatic diaphragm operation, meaning you need to focus wide open, stop down, and then shoot. That's not a problem for many of these users, but it was a big enough problem for me to prevent me from taking that route.

 

The Leica SLRs, ranging anywhere from competent to excellent, depending on model, never provided enough profit to Leica (some claim they always lost money on them, which may be true), prompting current Leica management to get out of that end of the business. Regarding the R lenses, some are world leaders.

[sfage]

The Elmarit 60 macro (as a prime or macro) is no laughing matter... if you don't mind me putting it that way.

[bill]

I use 28, 60 and 135 Elmarit Rs on my Nikon FM3a, and Ricoh GXR. They are superb. All are converted using the Leitax mounts. The performance and handling on the GXR with it's lack of AA filter is exceptional.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

[mmradman]

Visit Leica & Pentax & Nikon | Leitax you will find most information relating to use of R lenses on all major DSLR systems.

 

I can vouch that R lenses on D700 provide superb results, I tried 28mm, Macro 60mm, Lux 80mm, APO100mm, APO Elmarit 180mm, APO 280mm & 280mm+TC14 also Leica Bellows with 100mm bellows lens.

 

If only D700 had better manual focusing, in fact I am thinking to invest into Katzeye replacement focusing screen.

 

Edit

 

Directly from USA

 

http://www.katzeyeoptics.com/item--Nikon-D700-Focusing-Screen--prod_D700.html

 

Or from Germany

 

https://www.photoproshop.com/login.php?osCsid=36fbbd2f0fc70613db65ccef0564f52f

[farnz]

In addition to what Mladen has written I use the following Leica R lenses on my 5D2 with outstanding results: 19/2.8 v2, 28/2.8. 50/2, 60/2.8 Macro, 80/1.4, 90/2.8, 100/2.8 APO-Macro, 28-90/2.8-4.5 asph, and 80-200/4.

 

Additionally for me the magic starts when using the 100/2.8 APO-Macro with LiveView that allows me to compose at whatever aperture I like because the screen compensates for the scene's brightness and allows me to magnify up to 10 times to confirm focus. Naturally this benefits from tripod mounting but can be done handheld with a steady hand and sound technique.

 

Pete.

[mmradman]

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I use the following Leica R lenses on my 5D2 with outstanding results: 19/2.8 v2

Pete.

 

Hi Pete,

 

Question for you. Did you modify lens or shave the mirror, I have this lens but used it only on R and M bodies (via R-M adapter on M), would love to use it on full frame DSLR even if I have to buy Canon

[farnz]

I shaved the mirror.

 

Pete.

[guidowi]

even if the "R" lenses are not as great as the "M", they are still very good.

 

Me Leica, the R lenses are amazing.

I use it on a R9 with DMR but also on a Canon EOS1 DS Mark III with a micro prism focusing screen for a good focusing.

 

R lenses perform very good fully open and the wide lenses have of a very low distortion.

Canon wide lenses needs to be corrected by software about distortion but the Rs looks very different.

The main problem is that the lens that hit the mirror are the best ones as the 35 Summilux and the 19 Elmarit (and a mirror shaving on a DS III is not exactly my first idea).

 

I obtain also excellent performance on the DS III with the 280 2,8 the 70/180 2,8 and also the small 35/70 3,5 (Germany) is very interesting for its size and performance compared to Canon 24/70.

[pes084k1]

Here is a question for people who also use DSLR.

 

I am interested to try Leica "R" lenses on my Nikon D700. I once did this on an old Canon DSLR and I enjoyed both to take the photos and the results I got. I now want to try the same thing with D700. There are adapters you can get to fit "R" lens to DSLR, although some lenses do not work. Most do, though.

 

I am to believe that, even if the "R" lenses are not as great as the "M", they are still very good.

 

The fact that many DSLR users like to use the "R" lenses, suggests to me that (maybe) Leica's lenses are better than their camera bodies. Or just not as expensive, for the most part! For instance, I would like M9 but it is simply so expensive and limited in application that it is not worth it to me. To use Leica lens on DSLR is almost like "best of both worlds" to me. I do not know much about the "R" cameras, except that they seem to be on hold at the moment.

 

What is the experience of people who have used such lenses on a good DSLR (say, for Canon the 1D series and the 5D2, for Nikon the D3, D700 etc)?

 

Results of Leica R on Canon digital bodies are very good. However the very best Nikon, Zeiss, Canon and Voigtlander aspherical lenses are at least as good as Leica R ones in many useful cases. Leica R lenses are rather old, but still constitute on average the best SRL line. However, if you can build a lens set from different brands you may get better overall results at the expense of color rendition uniformity, in my opinion.

Leica M lenses are more modern than Leica R ones and better designed, but they still have strong contenders for wide-angles (15-25 mm) of moderate speed, as I can see every day.

 

Elio

[ns_ng]

Hi Pete,

 

Question for you. Did you modify lens or shave the mirror, I have this lens but used it only on R and M bodies (via R-M adapter on M), would love to use it on full frame DSLR even if I have to buy Canon

 

 

I am using this 19mm with my Sony A850. No mirror clearance issue. It is a great lens, but shows vignetting and corner softness wide open. Even at f5.6 I am seeing some vignetting in the extreme corners.

 

N.S. Ng

[mmradman]

I am using this 19mm with my Sony A850. No mirror clearance issue. It is a great lens, but shows vignetting and corner softness wide open. Even at f5.6 I am seeing some vignetting in the extreme corners.

 

N.S. Ng

 

My good penpal on Flickr bought his 19mm V2 with rear shaven and uses it on D700, nice results Flickr: Leica ELMARIT-R 19mm ƒ/2.8 look for Roy.