Leica R lenses - how good?

Manfr3d

Hi,

can anyone comment on how Leica's R lenses perform on Canon's fullframe cameras compared to canon lenses (with adapter)?
I discovered that lenses like the Summicron R 2.0/50mm or the Elmarit R 2.8/35mm are quite inexpensive when bought used.
The motivation behind this is to get one or two small and unobtrusive lenses for street photography and candid shots.

ziggy53

Some of the lenses made for Leica R are indeed fantastic quality.

There is a very good article here:

http://www.nemeng.com/leica/002f.shtml

Do be cautious as some lenses in the Leica R mount are not safe to mount because the rear element extends too far into the camera body and may not clear the mirror.

I can also recommend many of the Pentax SMC lenses. My Pentax 50mm, f1.4 SMC in M42 mount is one of the sharpest lenses at f5.6 that I have ever tested. It is also very "smooth" at f1.4 with amazing bokeh.

All use of older manual focus and adapted lenses requires manual aperture as well, so you think of these lenses as "preset" lenses when you use them. You generally focus with the aperture open and then manually stop down for the exposure. At least the camera will calculate exposure in AV mode, but you are welcome to use full manual mode as well. They are far from convenient to use, but the results can be rewarding when they are used properly.

gtc

Nice link Ziggy-one day you will have to post your obviously huge collection!

I second the Pentax SMC Takumar- a gem of a lens for about $50.00.

I also have an older Super-Takumar,which has less multicoating,but with a good shade its very nice too.

I bought a Cameraquest adapter for my Pentax lenses-expensive ($75.00) but it lasted a long time and was a much better tolerence than the cheapies, and brass rather than aluminium.I note however that the article is critical of his Leica adapters

I lust after the Leica 180mm's,later ones particularly, but will probably settle for a Nikon ED.

Manual lenses are very nice to use,good quality and price,and you can get yourself a set of primes for a reasonable amount.

Careful though! Old manual lenses are like sex-once you start,you can't stop!

Manfr3d

Thanks for the link!
Beat me, but I happen to have an old Pentax SMC-M 50mm/1.7 lens that I
modified for Pentax DSLRs. Duh .. why didn't I think of using that one before ...

:whip