Adapting M-lenses on Nikon body

[Spafox]

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Let me tell you first that I´m new in this Forum.

Therefore if the question I'm trying to solve has been already discussed, please pardon me and be so kind to post the link, as I haven't been able so far to find the adequate answer.

And now, the problem:

I have been "working" only with NIkon bodies and lenses for many, many years.

Maybe, the moment has arrived in which I need to undertake some evolution,

So, having studied/read about the Summilux and Noctilux lenses, I was asking myself about how to use them on my Nikon bodies (D90, D200 and D300) as I would not like to put these away.

And now, ... the question:

Does any member of his Forum know if there are any type of adapter-rings which could couple these Leica lenses with my Nikon bodies.

Thank you in advance for any kind answer.

Alvaro

[stunsworth]

There isn't an adapter as far as I'm aware. There would be all sorts of issues with infinity focus, mirror fouling and stop down metering.

 

The nearest I can think of to using Leica lenses on a Nikon is to have R lenses modified. There's a company in the US that can swap the R mount on a Leica lens for a Nikon one - and retain aperture control etc.

[el.nino]

Does any member of his Forum know if there are any type of adapter-rings which could couple these Leica lenses with my Nikon bodies.

 

no, this is not possible. rangefinder- and slr-lenses are just too different in too many ways.

[gyoung]

There isn't an adapter as far as I'm aware. There would be all sorts of issues with infinity focus, mirror fouling and stop down metering.

 

The nearest I can think of to using Leica lenses on a Nikon is to have R lenses modified. There's a company in the US that can swap the R mount on a Leica lens for a Nikon one - and retain aperture control etc.

 

You could use Visoflex lenses on Nikon of course, but this would need a deep knowledge of older Leica lenses to do, and nothing less than 65mm will be possible

 

Gerry

[Spafox]

Thank you so much Steve, Nino and Gerry for your qualified answers.

So the point is, that if I want to shoot with Summilux and Noctilux lenses, and I will do so in the future , I have necessarly to get a M8.2 body (as I only think in digital), but there is something which confuses me very much:

That is, being used to shoot with my Nikon bodies, it is for me quite hard to understand that I have to use additional IR correcting lenses on each lens as well as set other hardware related settings.

I have been reading over the past weeks/months, not only about the Leica lenses, but almost everything about the M8.2 and still do not completely understand its philosophy.

Could you, as Leica users, tell me please where could I find more information in order to solve the definitive question about the convenience of getting the Leica body, even if it is, in my humble and not professional opinion, not as perfect (and more expensive) as the ones I already own?

Or should I wait for a couple of years until maybe a new M8.3 arrives, as it does not makes any sense to me to put those wonderful lenses, using an already existing Novoflex adapater, on the Micro DMC-G1 of Panasonic?

Thank you for your kind answers.

Alvaro

[BobPS]

(snip) Could you, as Leica users, tell me please where could I find more information in order to solve the definitive question about the convenience of getting the Leica body, even if it is, in my humble and not professional opinion, not as perfect (and more expensive) as the ones I already own?

(snip) Alvaro

 

Alvaro, one site that comes to mind is Sean Reid's Reid Reviews site.

 

It's a subscriber only site (pay site), but in my opinion, the subscription is definitely worth it and I highly recommend it. Been subscribing to it for about 2 months maybe, and I found the information there really useful.

 

Bob

[lars_bergquist]

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... That is, being used to shoot with my Nikon bodies, it is for me quite hard to understand that I have to use additional IR correcting lenses on each lens as well as set other hardware related settings. Alvaro

 

Digital sensors are sensitive not only to visible light, but also to infrared. Digital cameras therefore have an IR-blocking filter directly over the sensor. In the M8, due to the very short register (distance from the lens flange to the sensor) only a very thin and weak filter cluld be fitted. A thicker and more effective filter, as on a SLR camera, would have led to problems with ghost images and drastic unsharpness at the edges of the picture. Thus the IR sensitivity of the M8.

 

With most subjects this does not matter much. When you encounter objects that reflect little visible light but much IR, like most black synthetic textiles do, they come out purple however. The external filters prevent this. They do sharply cut both UV and IR radiation, hence the name 'UV/IR-cut' filters. They do not absorb visible light. The major supplier of such filters, next to Leica themselves, are B+W, a division of Schneider. They call their UV/IR filters '486'.

 

The old man from the Age of Infrared Film

[Artichoke]

I prefer them to the Leica/BW, but the differences between these three filter manufacturers are marginal

coding comes from problems with image quality for lenses wider than 35 mm

coding has virtually no effect on lenses from 35 mm and up ...the only reason to code these lenses is to have the focal length appear in the EXIF data (no matter what you do the aperture data does not appear in EXIF, though an approximation can be calculated with some software)

you can code lenses yourself, but this can be a hit or miss effort

a coding device is sold that makes this less of a problem

coding corrects for some aberrations seen with wider lenses, which can be corrected for in post processing with software developed by a LUF member

newer Leica lenses leave the factory coded & Leica will code their own lenses for a fee

a simple search here should give you all you need to know about coding