Leica R to M Lens Adapter
Leica is sending me one of the first Leica R-adapter M units soon (about $310), which I will put to use testing these four Leica R lenses on the Leica M Typ 240:
- Leica 90mm f/2 APO-Summicron-R ASPH
- Leica 100mm f/2.8 APO-Macro-Elmarit-R
- Leica 180mm f/2.8 APO-Elmarit-R
- Leica 280mm f/4 APO-Telyt-R
Coverage will go into Guide to Leica.
The first order of effort will be to assess the practical issues of using the M240 with the adapter; handheld but also in a tripod scenario. Then there is assessing how well the R lenses actually perform on the M240 sensor, including especially flare or reflections, which can be an issue for traditional DSLR lenses uses on digital sensors.
Leica’s description. Note that it is practical for use only on the Leica M Typ 240, which has a Live View feature.
The R-Adapter M from Leica enables Leica R lenses to be mounted on the Leica M series cameras. It can attach R lenses to any M-series digital camera, such as the M-E or M Monochrom, however with the M Digital Rangefinder's Live View capability, use of the R lenses is optimized.
There are no electronic or mechanical functions between camera and lens that are bridged by the adapter, however, when the adapter is attached to the M camera, a list of 20 dedicated R lens profiles is made available on the camera, including EXIF lens recognition and calibrated imaging workflows for each lens.
While all R lenses can be mounted to the M camera with this adapter, only the last generation of R lenses can receive digital corrections, such as the reduction of corner vignetting, via the adapter.
This adapter opens up the creative doors for the Leica M by making available numerous R series lenses, including zoom lenses. Combine this adapter with an optional electronic viewfinder and you can shoot your M Digital rangefinder like a DSLR, including video capture.
I had the foresight (or dumb luck) to buy these four APO lenses back when no one wanted Leica R glass any more. I just finished reversing the Leitax to Nikon mount conversion on the 100mm and the 180mm so that now all four lenses are back on Leica R mount, ready for testing on the Leica M Typ 240.
- Reportedly the 90mm f/2 APO-Summicron-R is optically the same as the 'M' version, an idea I like, since I prefer the ergonomics of the R version (and I don’t have the M version).
- The 100mm macro offers a superb macro lens for the Leica M Typ 240 with a stop more speed than the Leica 90mm f/4 macro.
- The 180mm is a perfect companion to the 90mm and is not so large or heavy to preclude regular use. It has terrific penetrating power for dusk shots.
- The 280mm is quite a lens, but also quite a committment to carry and focus. Still it is a relatively compact package for that kind of reach.
With Live View focusing on the Leica M Typ 240, all of these lenses are now eminently usable options (even more so once Leica updates the M240 to support the VF-4 high-res EVF, since the VF-2 is marginal).