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FUNLEADER Contax G35 F2 to Leica M Conversion review


pptmstr

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51 minutes ago, pptmstr said:

I want to do a mega test with multiple lenses i have, who knows when i'll get the time:

Funleader G53/2 and G45/2, Zeiss ZM Distagon 35/1.4 (this lens is insane on the M10-R!!!), Zeiss ZM C-Sonnar 50/1.5,  Voiglander VM 50/2 APO, Voigtlander VM 40/1.2, TTartisan 50/0.95 M

I might borrow a Cron and maybe even a Lux from friends and add them.

Oh the time I wish I had ....

Thank you and look forward to reading your review. How long did it take for you to order and receive the G45/2 from Funleading, if I may ask? 

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11 hours ago, pptmstr said:

sure, no problem. here, i unscrewed the front plastic ring again to show you. i used that white silicone tool i got when i bought the G35 helicoid, it has great grip, but you can use anything else that has grip. you can see the sticker as well, just need to get underneath it

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So within the G45 lens package there is no white silicone tool? Only in the helicoid version? I’m note sure what I can use instead…

Also: are the adjustment rings missing as well? What if I get a misaligned lens that needs those rings?

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9 hours ago, raphael said:

So within the G45 lens package there is no white silicone tool? Only in the helicoid version? I’m note sure what I can use instead…

Also: are the adjustment rings missing as well? What if I get a misaligned lens that needs those rings?

It is only part of the helicoid toolkit. When you buy a lens it's a finished product, calibrated by Funleader, you shouldn't need extra shims.

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Thanks! now knowing it is only a sticker on the front, I was also able to play a fingernail under the edge of the sticker until it popped up a hair then get under neath and pull it off which does not take much effort and does not leave any residue. I did not have to take off the front ring.  I was just careful not to touch the front lens element.  My lens came perfectly calabrated and shipping only took a few days-the order went out same day.  I've been waiting years for the G45 in M mount -- harking back to younger days with a G2.  This lens produces spectacular images .  

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10 hours ago, sarkleshark said:

Thanks! now knowing it is only a sticker on the front, I was also able to play a fingernail under the edge of the sticker until it popped up a hair then get under neath and pull it off which does not take much effort and does not leave any residue. I did not have to take off the front ring.  I was just careful not to touch the front lens element.  My lens came perfectly calabrated and shipping only took a few days-the order went out same day.  I've been waiting years for the G45 in M mount -- harking back to younger days with a G2.  This lens produces spectacular images .  

Indeed, it's easy, just have to be careful with the front element. 

And well said, it is spectacular indeed. I truly wish they would have continued making a gold model as well, I love that in my G35. 

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Edited by pptmstr
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  • 3 weeks later...

My Planar 45mm conversion has finally arrived and it looks gorgeous!!

I’m already in love with the Bokeh:

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M10P, Planar 45/2
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However I’m facing two “issues”.

The first one is the mounting on my M6. While it’s easy to mount the lens on the M10, it’s quite hard to turn it into the M6 mount. It doesn’t “click”. Seems like it sits very stiff in the mount. Someone else who has this problem?

The second one is the coating. I have the original Planar 45mm on my G2 and it shows a different coating than the one from Funleader.

It’s a bit more amber/purple, while the conversion is more green/purple.

How can this be? I don’t think one is single coated and the other is multi coated. Will the coating have an impact on color rendering?

Please see how the lens reflections differ in colors!

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7 hours ago, raphael said:

...The second one is the coating. I have the original Planar 45mm on my G2 and it shows a different coating than the one from Funleader. It’s a bit more amber/purple, while the conversion is more green/purple. How can this be? I don’t think one is single coated and the other is multi coated. Will the coating have an impact on color rendering?...

Zeiss uses the 'T*' designation to show that a lens is multi-coated. Single-coated Zeiss lenses were given just the 'T'.

Looking at various snaps of 45mm f2 Zeiss Planars there does seem to be variations of the colours of coatings within the same lens-group. Not sure how images might be affected. Something interesting for you to work on over the festive period, Raphael!

I know that various manufacturers have used different colours for coatings on the same type of lens - various editions of the Nikon 50mm f1.4 for example went from heavy Amber to Green and Purple over the years - but to see the difference on two near(?)-identical lenses with serial #'s 951xxxx and 952xxxx is slightly surprising.

Philip.

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 12/20/2021 at 7:39 PM, pippy said:

Looking at various snaps of 45mm f2 Zeiss Planars there does seem to be variations of the colours of coatings within the same lens-group. Not sure how images might be affected. Something interesting for you to work on over the festive period, Raphael!

Finally the sun showed up and I could do some comparison shots.

I shot them on the Contax G2 with the 45mm Planar and on the Leica M6 with the 45mm Planar Conversion. I used Kodak Gold 200 and the same aperture/shutter speed settings for all exposures.

 

G Planar @ Contax

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G Planar @ Leica M

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G Planar @ Contax

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G Planar @ Leica M

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G Planar @ Contax

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G Planar @ Leica M

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G Planar @ Contax

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G Planar @ Leica M

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2 minutes ago, raphael said:

To me it seems that my Contax Planar sample has less contrast and is warmer than my sample from Funleader's conversion.

I don't understand how lenses of the same model can have such different coatings.

What struck me most forecefully was the huge difference in how the two lenses rendered flare in the first pairing! As a matter of interest, Raphael, did you use a hood on both lenses?

And yes, I agree that the lens on the Leica is noticeably cooler than that on the Contax.

As far as I understand the colour-transmission from lenses with different colour-coating should be around 96% identical (roughly 4% of the dominant colour is 'lost' due to reflection / light-wave cancellation from the front element) so if the two lenses have coatings from the opposite ends of the spectrum this means the greatest discrepancy can be no more than 8%. This 8%, of course, is certainly enough of a difference as to be visible in a pair of colour photographs when viewed side-by-side.

Thanks very much for taking the time to carry out the comparison and for posting the update; most interesting.

Philip.

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No, I didn't use a hood on the G Planar for Leica M.

Another example:

G Planar @ Contax

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G Planar @ Leica M

 

The contrast drop-off reminds me on my single-coated Voigtländer Nokton 35mm 1.4 compared to the multi-coated Nokton:

 

See their coating:

 

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Very odd!

Strangely enough as soon as I saw the flare in the top image in the last post I was reminded very strongly of both Al Brown's and Shubadinieru's comparison posts with the 35 Summicron 8 Element and the recent LLL 8-E reverse-engineered 'copy' in another thread in this sub-forum. The circular flare of both these lenses - and that of my 35 Summmilux v2 - is near-identical to that seen in your photograph.

Quite why there should be so much difference is a bit weird. I'm guessing that the Contax-mounted lens is sparkling-clean optically speaking?

Philip.

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