glenerrolrd Posted February 25, 2009 Share #21 Posted February 25, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) I think what Tobey may be saying is that he bought a Nikon D700 and then used Leitax mounts to turn his R lenses into Nikon mount lenses. This is what I have done and I am enjoying using my 19 Elmarit V1 (VII hits the Nikon mirror like it does on the Canon 5D) 90 Summicron and 180 Telyt APO on the D700 which is at present one of the best digital platforms on the planet. I am also going to change my 28 Elmarit ROM and 100 APO Macro ROM when the mounts have been proven. This change is reversible and if I can afford a R10 then I can change the lenses back. If not I can continue with the D700 or its successor (which will likely have the D3X sensor). These changes give us Leica R glass lovers more options than just waiting for the R10. Please see the Leitax site at leitax.comCheers Howard I am in the same boat as Howard but maybe a little more tentative in my conversions. Since I have been using R glass ,essentially from the beginning, I have accumulated some of the lower cost lenses as well as the current glass. Tried to sell some of it but at anything less than $300 I decided to just keep the stuff. I converted the 180 pre apo (67MM) which is a great lens compared to anything other than the APO versions. This was a simple conversion ...some of the others are more complicated..... But consider the potential of just a 50mm Summicron ..which sell below $300 and I believe blow away the other 50 s except maybe the 50/2 ZF. I am not ready to convert the APO s to this mount as I am not convinced I can restore the lenses to peak performance without using a repair facility. But maybe I am just too conservative. Digalloyd has a test on the 180 s using the APO 180 2.8 on the Nikon D3x . That looks like the "gold standard" for IQ in the DSLR space. The leitax conversions are easy to focus even stopped down on a D3 . If Nikon eventually puts the D3X sensor in D700 size body and keeps the cost below $4K .....that maybe a difficult combination to beat ......but that should be the target of the R10 ..IMHO.... and the R10 could probably support a 50% premium . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted February 25, 2009 Posted February 25, 2009 Hi glenerrolrd, Take a look here The disappearing R. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
tom0511 Posted February 25, 2009 Share #22 Posted February 25, 2009 I too ordered today a Leitax adapter and plan to purchase a 100Macro for my D3x. I might add a 180/2.8 later, but I am not sure yet since I like to have AF in a tele-lens and the 180/2.8 Nikon works quit good for me (I have read Loyds article, but so far never saw a problem with the 180/2.8 Nikon) I think the prices for some R lenses are so low today, that if one buys lenses in focal length where you dont need AF it can be a very good buy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted February 25, 2009 Share #23 Posted February 25, 2009 And there aren't any lenses where one -needs- AF imo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted February 25, 2009 Share #24 Posted February 25, 2009 And there aren't any lenses wher one -needs- AF imo. Maybe not, but there are eyes that do. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted February 25, 2009 Share #25 Posted February 25, 2009 I think the prices for some R lenses are so low today, that if one buys lenses in focal length where you dont need AF it can be a very good buy. Yep - but I was responding to Tom's remark Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
zapp Posted February 25, 2009 Share #26 Posted February 25, 2009 Not many people were buying R cameras and lenses lately The economy is not looking good With the introduction of the Panasonic G1, it makes no sense to keep an R line in addition to an M line - mirror or not is not the question anymore in the near future There also is an S line now in SLR design The R system is not obsolete and far from dead, but, well ... it looks like a really long tunnel now... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Overgaard Posted February 25, 2009 Share #27 Posted February 25, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) well ... it looks like a really long tunnel now... Sounds a bit inspired by the financial crisis. It remains a fact that the owner of Leica as well as Maike Harberts who's responsible for development of S2 and R10 has stated that it will come, and has confirmed this again. They cannot - and I wouldn't expect them to - go out every week or month to reassure that it's coming. Some even think the S2 is dead because its not here yet. But they did actually promise it to come by summer 2009, and it's still only Februar 2009. It seems sensible to get the stock of R lenses sold now before a new line of AF-lenses arrive. Who would want to buy a 180/2 manual R-lens when a 180/2 AF-lens exist..? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
topoxforddoc Posted February 25, 2009 Share #28 Posted February 25, 2009 Who would want to buy a 180/2 manual R-lens when a 180/2 AF-lens exist..? Those who don't need/want AF. I certainly won't be buying a new AF 180/2, as I'm ecstatic about the current 180 cron. I bought my copy two years ago after reading Guy Mancuso's comments about this lens. It is stunning (like the 280/4 APO). You would be hard pushed to justify spending more money on a similar lens, unless you needed the AF. Interestingly, I don't see a softening of used R lens prices in the UK. they seem pretty firm at the moment. Best wishes, Charlie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted February 25, 2009 Share #29 Posted February 25, 2009 Not many people were buying R cameras and lenses latelyThe economy is not looking good With the introduction of the Panasonic G1, it makes no sense to keep an R line in addition to an M line - mirror or not is not the question anymore in the near future A plastic EVF camera, albeit with not too bad image quality, is no match for a FF R10, in fact, it does not keep up with the M8 where it counts -in print- which means that even the digitally ancient predecessor of the future R10, the DMR, runs rings around it in image quality. And camera handling, ergonomics and build quality too. To put my 105-280 on it would simply be ridiculous. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanG Posted February 25, 2009 Share #30 Posted February 25, 2009 And there aren't any lenses where one -needs- AF imo. I was playing around (testing) the other night and got pretty sharp photos of my cat as it walked around the kitchen. I was tracking it from the sofa using AF. I was using a 5DII with a 100-400 IS at 400mm and shot at ISO 25,600 at 1/20 at 5.6 so it was fairly dark. I think Leica better have something as good or better in the R10 system or there will be little point in making it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted February 25, 2009 Share #31 Posted February 25, 2009 They will. The 5DII was hacked to pieces for image quality at settings faster than 1600 ISO by Naturfoto, a very respected and more importantly independent German magazine. The autofocus did not get any friendly remarks either. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdai Posted February 26, 2009 Share #32 Posted February 26, 2009 Interestingly, I don't see a softening of used R lens prices in the UK. they seem pretty firm at the moment. It's probably because the Canon/Nikon users are scooping them up for adapting purposes. An auto-focusing Leica Lens certainly won't be so popular due to the lack of an aperture ring ... who is gonna do what with that? I'm glad almost all my R lenses were purchased long before Guy started his epic but then tragically deleted thread on Fred Miranda's web site ... so I'm not going to sell anything either. LOL I'll probably buy several AF R lenses too but it really depends on what they are ... Leica better do something no one else has done before but I'm not holding my breath on this one. Dr. Kaufmann certainly won't want the R stealing the S2's thunder. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted February 26, 2009 Share #33 Posted February 26, 2009 S2 and R10 are different customer groups. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfgang Esslinger Posted February 26, 2009 Share #34 Posted February 26, 2009 S2 and R10 are different customer groups. Hopefully this will be noticeable in prices, too Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBA Posted February 26, 2009 Share #35 Posted February 26, 2009 It's probably because the Canon/Nikon users are scooping them up for adapting purposes. An auto-focusing Leica Lens certainly won't be so popular due to the lack of an aperture ring ... who is gonna do what with that? This has been one of the deal-breakers for me with autofocus. The other two are lack of aperture scale and the horrible feel of manual focus on autofocus lenses. These are the aspects of lens design where I'd expect Leica to distinguish itself. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest volkerm Posted February 26, 2009 Share #36 Posted February 26, 2009 Nikon launches the D3x at $8000 in a recession and nobody buys it. Sure? Among my personal friends who use Nikon, the D3X is quite popular. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgk Posted February 26, 2009 Share #37 Posted February 26, 2009 Interestingly, I don't see a softening of used R lens prices in the UK. they seem pretty firm at the moment. Charlie R lens prices in the Uk are all over the place at the moment - you simply have to look around for bargains - but they are out there. Believe me! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveYork Posted February 26, 2009 Share #38 Posted February 26, 2009 I do have a sense that dealers are clearing new and used stock, because the R10 is on the horizon. When you can get new Leica R gear for more then 50% off, then something's up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
m4man Posted February 26, 2009 Share #39 Posted February 26, 2009 The full R line is in my current dealer catalog. I don't know what you guys are talking about! The R line was dropped from the catalogue last year, and I'd be amazed if an R lens had been made in the last 3 or 4 years. They have been "special orders" for ages now, and about 18 months ago, dealers had a big clear out of any remaining "demo" stock. Given what we think we know about the R10, clearing the decks of the old R information is going to allow a free run for the new stuff when it arrives and prevent any confusion. However, other Leica dealers still have R bodies and lenses listed, but maybe they just aren't as quick off the mark with the website updates as Ivor. The Leica website still has them listed in all their glory too... R pages at Leica Camera website"] R pages at Leica Camera website Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveYork Posted February 26, 2009 Share #40 Posted February 26, 2009 It sounds like the R10 might be here in '09 and that's a bit hard to imagine. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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