JohnBrawley Posted January 4, 2020 Share #1 Posted January 4, 2020 (edited) Advertisement (gone after registration) HI All. I'm interested in getting closer focus on my Leica M lenses. I have the Leica M Macro adaptor, and it works great for very very close focusing. I was hoping I could get something in between though. Does anyone know of extension tubes that aren't as thick as the Leica one ? Such as these novaflex ones ? https://www.novoflex.de/en/products-637/lens-adapters/extension-tube-set-leica-m.html I know I'll loose infinity by using these but I was hoping for something that I could use to get the focus from 3 feet to say 1 feet minimum. I'm using an M10, and have 28 cron, 35 lux, 50 APO, 75 Noct and 75 summarit. Thank you ! JB Edited January 4, 2020 by JohnBrawley Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 4, 2020 Posted January 4, 2020 Hi JohnBrawley, Take a look here Very thin extension tubes for Leica M ?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
a.noctilux Posted January 4, 2020 Share #2 Posted January 4, 2020 (edited) As "lazy close-up" use, I have OUFRO ("old" 1cm thick M-M ) and Elpro 3 with adapter E55 to E46 to use on my Summarit-M 75mm. M10 + Visoflex 020 + 75 + one or the two cover most of my need. May take some time to practice. similar thread here Edited January 4, 2020 by a.noctilux Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnBrawley Posted January 4, 2020 Author Share #3 Posted January 4, 2020 17 minutes ago, a.noctilux said: As "lazy close-up" use, I have OUFRO ("old" 1cm thick M-M ) and Elpro 3 with adapter E55 to E46 to use on my Summarit-M 75mm. M10 + Visoflex 020 + 75 + one or the two cover most of my need. May take some time to practice. similar thread here Thanks for responding. Oufro looks interesting. Do you know what the mimimum focus becomes or infinity distance becomes when you have it on a 50mm lens ? JB Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas_schertel Posted January 4, 2020 Share #4 Posted January 4, 2020 I have tested it: 38 centimetres from the back of M 240. You could use close- up lenses or achromates. If the lens is set on infinity, the distance from the front of the lens to the object is the focal length of the close up lens. The focal length of the close up lens (in metres) = 1:dptr. Generally the optical quality of achromates is good. (For the Leica IIIg there was a near focussing acessory called ADVOO with a single close up lens. The results are very pleasant, although the lens is no achromat) yours sincerely Thomas 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas_schertel Posted January 4, 2020 Share #5 Posted January 4, 2020 an interesting close up lens is the Proximeter. There for are several versions specially made for different cameras. But there are universal ones, too. They consist of a close up lens with filter thread, surrounded by a large lens, which compensates the parallaxis of the viewfinder and the distance meter. They are no longer in production, but maybe available on the second Hand market. Yours sicerely Thomas Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
a.noctilux Posted January 4, 2020 Share #6 Posted January 4, 2020 (edited) John, just for you ( I've never done this with 50mm lens). Quick test with M10 and 2.5/50mm + OUFRO : (following numbers are not exactly, just "about" ) From sensor lens set to infinity, focus 33cm for field 18cm x 12cm lens set to 80cm focus to about 27cm and field 12cm x 8cm . Edited January 4, 2020 by a.noctilux Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnBrawley Posted January 6, 2020 Author Share #7 Posted January 6, 2020 Advertisement (gone after registration) On 1/4/2020 at 10:36 PM, a.noctilux said: John, just for you ( I've never done this with 50mm lens). Quick test with M10 and 2.5/50mm + OUFRO : (following numbers are not exactly, just "about" ) From sensor lens set to infinity, focus 33cm for field 18cm x 12cm lens set to 80cm focus to about 27cm and field 12cm x 8cm . Thank you so much !! So maybe the 10mm Oufro is good, but I think maybe I really want something in the 5mm range. Does anyone know of such a thin extension ring ? Where would I go to get one made ? JB Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
a.noctilux Posted January 6, 2020 Share #8 Posted January 6, 2020 5mm extension ring may not be possible, when looking at the M mount. Male rear lens mount protrution may need space in the ring. Another way is to use on OUFRO longer than 50mm, I like the more distance to subject with my 75mm or 90mm and combination of OUFRO + Elpro + focus of the lens can cover the need. As rule of thumb: - extension ring = larger field in image and more distance to subject when the focal lengths increase - close-up lens ( like Elpro ) = less field at almost same distance to subject when focal lengths increase - experimenting the two types can "do" what we need Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted January 6, 2020 Share #9 Posted January 6, 2020 (edited) As said by a.noctilux, a M-to-M ring cannot be very thin… probably you cannot go safe with less than OUFRO thickness (there is also the bayonet release button to accomodate… considering that it must be moved a bit to actuate...) But… one can always put onto an OUFRO a retractable 50mm lens and retract it some millimeters… … just for trying, I did it with my Elmar 50 BM... (*) (*) and Leica played with this concept on the new Macro Elmar 90.... iirc, you can keep the extension ring onto and focus to infinity retracting the lens head Edited January 6, 2020 by luigi bertolotti 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmx_2 Posted January 9, 2020 Share #10 Posted January 9, 2020 WIth a 3D-printed ring it might be possible. I'll do some tests, let you know the results later Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnBrawley Posted January 9, 2020 Author Share #11 Posted January 9, 2020 38 minutes ago, mmx_2 said: WIth a 3D-printed ring it might be possible. I'll do some tests, let you know the results later Sounds intriguing! Love to hear of your results ! JB Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted January 9, 2020 Share #12 Posted January 9, 2020 On 1/6/2020 at 5:35 PM, luigi bertolotti said: [...] But… one can always put onto an OUFRO a retractable 50mm lens and retract it some millimeters… … just for trying, I did it with my Elmar 50 BM... [...] The current Macro-Adapter-M # 14652 works fine this way. Here on digital CL with partially retracted Elmar-M 50/2.8 at about 10cm subject distance. Works the same way in LV mode on M cameras. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/305044-very-thin-extension-tubes-for-leica-m/?do=findComment&comment=3888024'>More sharing options...
mmx_2 Posted January 10, 2020 Share #13 Posted January 10, 2020 (edited) 20 hours ago, JohnBrawley said: Sounds intriguing! Love to hear of your results ! JB Hi! I did a 3D-print of an 8mm OUFRO: Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Why 8mm? Well the problem is to get clearance for the M-mount, you need 2mm to be able to attach it: This could be solved by making the OUFRO somewhat hollow, I'll see what is possible :). Now, for the results. With an original OUFRO, the focus distance (on a 50mm lens) varies from about 32cm (infinity on lens) to 24 (0.7 on lens). With the 8mm OUFRO the distance is increased to 38cm (infinity) to 26cm So, maybe not quite what you where after :(. Since I'm currently borrowing a retractable Elmar 50, so I also tried this combination :). With the Elmar retracted about 5mm (which is the same as an 5mm OUFRO) you get 53cm to 36cm Sorry for the not so perfect pictures and the distances are not 100% scientifically measured ;), but it illustrates the possibilities and difficulties. My own conclusion is: *The new Leica Macro adapter with helicoid is a very clever idea (adjustable magnification/min focus distance) *A retractable Elmar 50 can be used for added flexibility. I guess what you are really after is a lens that can focus down to say 0.4m-0.5m instead of the min 0.7 as of now? In this case, the adapter should be around 4-5mm thin, which might be difficult. I’ll do some more experiments once I get some more time 😊. Edited January 10, 2020 by mmx_2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Why 8mm? Well the problem is to get clearance for the M-mount, you need 2mm to be able to attach it: This could be solved by making the OUFRO somewhat hollow, I'll see what is possible :). Now, for the results. With an original OUFRO, the focus distance (on a 50mm lens) varies from about 32cm (infinity on lens) to 24 (0.7 on lens). With the 8mm OUFRO the distance is increased to 38cm (infinity) to 26cm So, maybe not quite what you where after :(. Since I'm currently borrowing a retractable Elmar 50, so I also tried this combination :). With the Elmar retracted about 5mm (which is the same as an 5mm OUFRO) you get 53cm to 36cm Sorry for the not so perfect pictures and the distances are not 100% scientifically measured ;), but it illustrates the possibilities and difficulties. My own conclusion is: *The new Leica Macro adapter with helicoid is a very clever idea (adjustable magnification/min focus distance) *A retractable Elmar 50 can be used for added flexibility. I guess what you are really after is a lens that can focus down to say 0.4m-0.5m instead of the min 0.7 as of now? In this case, the adapter should be around 4-5mm thin, which might be difficult. I’ll do some more experiments once I get some more time 😊. ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/305044-very-thin-extension-tubes-for-leica-m/?do=findComment&comment=3888622'>More sharing options...
JohnBrawley Posted January 17, 2020 Author Share #14 Posted January 17, 2020 (edited) Thanks for trying this, I really appreciate the results. To be clear, I prefer to use my existing lenses, I just want a way to have the minimum focus Just a bit closer. So using a retractable isn’t such a desire for me. I don’t want to use Diopters either. I have the Leica Macro Adaptor already, but that’s “too thick” or bringing it forward by too much. With the Original Oufro (is there more than 1 ?), you’re saying the 50mm fully extended and focussed at infinity gets you to 32cms ? I have to confess, right now I do it by simply “holding” the lens un-seated, and guess the focus. It’s not as ideal 🙂 JB Edited January 17, 2020 by JohnBrawley Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infantasy Posted January 18, 2020 Share #15 Posted January 18, 2020 Hi guys, I also considering to buy an OUFRO for macro photo. I see the footing of OUFRO Mount is flat while the normal M-mount does has a curve. Is there any harm when hitting the RF cam and cause it mis-aligned during mounting the OUFRO. Thanks Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted January 19, 2020 Share #16 Posted January 19, 2020 No risk : I mounted it many times - no problem Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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