Is there any Nikon solution for Leica R lenses?

[diglloyd]

I know SK Grimes will do conversions. Had a chat with Lloyd Chambers of www.diglloyd.com fame and he is thinking of converting some Leica glass to Nikon - including a 90/2 APO he acquired from RobSteve. May want to talk with him.

Looks to be a reasonably simple job for any competent photographic machine shop - replacing the R mount with a custom F mount - or a donated Ai/S mount and spacer. That or convert a D3 to R mount - but that's an option that comes with a price - either as a 2nd body or if done to your primary body.

I sent my Leica-R 90/2 APO for service and it just came back looking like new--I asked for the internal dust to be cleaned (it's gone), optics verified, etc, and it just sparkles. Gorgeous! Price was reasonable at $320, given that it actually had to go back onto the production line in Germany (APO lenses require this).

Now I have to decide whether to let S.K. Grimes have a go at it to irrevocably convert to Nikon F mount (about $450). The benefit of converting to Nikon mount is that I can use it on both Canon and Nikon; it's a bummer being restricted to Canon, since I really prefer the look of the D3 images vs the Canon 1DsM3. On the flip side, I can already use it on Canon with an adapter for both the 1DsM3 and my 5D-IR. And already the Zeiss 100/2 Makro Planar offers gorgeous images, though it’s not APO; the Leica 90/2 APO behavior offers striking results with out-of-focus lights and blobs that simply isn't there with any non-APO lens I have. (see my review).

Bottom line for me is how lenses draw, and the 90/2 offers unique properties. Part of it is the unknown risk factor: can even the best conversion avoid any misalignment isuses? S.K. Grimes has a good reputation, so maybe the risk is low, but that concern lingers for me.

So I suppose I will vacillate for a while, then decide...