Using M/SL lenses on S Body

[Coppereye]

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APOLOGIES IF THIS HAS BEEN ASKED BEFORE.

Having disposed of my M10-P and 50mm Summilux ( why did I sell this beautiful lens ) to buy another S body ( I had an S 006  it sold it to try the Phase One system )

I use a

1950s M3 and 50mm Elmar Collapsible + Elmar 90mm.  

Leica Q ( IMHO best single lens camera ever made) the original - I’ve never seen the need to change it.  

And now a

S (007) and 70mm lens - a beautiful combination  and stunning IQ

But I am looking at other lenses for my S - particularly some of the L Mount lenses with different widths and speeds I know you can buy a converter which adapts some of the Hassie C and Mamiya 645 lenses to the S Body and an adapter for using S lenses on SL bodies.  
 

I have tried Leica stores, MPB and eBay but is there an adapter to allow SL lenses on S bodies?  
 

I know I have wide angle and macro on the Q but I want to make use of the larger sensor and carrying multiple bodies is not the easiest.

Edited June 8, 2024 by Coppereye
Change text from Bd

[davidmknoble]

SL lenses are closer to the sensor (mirrorless) than the S system (DSLR).  An adapter only allows for lenses that are further away than the S system (like the hasselblad V which is a box).  So, M and SL lenses cannot be focused and mounted on an S body, ignoring the fact that it would no cover the entire sensor anyway.

There was an R lens that was adapted with a mount for the S lens.  It is the R APO 280mm f/2.8 lens (a large beast).

[dpitt]

Camera mounts sorted by Register

If you want to reach infinity, the register distance needs to be exactly the same as what the lens was designed for. So if you want to adapt a lens, you need to find one designed for a longer distance and add an adapter. Look for mounts listed below the Leica S to see what would work in theory.

So this rules out any lens designed for R, M or L mount.

There is one exception... In theory you could adapt Leica Visoflex lenses. Their mount is 91.5 mm in total, or 68,8mm for the Visoflex II or III compatible lenses. Some of the heads of the the Leica M lenses used on the Visoflex system also have an image circle large enough to cover the MF digital sensors. I think the 135mm Hektor and Elmar as well as the Elmar 90mm would do.

Below is a set of distances I found to adapt visoflex lenses for micro 4/3.

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Edited June 10, 2024 by dpitt

[John McMaster]

1 hour ago, dpitt said:

So this rules out any lens designed for R, M or L mount.

Not quite, R lenses can be used at closer distances and the 280/4 + 1.4x APO extender can focus to infinity.  Some longer lenses can be adapted to focus beyond infinity, so reaching infinity on the S bodies....

john

[Stuart Richardson]

Other than the esoteric exceptions noted above, it is not possible. The only Leica lenses that work on the S are its own S mount lenses. This is one of the reasons why the camera is so cheap on the secondary market (as compared to its retail price). If you want to use non-Leica lenses, Leica made adapters for Hasselblad V (completely manual), Hasselblad H (native AF, aperture), Contax 645 (native AF, aperture), Mamiya 645 (fully manual), Pentax 67 (fully manual). With very few exceptions, they are of similar size and lower quality than the S versions, so unless you already have them, it is probably better to get the S lenses. That way you get the native quality, weather sealing and best performance. The main reason to use the S system is its lenses. You can make fine photos with adapted lenses from other medium format cameras, but if you don't already have them, the cost of the lens plus adapter is probably not that far off these days from a used S lens which will likely exceed the adapted lens in both performance and character.

Edited June 10, 2024 by Stuart Richardson

[davidmknoble]

I guess I’d also say that when the S4 is released, someday, the S lenses may go up in value again… ??

[mikelevitt]

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On 6/10/2024 at 7:06 AM, John McMaster said:

Not quite, R lenses can be used at closer distances and the 280/4 + 1.4x APO extender can focus to infinity.  Some longer lenses can be adapted to focus beyond infinity, so reaching infinity on the S bodies....

john

The R flange distance is 47mm.  The S flange distance is 53mm.  How do you deal with the fact that the end of the R mount is 6mm farther away from the film plane than is required to focus.  6mm might as well be a mile...

[dpitt]

1 hour ago, mikelevitt said:

The R flange distance is 47mm.  The S flange distance is 53mm.  How do you deal with the fact that the end of the R mount is 6mm farther away from the film plane than is required to focus.  6mm might as well be a mile...

This can never be achieved by adding a simple adapter.

In case of a long tele lenses, the back end of the lens is often a tube. In some cases you could change the mount and shorten this tube by 6mm without compromising the functionality of the lens. I think this  would always be a destructive operation that can not be reversed, making the lens unusable for R camera's.  And the cost of the modification only makes sense for the best R lenses IMO.

Maybe the modular tele lenses (280mm and up) can focus so far beyond infinity (on an R body) that they can deal with the 6mm extra length without physical modification.

Edited June 14, 2024 by dpitt

[John McMaster]

19 hours ago, mikelevitt said:

The R flange distance is 47mm.  The S flange distance is 53mm.  How do you deal with the fact that the end of the R mount is 6mm farther away from the film plane than is required to focus.  6mm might as well be a mile...

The 280/4 on its own cannot focus to infinity, but with the 1.4x APO it can.  Solms (as was) altered my 1.4x focus adapter for the APO-Modulat set to focus to infinity on the S, with lots of provisos, it was at the edge of adjustment....

john

[Coppereye]

On 6/8/2024 at 8:12 PM, davidmknoble said:

 

There was an R lens that was adapted with a mount for the S lens.  It is the R APO 280mm f/2.8 lens (a large beast).

Thank you so much for the info

[Coppereye]

On 6/10/2024 at 1:02 PM, Stuart Richardson said:

The only Leica lenses that work on the S are its own S mount lenses.

I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m just going to stick with S lenses. I’ve gone over some of my older images right back to the first studio session, admittedly with the 006 ( still love the CCD sensor, but that suffered from the same issues as the M9 )

There are deals so I’ve made a list of the order of the lenses and stay with the S system (007 now) suits my style.  The 120mm will be first then save up for the others lenses.  The 70mm is a cracking lens to be getting on with.  
 

I think I was thinking - normally I would have written down the question looked at the next day and then thought again

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[Coppereye]

Thank you everyone because I have thinking about it and really someone  should have smacked me round the back of the head.

But I have learned loads - I’m 64 and my motto has always been If “I learn something new then it’s a good day”

 

[Einst_Stein]

I got Leica S3 solely because I have a pretty decent Contax 645 system except I want a non-CCD upgrade and keep all C645 lenses.

But after a while something terrible happened. I tried my friend's S70mm. Now I am looking into S lenses.

Not that C645 is bad at all, but S is just phenomena exception.  

[Coppereye]

13 hours ago, Einst_Stein said:

I got Leica S3 solely because I have a pretty decent Contax 645 system except I want a non-CCD upgrade and keep all C645 lenses.

But after a while something terrible happened. I tried my friend's S70mm. Now I am looking into S lenses.

Not that C645 is bad at all, but S is just phenomena exception.  

That’s the conclusion I came to - the thought of another lens has had to be put on the back burner due to me dropping my beloved 1958 M3