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4 hours ago, ramarren said:

Had some time on Tuesday to be in San Francisco and walk with the camera. One of a few that I like. 🙂

 


Leica CL + Pentax-L 43mm f/1.9 Limited
ISO 100 @ f/2.8 @ 1/800

 

Enjoy!

What adapter (s) do you use to couple your Pentax Limited lenses to your CL? Do you retain the full focusing range?

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2 hours ago, Dave in Wales said:

And how do Pentax Limited lenses differ from ordinary Pentax lenses?

In several ways. Limited numbers made. Superlative performance. Unusual focal lengths - 31mm, 43mm, 77mm. So good was the 43mm lens that a special version was made in screw mount fittings for the then current screw-thread Leicas. The range was understandably more expensive than the standard range of Pentax lenses. 

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1 hour ago, wda said:

In several ways. Limited numbers made. Superlative performance. Unusual focal lengths - 31mm, 43mm, 77mm. So good was the 43mm lens that a special version was made in screw mount fittings for the then current screw-thread Leicas. The range was understandably more expensive than the standard range of Pentax lenses. 

Many thanks

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7 hours ago, wda said:

What adapter (s) do you use to couple your Pentax Limited lenses to your CL? Do you retain the full focusing range?

The Pentax-L 43mm f/1.9 Limited is a Leica thread mount lens. I have fitted it with a Rayqual current series LTM to M-bayonet adapter and applied the code for a Summicron-M 35mm f/2 ASPH so that it automatically brings up that lens profile when fitted to the CL. The profile seems a very good match to the P-L43 lens. 

7 hours ago, Dave in Wales said:

And how do Pentax Limited lenses differ from ordinary Pentax lenses?

Pentax originally made the Limited series lenses as a premium lens series for their 35mm SLRs. They were: Pentax-FA 43mm f/1.9 Limited, Pentax-FA 31mm f/1.8 Limited, and Pentax-FA 77mm f/1.8 Limited. All superb quality lenses, the equal of nearly anything in the focal length range. They have since then applied the Limited moniker to a few more lenses intended for their APS-C format DSLRs. The original three are still available in new production today, and are still superb performers on the Pentax DSLR range. I had all three of them when I was working with Pentax gear between 2004 and 2007. The 31mm wasn't to my taste on the digital sensor, but the 77 and 43 mm, especially the latter, were simply two of the best lenses I've ever owned. For their quality, they are a bargain.

I tried adapting the FA43mm to various cameras, but it has some problems there: It was designed for autofocus and the focusing ring throw is very light and very short, making it hard to focus accurately and quickly when used as a manual focus adapted lens. However, if you can work with that, it's a superb pick as an adapted lens and focuses down to about 0.3m in the SLR mount. 

The 43mm was considered extra special to the point that in 1998 or so, for reasons that remain opaque to me, they decided to produce this lens in a special Leica thread mount edition with coupled rangefinder cam and a matching optical viewfinder for LTM cameras, both Leica and Voigtländer, and marketed them in the Japanese market. They remained in very limited production until, I think, 2001 or 2002, with about half the production being produced in silver finish and the other half black finish. I believe about 2000 of these lenses were produced in toto. 

I first heard about this special series 43mm lens in the middle '00s and started looking for one but prices were always in the $1300 plus range for mint examples with the matching viewfinder. I thought that a bit pricey, but had a persistent search on Ebay for it that I'd check from time to time. Last year, shortly after I bought the CL body, one of those searches came up with lens that looked to be in excellent cosmetic and functional condition but wasn't in the box, didn't include the optical viewfinder, and was priced at under $700. I bought it immediately.

In LTM mount, the optics are identical and only the mount is changed. The lens focuses to the typical 0.7m distance but the lens mount is superb: smooth with just the right amount of turning range and resistance. The aperture ring is relocated to the front of the lens. It is a small, light lens that fits the CL (and my Leica M-D) body perfectly. The lens performance is nothing short of superb. On APS-C format, it produces a lovely "long normal" field of view. It's every bit the performer that the SLR version was, and works superbly with the old ELPRO VIIa and VIIb (using the appropriate adapter rings) to provide closer focusing capability when that is required. 

I'm very glad to have this rare lens for the CL. The performance, size, weight, and feel are just right. On those occasions when I go out on "one camera, one lens" shooting expeditions, it is often my first choice. :D I sometimes pair it with the Voigtländer Color-Skopar 28mm f/3.5 as well so that I have that nice kit of "wide normal" and "long normal" lenses, both small, light, and compact. Add my M-Rokkor 90mm f/4 and that's a great "go anywhere, do anything" three lens set, all in M mount for ease of use, and all small with high performance for when I'm trying to minimize the kit's size and weight. 

(For ease of use with multiple lenses, I typically build my working kit out of either M-mount only or R-mount only lenses. That way I leave the mount adapter setup on the body and just change lenses without having to juggle different adapters for different lenses, and I don't have to buy multiple expensive adapters.)

Enough words, another photo: 


Leica CL + Pentax-L 43mm f/1.9 Limited
ISO 100 @ f/2.8 @ 1/250

enjoy!

 

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what a terrific report, ramarren. I suffer from what you have avoided. My mix of M and R mount doesn't yet allow for separate systems, and I'm always looking for that adaptor that I put somewhere....

Edited by bags27
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@ramarren:  Your post above makes for interesting reading, it made me searching for more info., I wonder if I can mount it on a Z7 with the LTM plus an M-Z adapter.  I might try and hunt down a copy next time I go to Japan.  I'm a 40mm guy and have been contemplating getting the Minolta Rokkor 40mm/Leica 40mm-C, at $400-$500 the Minolta is a bit less money.  Still have to get it from Japan it seems like.  I want to have a set of lenses that will work both on the Z7 and the CL.

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I have owned the FA 43 Limited since my days shooting Pentax APS-C DSLRs. It was probably my favorite of the “three amigos,” as they are called, although the 31mm and 77mm may have been better optically. I recently bought a Yeenon PK to M adapter that is very well made and in the middle of the price spectrum. In terms of using the FA 43 on a CL, everything that ramarren said is correct. It makes for a lightweight, high quality kit. However, I have to say that the Leica-Summilux-R 50 f1.4 (E60) is a better lens IMO, especially for portraits. But it is much larger and heavier, especially with the R adapter, so there is that trade off.

Edited by robgo2
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3 hours ago, nightstreet said:

@ramarren:  Your post above makes for interesting reading, it made me searching for more info., I wonder if I can mount it on a Z7 with the LTM plus an M-Z adapter.  I might try and hunt down a copy next time I go to Japan.  I'm a 40mm guy and have been contemplating getting the Minolta Rokkor 40mm/Leica 40mm-C, at $400-$500 the Minolta is a bit less money.  Still have to get it from Japan it seems like.  I want to have a set of lenses that will work both on the Z7 and the CL.

I've had all of the Summicron-C 40, M-Rokkor 40 v1 and v2. There are subtle differences in the rendering qualities produced by these three lenses. By and large, the M-Rokkor 40 v2 (made and sold with the Minolta CLE) is technically the best performer of the three, but I prefer the Summicron-C 40mm rendering qualities. 

The FA43/L43 lens is in another class entirely, to my eye. It's closer to a Summicron-M 35/2 ASPH in rendering qualities, but softer and rounder in how it deals with jangly out of focus bits. 

1 hour ago, robgo2 said:

I have owned the FA 43 Limited since my days shooting Pentax APS-C DSLRs. It was probably my favorite of the “three amigos,” as they are called, although the 31mm and 77mm may have been better optically. I recently bought a Yeenon PK to M adapter that is very well made and in the middle of the price spectrum. In terms of using the FA 43 on a CL, everything that ramarren said is correct. It makes for a lightweight, high quality kit. However, I have to say that the Leica-Summilux-R 50 f1.4 (E60) is a better lens IMO, especially for portraits. But it is much larger and heavier, especially with the R adapter, so there is that trade off.

thx!

I love the Summilux-R 50 (mine is an earlier model, the true Mandler version) and it is indeed a better lens for portraiture given the way you can dial in the softness by turning the aperture ring. It is a good bit larger and heavier than the L43, and the difference in focal length changes the FoV quite a bit. I find the L43 a more useful general purpose focal length, where the 'Lux 50 is more of a short tele. 

Both are well worth having in the kit. I usually pair the 'Lux 50 with an R28/2.8 and an R90/2 or R135/2.8. 

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29 minutes ago, bags27 said:

I don't have a Z, but from all I've read, I certainly think you could.

Not that I mind but it appears that the last five posts should have been posted in a more technical section than CL Photos 🤪🕺

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2 hours ago, albert said:

Not that I mind but it appears that the last five posts should have been posted in a more technical section than CL Photos 🤪🕺

You have a point, but everyone knows that internet threads have a mind of their own. 😊

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2 hours ago, robgo2 said:

You have a point, but everyone knows that internet threads have a mind of their own. 😊

The starting point was an image and it is difficult to start a new thread with a cross-quote. However I will try later today.

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Mutya & her pig, Laguna, Philippines

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Mutya …..and Uncle Abett (in the background), a Sigue Sigue gang member who has turned his life around since leaving jail a couple of years ago.

Laguna Philippines

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Manila

Ana Marie, my other half.....training for her kickboxing title defence next month

 

18mm

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On 5/25/2019 at 9:11 AM, wda said:

In several ways. Limited numbers made. Superlative performance. Unusual focal lengths - 31mm, 43mm, 77mm. So good was the 43mm lens that a special version was made in screw mount fittings for the then current screw-thread Leicas. The range was understandably more expensive than the standard range of Pentax lenses. 

Many thanks

Edited by Dave in Wales
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Llandysul, West Wales.

 

Edited by Dave in Wales
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