Rene Janssen Posted January 7, 2008 Share #1 Posted January 7, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi, I have bought a Leica Digilux which I will received this week. Ik am going to kenia on safari (hopefully) in February and therefore I will need a tele lens. I have some questions like do I need a zoom and is autofocus necessary. I was first thinking buying the olympus 50-200 SWD f/2.8-3.5 but it is uncertain if this lens is available in stores before Februari. So I was wondering if a Leica Elmarit R 180 f/2.8 with adapter will do. I looked at the site of Bo Lorentzen and noticed that he has made the most pictures at long tele, 33 (out of 59) photo's at 420mm and 12 photo's at 300mm. So I was thinking 180mm is in fact 360mm which might be good for safari. Any thoughts or advice? Thanks in advance. Regards Rene Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 7, 2008 Posted January 7, 2008 Hi Rene Janssen, Take a look here Leica Digilux 3 and Leica Elmarit R 180mm f/2.8 . I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
rsolomon Posted January 8, 2008 Share #2 Posted January 8, 2008 Rene i have the Digilux 3 and the 180/ 2.8. keep a couple things in mind .. first ; you NEED a tripod, there is no image stabilzation and you most likely can not hand hold a 360 - i know i can't second: your DOF is about half of what is "normal 35 mm" for the lens, so depending on your distance this may be a factor. third: the official leica adapter is not easy to get , and not cheap - i paid $250 usd, many here have used the fotodox version but i was/am concerned about protecting the camera as well as the R mount on my lenses. i would love to get the olympus 50-200 SWD f/2.8-3.5 - if you do have a chance to get your hands on this please post some results or your impressions of this lens thanks ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
geaibleu Posted January 8, 2008 Share #3 Posted January 8, 2008 that Olympus lens is available from B&H NY as of to-day Jan.8. for $700.00 (849.00 less Olympus rebate of &150). Drawback of digilux-3 with fixed focal lenses is the dark viewfinder (see dpreview Panasonic Lumix1 review). You will indeed need a tripod or shoulderstock with anything as heavy as the Elmarit. Leica's stativ 1 would be a great asset since that lens has no tripod mount. I use that lens with the Oly E-510 that I picked for the body stabilizer. The old Apo-telyt 180 3.4 can be used hand held with the E-510. Have a great trip! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delfi_r Posted January 8, 2008 Share #4 Posted January 8, 2008 I use my Nikkor 180 2.8 ED AF. The stabilizer problem is there if you need it, but with lot of light, I use it with good results. At night there is need of tripod, but with a bright sun, firing at 1/1000 or less, there is no problems. The only problem I have is the focus stability, but with your R lens this is not a problem. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delfi_r Posted January 9, 2008 Share #5 Posted January 9, 2008 The optics is a Nikkor 180 2.8 ED (AF version) it's a pity that I don't have the exact aperture value, but it's not full 2.8 F stop. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rene Janssen Posted January 9, 2008 Author Share #6 Posted January 9, 2008 Thanks so far for the advices. I have visited some local stores and one had the Apo-telyt 180 3.4 for 890 euro and elmarit 180 f/2.8 for 650 euro. It was the first time ever I had a Leica R Lens in my hands. I was very impressed about the oustanding mechanical quality. I looked further on pbase.com and found the pictures of the apo telyt somewhat more detailed, finer resolution than the elmarit. But then again I think it depends on which body they were sitting on. I still don't know what to choose but i prefer the leica R because they are basic, solid and very good. Off course it doesn't provide me the autofocus and the small viewfinder on the digilux3 might be a bit difficult for manual focus. Rene Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delfi_r Posted January 9, 2008 Share #7 Posted January 9, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) One thing i have in mind it's the possibility of replacing the focus screen for a classical one with prisms. It would be more practical with those lenses. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
zapp Posted January 10, 2008 Share #8 Posted January 10, 2008 Renei have the Digilux 3 and the 180/ 2.8. keep a couple things in mind .. first ; you NEED a tripod, there is no image stabilzation and you most likely can not hand hold a 360 - i know i can't second: your DOF is about half of what is "normal 35 mm" for the lens, so depending on your distance this may be a factor. third: the official leica adapter is not easy to get , and not cheap - i paid $250 usd, many here have used the fotodox version but i was/am concerned about protecting the camera as well as the R mount on my lenses. i would love to get the olympus 50-200 SWD f/2.8-3.5 - if you do have a chance to get your hands on this please post some results or your impressions of this lens thanks ! DOF stays the same for any format as field of view has no influence, but focal length which is fixed. You may calculate different DOF values depending on different circles of confusion used for digital and analog, but that is a different story. The Leica lens lack sAF capabilities and the versatility of a zoom. Also, the zoom was designed for use with 4/3 cameras. If you have the Elmarit already try it out, otherwise buy equipment dedicated to your camera system. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rene Janssen Posted February 2, 2008 Author Share #9 Posted February 2, 2008 I finally decided to buy the Leica apo telyt R 180mm f/3.4. I went to a local store and found the manual focus easier then the leica 180mm f/2.8mm and because of its weight (750gr). I expect it to have it next week. I have bought an R adapter for the Digilux 3 on ebay for 20 euros and it works fine. I believe it is not the original Leica mentions on their site but it works good. I don't know why Leica has put up the price from 35 euro in 2007 to aproximately 200 euro in 2008?? Thanks again for all advices. Best regards, Rene Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
spylaw4 Posted February 2, 2008 Share #10 Posted February 2, 2008 I've come rather late to this thread - several things: 1. fotodiox adapter is very good quality and right now they are going at a lot less price than before. good service too. 2. Why did you not consider the Panaleica 14-150 Vario-elmar now available? It at least has IS. Slightly less focal length though, but no adapter needed. 3. Remember to turn off the menu option of "no shutter without lens"(or words to that effect). Anyway if you go with the 180 - good luck and let's see the results, Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rene Janssen Posted March 28, 2008 Author Share #11 Posted March 28, 2008 Hello all, I have sorted out the photo's of the safari to Tanzania. The link is: .Mac Web Gallery Overall I am very satisfied with the quality and DOF. One thing I found very difficult this is the manual focus. It is very hard to see through the viewer if the focus is good, especially when the sun comes from behind. 20% of the photos fell off because of the unsharpness. I have tried to compensate this with larger DOF and higher ISO value.I know his is not the way to do it but by doing this I managed to get more sharp photos. Enjoy the photos Best regards Rene Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
zapp Posted March 28, 2008 Share #12 Posted March 28, 2008 DOF stays the same for any format as field of view has no influence, but focal length which is fixed. You may calculate different DOF values depending on different circles of confusion used for digital and analog, but that is a different story. The Leica lens lack sAF capabilities and the versatility of a zoom. Also, the zoom was designed for use with 4/3 cameras. If you have the Elmarit already try it out, otherwise buy equipment dedicated to your camera system. Focal length also stays the same. The 4/3 sensor is cropping by a factor of 2, same as using a 2x extender on full 35 mm format. If you are looking for a 2.8180 (2nd version), I will place mine for sale soon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chkphoto Posted March 28, 2008 Share #13 Posted March 28, 2008 Is there an adaptor for the D3 that gives you focus confirmation like the Canon adpators? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gyoung Posted March 28, 2008 Share #14 Posted March 28, 2008 Is there an adaptor for the D3 that gives you focus confirmation like the Canon adpators? Flange to film distance on Nikons is too great to allow R lenses, you can use Visoflex mount lenses though. See Camera Quest for an adaptor although I haven't done it myself. Gerry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
zapp Posted March 28, 2008 Share #15 Posted March 28, 2008 Flange to film distance on Nikons is too great to allow R lenses, you can use Visoflex mount lenses though. See Camera Quest for an adaptor although I haven't done it myself. Gerry Blurp- what do you mean by the Nikon to R statement. He uses a D3 and you may fit either Nikon or R glass do 4/3. Just because you need to use an adapter, does not mean that you need a contact for focus confirmation. Not all Canon cameras need/needed the extra contact - as this contact only tells the camera: Hey there is a lens mounted to my front. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gyoung Posted March 28, 2008 Share #16 Posted March 28, 2008 Blurp- what do you mean by the Nikon to R statement. He uses a D3 and you may fit either Nikon or R glass do 4/3.Just because you need to use an adapter, does not mean that you need a contact for focus confirmation. Not all Canon cameras need/needed the extra contact - as this contact only tells the camera: Hey there is a lens mounted to my front. I think he means R lenses on Nikon D3, not possible with a staright mechanical adaptor because the register distance for Nikon is greater than the Eos so there is no room for an adaptor. If it had worked, I would have been using R lenses on my Nikon film cameras long ago! Gerry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwf Posted March 28, 2008 Share #17 Posted March 28, 2008 For focusing aid, you can see if you findable agreeable using LiveView and the magnification available (4 or 10x, iirc). Looking at the screen seems to necessitate a tripod, and a panning head strikes me as useful. YMMV. I have a 180/3.4 R. I am looking forward to snow finally leaving the NE corner of the U.S and the birds returning. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chkphoto Posted March 29, 2008 Share #18 Posted March 29, 2008 Sorry for creating confusion. I do mean the Leica D3, 4/3 mount. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsolomon Posted March 29, 2008 Share #19 Posted March 29, 2008 i have the Digilux 3 and various R lenses, i use the leica adapter and i do receive focus confirmation. please note that there is a firmware upgrade to the Digilux 3, i beleive (but not positive) that the upgrade is required for focus confirmation . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chkphoto Posted March 29, 2008 Share #20 Posted March 29, 2008 Thank you Mr. Solomon for the info. I have the firmware update installed already. I am in Providence, if you ever need any info up this way, please contact me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.