MGrayson
Subscriber and Workshop Member
The Leica APO-Macro-Summarit-S 120mm f/2.5, as S users know, goes to 1:2 magnification, and not the 1:1 that "real" macro lenses reach. There are a few ways to achieve 1:1 on the Leica S through adapted lenses. The Contax 120/4 is the most frequently used alternative. Pentax 67 lenses also adapt easily. But people who use the S 120/2.5 frequently develop an "out of my cold dead fingers" attitude and find the notion of using a different 120 upsetting.
Meanwhile, the APO-Tele-Elmar-S 180mm f/3.5 has an accessory known as the Elpro. The Elpro is a dedicated close-up lens that allows the 180 to shoot full frame head shots, which its slightly-too-far close focus makes difficult. Does the S 180 Elpro work on the S 120? No, alas. I'm told that it just doesn't help much.
But once upon a time, there was a Leica APO-Macro-Elmarit-R 100mm f/2.8, and that lens also went only to 1:2 magnification. But it DID have a dedicated Elpro (16545 to its friends), and that accessory DID get the R macro to 1:1. Rumor had it that if you could mount the 16545 on the front of the S 120 macro, you could achieve 1:1.
But the S 120 has a 72mm thread and the 16545 has a 60mm thread. So all you'd need would be a 72mm to 60mm step-down ring. They don't make them. Someone used to make one and it was expensive (Leica to Leica adapter - what did you expect?). The 16545 itself can be had for around $300, which is about one S lens hood. Solution: A 72mm to 58mm step-down ring and a 58mm to 60mm step-up ring. Cost for both, $10.
And it works. The following test is technically indefensible, but as far as I can tell, the faults are all technique and not optics. Here is a near focus shot of a piano score (10 points if you recognize the piece, 1000 points if you can play it. Here's Horowitz showing how it's done.)
and here is a near 100% crop
Put on the 16545 and we get this *uncropped* image
And zooming in...
There it is. 1:1 macro on the S with all Leica glass. It really is sharp across the frame, but it will take me a while to set up something stable and aligned enough to show that. But even in this "test", the 1:1 images have more detail than an enlarged 1:2 image, so you *are* getting something positive.
Matt
Meanwhile, the APO-Tele-Elmar-S 180mm f/3.5 has an accessory known as the Elpro. The Elpro is a dedicated close-up lens that allows the 180 to shoot full frame head shots, which its slightly-too-far close focus makes difficult. Does the S 180 Elpro work on the S 120? No, alas. I'm told that it just doesn't help much.
But once upon a time, there was a Leica APO-Macro-Elmarit-R 100mm f/2.8, and that lens also went only to 1:2 magnification. But it DID have a dedicated Elpro (16545 to its friends), and that accessory DID get the R macro to 1:1. Rumor had it that if you could mount the 16545 on the front of the S 120 macro, you could achieve 1:1.
But the S 120 has a 72mm thread and the 16545 has a 60mm thread. So all you'd need would be a 72mm to 60mm step-down ring. They don't make them. Someone used to make one and it was expensive (Leica to Leica adapter - what did you expect?). The 16545 itself can be had for around $300, which is about one S lens hood. Solution: A 72mm to 58mm step-down ring and a 58mm to 60mm step-up ring. Cost for both, $10.
And it works. The following test is technically indefensible, but as far as I can tell, the faults are all technique and not optics. Here is a near focus shot of a piano score (10 points if you recognize the piece, 1000 points if you can play it. Here's Horowitz showing how it's done.)
and here is a near 100% crop
Put on the 16545 and we get this *uncropped* image
And zooming in...
There it is. 1:1 macro on the S with all Leica glass. It really is sharp across the frame, but it will take me a while to set up something stable and aligned enough to show that. But even in this "test", the 1:1 images have more detail than an enlarged 1:2 image, so you *are* getting something positive.
Matt
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