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New Life :Leica R lens on Nikon D3

Ocean

Senior Subscriber Member
Would the group advise me to have a 90mm Summicron R converted with a Leitax adapter as an upgrade to the 105/2.5 Nikon I use from time to time? ......
Other than using the 90 Summicron-R (non APO) at open f-stop, I don't think 90 Summicron-R is an upgrade to the Nikon 105/2,5. I compared my 90 Elmarit-R with my Nikon 105/2,5, they are about equal. Technically, the 90 Elmarit-R is a better performer than 90 Summicron-R (non APO).

Kind regards,
 

episa

New member
I received my replacement D700 (first one was stolen) and I must say that I have a higher quantity of keepers with this body as opposed to D300, when using my Leica Elmarit 180mm APO.

The glass of D700 is much more adapted for precise focusing with manual lens. Also the focusing green dot on the D300 viewfinder is totally unreliable. Much better again with D700.

If you have D300 body, invest preferably in smaller focal lengths (80mm and lower).

With the D700 I could rediscover the pleasure of using the Leica 180mm APO lens, something that was fading with the frustration of not being able to get tack sharp pictures with D300.
The two examples posted showed the bokeh and select focus ability when lens is wide open....
 

deepdiver

New member
Hi guys.
I need some help about leica lens.
I'm thinking to get summilux 50/1.4 the latest version, however, I really have no idea about this lens, such as is it sharp? or..??
can anyone here please give me some advise :)
I want to use it on my Nikon DSLR.
Thank You

Andree
FYI, I really love Leica 50/1.4 ASPH M lens. That lens is amazing!!
 

deepdiver

New member
Hi Episa
Love the pics! Leica Elmarit 180mm APO.... Hm so nice! it's a poison for me :p
I'm thinking to get one as well.
BTW, any experience with Leica 70-180 F2.8 ?
how come this lens is so expensive?
 

deepdiver

New member
Hi Ocean,
thx for the link, yes did read all his review about summilux 50/1.4 R lens.
However, i really want to see and hear from a user here :)
I have a mix feeling about my new Leica 90/2 APO on my nikon D3X
this is Super sharp... i was shocked with this lens, even at wide open F2, this lens is already very sharp.
my summilux 80/1.4 is nothing compare to this lens in term of sharpness.
However, the bokeh from 90/2 Apo is not as good as summilux 80/1.4 :)
This kind of report that I want to hear from the real user of summilux 50/1.4

Thx you
 

robmac

Well-known member
Bokeh from the 90AA can be a little funky vs. the 80 Lux. The 90 while sharp as a tack even WO or at 2.2, it's not as well corrected for CA WO, especially off reflective surfaces as it's name might suggest. I shot mine against my CV 90 APO and at similar apertures couldn't tell differences in detail at 100% and the CV had no CA/fringing off a reflective grill in the shot vs the 90AA which did. For my shooting/tastes the CV 90 and the 80 lux made a nice combo.

Haven't used the E60 50mm Lux, but www.photozone.de did a test on a cropped sensor that might be interesting to read (compare it's MTF vs say the CV 58). The E60 is sharp WO, but so is the Cv 58 - your M Asph is a step above both.

There are a LOT of nice 50-60s out there and to pay $1600ish for a fast 50.....vs say a 60 Macro + a 50 'cron and having $900-$1000 left in my jeans to go towards a 180/2.8 APO, etc.
 
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Stuart Richardson

Active member
I have the 50/1.4 E60 from when I was shooting Leica R more often. I love the lens and think it has the most character of all the 50mm lenses I own (including the 50mm f/1.4 ASPH), but it is not that similar to the 50/1.4 ASPH, so you may want to look somewhere else. I converted it to Nikon mount, but my particular lens has a minor issue -- if I screw in the Leitax mount tightly, it locks the focus ring. So the mount has to be on there rather loosely (it is still secure, but not screwed down fully). Also, I needed to remove the rubber ring from the rear element to prevent mirror slap. Overall, I think the lens is sharper and has less vignetting on film and the DMR than it is on the Nikon. I suspect this is due to the smaller lens mount in the Nikon leading to more mechanical vignetting. That said, I did test it against my 50mm f/1.4 AFD and it was better at every aperture. It was not light years ahead, but it was significantly better in every quantifiable way. The most significant way it is better is in its bokeh and look. I think it has one of the most beautiful background signatures of any lens I have used. Here are a few shots, mostly on film, that demonstrate the look of the lens. If you are just looking for a sharp 50, there are many other options. To be honest, I love the lens, but I am not sure I would buy it just to use on the Nikon. You seem to like the aspherical Leica look better than the Mandler leica look (75/1.4, 50/1.4 pre-asph, 50/2 etc), and though the 50/1.4 E60 is not a Mandler lens, it is more in that camp I think. Anyway, the lens it more about look than sharpness for me (though it is a sharp lens).












This one is misfocused and not a great photo, but it shows the nice backgrounds:

 

deepdiver

New member
Hi RobMac, yes i can still see some CA from 90/2 APO
i was a bit surprised, i though APO lens is suppose to be immune to CA.
Leica lux 50/1.4 is so expensive, I agree with u, there are many 50's out there, so far from my experience with 50mm lens, none of them is suitable to my taste...
Nikon 50/1.4 AF-D soft... Zeiss ZF 50/1.4 is the same.
I haven't tried the new Nikon 50/1.4 AF-S and Sigma 50/1.4
Leica 50/1.4 ASPH M lens is the only 50mm lens that impressed me :)
That's why I was wondering if Leica 50/1.4 R lens have the same character with 50/1.4 M lens.

Hi Stuart,
Thank you for sharing the pics that were taken with Lux 50/1.4
I really enjoy looking at them :)
To be honest, the bokeh looks like from summilux 80/1.4
It's nice :D
I think I'm ready to get one, but after I heard the Leitax problem on yours summilux 50/1.4
I need to double check this issue with David (leitax)
I dont want the same problem occur to my summilux :(

Once again, thank you all, for all the input and information
I really appreciate it

Andree
 

deepdiver

New member
BTW,
i took these 2 shots from this morning. Nothing special here, I just want to share the look that i got from Apo 90/2 at F2 (wide-open)
the bokeh from the light is really "circle" so different from Zeiss 100/2 @F2, which is tend to be an "oval" bokeh.



another snap shot, to show the bokeh from F2 Apo 90/2
 

episa

New member
Hi Episa
Love the pics! Leica Elmarit 180mm APO.... Hm so nice! it's a poison for me :p
I'm thinking to get one as well.
BTW, any experience with Leica 70-180 F2.8 ?
how come this lens is so expensive?
Sorry Andree for late reply;
I do not have personal experience with Leica 70-180; I was also looking at buying this one instead of Elmarit 180mm APO until I discovered the price. Based on various testimonies from others, it is a "legend" lens that is one of the rare Leica zoom R lenses that is as sharp as the prime lens (180mm here). I cannot confirm or deny this claim. If true that would be like the Nikon 14-24mm AF-S lens outperforming any other Nikon prime lenses in that range of focal lengths. One point of caution: I have not found from David (Leitax) or any user in forums whether the Leica 70-180mm R can be adapted without problems.

On the 180mm APO Elmarit, I must say that this lens is clinical, sickly sharp. I took a portrait of my 70 year old father with it and D700: a 200% magnification of the shot reveals the details of the inside of every pore of his nose skin: a real horror story for women portraits but a testimonial of unparallel sharpness in that FL. The challenge remains to get that exact focus accuracy even if this is made easier with D700. The depth of field can be a few centimeters and you need to have a precise focusing technique to produce consistently tack sharp pictures, especially in low light.

Photo attached taken with D300 and Leica Elmarit 180mm APO.... I like the selective focus ability given by this lens.

Best regards,
Eric
 

deepdiver

New member
Hi Episa!
thx for the remainder about leica 70-180. yes it's true that Leitax doesn't display that lens on it website, so I email David last nite :D
I'm still waiting for his reply.

Looking at the sample image that u posted and some other images on the website... there is no doubt that 180mm APO Elmarit is super sharp lens!!
This lens is also ver expsensive!! hahhahaa
I really need to work extra hard to buy this lens >_<

Please post more "poison" from 180mm APO Elmarit :p
 

episa

New member
Hi Episa!
thx for the remainder about leica 70-180. yes it's true that Leitax doesn't display that lens on it website, so I email David last nite :D
I'm still waiting for his reply.

Looking at the sample image that u posted and some other images on the website... there is no doubt that 180mm APO Elmarit is super sharp lens!!
This lens is also ver expsensive!! hahhahaa
I really need to work extra hard to buy this lens >_<

Please post more "poison" from 180mm APO Elmarit :p
Hi deepdiver:
Regarding price I purchased my Leica Elmarit 180mm APO f2.8 used via ebay for $2300. It was a risky bet (remote HK seller) but was lucky. I agree with you that brand new this lens above $5,000 is out of my financial means. At this used price the lens is worth every dollar I paid. This price is actually not that far from the price of a brand new Leica 50mm f/1.4 ASPH that you have and enjoy very much.

I was hesitating for my first Leica R lens to adapt on Nikon: should I go with the 50 or the 180? Although I use more often the 50mm FL, I came to the conclusion that they are a lot of good 50mm lenses on the market at reasonable prices and whose quality will not be a full class below the Leica. Zeiss f/2.0 ZF, voigltander 58mm F1.4 Nokton, Nikon 50mm AF-S f/1.4 G.
Sure the Leica Sumimlux 50mm f/1.4 outperforms those at f/1.4 but then others catch up when you close 1 stop. I would need to force myself to take pictures wide open all the time to justify paying 3-4 times more for the Leica.
In the 180mmm range however you there are not as many choices available. I purchased the Nikon 180mm f2.8 and tested against my Nikon 70-200 AF-S VR. Both of them did not give me the sharpness I was expecting. Actually I was pissed off against Nikon when I realized that my $500 lens 70-300 VR zoom was actually sharper at 180mm and f/5.6 than my 70-200 VR f/2.8 at 180mm, a $1,600 lens however!

Zeiss did not have any ZF product available and I could not find any Voigtlander Lanthar 180mm lens available.
So I decided to purchase the Leica Elmarit 180mm F/2.8 APO and after the first comparison test with my Nikon lenses, I was so shocked that I sold the two Nikons and I never looked back since. I prefer to loose the flexibility of the 70-200 zoom for the quality of a single FL lens. If I need a 100mm FL I used my Zeiss 100mm ZF (I wish I had your Leica 90mm APO).
I will try to post some fresh poison for you Andree in a couple of days when I have more time. In the mean time I post one of my shots available in my flickr account (there is a dedicated Leica APO collection set taken only with the Leica Elmarit 180mm F/2.8).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37067061@N05/

The shot below was taken with Nikon D300 in low light situation (a shop in the underground was selling flowers therefore the imperfect white balance with a greenish cast). I use this shot to illustrate the selective focus ability of that lens and the quality of the bokeh.

Enjoy this small dose of poison.....

Best Regards
 
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robmac

Well-known member
A VERY close proxy to the 180/2.8 APO, if you can find one, is the CV 180/4 APO.

Having owned the 180/2.8 APO, 180/2 (what a lens) and now CV 180, my experiences would echo those of Lloyd Chambers in his review of 180 lenses on the D3x. The CV is the crown prince to the Leica King - as well as MUCH cheaper and with auto stop-down.
 

episa

New member
A VERY close proxy to the 180/2.8 APO, if you can find one, is the CV 180/4 APO.

Having owned the 180/2.8 APO, 180/2 (what a lens) and now CV 180, my experiences would echo those of Lloyd Chambers in his review of 180 lenses on the D3x. The CV is the crown prince to the Leica King - as well as MUCH cheaper and with auto stop-down.
Robmac is right about the Voigtlander 180mm/4: I was looking to buy this lens but I could not find any used sample in the market that current owners were willing to sell. It says a lot about this lens! Let's hope that Voigtlander will consider remanufacturing this lens in a SLII version one day.
 

woodyspedden

New member
BTW,
i took these 2 shots from this morning. Nothing special here, I just want to share the look that i got from Apo 90/2 at F2 (wide-open)
the bokeh from the light is really "circle" so different from Zeiss 100/2 @F2, which is tend to be an "oval" bokeh.



another snap shot, to show the bokeh from F2 Apo 90/2
Andree

I had some issues with my Hasselblad 110 2.0 used with an adapter on my Nikon D3. I talked about it with Son Minh Pham, the resident expert on adapters here and elsewhere, and he told me that adapter thickness can create color fringing regardless of the performance of the lens. He checked out the 110 on his 203FE and could find no hint of fringing. So I tried two different adapters for the Nikon..........one from Novoflex and one from Fotodiox. Both are very well made by the way. Anyway, the results are that there is definite color fringing from the Fotodiox and little to none with the Novoflex!

So you may be having problems with the Leitax mount. I had the 90AA for use with my DMR/R9 and found no color fringing! Now you still may have a lens which is not performing as advertised which is something you will have to have Leica look in to unless you know someone who has a DMR for you to check it on.

Hope this provides some help.

Woody
 

deepdiver

New member
Good morning guys :)
Hi Episa, thx you for the small dose of poison :p i like it.

Hi Robmac, u mention about leica 180/2 APO, could you please share ur experience using this lens? :D It's on my "wish list" too
I used to own Nikon 200/2 VR, however, i sold it due to the weight... very hard to cary around for taking pics of the model

Hi Woody, that's interesting..!!
Now I really want to try my 90/2 Apo on DMR, but sadly no one own DMR/R9 in Indonesia (not that I know) :(
I tried to take some pics again this morning using 90/2 Apo + D3x (JPG FINE setting)
here is another example @F2
resize only

\

Please correct me if I'm wrong.
From my experience this lens is very sharp from medium to infinity focus
However, from medium to nearest focus, this lens is not very sharp (it "glowing" a bit, just like LUX 801/4)


Andree
 
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Arne Hvaring

Well-known member
Hi Andree,
here are some shots with the 180/2 Apo-Summicron. It's an outstanding lens, though big, heavy and not really suitable for travelling or much for hand-held use. Focusing is a snap and sharpness is excellent even wide open.
It is not quite as clinical looking as the Apo 180/2,8. All these taken with the Canon 1DsIII.
Btw. Guy made some great portraits with this lens and the DMR.
 
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monza

Active member
I installed the Leitax bayonet on a 180/2.8 APO today, and here are a couple of tests shots taken with a lowly D40x (click on images for 100%.) The green focus assist was spot on...





This is just astounding. Hand held from about 15 feet away, 1/400 at f/2.8. No sharpening or any adjustments.

 
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episa

New member
I installed the Leitax bayonet on a 180/2.8 APO today, and here are a couple of tests shots taken with a lowly D40x (click on images for 100%.) The green focus assist was spot on...
..........

This is just astounding. Hand held from about 15 feet away, 1/400 at f/2.8. No sharpening or any adjustments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

I am glad you like it Monza: I am sure that you will have plenty of fun with it as I do.

Andree: on May 12 , I mentioned that this is a clinically very sharp lens and I took the example of a portrait I took of my 70 year old dad with this Leica 180mm f/2.8 APO lens. There is definitely nothing artistic about this portrait taken under harsh sun light with no fill. This is just to make my point on sharpness.

Now when I do a 200% magnification with no sharpening at all of this picture taken hand held, I get this clinical and gross magnification of the nose with all unwanted details/imperfections. It is very impressive to me that I can have this "microscope view" of the pores of someone's skin from a headshot taken 5 meters away. This is what I meant in my May 12 message when I talked about a clinical and sickly sharp lens!

Needless to say that this lens is not recommended for portrait of your girlfriend or wife without some softening filter (I can imagine the abusive use of the Leica 180mm APO as a cause of divorce :) )

Photo taken with Nikon D700 and Leica Elmarit 180mm APO on following settings:
Fine JPEG format, Large file size, Vivid settings, 1/2000s f/2.8 and ISO 200. No post processing other than increasing shadows to correct initial exposure and cropping 200% for the second photo.

I am wondering if using a tripod would have furthermore enhanced the details....
 
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