M to L Adapter, What are you using?

[thatkatmat]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I'm new to the L mount and have never adapted an M mount to an L mount...So...I've noticed the Leica seems to be sold out everywhere and it's about $500 ish. What's the alternative? Do you still get lens info when you use one of these , Leica or otherwise? 

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[jaapv]

Passive mounts will not transmit lens info (but you can set it in the lens menu), nor will it be possible to activate image magnification by the thumb wheel (but you can use the arrow keys) There is no need to buy an overly expensive one, the cheap ones offered by for instance Adorama are mostly quite good. For full functionality, only the Leica mount adapter  will do.

[thatkatmat]

Thanks for the reply....So you can still magnify, but with the arrow keys?

Edited May 24, 2020 by thatkatmat

[jaapv]

Correct. It is a decent solution, but the thumb wheel is a lot better ergonomically. A flick of the wheel is more simple than searching for a button with your thumb with the camera at your eye.

[thatkatmat]

Can you use the dial with any of the M to L adapters?

[lct]

The Leica adapter is a must have to me. I wouldn't have bought the CL if there were only passive adapters as i use focus magnification a lot and using the arrows for that is just a pita.YMMV.

[thatkatmat]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I use magnification exclusively for MF so I'd like to have the quickest most intuitive method for that....Is the Leica the only adapter that you don't have to use the arrows?

[jaapv]

That is exactly what we are saying.

Oops, sorry, there is the Leica R to L adapter too. However, you can use the Leica M to L adapter and stack it with any R to M adapter to get wheel focus magnification on R lenses. But you'll lose the ROM information that way.

Which means that you are stuck with a Leica adapter in any case.

[Boojay]

Not to be contrary, as I agree with everything above and have the Leica M to L adaptor, but in manual focus or autofocus you are using the directional pad to move the focus point anyway, and it's really just muscle memory as far as whether you use the right wheel or arrows to magnify, you quickly get used to either/both.   The Leica adaptor reads coded lenses which is useful of course.

There are also a number of helicoid (close focus)  M - L adaptors around which can be fun with M lenses to add a bit of Macro style functionality and reduce that minimum .7 MFD.  I have the 7 Artisans version, it works well.

Edited May 24, 2020 by Boojay

[jaapv]

How should you move the focus point in manual-lens focus? I never do in AF either, much quicker and easier - and more precise- to half-press turn focus ring. The arrow keys are more for tripod use.

[Boojay]

11 minutes ago, jaapv said:

How should you move the focus point in manual-lens focus? I never do in AF either, much quicker and easier - and more precise- to half-press turn focus ring. The arrow keys are more for tripod use.

Each to his own Jaapv, we all have our different ways of doing things but I do remember some celebrated when the firmware update 3.1 made it possible to:

Movable zoom position of the magnified live view in MF mode

While using manual focus mode, the magnified live view can now be repositioned to other parts of the frame to focus and compose the shot at the same time. You can see the white box in the image below is now off-center. I simply used the D-Pad to position my manual focus magnified area to the upper-right corner. If you use manual focus on a tripod, this change is most welcome.

 

With the lack of a joystick on the CL I use the directional pad a lot.

 

[jaapv]

Yes you can do that. A lot simpler to move the camera. Again, mainly for tripod use as you say. Edit: I was confused as you were talking about the focus point initially. 

[Boojay]

27 minutes ago, jaapv said:

Yes you can do that. A lot simpler to move the camera. Again, mainly for tripod use as you say. Edit: I was confused as you were talking about the focus point initially. 

Sorry - my bad wording.

 

  

 

[nicci78]

If you own a Leica with L-mount. Just buy the official M-Adapter-L. The trade of for saving a couple of hundreds do not worth it. 
This adapter alone makes using M lenses with CL/SL/SL2/T/TL/TL2 so much better than any other mirrorless system.
To perfect the slim filter stack, the custom micro lenses array and the ambient light sensor. You will need access to the lens automatic software correction (via 6-bits coding or manual selection menu) 

[ramarren]

I use the M Adapter L (stacked with the R Adapter M for R lenses). I have no ROM lenses, so there's no loss there. The thumbwheel magnification is just right IMO, hate using arrows for that function. Moving the focus point for magnification... If you've ever done tabletop or copy work, you'll understand why this was an excellent addition to the controls: once you have your setup configured, being able to move the focus point and magnify is FAR more useful than moving the camera to magnify when obtaining critical focus.

I've been using these adapters long enough that mine is actually labeled "M Adapter T" since I bought it even before I had received my Leica SL in 2015, and Leica changed the name after the SL was released and the L-mount formally named. Since I own no dedicated L-mount lenses, the M Adapter L is always on the camera and all of my non-Leica lenses (Nikon, Olympus, etc) are mounted on whatever to M-mount adapters, which are far less expensive overall than whatever to L-mount adapters. I find that the convenience of the lens code reader is nice, the ergonomics of the focus magnification much better, and occasionally the lens profiles actually do make a significant difference to the camera's output contrary to what some people opine. So for me the cost of the Leica adapters has been returned in the usefulness and satisfaction they provide. 

Never mind that I also find Leica adapters a bit more precisely made to spec then most of the third party adapters out there and I can usually count on the focusing scale being right on the money with them... Not so with any Novoflex, Fotodiox Pro, or Kipon adapter I've used.  

G

[thatkatmat]

Thanks for all the replies everyone. I'll buy a cheap one until the black Leica one comes in stock somewhere. This is my first post on the forum, nice to have so much help. I came from Canon then Sony and landed on a Q2 a few months back and fell in love...Just purchased the last SL body/50/1.4 kit from B&H...stoked.

[nicci78]

Buy the silver adapter. It suits better the steel ring of the black or silver CL

[bherman01545]

I've heard some nightmares of certain 'el-cheapo' adapters either getting stuck on the body or the lens getting stuck on the adapter. Not to mention that they need to maintain super-accurate lens to flange distance in order to obtain sharp photos, etc. 

Agreed, unless you're getting the Leica one, the rest are just 'dumb' adapters, but why would you spend your hard-earned money on a Leica and go with a sub-par adapter? 

If I were going to forego the Leica M to L adapter, I would get the Novoflex for around $220US. It is made in Germany and is of impeccable quality.

I know this because I have owned several Novoflex adapters for multiple systems are they about the best ones available.

 

-Brad

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Leica L-Mount

[jaapv]

The flange distance does not need to be super accurate on an EVF camera.

[bherman01545]

Perhaps not as critical as on a DSLR, but on most DSLRs, you can at least dial-in a lens and fine tune it, but I'm not certain that you can perform the same on a mirrorless camera.