Other than M digital, what are good digitals paired with leica m glass

[Jodad]

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I have a film M. I already have some M glass. I don’t want to buy any extra lenses. I’d like a digital camera to use with this glass for day to day shooting. I don’t want to go the leica digital rout because they are particularly and relatively expensive. 
 

I was thinking about a Sony a7iii for the low light performance and the relatively ok price (about usd 1-1.5k max sometimes with an extra lens included). Apparently these don’t work great woth m glass because of the sensor stack and I don’t think the company that was doing the mods on these stacks still exists. 
 

id like something with decent low light performance like the a7iii that can also do decent video like the a7iii plus or minus. 
 

any suggestions would be much appreciated. 

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[spydrxx]

I've been using an A7Rii for about a year now with Leica & others' glass. I don't do video, so can't comment there.  I'm generally pleased with its performance...the downside is battery life, but keeping a few spares isn't a major inconvenience for me. YMMV

[jankap]

I have an a6500 and use a lens booster too (not for M). No complaints with M, R, EF.  OK, the R 15mm with the lens booster suffers.

[Ko.Fe.]

With M glass you are really getting what you have paid for. 

At 1-1.5K used you are not going to get anything which will give adequate to digital Leica results with M lenses.  

Save more and get SL.

[markhout]

4 hours ago, Ko.Fe. said:

At 1-1.5K used you are not going to get anything which will give adequate to digital Leica results with M lenses.  

Would be worth considering a used Z6 or Z5. Great colors, great resolution, easy to handle and the sensor apparently works better with Leica M lenses than a Sony mirrorless.

[Ko.Fe.]

2 hours ago, markhout said:

Would be worth considering a used Z6 or Z5. Great colors, great resolution, easy to handle and the sensor apparently works better with Leica M lenses than a Sony mirrorless.

I have seen some good reports on those. Z5 is under 1.5K USD now - new and with tax included. I was considering it, but "great colors" unfortunately is not true statement for me after I get used to Canon, Leica colors.  OP might have different view on Nikon's colors.  

[lct]

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I use Kolari mod Sonys (A7s1, A7r2) with "thin" and "ultra thin" sensor filters. "Ultra thin" works better with less red edge issues than my M240 but the mods void the Sony warranty and colors must be tweaked in PP. Not a big deal for raw shooters but it is not for jpeg shooters. See:

https://kolarivision.com/product/sony-a7-series-thin-filter-legacy-lens-upgrade/

[LarsHP]

I am fully understanding your viewpoint, since I have built my compact camera kit around the M lenses, while not wanting to pay the premium for Leica cameras.

M lenses in the telephoto range will perform very well with a stock Sony a7 series or Nikon Z6 / Z7 camera. However, many normal and wide angle lenses will create issues like smearing and reverse field curvature (plane of focus bending away from the camera) outside the center, since the M lenses aren't designed for the sensor glass thickness that mirrorless cameras have. In short, there are three good options with M lenses:

Leica M cameras

Leica SL2 / SL2-S cameras

Sensor glass modified mirrorless cameras like Nikon Z6 / Z7 and Sony that use BSI sensors (back-side illuminated).

I sent my Nikon Z6 to Kolari Vision for the ultra-thin mod, since the results with particularly wide angle lenses in the 28mm - 35mm range were somewhere between bad and awful. Believe me, I didn't want the hassle with that modification, but in the end, it was absolutely necessary.

Edited February 13, 2022 by LarsHP

[crony]

Hi, in the past, I used to adapt M mount lenses to SONY cameras ... --- Nowadays I do this rarely, and only when necessary. I take my (unmodified) SONY A7R2 for city travel,

and I use a VOIGTLÄNDER Super Wide-Heliar 4,5/15 screwmount, when my 21mm ZEISS Loxia is not wide enough. I am happy with the results.

@Jodad : Tell us which M lenses you have, and what you want to do with them, and you (might) get more specific information ...😀

 

[olegn]

I used a Fuji xe3 with adapter and my 35lux. And it was pleasant pair. Xe3 I bought as my first "cheap" leica body. Then switched to original Leica, but can't say nothing bad about Fuji. 
And when you additionally have an aps-c sensor your Leica lens become like 2 different lenses - it's a nice option. 

[bdolzani]

On 2/14/2022 at 10:02 AM, olegn said:

I used a Fuji xe3 with adapter and my 35lux. And it was pleasant pair. Xe3 I bought as my first "cheap" leica body. Then switched to original Leica, but can't say nothing bad about Fuji. 
And when you additionally have an aps-c sensor your Leica lens become like 2 different lenses - it's a nice option. 

Agreed, to me the Fuji/M lens combo is great. I have an X-Pro 1 which I've shot at concerts with M lenses and now an X-T20 for video and adapted lens option.