Leica M 2X converter with 135mm f4

[ril12358]

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Does such a converter exist, and does it compromise the image?

[bill]

Hi Ril, and welcome.

 

For future reference, you should post a question like this in the "Collectors and Historica" sub-forum. I've contacted a couple of mods and it should get moved - you'll get better answers that way.

 

There are 2x converters, made by Komura, that pop up occasionally on eBay. They are average in quality, and not meant for use with a 135. A 135 is operating at the limit of the rangefinder anyway, and would be almost impossible to focus if doubled up. You'd also need a 270mm viewfinder - I've never heard of one of those.

 

I really wouldn't do it. Anything over 135 is really the realm of the Visoflex or SLR.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

[ejd]

What you want is a visoflex and a Telyt f4.8 280mm lens.

 

In any case a 2x converter would lose 2 stops of light making your 135 f4 into a 270 f8 lens

[luigi bertolotti]

I had one many years ago, not the Komura, but a lab-made item made by a good italian Leica repair shop (Benatti), using a Kenko lens unit and with RF coupling: it was discrete with Elmarit 90 2,8, usable with 135 f4... but the quality of the image (apart the obvious problem of framing) was significantly degraded... not an accessory to have.

They made also a 1,4x version, and someone said it was better... of course this could be interesting for the 135 only.

[roydonian]

I have been experimenting with teleconverters, but have never seen the Benatti offering, which I understand was a modified Kenco teleconverter. Pehaps the concept might have been more viable if he had used a Nikon or Canon-made equivalent.

 

Best regards,

 

Doug

[aldash]

My experience with teleconverters was that they are generally clunkers, with degradation of image quality, trouble with focusing accurately, increased flare, etc. Not worth wasting my money.

 

Using a Kenko 2x converter on my old Olympus OM4 was OK for obtaining a shot of a distant animal, where superb quality is not required, or for sports photos, detective work, etc.

 

In the case of high-quality photography (Leica, Hasselblad, etc.), the only converter I would trust is one made by the same manufacturer that made the original lens, taking into account the formula of that particular lens, and matched to that lens. That is probably too much to even wish for, and the price would most likely bankrupt the buyer as a custom made item.

 

Cheaper way: Use the best lens possible, the sharpest aperture, crop the image, and enlarge.

[jaapv]

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What you want is a visoflex and a Telyt f4.8 280mm lens.

 

In any case a 2x converter would lose 2 stops of light making your 135 f4 into a 270 f8 lens

Which makes it equal in focussing to the 135 without converter...

[roydonian]

I've been experimenting with the Komura. It is not very well made, and the results seem to vary from one example to another. The trick is to try before buy to make sure you get a useable one, use it with only 90 mm and 135 mm lenses, and stop down to f5.6 or smaller to improve the image quality.

 

I used it with the 90 mm Elmarit in Rome earlier in the year, and with this lens and with the 135 mm Tele-Elmar in Venice last year. With the latter lens the image is about 1.5X the size of the rangefinder patch, giving an impressive 'long reach', albeit with some degradation of image quality.

 

Next spring/summer I will give the device a further workout, then finalise an article on the subject that I'm writing for the LHSA's 'Viewfinder' magazine.

 

Best regards,

 

Doug

[luigi bertolotti]

As a side note, time to time the original Leitz converter for M (1,5x, never officially introduced, built in unknown quantity) does appear in the market, of course at high collectors' price.

[roydonian]

There was a good writeup on the Leitz x1.4 device in the LHSA magazine ‘Viewfinder’ during 1996. The device was custom-designed for use with the 90 mm Tele Elmarit-M, and each example would have been sold as a matched pair with a specific lens.

 

But as you say, it’s a collector’s item and is priced accordingly. For the photographer who wants a teleconverter to use, the only practical candidate seems to be the Komura.