Is Leica upping their game in the world of film?

[Huss]

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6 hours ago, John Robinson said:

. Meanwhile, the option to Leitax an R-lens and put it on a Nikon F or F2 is a very reasonable route to film photography using R lenses on a purely mechanical body.

I bought a Leitaxed Summilux 50 R, not fully understanding how it would work on my Nikons.  I assumed (you know where that leads you!) that it would work just the same as a native Nikon lens.  Of course it doesn't, you lose the auto aperture stop down and so have to manually stop down to the aperture you want to meter at etc.  But need to have it wide open to focus.

The novelty wore off real quick!  I converted that lens back to the Leica R mount, and replaced it with two of the Cosina Zeiss 50s - the Makro Planar and the Sonnar.  Both are superb lenses with the Makro Planar simply being outstanding.

This is also why in the digital realm, while I do have various adapters, I ended up with sticking with native lenses for their respective cameras as they just work so much better.

Edited September 20, 2022 by Huss

[Huss]

4 hours ago, Matlock said:

True, but Leicas can have other friends you know. 🙂

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I really liked my Nikon S2 - I found it much better for my use (50mm lenses) than the S3 or SP.  Better pure 50mm vf, and better and brighter rangefinder blob!

Sold it because too many cameras..  I also liked it more than my Bessa R3a and Zeiss Ikon ZM! (also sold)

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[John Robinson]

21 minutes ago, Huss said:

I bought a Leitaxed Summilux 50 R, not fully understanding how it would work on my Nikons.  I assumed (you know where that leads you!) that it would work just the same as a native Nikon lens.  Of course it doesn't, you lose the auto aperture stop down and so have to manually stop down to the aperture you want to meter at etc.  But need to have it wide open to focus.

The Leitax adapter I used has a little tab to open up the aperture for focus, then let go and it closes down again.  It *almost* overcomes the disadvantage of having to stop down to take the shot.  In most cases I would not stop down much past f/4 and the Nikon focusing screens work quite well at that aperture but the tab is an excellent addition to the process.  I could put a Nikkor on the F but there is just something about the look of the Summicron (or the Elmarit-R 35 I have, also Leitaxed) that is so appealing.

[Anbaric]

Having film and digital Nikon bodies, I can sort of see the attraction of the Leitax conversions. But with many Leica R bodies (which of course offer open aperture metering) no more expensive than the equivalent Nikons, and with mirrorless and EOS providing digital options that work with simple adapters, there are certainly easier ways of using these lenses that don't need a screwdriver.

[Louis2dogs]

On 9/18/2022 at 2:09 PM, logan2z said:

I keep toying with picking up an F2 but I already have too many cameras.  Wait, did I just say that with a straight face?

How many cameras do you really need?… Just one more.

[logan2z]

2 hours ago, Louis2dogs said:

How many cameras do you really need?… Just one more.

In my case it's three more - I'd like an F2, Hasselblad SWC, Plaubel Makina 67 and - if Leica would make one - a black paint M-A.  OK, four 😉

[Anbaric]

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[Ernest]

Analog back to the future again with silver chrome and black?

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[Ernest]

My "Econo-analog" MDa street shooter. Portra 800 for deep focus.

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Edited October 13, 2022 by Ernest

[Ernest]

BP MP and Nikon F

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[edstock]

My enjoyment with photography began when I was 7 or 8 with a Kodak brownie. I have always been a film photographer. As a professional I had to adapt to digital to meet client's wishes. The pleasure of shooting film never left. Over the years I acquired a number of different types of cameras. The tactile sensation of film as opposed to a memory disk has to be experienced.