Canon f/0.95 converted to Leica M mount

[Stevejack]

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I just received a 1960s Canon f/0.95 "dream" lens which has been converted over to Leica M mount. Seems to be a common conversion for these lenses but I searched and couldn't see a thread on this lens yet. ** Edit: apologies, I wasn't searching hard enough. A thread on this lens does exist already, mods feel free to delete or merge this post into there and I can re-post in the correct place.

The converted lens has 6-bit coding, but I'm guessing this would just tell the camera that a 50mm lens is attached? In this case what does Lightroom do when the lens profile correction is selected? Does it attempt to fix distortion / vignetting based on one of Leica's 50mm models? I haven't had a chance to test it with my Leica yet, only with an adapter on my Sony.  **Edit: I just tested this with Leica's official M to L adapter on the SL2. This is supposed to be able to read the 6-bit coding but it's not recognising any lens at all in Lightroom. Also - the lens will not lock onto the adapter, it doesn't seem to engage so there is a danger of untwisting the lens while trying to focus.  The lens locks fine onto my M to Sony E-mount adapter though. 

Anyone else here on the forums with one of these converted lenses? I'll be using this for portraits mainly, and would love to see results others have gotten with the same lens. I have a close focus adapter coming so will run some tests closer in to the subject when it gets here. 

The copy I have is decently sharp at the point of focus and renders a nice bloom/glow to the highlights as the focus falls off. 

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Edited March 15 by Stevejack

[M Street Photographer]

I congratulate him on the canon.I was even lucky enough to find a TV version.  I also use the Canon 50 €0.95, mine is converted to a Leica M connection. However, mine is not connected to a rangefinder and can only be focused using the electronic viewfinder, at my M10 R. The coding causes a vignette correction and is coded on the Leica 50 0.95. I noticed that the vignetting is strongly influenced by the sun visor. Since I use Capture One, I unfortunately can't say anything about the Lightroom handling. However, I think that the lens correction can also be applied in Lightroom if you select 50 0.95 as the profile.Of course, focusing at maximum open aperture at close range for portraits, for example, is a challenge, but it works very well with the electronic viewfinder.

If you don't mind, I will also post some photos that I took with the Canon here.

 

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[Al Brown]

This lens really got its momentum back when Zack Snyder shot parts of Netflix’s zombie apocalypse "Army of the Dead " with a cine rehoused version, and it looked awesome. Hollywood ignored most of it but has heavily focused on rehoused Russian optics (IronGlass), especially Helios 44-2, the Zeiss Jena Biotar derivate. Both Dune 2 and Poor Things were partially shot with this Helios glass. I see a new swirly bokeh trend coming, like it or not, the used prices already jumped 100%...
https://kosmofoto.com/2021/05/netflixs-army-of-the-dead-was-shot-with-a-classic-1960s-rangefinder-lens/
https://petapixel.com/2021/05/26/this-classic-lens-was-used-for-army-of-the-deads-bokeh-rich-shots/
https://youtu.be/0SCePsD6gM8
 

 

Edited March 15 by Al Brown

[spydrxx]

I had one modified for use on my M4 in the 1990s. After experimenting with it for a few weeks, I determined that wide open it was too soft, although by f/8 it was incredibly sharp. I found a buyer quite quickly and have never looked back. I have experimented with some modern software and the early film results do markedly improve.

Shasa at 0.95

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[M Street Photographer]

It is well known that the Canon is very soft at its maximum open and, in my opinion, not so well suited for short distances, with a few exceptions. It also looks very unnatural. A little dimming always helps here. On 2.0 to 2.8. The strength is not 0.95, like all the other 0.95 to 1.2, but also slightly dimmed in the imaging, the gradients and especially in the TV version in a cinematic look. This can only be adequately recreated using filters or software. But everyone's taste is different.

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Edited March 15 by M Street Photographer

[M Street Photographer]

What i see at my picture is the fantastic glow, in the front of the yellow flowers. 

Edited March 15 by M Street Photographer

[Stevejack]

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23 hours ago, M Street Photographer said:

I congratulate him on the canon.I was even lucky enough to find a TV version.  I also use the Canon 50 €0.95, mine is converted to a Leica M connection. However, mine is not connected to a rangefinder and can only be focused using the electronic viewfinder, at my M10 R. The coding causes a vignette correction and is coded on the Leica 50 0.95. I noticed that the vignetting is strongly influenced by the sun visor. Since I use Capture One, I unfortunately can't say anything about the Lightroom handling. However, I think that the lens correction can also be applied in Lightroom if you select 50 0.95 as the profile.Of course, focusing at maximum open aperture at close range for portraits, for example, is a challenge, but it works very well with the electronic viewfinder.

If you don't mind, I will also post some photos that I took with the Canon here.

 

Oh nice, yeah I saw some of the TV version but none which were converted. I also didn't get a hood with mine and still get quite a hard vignetting on the very corner. Thanks for the info on the lens coding, I'll have a play with it on the SL and M11 tomorrow.

Definitely post more photos, I love to see what others are doing with the lens.

It's a difficult one to tame, the backgrounds can be chaotic and distracting without some care taken so I'll need to spend some time figuring out what works and what doesn't. 

[Stevejack]

21 hours ago, spydrxx said:

I had one modified for use on my M4 in the 1990s. After experimenting with it for a few weeks, I determined that wide open it was too soft, although by f/8 it was incredibly sharp. I found a buyer quite quickly and have never looked back. I have experimented with some modern software and the early film results do markedly improve.

Shasa at 0.95

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I'm not sure I would have the skills to use this lens without an EVF, you've done very well here.

My copy is decently sharp at the exact point of focus, no complaints there. I think on newer EVF cameras this lens can be used to great effect. Being able to see the backgrounds and zoom in to nail focus is nice. When I can't spend the time to zoom in and nail focus, using burst mode almost guarantees an in-focus shot. I set the lens to minimum focus, start with the subject just behind the point of focus, and fire a burst as I lean forward or let the subject move into the focus point. I think for things like quick street portraits this will be the ticket, rather than lose the spontaneity of the moment by zooming in, focusing, re-composing, and then taking the shot. The SL2 and M11 are a bit limited in terms of fps but it works great on the Sony. 

Edited March 16 by Stevejack

[Stevejack]

Just did a flare test to see what it was like and these spots appear on all of the images showing flare, but none when the flare isn't present. This is at f/0.95, so would these spots be on one of the middle elements in the lens? They are in-focus like what you see with sensor dust at narrow apertures, but given this is wide open I'm trying to work out where in the lens these spots would be. Can't see much when I shine a torch inside.

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[Stevejack]

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[Al Brown]

Here is some insight on how they rebuilt the 0.95 Canon "Dream" lens et. al. into Cine Housing.
Starts at the relevant chapter: https://youtu.be/dUJPpAXyBxA?si=vUzh2y5C1UXuJWu9&t=168

 

Edited March 16 by Al Brown

[Stevejack]

45 minutes ago, Al Brown said:

HEre is some insight of how they rebuilt the 0.95 Canon "Dream" lens et. al. into Cine Housing.
Starts at the relevant chapter: https://youtu.be/dUJPpAXyBxA?si=vUzh2y5C1UXuJWu9&t=168

 

This was a fascinating watch, thanks for the link - very cool what they did with these lenses. I haven't seen the movie so I'll have to do that now 😁

[M Street Photographer]

I'm very sorry that you have this system of spots in scattered light. To be on the safe side and to rule out other errors, do you have the opportunity to use the lens on another camera?

Since the spots are in focus, I would also tap the lens first. Back then I had my Canon converted from Canon L to Leica M bajonett in Germany, and of course I also had the lens cleaned straight away. One last question: Do you also see the spots through the electronic viewfinder? 

There are two options for the conversion:

Rangefinder coupling is only possible if the last optical element is beveled at one point.If this is not the case during production and it was done during the conversion, there is of course the risk of chips or abrasion in the lens.As I mentioned, my Canon is not rangefinder coupled, I can only focus via the electronic viewfinder, which is completely fine for me since I owned the lens before I had the m10r. I'll look again in my archives, I think I have a video about the conversion and the differences of the last element.

Edited March 16 by M Street Photographer

[M Street Photographer]

https://www.35mmc.com/12/11/2015/canon-50mm-f0-95-review/

Its only a review

[M Street Photographer]

In this photo you can clearly see what I meant by the recess on the last element for the rangefinder coupling. If this is not present, focusing is only possible via the electronic viewfinder.

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[M Street Photographer]

Here you can see a photo of the last element where the recess is missing. For this reason it is not coupled to the rangefinder, like my lens.

What does the last element look like on your lens?

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[Al Brown]

2 hours ago, M Street Photographer said:

What does the last element look like on your lens?

One I tested

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[Stevejack]

3 hours ago, M Street Photographer said:

In this photo you can clearly see what I meant by the recess on the last element for the rangefinder coupling. If this is not present, focusing is only possible via the electronic viewfinder.

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Thank you for all the information, this is great. Yep mine is rangefinder coupled so it has the cutout and the focusing tab. There must be fragments left inside the lens from when it was converted over to M-mount. I'll try to get a closer look inside it tomorrow and see if I can spot where it is. 

[spydrxx]

I order to achieve accurate focus on my M4, I sent mine to a well known specialist (now retired) who dealt primarily in cine lens conversions. He asked me to send my M4 along with the lens, and after examining everything called me and asked my permission to drill a small hole in the lens perimeter itself to attach a rod which would actuate the focusing cam on the M4. Initially I was alarmed at the prospect, but figured if it solved the situation, ok. It worked fine in that all of my photos focussed spot on, wide open as well as stopped down, testifying not only to his work, but also the accurate rangefinder of the M4. Mine was the TV lens BTW. It took up a lot of real estate on the camera, but didn't interfere with the focus patch.

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Edited March 17 by spydrxx
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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M