M10 and the Nikon 85mm 1.4 ais

[designdog]

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Hello. New M10 user here, coming from a Leica Q and M-P240.

 

To accomplish this, like many of you I suspect, I had to sell other gear - in my case a Nikon D5 and some pretty fine Nikon glass. I did retain my barely used D3s, the Nikon "Trinity" of zoom lenses, the 58 1.4G, and the 85 1.4 ais.

 

Over the years I have had many 85mm lenses - Zeiss, Nikon 85 1.4G, Sigma Art, etc, but this copy of the infamous "Cream Machine" is something else. I've had nothing like it. Outdated now, and will not focus to infinity, it still produced glorious images.

 

I see that one can get a Nikon F to Leica M adapter. I wonder if anyone here has tried one of these, and what results did you experience?

 

Thanks.

[Narsuitus]

I use a Fotodiox adapter that allows me to attach my wide Nikon lenses (14mm, 18mm, and 16mm fisheye) to my Leica bodies. Since my Nikon lens does not connect to the Leica rangefinder, I used zone focusing. For example, on my 18mm lens, I set the focus distance to 1 meter and the f/stop to f/11 so that everything from about 1/2 meter to infinity is in focus.

 

On my M10, I can focus using the LCD. However, I have never tried my 85mm f/1.4 dream machine on my M10  or my M6 because I have a Leitz 90mm f/2 that meets my needs on the rangefinders.

 

Nikkor on Leica by Narsuitus, on Flickr

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[Guest]

Many Nikkor's work very well on the M10/M240 bodies. LV making that happen and the EVF accessory on either camera being almost mandatory for regular usage.

I have the Nikkor 85mm 1.4, and I can confirm that it works well, no issues that I've discovered. Like Narsuitus I use the Fotodiox adapter too. 

[Abram]

I got a really good deal on a Novoflex F to M adapter and it's super solid, plus it allows the use of G lenses though I don't have any of those. I have a few Nikkor AIS lenses (that I use on my F4) but they work quite well on the M10 with live view. I mostly just use the 55mm f/2.8 Micro for product photography.

[Csacwp]

I use a 105mm f/2.5 ais on the M and SL. It performs exceptionally well.

Edited May 17, 2018 by Csacwp

[Nordvik]

I use a cheap adapter called K&F Concept. 20,- Euro. It was too short for hard stop infinity, so I had to shim it up ca. 0,4mm.

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[Nordvik]

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I sealed it off with some black paint, and that was good enough. It does not look as good as a 380,- Euro Leica R to M adapter though.

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[Stonewall Brigade]

I found a mint 1980's era Nikkor 300mm f/4.5 AIS lens for $175 and ordered a Fotodiox Nikon-LM lens mount for $29 off Amazon.  Then went to a motorcycle race with my Leica M10 with ISO set to 800 (to allow for fast shutter speeds due to the racing action), a monopod for stability, and pre-focusing with focus peaking and Live View on a part of the track where I hoped to capture my images, I had surprising good luck.  Would upload an image if I knew how.

Edited May 18, 2018 by Stonewall Brigade

[Linford]

Hello. New M10 user here, coming from a Leica Q and M-P240.

 

To accomplish this, like many of you I suspect, I had to sell other gear - in my case a Nikon D5 and some pretty fine Nikon glass. I did retain my barely used D3s, the Nikon "Trinity" of zoom lenses, the 58 1.4G, and the 85 1.4 ais.

 

Over the years I have had many 85mm lenses - Zeiss, Nikon 85 1.4G, Sigma Art, etc, but this copy of the infamous "Cream Machine" is something else. I've had nothing like it. Outdated now, and will not focus to infinity, it still produced glorious images.

 

I see that one can get a Nikon F to Leica M adapter. I wonder if anyone here has tried one of these, and what results did you experience?

 

Thanks.

 

I use the 1.4/85mm Nikon on my M10 and SL fairly often (w/ Novoflex converter). It is a pristine old lens I purchased in the late 80's to use on my Nikon FG. I really like the way it renders. Every time I think about splurging on a used Leica 1.4/80mm R-series, I talk myself out of it because of this old beauty. Good luck and have fun experimenting!!! Cheers--lt

[Whitford]

This is making me want an adapter so I can use my 105 2.5 AIS...

[tpf1952]

I really like Nikkor lenses -- the AI and AIS manual focus lenses, but I can't bring myself to use them any more. Nikon focuses in the opposite direction from most other lens makers. It's taken me almost forever to develop the muscle memory to twist without thinking when focusing towards or away from infinity. For some of my colleagues, it's no big deal. Alas, for me, it is.

 

Tom

[bocaburger]

I have a fairly extensive set of manual Nikkors from the FTn era, which I used for many years on my Canon DSLR's.  The only issue with that was the lack of auto diaphragm.  It made it slow because of having to focus wide open for accuracy and then stop down by counting clicks.  Also, metering loses accuracy at smaller apertures.  That's not an issue with the M and EVF.  The only issue with the M is the between-shot lag using LV, but that only impacts fast shooting multiple shots.  

 

The 3 Nikkors I use mainly on the M are 55/3.5 Micro, 85/1.8 and 180/2.8.  I had an 85/1.4 ages ago, but sold it.