Leica L to R adapter strange behavior at f5.6 with non ROM lenses

[Stef63]

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I have this strange and extremely annoying behavior with 2 non ROM R lenses on an SL2 with the Leica L to R adapter : Whenever I select f5.6 the SL2 pop's up with a message of an unknown lens mounted.  If I then go into the menu and selected the appropriate R lens profile, it works fine again.  I can change the aperture to higher or lower f-stops.  Even if I rapidly turn the aperture and pass the f5.6 mark, the SL2 keeps the correct lens profile.  However, if I turn the aperture ring slowly or stop at the f5.6 mark, the lens profile is lost.

This happens only with non ROM R lenses. ROM R lenses work just fine.  This behavior also does not happen with a stacked L to M and M to R adapter pair, nor does it happen on my M11 with the M to R.

The two R lenses in this case are the 100 Macro Elmarit R f2.8 and the 180 APO Telyt R f3.4.  On the Leica Miami website these two lenses are marked as compatible, and they show also up in the SL2 menu.

I suspect it might have something to do with the 2nd CAM lever touching the ROM contacts of the adapter, but then Leica must have known this, and it might be possible to have a solution in firmware since rapidly passing by the f5.6 mark does not trigger this behavior.   

Anybody of the forum members also noticed this, as it could also be that my adapter is defective?

Thanks ! 

 

Edited March 13, 2022 by Stef63

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[LeicaRFan]

I also have both lenses without ROM and no problems with the adapter. No matter which aperture is set. They both work very well with the adapter on the SL2.

The 100 er is a little bit better in my opinion. Actually no differences to the native SL optics.

Best regards

Christian

[Stef63]

1 hour ago, LeicaRFan said:

I also have both lenses without ROM and no problems with the adapter. No matter which aperture is set. They both work very well with the adapter on the SL2.

The 100 er is a little bit better in my opinion. Actually no differences to the native SL optics.

Best regards

Christian

Ouch, then that could mean I have faulty L - R adapter.  May I ask you if you could check what firmware version of the adapter is displayed in the camera information menu (menu tab 5)?  It only shows this when the adapter is mounted.

Mine shows ver 1.0

Thanks !

[LeicaRFan]

The adapter version is 1.0 too, the SL2 firmware is 3.0.

I don't think it's the adapter, because he doesn't get any informationfrom the lenses ( no ROM-contacts ).Possibily check the contacts of the camera and the adapter.

I never had any error messages with the adapter.

Best regards,

Christian

[Stef63]

It seems that I’m not the only one … see #19 in this post  

I noticed exactly the same as mentioned here : the 2nd CAM probably touching the ROM contacts of the adapter.

 

 

[OrchiS]

Am 13.3.2022 um 14:50 schrieb Stef63:

I have this strange and extremely annoying behavior with 2 non ROM R lenses on an SL2 with the Leica L to R adapter : Whenever I select f5.6 the SL2 pop's up with a message of an unknown lens mounted.  If I then go into the menu and selected the appropriate R lens profile, it works fine again.  I can change the aperture to higher or lower f-stops.  Even if I rapidly turn the aperture and pass the f5.6 mark, the SL2 keeps the correct lens profile.  However, if I turn the aperture ring slowly or stop at the f5.6 mark, the lens profile is lost.

This happens only with non ROM R lenses. ROM R lenses work just fine.  This behavior also does not happen with a stacked L to M and M to R adapter pair, nor does it happen on my M11 with the M to R.

The two R lenses in this case are the 100 Macro Elmarit R f2.8 and the 180 APO Telyt R f3.4.  On the Leica Miami website these two lenses are marked as compatible, and they show also up in the SL2 menu.

I suspect it might have something to do with the 2nd CAM lever touching the ROM contacts of the adapter, but then Leica must have known this, and it might be possible to have a solution in firmware since rapidly passing by the f5.6 mark does not trigger this behavior.   

Anybody of the forum members also noticed this, as it could also be that my adapter is defective?

Thanks ! 

 

I have the same problem with the 100 Macro Elmarit R f2.8.  Was march 2020 in Wetzlar bei Leica with this lens. Me was told that this problem was known by Leica!!

No solution for this problem or using  with a stacked M to R adapter!!

[Stef63]

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32 minutes ago, OrchiS said:

I have the same problem with the 100 Macro Elmarit R f2.8.  Was march 2020 in Wetzlar bei Leica with this lens. Me was told that this problem was known by Leica!!

No solution for this problem or using  with a stacked M to R adapter!!

Thank you for confirming I’m not alone.  But I’m confused by the fact that @LeicaRFan tells that with the exact same lens he does not experience this problem.

I emailed Leica about this but did not get a response yet.  

Any other forum members with a non ROM R lens experience this (or not) with the R to L adapter?

[Stef63]

So I got a response back from Leica.

It basically confirms that one of the CAM levers of non ROM R lenses causes a short circuit at a certain angle, resulting in "misbehavior" of the camera.  They state that non ROM lenses are serviceable by removing small spacers from the inside to give more distance between the electric contacts and the curved CAM.  However, this would make the adapted lens unusable on an R analog camera.

What the message from Leica does not tell is that the problem occurs only with certain R lenses or with all non ROM lenses.  My conclusion is that Leica knows about this issue already for some time and also that the published "compatibility" list or the statement on the R to L adapter product page "This solution is compatible with most lenses built as of 1976" should be taken with a big grain of salt, at least for the non ROM lenses.  

If you have these type of non ROM R lenses and want to buy a pricey Leica R to L adapter to use on an SL camera, always test the combination with all your R lenses before handing over your money. 

[BernardC]

The other option is to use a high quality third-party R-to-L adapter for lenses that aren't compatible with Leica's adapter. You won't get any data transmission, but it isn't really needed with R lenses.

[Stef63]

1 hour ago, BernardC said:

The other option is to use a high quality third-party R-to-L adapter for lenses that aren't compatible with Leica's adapter. You won't get any data transmission, but it isn't really needed with R lenses.

Sure, that is indeed another option for those that do not have bought the Leica R to L yet.  But I already have this adapter ☹️

For those with only ROM R lenses the Leica adapter has some (small) advantages over 3rd party adapters.  The lens type is automatically detected as well as the focal length (a nice to have with Vario R lenses).  But if you have both ROM and non ROM R lenses or only non ROM then test before you buy or go indeed the 3rd party route.  The stacked adapter solution might be another option, but also here test before you buy, as on some longer lenses you might notice vignetting.

 

[BernardC]

21 hours ago, Stef63 said:

But if you have both ROM and non ROM R lenses or only non ROM then test before you buy or go indeed the 3rd party route.

My preferred solution is to have one adapter per lens. That way I don't have to look around for adapters when switching between native and adapted lenses. Of course, that gets expensive very quickly if you have lots of ROM lenses and use Leica's adapter. For non-ROM R lenses, you can get several Novoflex adapters for the price of one Leica adapter (and obviously even more "cheap" adapters), so the overall cost is acceptable.