LTM lenses on Fuji X

<p>I'd be grateful for people's experience of Leica thread lenses on the Fuji X series. My Jupiters 8 and 9, and a Leitz 50mm, are fine. However both a WC Nikkor 35mm/f3.5, and a Canon 28mm f3.5 in LTM, go horribly soft at the edges. I don't think they show field curvature - I've tested for it - so I assume it's the sensor glass thickness giving smearing at the edges. However since these were the 'budget' lenses in their fl, might it be the lenses? Any experience with LTM wides on Fuji X would be appreciated. (In addition, two M42 lenses - a 30mm/f3.5 Lydith, and a 37mm/f2.8 Mir 1B, give soft edges - which I guess points to the sensor glass as the problem).</p>

<p>John, Leica mount wide angle lenses have given edge trouble on Sony A7 series cameras also. I'd have thought the problem would be less severe on Fuji X cameras owing to the smaller sensor, but your experience is different. I'd say that SLR mount wides are the better -- and cheaper -- option, even though they are considerably larger.</p>

<p>I agree with Mukul. If you<a href="https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2014/06/sensor-stack-thickness-when-does-it-matter/"> look</a> at that table, you'll see that the Fujis have even more sensor stack than his Sony, while Leica failed to get away with a quarter of it on the M8.<br>

I only have Jupiter 12s, which might be physically digicam killers and the even on film not stellar CV 15mm that doesn't really shine on my Leicas. Someday I'll give Jupiter 8 & 9 plus various k-mount lenses a go outdoors but I already found out that the X-E1's EVF doesn't support my kind of studio work (with a stopped down DR 'cron). It's lag (in the dim) drives me nuts and shouts for a tripod. <br>

I see no incentive to use adapted glass on Fujis when I also have the original bodies handling it better and Fuji's software does miracles to tweak images out of the distorting kit zoom. <br>

If you love your LTM wides dearly, you might need to get a thin filter converted Sony for them.</p>

<p>I've used a Leica Summaron 35/3.5, a Chiyoda Kogaku 50/1.8, and a Voigtlander 21/4 with no problems visible to my untutored eye. You can see about ten examples from the first one at<br>

<a href="

and from there you can go to the entire photostream for the other two and for more legacy but not LTM lenses, identified in the tags.<br>

Manual focus on Fuji X cameras works better for me than on the M8 of years ago. Use the magnification, with focus peaking off; don't watch the EVF as a whole, watch an edge. And the OVF comes into its own on the X-Pro 2 for composition and watching outside the frame.</p>

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<p>Have used CV 50mm 1.4 and CV 90 screw mounts with a LTM to M adaptor and then the M to FX. They work fine. I don't know the lenses the OP used, but if they were soft when they were first had, there's no reason to believe that a high resolution digital sensor is going to make them un-soft. More importantly, if there is some character one enjoys in those lenses, does the dig-cam capture that. Also, I wouldn't compare Sony's sensor with Fuji's implementation. The Fuji will get more of the sweet spot being APC and I haven't heard of people complaining about wide angle non-native problems on Fuji's where its rather common place on Sony's.</p>

<p>I'll see if I can round up my CV 21 and see how that works.</p>

<p>Charlie - thanks for the links to those images; they convince me that the problem must lie as much with the lens as with the sensor. The Nikkor 35/3.5 is a design based on the 35mm Elmar, not Summaron, so maybe I need to upgrade!<br>

Barry - would be very interested in how the CV21 is on a Fuji. </p>

<p>Will let you know John, I just found it and mounted it. Took a couple snaps in my room in low light, and it looks fine, but I'll try to get it outside tomorrow. Think it will be fine, probably some distortion but we'll see.</p>

<p>Here's a couple of shots with the 21mm, straight out of the camera, no adjustments. No big deal. Like any wide angle it can distort. In color some CA in fine leaves with a blue sky background, but I get that with the Fuji's 23mm, not so much with the 14 which I just got today. These are with no sharpening, which really makes them snap. I'd say, its not a bad lens for these cameras at all, basically a 32 mm.</p><div></div>

<p>another...</p><div></div>

<p>and...</p><div></div>

<p>Thanks Barry!</p>