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Leica R to Nikon D800 adapter/conversion

felix5616

Member
how difficult is it to adapt Leica R lenses to fit a Nikon D800 camera and is the quality that much better than nikon lenses, in terms of edge to edge sharpness. I am specifically interested in wide angle landscape work
 

glenerrolrd

Workshop Member
how difficult is it to adapt Leica R lenses to fit a Nikon D800 camera and is the quality that much better than nikon lenses, in terms of edge to edge sharpness. I am specifically interested in wide angle landscape work
The Leitax adapters are a good solution for converting R lenses to a nikon mount . You can review the process for each specific lens on the leitax website . Some lenses are easier than others .

Plenty of good discussion about the R glass as well as the zeiss and nikon alternatives in other posts . Generally I find the R glass uniformly superb in most primes at 50MM or longer . There are fewer options in the wide angles ..the best are generally considered the 19 and 28 elmarits (newest versions ).

You might want to specify what focal lengths you are considering .
 

Shac

Active member
I've converted a 90/2.8 V2, a 60/2.8, a 35/2.8 V3, and a 180/4 - all very easy except the 60 macro which was a bit of a challenge but do-able. David (leitax) is VERY helpful and his site illustrates how to change the mounts on most of the Leica R lenses.
 

pgmj

Member
I also have good experience with Leitax, including sending ROM zoom lenses (35-70/4 and 80-200/4) for conversion. It took a while to get the lenses converted, but they work well.
 

Y Sol

Active member
Last week I bought a Leica Apo Telyt 2,8/280 for a very, very good price. The conversion with the Leitax mount was very easy, it took me 10min. The results are stunning. Ydo
 
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I also have good experience with Leitax, including sending ROM zoom lenses (35-70/4 and 80-200/4) for conversion. It took a while to get the lenses converted, but they work well.
PGMJ how good is the 35-70 4. Is it ease to Leitax yourself? ACH
 

waynelake

Member
Heres the link giving precise instructions. I did mine without all the filing for a cheaper adapter, but have a leitax adapter arriving soon. Having the correct sized screwdrivers makes everything easier, and remember about the ball-bearing.

Vario-Elmar-R 1:4/35-70mm
 

waynelake

Member
A bit scary maybe. It was easy enough to unscrew everything and add a cheap adapter. I'm going to have a go with the other details (filing) myself when the leitax adapter arrives. I think it would be a bit more difficult/scary to revert back to original Leica R mount. My cheap adapter is nearly very good at infinity focus, but am sure lens can do better.

In this thread, http://forum.getdpi.com/forum/nikon/39453-leica-r-lenses-d800e.html "pgmj" said the following.
"The Leica Vario-Elmar-R 35-70/4 does not produce sharp corners on D800 at 35mm, even at f/11. At 40mm it is perfect, though, at f/8."

I wish this were a champion lens. Its why I got it. Here in New Zealand Leica R seems to sell for half to three quarters what I can buy from USA. Many think highly of it, but with the D800 the lens might be another story. For what I need, in part, even 40-70mm F8 will be good, for a start anyway, until I get more lenses.
 

waynelake

Member
...Yeah... and even if you have the $7000 or whatever, the Fear and Paranoia will truely set in if its bucketing down with rain and you want to get photos, and will be Running to the 50G or 85G etc...... :ROTFL:
 

nugat

New member
there were threads eg this one:
http://forum.getdpi.com/forum/nikon/39453-leica-r-lenses-d800e.html
and forgive the self-quote:

I converted 35mm elmarit-R to nikon mount. It is a "look" lens, and a very agreeable one too. It takes away the digital edge from my D700. However wide-open it is not sharp in the corners on the digital sensor, if sharpness is what one looks for. The 24-120VR is sharper there. But the center is as good as it gets. It gets sharp across at f8. That will be quite normal a behaviour of "vintage" wide lenses on digital. The film is much more forgiving for the angle of light incidence in corners.
So if the Elmarit goes soft in the corners on D700, it will be even more visible on D800 I presume. Unless one goes for the "non-digital" look. But D800 for that is an overkill IMHO.
 

pgmj

Member
PGMJ how good is the 35-70 4. Is it ease to Leitax yourself? ACH
Sorry for the late reply. I sent my lenses to Leitax in Spain for conversion. There were no instructions available at the time.

On my D700 the lens is amazing. The D800 shows that it isn't quite sharp in the extreme corners at 35mm, though at 40mm it is excellent. I find the near focusing very useful. It is fairly easy to use manual focus and meters well enough. Usually I focus wide open and stop down a step or two for shooting. The lens is quite light weight and has marvelous quality in focus and zoom rings.
 

pgmj

Member
If you want corner to corner sharpness at wider apertures, then you must look for the Vario-Elmarit version of this lens, not the older Vario-Elmar. The Vario-Elmarit is a f/2.8 lens, whereas the Vario-Elmar is a f/4 lens. More details about the Vario-Elmarit can be found here: www.overgaard.dk/pdf/leica_35-70_f28_zoom_ASPH.pdf

David
Are you certain that there is a real difference in corner sharpness at 35mm? The MTF charts indicate fall-off in both lenses at about 18-19mm from image center. I only have f/4 data for the Elmar, while the Elmarit is at f/5.6. The Elmar seems to improve a bit stopped down.

I think you might need to go to shift lenses (Oly and perhaps Nikon) with larger image circles to get extreme corner sharpness at 35mm on the D800.
 

pgmj

Member
Here are some corner crops (900x900px) with the Vario-Elmar-R 35-70/4 ROM on D800. 35mm at f/4 and then f/8, followed by 40mm at same apertures. Sorry about differing exposures.







 
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