Telephoto lens advise for M240

[miklosphoto]

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I want to add a super telephoto to my M240, something over 300mm. Any recommendations on either R lenses or other brands? I tried already the Novoflex Nikon F to Leica M adapter but was not really happy with it. Also I am not planning to get any of those couple of thousand dollar APO R lenses. I really need it for occasional use only.

Ay recommendation?

[mmradman]

What FL; 300, 400, 500, 600, more than 800mm?

 

There are many non Leica manual focus super telephotos in the market, even rare to find APO Telyt Modular lenses appear for sale from time to time, we'll knownScottish dealer is listing 800mm for just over 7,000 pounds.

 

If not happy with Nikon to M adapter what would than make you happy? For the ease of use nothing beats DSLR with long telephoto, consider APS-C Nikon with 300mm f4 and TC 1.4 and no fiddling with adaptors and EVF.

[algrove]

I want to add a super telephoto to my M240, something over 300mm. Any recommendations on either R lenses or other brands? I tried already the Novoflex Nikon F to Leica M adapter but was not really happy with it. Also I am not planning to get any of those couple of thousand dollar APO R lenses. I really need it for occasional use only.

Ay recommendation?

 

Understand your dilemma, but you get what you pay for. The 400/R is not expensive nor is the 500/R mirror. The 500 is so short i will not really attract attention like the long 400 will. I have owned/used both and still own one and for occasional use these are perhaps more than enough quality for your M240 and with the Leica adapter they can be coded into EXIF data.

[Marac]

With those restrictions you are limited.

 

I use R lenses with my M240 simply because they are the best option for me. if you do not like Nikon then you will not enjoy much else.

[lct]

[...] For the ease of use nothing beats DSLR with long telephoto, consider APS-C Nikon with 300mm f4 [...]

+1. It is so portable that i use it handheld in most cases instead of the heavier and otherwise superb Apo-Telyt 280/4. The Nikon 180/2.8 is a great lens as well and makes for a fast and light 270 on APS-C.

[jaapv]

Understand your dilemma, but you get what you pay for. The 400/R is not expensive nor is the 500/R mirror. The 500 is so short i will not really attract attention like the long 400 will. I have owned/used both and still own one and for occasional use these are perhaps more than enough quality for your M240 and with the Leica adapter they can be coded into EXIF data.

No - they are not on the list.

[rafael_macia]

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I would say, some economical Leica/Leitz lens choices;

the 400 6.8 Telyt

The 560 6.8 Telyt

The 350 F 4.8 (I have one on the way, so I cannot comment on quality. ... yet)

but here is the 400 first and the 560 second

 

Shot with a 240, Chinese cheapo R to M (don't buy one ! .. garbage !) adapter ...a bit loose on the mount...... but I could not get the Leica one in time.

I did not code in the lenses. Forgot to look on the "list"

 

Rafael

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[algrove]

No - they are not on the list.

 

Thanks, was thinking of a lens he does not want to spend the funds on.

 

The 350 is huge and heavy/cumbersome IMHO.

[efreed2754]

If indeed for occasional use consider APO 2x extender. That way 135 gets you to 270 and 180 APO gets to 360. Either combination is relatively reasonable.

 

Check them out. 180 is supposed to be wonderful and not terribly expensive.

 

Of course if you need speed and high ISO doesn't work for you....though it should with 240.

 

Ed

[algrove]

Ed

There are different APO 180's.The cheapest I know of is the APO 180/3.4. I used to have one, but the 2.8 is much better IMHO, but the OP did not want to spend thousands on Leica glass he would seldom use. Plus he wanted 300mm and more. Yes the 180x2 would fit that requirement, but just the 2x would set him back a lot even before buying the 180.

 

Now a 75-210 with 2x would be low cost, but then one must also factor in the Leica adapter.

[Bill W]

If you were not happy with the Nikon to M adapter setup, you will probably not like the R to M based on your budget restrictions. This is assuming you would get a Leica R lens. I am not up to date of other lens brands and adapters but I do not think you would be better off than your Nikon adventure.

[efreed2754]

Yes Lou agree. Although I still use the 180 4.0 which is not bad and much less expensive.

 

Can also source a 2x APO less expensively with some effort. If OP would go with regular 2x (non-APO), now we are talking close to a thou or so for all. If just for occasional use might just do.

 

Ed

[miklosphoto]

Thanks for all the suggestions. As I have couple of Nikon lenses I decided to stick to those and gave another try to the Novoflex Nikon to Leica adapter. I guess I can live with that.

Currently I use the 180mm AF-D f/2.8 lens but will get some day a 300mm AF-D f/4 too.

[JohnJWhite]

I bought the Rayqual adapters for my old Canon FD lenses to use with the M 240. They are very well made. Highly recommended. Haven't seen the Nikon version. But they are a good deal cheaper than Novoflex.

[jaapv]

If indeed for occasional use consider APO 2x extender. That way 135 gets you to 270 and 180 APO gets to 360. Either combination is relatively reasonable.

 

Check them out. 180 is supposed to be wonderful and not terribly expensive.

 

Of course if you need speed and high ISO doesn't work for you....though it should with 240.

 

Ed

The Apo extender only works for R lenses.

I would say the best quality for bucks is the ApoTelyt-R 180/3.4

Excellent image quality, (relatively) small and not too heavy. Couples with the Apo 2x to make a 6.8/360 without quality loss to speak of.

A good example should be about 1000 $.(Plus the extender...)

 

Another good choice in that price range is the 80-200 4.0

[bocaburger]

No - they are not on the list.

 

Good to know, thanks! Glad I went for the older uncoded Novoflex adapter, was half the price of the coded one. Now if I can just find the Nikon version.

[woorob]

As a long-time Leica user and the happy owner of an M, I don't think this is where the M shines. I have a 180 2.8 APO, 280 2.8 APO and a 500-R mirror (and three different, really excellent Leica 1.4 and 2 x tele-converters).

 

In most circumstances my Canon 6D with image-stabilized 70-300 performs better than any of them. I've found that the "camera shake" filter in Photoshop CC makes more of a difference than a Leica versus Canon lens at these telephoto lengths when not using a tripod.

 

With a tripod and the EVF on the M, nothing is better than the 180 APO or 280 APO. And with an APO extender on these lenses I've not been able to detect any loss in image quality, quite remarkable.

 

So I think it depends on how you will be using the long telephoto lenses. At the end of the day I think this is where a DSLR from Nikon or Canon really shines.