Leica R lenses on the M8 and G1

[howard_cummer]

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I just got a 19mm Elmarit R (Version 1) (the version which doesn't catch the mirrors of full frame digital SLRs) and with a borrowed novoflex R to M adapter (thank you Ray) I have mounted the Elmarit with the novoflex adapter via the Ray Qual adapter in the G1. Please see:

19ElmaritRonG1w

 

19ElmaritRonG1w

 

When you mount the 19 Elmarit on the M8 it obscures about 1/3 of the viewfinder and you have to guess focus. On the G1 you can focus the lens quite accurately but of course it is cropped to be a 38mm field of view.

 

Perhaps of limited value but still fun to try.

You might ask why would anyone want to do that? Well, the simple answer is because one can! :-).

[peterb]

You might ask why would anyone want to do that? Well, the simple answer is because one can! :-).

 

That's the kind of audacious reasoning that warms the heart here.

 

Howard, on another thread I got slammed a little for suggesting that many people here may buy a G1 for just the reason you cited. Because you can mount M (and by several degrees of adapter separation now "R") lenses onto the body.

 

One dissenter suggested that when one uses Leitz glass it's a shame that you're only using 25% of it's quality (given the crop factor he argued) but if one is fine with that, then it's fine. (To a point I agree. But as you merrily suggested even so, why not if you can? And, look, even if the field of view is cropped...geez the results are jaw dropping.)

 

He also noted that my notion that interest in the G1 as a holder of leitz glass overlooked other debates of the DSLR view vs the RF view vs the EVF view. Again I demurred but your point that with many of the wider M lenses (and I suppose now with the new 21mm f1.4 as well as the 24 f1.4 optics) they will certainly obscure part of the view demanding an external viewfinder. A point about the vaunted rangefinder that I'd completely forgotten about.

 

 

 

Peter

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[monza]

Now, why would anyone want to do that?

 

After all, cropping the 19mm gets rid of of the lesser corner performance, and keeps only the center!

 

Heh heh.

 

I plan on using a 50/2 Summicron-R on the G1; focuses a lot closer than a Summicron-M, and didn't cost much more than the adapter did.

 

And even better, using R lenses avoids the inevitable argument of how it is sacrilege to use M lenses on the G1.

[barjohn]

They could look at it as you are using the best part of the lens since even Leica lenses start to drop off in performance toward the corners. This is easy to see on Sean's site when he does his test comparisons.

[monza]

Indeed. It appears that adapted lenses should actually work better in the corners on a G1, but that apparently is a problem for some:

 

"The edges contain most aberrations and do contribute to the character of the bokeh, the sweet spot of the lens is certainly different, and that is what is shown by a cropped sensor."

 

So now, it's no good to lose the lesser corner performance.

 

As my mom would said, 'can't win for losing.'

[peterb]

Now, why would anyone want to do that?

 

After all, cropping the 19mm gets rid of of the lesser corner performance, and keeps only the center!

 

Heh heh.

 

I plan on using a 50/2 Summicron-R on the G1; focuses a lot closer than a Summicron-M, and didn't cost much more than the adapter did.

 

And even better, using R lenses avoids the inevitable argument of how it is sacrilege to use M lenses on the G1.

 

Monza, your posts get funnier and funnier with every pass. Thanks!

 

Peter

[therightagent]

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Hi Howard,

 

This is Patrick from Vancouver, the Friday morning gang. The G1 is tempting as a back up. But I have a concern regarding the electronic viewfinder from the experience of Digilux 2, will it cause eye strained after shooting for awhile.

 

A side note, are you coming back to Vancouver this summer?

[howard_cummer]

Hi Patrick,

Indeed I will be back for the summer when the snow is gone and the flowers are out. Eevn Hong Kong is getting too cold for me now and soon I will head south to Bali.

Here are a couple of comparo photos with the 19 Elmarit on the G1 and the M8 with the M8 image cropped to the G1 size.

 

G1Elmarit19w

 

G1Elmarit19w

 

L8Elmarit19Croppedw

 

L8Elmarit19Croppedw

 

The venerable 19mm Elmarit on the M8 and the G1 - both shots at f8.0, ISO 160,

White Bal sunshine. Both cameras on a sturdy tripod.

 

Focusing by screen on the G1, by depth of field (infinity at f8.0 on the depth of field scale of the 19E when on the M8)

 

No processing done just resizing the M8 image to be the same crop as the G1.

 

Full screen on my 24" i Mac - the M8 records a warmer image but the G1 seems a tad sharper in the centre but the M8 corners (in the cropped image) are perhaps sharper.

Whether this is from accurate focusing or other factors, je ne sais pas.

 

Comments welcome as always.

[howard_cummer]

Patrick,

About your EVF question - I was prepared to hate it, given memories of the L1, but I am getting used to it and it is not bad. It is not a Leica Rangefinder viewfinder but it has its place and works very well especially with the magnification in manual focus for M lenses. Haven't suffered from eye strain yet! :-)

Cheers

Howard

[monza]

Unless your eyes strain focusing on infinity, you won't have problems with the EVF in that regard.

[pgk]

I've tried both the 19mm R v.1 and the 16mm R Fisheye on my M8 using the original Leica R-M adapter. Both produced pretty sharp images but the centres are still better than corners. Some colour shift is also evident on the 19mm and a distinct tendency to flare.

 

But on this note, I am making up some black masks to fit into the hood which should reduce the hood intenal baffling to the crop - something of a trial and error job with a start being the crop diagonal ratio relative to the hood intenal diameter (does that make sense?) - the idea being to try to reduce flare on the 19mm - I'm also doing this for the M lenses with detachable hoods.