Adapting LTM and R lenses to CL and TL

[caigy]

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What is best way to adapt Leica thread mount and Leica R lenses to the CL?

Do you always use the M adapter first, and then an adapter for LTM-to-M or R-to-M, or are there direct LTM-TL or R-TL adapters that makes sense?

 

I don't mind economical adapters that force me to use stop down metering, as use will only be occasional and I don't want to spend a fortune on adapters. But I do want to still have infinity focus, if type of adapter has an influence on that.

 

I should point out that I don't have the M adapter (I don't own any M lenses), so I'd have to buy one, and if I can just mount LTM and R lenses directly, I wouldn't need to buy it.

Edited September 1, 2018 by caigy

[lct]

For LTM lenses, you'll need two adapters: LTM to M + M to L. No problem but hand coding doesn't work for me. Several lens profiles can be chosen through the camera menu though. Beware that you'll need a Leica M to L adapter if you want to use the top wheels to trigger focus magnification. Expensive unless you can get the adapter for free together with the camera.

For R lenses, you'll need one or two adapters: R to L or R to M + M to L if i understand well. I have little experience with those adapters but you may wish to ask our colleague Ramarren who seems to know a lot about that.

Edited September 1, 2018 by lct

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[ramarren]

I would only buy the Leica M Adapter L and R Adapter M. The two together cost about the same as the R Adapter L (or less if you buy the CL while Leica is still supplying the M Adapter L as a bonus with the camera). The adapter stack works perfectly, and gives you access to all the Leica lens profiles for M and R lenses.

 

Non-Leica made adapters do not provide the electronics that let the camera offer you the lens profiles.

 

For LTM lenses, you need the LTM to M bayonet adapter for a lens, then mount the lens via the M Adapter L. I use the ones made by Voigtländer: good quality and reasonably priced.

[jaapv]

Agree on the L-M adapter. Using the original one is highly recommended. But you can easily use a off-brand M-R adapter. You only lose the ROM information and lens EXIF.  You can hand-code it as R adapter to get access to the R lens menu.

[ramarren]

I've not had good experiences with hand-coding or with off-brand adapters in terms of their variability in manufacture. The Leica branded adapter seems precisely made and works as advertised. Its sturdy, removable tripod foot is very useful as well, because I prefer it to the body mounting point for R lenses due to their size and weight.

Edited September 2, 2018 by ramarren

[caigy]

Thanks everyone for your guidance.   As my CL did not come with the current free M adapter L promotion, looks like I'll have to buy one!

Edited September 2, 2018 by caigy

[jaapv]

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I've not had good experiences with hand-coding or with off-brand adapters in terms of their variability in manufacture. The Leica branded adapter seems precisely made and works as advertised. Its sturdy, removable tripod foot is very useful as well, because I prefer it to the body mounting point for R lenses due to their size and weight.

The (coded) LEM/LER Novoflex one works flawlessly too.

[ramarren]

The (coded) LEM/LER Novoflex one works flawlessly too.

That's good to know; it is $200 less. But no tripod mount...

Do you have something against the Leica adapters, jaapv? You seem to argue against them any time I mention them.

[jaapv]

The price...

[ramarren]

Sure, they're expensive. I suppose that if you only have one R lens that you use only infrequently, a $400 adapter is a bit rich vs a $200 adapter.

 

However, since I mostly use just R lenses on this camera and have ten of them, plus other accessories, that extra $200 doesn't seem so much of a premium.

[caigy]

Back to my original question (I'm the OP in this thread):  So it seems from the responses I got and from research on the internet, that most are recommending I use the M-to-L adapter to adapt both LTM and R lenses to the Leica CL.

So I have a few more questions.

 

It seems that there is no direct way to mount a Leica LTM lens to the TL mount on my CL, so I will need some kind of M-to-L adapter to do that.  But can I just use something like this?: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Leica-M-Lens-to-Leica-L-Mount-Mirrorless-Camera-Adapter-fits-Leica-TL-18146/323180503159  or is there some compelling reason why I would need the $395 Leica product?

 

Additionally, whatever M-to-L adapter I end up using (the cheap one or the official Leica product), do I need to use an LTM-M adapter that is engineered for 50mm lenses if I'm using a 50mm LTM lens? What difference does it make when the LTM lens has no ROM contacts on it and EXIF data will not be transferred to the CL? I have noticed that there are LTM-M adapters for 28 and 90mm lenses, LTM-M adapters for 50 and 75mm lenses, and LTM-M adapters for 135mm lenses.  Does it matter which you use if you're not trying to bring up rangefinder framelines (as in an M camera)?

 

Also, to mount a Leica R lens to the TL mount, is there any reason not to use a product like this which allows mounting the R lens directly to the TL mount on the CL?: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Leica-R-lens-to-Leica-T-Mount-Adapter-For-Typ-701-18180-18181-Camera-LR-LT/173406953218  or is there some compelling reason why it only makes sense to mount the R lens (with an additional R-to-M) adapter, to the $395 M-to-L adapter?   I should point out that my one R lens, a 60mm Macro Elmarit, is a non-ROM lens, so even using the expensive Leica adapter will not result in transfer of EXIF data to the CL camera, so  what advantage, if any, is there to using the more expensive Leica adapter?   Given that no EXIF data will be transferred, why not just use the cheap, direct R-TL adapter?

 

In the case of both the LTM lens and the R lens, they'll only be used occasionally, so I just don't see the need to spend a fortune on the Leica M-to-L adapter unless it offers some great advantage over the un-branded cheaper solutions discussed above.

 

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer in clearing this up for me.

Edited September 4, 2018 by caigy

[ramarren]

All of your questions were answered in previous responses to this thread. I suggest you read them once again more carefully.

 

- To mount M-mount lenses onto the CL, you need the Leica M Adapter L.

 

- To mount R-mount lenses onto the CL, you need either the Leica R Adapter L or you can mount an R Adapter M to an M Adapter L, or use a third-party R to M adapter on an existing M Adapter L, or a third party R to L adapter. What you get from doing these different options has been explained.

 

- To mount an LTM lens onto the CL, you need to first adapt the LTM mount to M-mount, then use the M Adapter L.

 

That's all there is to it.

[Boojay]

Biggest advantage (and to me it really matters) in using the Leica M to L adaptor is being able to use top dial to trigger focus magnification, not possible with any other adaptors as far as I know.

 

When it comes to the LTM to M adaptors, you are right, see below

 

28/90 Adapter, 35/135 Adapter and 50/75 Adapters - notice all are threaded on the inside to accept 39mm Leica Screw mount lenses and have a bayonet M mount on the outside to bayonet into Leica M mount cameras.   All work mechanically the same -- the different frameline combinations just bring up different framelines on Leica M, Konica Hexar RF, Minolta CLE and Leica CL rangefinder camera bodies that bring up automatic framelines once the lens is mounted.    For wider than 28 screw mount lenses, just use the adapter of your choice.  Please note that when adapting Leica rangefinder lenses to digital mirror less  compacts like the NEX, M43 and Ricoh M cameras, rangefinder camera concerns about rangefinder coupling and framelines no longer apply! 

 

 

Have to agree with ramarren above, all has really already been answered above.  It may seem like a big spend for the Leica adaptors, but they open up a huge choice of lenses.  Good luck!

Edited September 4, 2018 by Boojay

[tritentrue]

In case it wasn't mentioned previously in the thread, it may also be helpful to know that even with non-Leica adapters the D-pad can be used to activate focus magnification.

[Stonewall Brigade]

If you add Leica M or R lenses to your CL, then the CL's menu will switch to a mode where you manually select the M or R lens your using at that time, and the EXIF data will record it.  (You cannot see these M and R lens options in theme while the CL's autofocus lens is attached). You can also turn ON or OFF the assorted M and R lens options, and just have showing the M or R lenses that you yourself own and use.  For me, I have 3 R lenses and I have turned OFF all the other R lens options so that they don't show.  It makes it quick and easy for me to go into my CL menu and select which one of the 3 visible R lenses I am using, without having to scroll through  the long list of R lenses.

 

Her are 73 floral images as an example of what I am able to do with R lenses on my CL:  

 

https://triumph.smugmug.com/Flowers/Leica-CL-Floral-Photography-with-Leitz-Wetzlar-R-Lenses/