ROM R-lenses on EXTENDER APO 1.4 and NON-ROM APO 2 - Is that possible?

[PetersPhotoChannel]

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MY CONCLUSION

After reading the posts in this thread and contacting a LEICA Academy instructor twice, this is the info I received:

1. Extender APO 1.4 and 2 and APO 2 ROM - compatibility.
All R lenses manufactured since 1976 are compatible with all extenders and the R Adapter L. Only some lenses can be used with the 1.4 because the rear element protrudes.

2. R Adapter L and compatibility
If you don't have lenses with ROM bar, you don't need the R Adapter L, a corresponding adapter from NOVOFLEX or another manufacturer is sufficient. If you don't have ROM lenses, but additionally M lenses, you are recommended to buy the R Adapter M and the M Adapter L by the LEICA Academy. These two adapters together cost about as much as the R adapter L and you then have the additional advantage of being able to use your M lenses on cameras with L-mount. According to their statement, there is no disadvantage in using R lenses with two adapters - they are made precisely enough to hold the lens in the correct position even with two adapters placed one behind the other.

3. R adapter L and transfer of focal length
With ROM lenses (and only with those!) the focal length is transmitted to the camera and written into the EXIF data together with the name of the lens. This works anyway with fixed focal lengths but also with zooms, at any focal length.

4. R-Lens Profiles
There are no lens profiles for R-lenses stored in the SL2 cameras. So there are no in-camera corrections for these lenses. It's a pity, but this also means that you can use lenses from other manufacturers with an R-profile without then correcting this lens with the data of an R-lens with wrong values.

5. Image stabilizer for R-lenses without ROM
For the image stabilizer of the SL2 (S) it does not matter which profile is selected. Just activate any R-profile in the menu and the stabilizer will work at any focal length. In an extreme case, you can manually set a 21mm f4 R lens in the menu and then run a 280mm f4 R lens with it - still stabilizes correctly! Of course, one will still select the correct R lens in the menu to then have the correct data in the EXIF.

Best regards

Peter

PetersPhotoChannel.com

[otto.f]

2 hours ago, PetersPhotoChannel said:

So there are no in-camera corrections for these lenses. It's a pity,

That is quite relative and above 50mm rather theoretical as far as I know what these corrections actually do. I often put lense corrections Off, which is much more honest to how the original lens renders

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[davidmknoble]

Nice summary Peter.

[LeicaDen]

On 4/24/2022 at 10:41 AM, PetersPhotoChannel said:

MY CONCLUSION

After reading the posts in this thread and contacting a LEICA Academy instructor twice, this is the info I received:

1. Extender APO 1.4 and 2 and APO 2 ROM - compatibility.
All R lenses manufactured since 1976 are compatible with all extenders and the R Adapter L. Only some lenses can be used with the 1.4 because the rear element protrudes.

2. R Adapter L and compatibility
If you don't have lenses with ROM bar, you don't need the R Adapter L, a corresponding adapter from NOVOFLEX or another manufacturer is sufficient. If you don't have ROM lenses, but additionally M lenses, you are recommended to buy the R Adapter M and the M Adapter L by the LEICA Academy. These two adapters together cost about as much as the R adapter L and you then have the additional advantage of being able to use your M lenses on cameras with L-mount. According to their statement, there is no disadvantage in using R lenses with two adapters - they are made precisely enough to hold the lens in the correct position even with two adapters placed one behind the other.

3. R adapter L and transfer of focal length
With ROM lenses (and only with those!) the focal length is transmitted to the camera and written into the EXIF data together with the name of the lens. This works anyway with fixed focal lengths but also with zooms, at any focal length.

4. R-Lens Profiles
There are no lens profiles for R-lenses stored in the SL2 cameras. So there are no in-camera corrections for these lenses. It's a pity, but this also means that you can use lenses from other manufacturers with an R-profile without then correcting this lens with the data of an R-lens with wrong values.

5. Image stabilizer for R-lenses without ROM
For the image stabilizer of the SL2 (S) it does not matter which profile is selected. Just activate any R-profile in the menu and the stabilizer will work at any focal length. In an extreme case, you can manually set a 21mm f4 R lens in the menu and then run a 280mm f4 R lens with it - still stabilizes correctly! Of course, one will still select the correct R lens in the menu to then have the correct data in the EXIF.

Best regards

Peter

PetersPhotoChannel.com

Very helpful summary. I was searching for this kind of clarification. Great to have a forum and real world user experience to get actionable info. Thanks Peter!

[LeicaDen]

I have a question along these lines. I have an SL2-S and the R Adapter M and the M Adapter L combination has worked fine for me with two non ROM, 3 cam R lenses I have. However I recently purchased an 80mm Summilux R ROM lens and was wondering, can I use this lens with the R Adapter M and the M Adapter L combination? i.e., will the M Adapter L it connects to damage anything physically?

Also, is the fact that there are no ROM connectors on the R Adapter M cause any issue for those ROM connectors on the R lens, like short something out? I'm assuming not as there wouldn't be any power coming through the connectors from the lens itself nor from the camera through the R Adapter M and the M Adapter L combination. Just asking to be prepared.

Edited September 21, 2022 by LeicaDen

[rtai]

So a 50mm Summilux v1 (series 7) 3 cam will not mount on a rom 2x Apo extender because it was made before 1976 whereas a post 1976 E55 version 2 also 3 cam is ok? 

[dpitt]

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On 2/26/2023 at 2:30 AM, rtai said:

So a 50mm Summilux v1 (series 7) 3 cam will not mount on a rom 2x Apo extender because it was made before 1976 whereas a post 1976 E55 version 2 also 3 cam is ok? 

No.

Any 3-cam can be mounted. 3-cam was introduced in 1976 so your lens must have been upgraded to 3-cam at some point. Be careful! Some custom ordered 2-cam lenses from after 1976 exist and can not be mounted on a ROM device.

Edited February 27, 2023 by dpitt

[davidmknoble]

4 hours ago, dpitt said:

No.

Any 3-cam can be mounted. 3-cam was introduced in 1976 so your lens must have been upgraded to 3-cam at some point. Be careful! Some custom ordered 2-cam lenses from after 1976 exist and can not be mounted on a ROM device.

Agreed, the key is to understand how to identify whether your R lens is a 2-cam, 3-cam, R-only or (easy) ROM lens.  Then you know you can mount the lens to certain cameras.

I have recently gotten a Leicaflex SL, which can accept 2-cam and 3-cam lenses.  But, my R8/R9 can only accept R-only and ROM lenses.  Yet, my R6.2 can accept 3-cam, R-only and ROM lenses.  So identifying the lens within the limitations of your camera is the key to avoid damaging the internals, which are difficult if not impossible to repair.

I have a 3-cam and ROM 2x APO extender and finally just wrote them on the white dot of the case so I could more easily pick up the right one.  I have the 3-cam 1.4x APO, but it was intended for more specialty lenses.  So, I use the 1.4x on my 280 APO 2.8 lens.

[ellisson]

I was surprised that mounting the Leica Apo extender 2X ROM on the Leica 80-200 F4 zoom with ROM contacts (so all ROM) and then mounting that onto the Leica R-L adapter was not recognized by my SL2-S camera.   So I manually entered Leica 400 f4 in the R lens selection menu.  This was the closest lens I could find to my lens-extender combo.   With ROM zoom lenses alone (no extender attached) and the R-L adapter, the camera correctly recognizes the lens, at least for my 3 ROM lens, two of which are zooms.  Add the extender, and it seems that the combo is not relayed to the camera by the R-L adapter.   

[davidmknoble]

On 4/20/2023 at 6:15 PM, ellisson said:

I was surprised that mounting the Leica Apo extender 2X ROM on the Leica 80-200 F4 zoom with ROM contacts (so all ROM) and then mounting that onto the Leica R-L adapter was not recognized by my SL2-S camera.   So I manually entered Leica 400 f4 in the R lens selection menu.  This was the closest lens I could find to my lens-extender combo.   With ROM zoom lenses alone (no extender attached) and the R-L adapter, the camera correctly recognizes the lens, at least for my 3 ROM lens, two of which are zooms.  Add the extender, and it seems that the combo is not relayed to the camera by the R-L adapter.   

Is it possible your ROM 2x extender has bad rom contacts?  I have both and will try mine at some point to compare.  Just wondering…

[Leicaiste]

« According to their statement, there is no disadvantage in using R lenses with two adapters - they are made precisely enough to hold the lens in the correct position even with two adapters placed one behind the other. »

There is vignetting with some of the longer lenses  

It disappears when used with the R-L adapter  

 

[analogfilms]

On 2/27/2023 at 1:37 AM, davidmknoble said:

But, my R8/R9 can only accept R-only and ROM lenses.  Yet, my R6.2 can accept 3-cam, R-only and ROM lenses.  

R8/R9 will accept 3 cam, R only, Rom, just like your R6.2 and meter properly.