geetee1972 Posted September 3, 2018 Share #1 Posted September 3, 2018 Advertisement (gone after registration) Other than the Lecia 45mm S lens, what 45mm or thereabouts alternative lenses are people using with their S? I don't mind manual focus adapted lenses but I can't afford another S lens now and don't shoot this focal length often enough to justify the cost of one in the future. I just bought a Pentax 67 45mm and adapter but the lens appears to be broken and the shop confirmed that the other copies of the lens seem to have something like the same problem (which is that the stop down function is very temperamental - in the copy I received it's just not working at all which makes the lens more or less useless). So the Pentax is out but what altneratives exist? I'm guessing I'll have to aim for something around 50mm or 40mm? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted September 3, 2018 Posted September 3, 2018 Hi geetee1972, Take a look here 45mm or thereabouts options. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Jeff S Posted September 3, 2018 Share #2 Posted September 3, 2018 Apparently 45 Zeiss for Contax... http://jipvankuijk.nl/leica-s-with-contax-645-lenses/ Jeff 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynp Posted September 3, 2018 Share #3 Posted September 3, 2018 Another Contax 645 lens I appreciate is the Zeiss Contax 645 Vario-Sonnar T* 4.5/45-90 mm. It’s not too fast and heavy, but it’s sharp and contrasty. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McMaster Posted September 3, 2018 Share #4 Posted September 3, 2018 Cheapest would be Mamiya 645 lens, dumb adapter and manual focus. I have the 50mm shift, it is OK but certainly not a Leica lens. Also the 35mm S is available at a lower used price than the 45mm... john Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan.y Posted September 3, 2018 Share #5 Posted September 3, 2018 The Mamiya 45mm is very cheap light and small. The Contax is smaller, cheaper, but not a lot lighter than the S45 or even cheaper if you factor in the ~$1600 S-C adapter. I’ve had all three and found the two non-Leica lenses never matched the Leica in sharpness even stopped down. Moreover manual focusing on the S is hit or miss, and the Contax autofocuses a bit slowly and has more barrel distortion than the S. The S is really superb, superb optically. Jip’s good results with the Contax 45 makes me wonder if I had a lemon Contax, but even so I’m still not sure if I want to invest $1600 or so on in an adapter that’s hard to resell, when I already own several S lenses. Like others have said what would be really great is a non-CS compact Summicron-S 50mm. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BernardC Posted September 3, 2018 Share #6 Posted September 3, 2018 Your 6x7 lens should be easily fixable with a CLA. Those lenses are getting old, it's not unusual for the aperture mechanism to get gummed-up. I haven't had much luck with non-Leica wides on the S. They just don't compare optically. That can work for individual shots, but not for a project that mixes shots from different lenses. Longer lenses from other brands can work quite well, as long as you use proper lens hoods. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterv Posted September 3, 2018 Share #7 Posted September 3, 2018 Advertisement (gone after registration) The most satisfying road to a '45mm or thereabouts' on the S may very well be a second hand S 45mm By the time you get an adapter to go with, say a nice Contax, you're just about there in price. Agree about the need for matching glass. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arif Posted September 4, 2018 Share #8 Posted September 4, 2018 The most satisfying road to a '45mm or thereabouts' on the S may very well be a second hand S 45mm By the time you get an adapter to go with, say a nice Contax, you're just about there in price. Agree about the need for matching glass The 45 S is a really good lens so encourage you to see if you can find one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterv Posted September 4, 2018 Share #9 Posted September 4, 2018 The 45 S is a really good lens so encourage you to see if you can find one. Me? Or the OP? Anyway, there's one at Leica Berlin now for €3.900 and that's a CS, so I guess non-CS would be in the neighbourhood of 3K 3,5K. A Contax 45mm with adapter may cost 2,5 to 3K. That was my point. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arif Posted September 4, 2018 Share #10 Posted September 4, 2018 Me? Or the OP? Anyway, there's one at Leica Berlin now for €3.900 and that's a CS, so I guess non-CS would be in the neighbourhood of 3K 3,5K. A Contax 45mm with adapter may cost 2,5 to 3K. That was my point. Apologies for my unclear statement, directed at the OP. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterv Posted September 4, 2018 Share #11 Posted September 4, 2018 No problem, Arif. It gave me the chance to add some extra info 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jip Posted September 4, 2018 Share #12 Posted September 4, 2018 The Contax lenses are indeed great, and can be had for little money. The Adapter is pricey but if you contact dealers you can haggle the price down... most of these adapters are laying on the shelf for 5 years now, dealers eager to get rid of them Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynp Posted September 4, 2018 Share #13 Posted September 4, 2018 The Contax lenses are indeed great, and can be had for little money. The Adapter is pricey but if you contact dealers you can haggle the price down... most of these adapters are laying on the shelf for 5 years now, dealers eager to get rid of them Very true. I have two of them, one bought in Italy for Euro 615.00. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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