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Tele-extender for S lenses?


Deliberate1

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I am narrowing down the options for a long lens and was wondering if a tele-extender exists for the S180mm. I see that there are two for the R series of lenses, but see nothing from Leica for us S users. Absent that, the Hasselblad with H adapter seems to be the best option. Again, the Contax looks capable, but not at 8+ lbs. The 280mm f4 R Telyt is very attractive, but the connection is by a third party dumb adapter. Frankly, the mating process all sounds rather complicated, expensive and a step back in technological leverage. Since I am shooting moving mammals (horses), access to AF is a real advantage. And the Hasselblad HC 300 would do that for me. The ideal option would be an 180mm APO Elmar with extender that would preserve full function. But I have found no option. Is there, and am I missing other full function long lens options that fall short of an engineering experiment? Ultimately, is the Hasselblad the best practical option?

 

Obliged,

David

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One caveat with a 300 AF is check for AF accuracy, issues with the 120 and 180 Leica lenses have been addressed on this forum. My long lens is an old Mamiya 300 Apo, manual focus, but my preferred option is a SL with 90-280 zoom, great Af and OIS.

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Contax 210 + TC 1.4x? No idea where that falls regarding IQ.

You must be prescient.

Last night I was rummaging in my old lens bone yard and discovered the Contax 210mm that I had bought a couple years ago when I was on a Contax buying spree following the purchase of the S adapter. I totally forgot I have it - perhaps because it cost about the same as a replacement battery for the S. I got the 35mm, the 120mm and 210mm - all for about $2000. The 35mm has since been replaced by the Leica iteration, which is more different than "better." The Contax 120mm macro is a splendid piece of glass and connects all the dots for me. No hankering for the Leica version. I cannot even recall if I ever shot the 210mm.

This morning I went out early to shoot some foggy sea scapes where I live on the Maine coast and made duplicate shots on tripod with the 120mm and 210mm. If the images from the longer lens are acceptable, a Muktar 1.4x is definitely in my future. I guess that would give me a reach of about a 300mm at 5.6?

Anyone know if this kind of extender turns the S adapter from smart to dumb?

Cheers

David

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From back in the day, there were reports the 210+mutar was a splendid combination and better than the lens alone.  I believe the mutar was designed for the 350mm Contax and was part of the lens purchase so it would perhaps behave well on a 210mm although I never tried it myself.  

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Friends,

I did some quick and dirty comparisons between the (rediscovered) Contax 210mm and Contax 120mm yesterday, but under less than optimal conditions - foggy atmospherics. Initial impressions, subject to change, is that the 210mm is not as "sharp" as the 120mm, which is no great criticism because the 120mm is a razor. I did throw one of the 210mm images on the computer and fiddled in LR and PS. Not Leica sharp, by any means. But it sharpened up very nicely and the color depth and latitude was very pleasing. Zeiss lenses do not have the warmth of Leica glass, but still a very attractive appearance. I will have to do more testing before reaching a final impression. I did read on Getdpi that one owner had to go through "four" samples of the lens to get one that met his expectations. Possible, but rather excessive.

But most interesting were comments regarding the use of the 1.4x Mutar, which turns this lens into a 300mm 5.6. As follows:

 

Re: Contax 210mm f/4 vs. Hasselblad FE 250mm f/4

 I found the C210 to be sharper overall, but especially wide open. The FE250 looks sharp, but when compared side by side with the C210 images, the Contax had better defined edges in high contrast areas, whereas such areas from the FE250 were more gradual and "fuzzy". Areas of fine detail were much better defined with the C210, and were often blurred by the FE250. Again, I am not saying that this is necessarily "bad", just a different rendering of the light. Basically, the FE250 is a lower contrast lens, which has its uses.

Once you add the Contax 1.4x mutar to the equation, then things are substantially different. Wide open, the C210+1.4x becomes really sharp and "3D like", and starts to look like the image was rendered with a FE110.

 

And:

 

Another advantage of the Contax 210 is that it actually gets sharper with the Contax 1.4x Mutar attached. So, you basically get an effective 300/5.6 lens that can focus to 1.4m, which is the closest of any lens in this focal range.

 

For those of us with the S adapter, the 210mm is an excellent technical and financial option. It weighs 2.65 lbs vs 8.5lbs for the Contax 350mm, and about 4.5 for the Hasselblad. It costs between $250 - $350 on Ebay, with the extender at less than $300 if you shop it right. This compares very nicely with the 280-300mm options from Hasselblad and Contax, which are in the range of $3000-3500, though they are both one stop faster. And one would have to add the cost of the adapter, which is Leica-priced.

Yet another reason why the C adapter opens a whole world of options to wonderful glass at a fraction of the cost of the alternatives - once you spring for the adapter....

David

Edited by Deliberate1
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The Hasselblad HC 300 mm is the answer for you. I have gone through the same deliberations. I have shot with the Contax 350 on a Contax 645 with a Sinar eMotion 75 back...it is great optically but (i) it is a real boat anchor and (ii) you can probably only buy it at a crazy price on eBay from a guy called Boris these days. My advice is to forget about the Contax and get yourself the HC 300 at a normal price. It is a great lens, works beautifully on the S - fast AF, full exif info, profile in LR, leaf shutter up to 1/750s. The HC 210 also works well but it is not significantly different in FL from the Leica 180 so there's no point unless you already have that lens or you can buy it at a good price.

Edited by albireo_double
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The Hasselblad HC 300 mm is the answer for you. I have gone through the same deliberations. I have shot with the Contax 350 on a Contax 645 with a Sinar eMotion 75 back...it is great optically but (i) it is a real boat anchor and (ii) you can probably only buy it at a crazy price on eBay from a guy called Boris these days. My advice is to forget about the Contax and get yourself the HC 300 at a normal price. It is a great lens, works beautifully on the S - fast AF, full exif info, profile in LR, leaf shutter up to 1/750s. The HC 210 also works well but it is not significantly different in FL from the Leica 180 so there's no point unless you already have that lens or you can buy it at a good price.

I appreciate your thoughts. I came to the same conclusion about the Contax 350mm once I discovered how much it weighed. I hike with my gear in a backpack. It would be embarrassing if my obituary read: "Avid photographer drowned in a freak accident. Investigating officials concluded that a massive telephoto lens appears to be the proximate cause of death."

I would spring for the Hassy if not for the fact that I already have the 210mm Contax and C adapter. The only additional investment to get that to 300mm is the 1.4x Mutar which I just picked up on Ebay from Robert's Camera for $310.00. If the rig gives me results close to the Hassy 300m then I will have saved about $3500 - which will be directed towards an S 007 body if they eventually reach the price point of the 006 that I bought two and a half years ago for just over $6k.

Cheers.

David

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Once you add the Contax 1.4x mutar to the equation, then things are substantially different. Wide open, the C210+1.4x becomes really sharp and "3D like", and starts to look like the image was rendered with a FE110.

 

Although I've heard and don't doubt the reports of a synergy I don't understand how it could be.  

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Here are some photos taken with the Leica S-E (Typ 006) with Hasselblad HC 300mm

 

24157353821_6ec01ba5e8_o.jpg

 

23037582473_24b2ac1370_o.jpg

 

22166703944_0097abf995_o.jpg

 

22371056278_b165a74ac9_o.jpg

 

Click them for higher resolution.

Edited by jip
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Here are some photos taken with the Leica S-E (Typ 006) with Contax Zeiss 210mm F4 (no tele converter).

 

29662729621_9bbb45f6d3_o.jpg

 

24605714000_74092f19d7_o.jpg

 

24793581913_ba5733fac8_o.jpg

 

24273560253_f5b4435eb6_o.jpg

 

24605010320_5d7caf46e6_o.jpg

 

Click for higher resolution image.

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I can say I am adequately happy with the 210mm it's not that heavy and performs great (for me...) others say the auto focus is not accurate etc. I read on the forum here.

 

I have the micro prism screen in my Leica S so can always fine tune manually. 

 

The Hasselblad focusses more accurate but also costs 10 times more.

 

I bought my 210mm BRAND new old stock for 250 dollars in NYC in 2016 at Adorama I believe.

 

They were interested to see me try it out and put it on a Leica S (they didn't know this was possible).

Edited by jip
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jip, nice images with the 210mm - especially the last one. Where was that taken?

My Mutar 1.4x just arrived. I attached it to the 210mm on one side and to the C adapter on the other, and then attached to the S body.  Turned on and pressed the back focus button. And the lens snapped into focus, remarkably quickly, as if a native lens. The camera reads the lens and displays the max aperture at 5.6, just as it should.

No doubt, it is a long contraption, and makes the camera seriously nose heavy. But is is still lighter than the Hasselblad and way lighter than the Contax 350mm which weighs in at more than 8lbs. I took a few test shots hand held. It all works. It is rather amazing that a 300mm lens actually focuses to 5.8 feet. Once I have it properly mounted on a tripod, I will report back. All of this cost me about $1600 - roughly half the price of a used Hassleblad or Contax. And with the price of admission, you get the C adapter which makes the Contax lens line available. Very good option.

D

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To sum up the location of the images:

 

Hasselblad 300mm images:

 

Rotterdam (as seen from my apartment)

Oslo (Opera house)

Rotterdam (Erasmus bridge, as seen from the roof garden in my apartment complex)

Rotterdam (Part of the Rotterdam and New Orleans as seen from the roof garden in my apartment complex)

 

 

Contax 210mm images:

 

Rotterdam (Euromast as seen from my Apartment)

Maui Hawaii (from Haleakala summit)

NYC

Oahu Hawaii (from Diamond Head)

Oahu Hawaii (from Diamond Head)

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Playing around in daylight, I can resolve individual bricks on those buildings. The pixel-level sharpness is not equal to the 180S, but the added magnification resolves more detail. Of course, it is a misty day, and there is a lot of air between camera and target, so the limits of resolution may not be due to the lens.

 

--Matt

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