are there adapters to use LEICA lenses on MINOLTA (MD )

i use minolta x700 and x370s. I just love them ....they are just so

right. They feel good, are dependable like the beetle and

affordable......but i'd love to see more "extra" sharpness in my

lenses ....is there a way that I could possibly use some super sharp

lens on these gems???.....zeiss? leitza? zuiko???.....pentaxes???

nikkors?? FD's?????

 

i know that leica and minolta worked together to design the minolta

XD7 AND leica R4s (?). minolta made some bodies for leica too.

 

but would it be possible to use LEITZ lenses on the very fine( and

inexpensive ) bodies like the X700 ??.........that would reduce the

cost and beat any camera in the manual world....... are adapters

available??? or can modifications be made?????

 

help and advices even with some extra sharp minoltas would be

appreciated.

Thank you!!!

There is an adapter to use Leica M-mount lenses on Minolta manual focus bodies. However, since you will lose infinity focus, this is only really useful for close-up work.

 

Also, this site explains everything you will ever want to know about adapters, and you will be able to work out yourself from the numbers where an adapter is possile, and where not:

 

http://www.a1.nl/phomepag/markerink/mounts.htm

 

Personally, I have never seen the need to adapt non-Minolta lenses for use on Minolta manual focus bodies. Most of Minolta's manual focus primes are pretty much as good as it gets. Just think of the 20mm 2.8, 24mm 2.8, 58mm 1.2, and 85mm 2.0, to name but a few outstanding examples of lenses were every existing version is a gem. Heck, just take any standard lens or 135mm prime, and you certainly won't have to complain about lack of sharpness. I know many Minolta users who would tell you that the true strength of the manual focus Minolta system is in the lenses, not the bodies.

<i>I know many Minolta users who would tell you that the true strength of the manual focus Minolta system is in the lenses, not the bodies.</i><p>

 

I resemble that. But their camera bodies ain't too shabby. :) As far as sharp lenses, I think the only lens I'm not completely satisfied with in my 11-lens inventory is my MD Rokkor-X 300mm f/4.5 telephoto lens -- it tends to vignette a bit, I'm afraid. Otherwise, I love them all, from my MD Fish Eye Rokkor 16mm f/2.8, to my MC Rokkor-X 58mm f/1.2, to my 35mm f/2.8 Rokkor-X Shift CA, to my MD Macro Rokkor-X 100mm f/3.5 -- they're all incredible lenses.

Thank you Frank And Christian.

Although I won't be using the leica for quite some time though but it's great to know that i'm into a Great system. well it's another story that it's damn hard to find a used MD lens like the 85mm and 58mm1.2. Even a 135 3.5 is hard to come by here in kathmandu (looking for months). By the way how great is The 50 1.4??? they are the only MD lenses I see here (approx.USD 57). how does it compare to The 50 1.7????

Some time ago I asked <a href="http://www.novoflex.com/english/html/index_e.htm">Novoflex</a> whether such an adapter was feasible. The response was "no": the Leica/Leitz R mount's diameter is larger than the Minolta MC/MD one's, which means there's no physical space for an adapter (unless you sacrifice infinity focus). Bad news indeed.

<i>how great is The 50 1.4???</i></p>

 

I use a MD 50mm 1.4. It was my first lens, and it is still my favourite - tack sharp and fast, yet light and compact. However, the same holds true for almost any standard lens. It would be quite hard to find a standard lens, regardless of manufacturer, that is a real dog - and of course the 50mm 1.7 (or 1.8 from other makers) lenses are some of the greatest bargains out there.</p>

 

<i>it's damn hard to find a used MD lens like the 85mm and 58mm 1.2.</i></p>

 

Well, a 85mm is the biggest hole in my lens lineup as well, but I currently happen to have three MC 58mm 1.2 lenses, of which I am planning to sell two. One of them is the MC Rokkor-X version with rubber focusing grip. It is the latest version of this legendary lens and I virtually can't see any signs of use on it. I am looking to get US$250 plus shipping. The other one is the older MC Rokkor-PG version with metal focusing grip. It would be a great user lens, but has a very small amount of dust between the lens elements, with possibly just a trace of fungus and some ever so slight yellowing of the glass. I have taken some test pictures with it, and you wouldn't be able to tell them apart from the pictures taken wih the other lens, but this one isn't a good buy for somebody who is picky. I am looking to get US$150 plus shipping for this one. Please feel free to email me at frank_mueller88@hotmail.com if you are interested. </p>

 

<i>Even a 135 3.5 is hard to come by here in kathmandu</i></p>

 

I've got one of those for sale as well ;-) Actually, I am just in the process of 'thinning my herd'. If you would like, I could send you a list of the stuff I want to sell before I put it on eBay.

Minolta never had a large part of the pro market so the lenses out there tend to be the most common consumer choices of their era (28, 50 and 135). These are very good and there's a million of them out there so they're inexpensive. Unfortunately that means there are a limited number of other focal lengths, but they are out there. I believe the 85 2.0 is expensive because there just aren't that many out there and it's a useful length; a 24 or 35mm lens will also be a little more expensive than you might think for the same reason. However they won't cost more than you'd pay for a similar Nikon or Canon because those are the "big" names and people tend to think they're the best and bid them up.

I'm no expert, but in my own quest for some "extra sharpness", I ended up getting an M42 adapter for my X-700 which allowed me to put some nice screw-mount optics on the camera.

 

I know it's all subjective, but I have to say that the Pentax Super Takumar 50mm f/1.4 gives me generally more pleasing results than my Minolta MD50/1.4. I don't know why this is or even if it's safe for the camera, but pictures that look sharp but "cold" with the MD look VERY sharp and warm with the Pentax.

 

Of course, there IS, I'm told, the problem of the Pentax being somewhat radioactive! :)

 

Assuming it's mechanically safe, in the long run, to use this M42 adapter, then there are all sorts of M42 lenses for you to experiment with, including many fine Zeiss optics. Granted, those almost all seem to be Zeiss Jena DDR lenses, but many have fine reputations, like the 35/2.4 Flektogon.

 

If you want to stay Minolta and thus retain Program Mode compatibility, then I would recommend the lenses that Minolta designed and that Leica found usable (after some modification) for their R line. The only one I have is the 35-70mm f/3.5 and that is one SHARP lens! Very colorful, too.

 

The only other Minolta optic that I own and like is the basic MD 28/2.8 wide angle. I have found it to be pretty darn sharp as well.

 

For anyone that's curious, it's the actual Minolta brand "P-mount" (Praktica mount, I assume) adapter. I don't know if that means it works any better or worse than any of the no-name adapters. Actually, I would appreciate any input on this subject.

I think everybody is missing the obvious answer here.

 

Minolta made a number of Leica R lenses for Leica. The MD 70-210mm f4 was rebadged as the Vario-Emitar (I think I have the name right), and Minolta made the MD Rokkor-X 35-70mm f3.5 for Leica, as well.

 

I seem to remember something about the MC Rokkor-PG 50mm f1.4 and Leica, too. I could be wrong about that. The MC Rokkor-PG 50mm f1.4 tests as one of the sharpest SLR 50mm f1.4's ever made.

 

So, essentially, if you have one of those lenses, you have Leica glass.

 

chad

It may be too late to comment on this thread, but if you can find an Exakta to Minolta adapter, that may be a good choice. I happened by chance (part of a lot I bought on eBay) to acquire an adapter for Exakta lenses to fit on minolta SR/MC/MD bodies. It has infinity focus. Along with the lot came two Exakta-mount lenses, a Zeiss Jena 80mm Tessar 2.8, and a Steinheil-Munchen 135mm 2.8. Of course you have to use stop-down metering, but I tend to shoot both of these lenses wide-open so it's not much of an issue. Both lenses are very sharp, and these older non-automatic lenses have something like 10 or 12 blade apertures which are pretty close to perfectly round. It's a great way to use some really vintage Zeiss, Steinheil, or Angenieux glass on a modern camera.

hey Ben .. i hate you for finding that mount and those lenses..lol .. i search eBay all the time for it .. i recently made a friend at a machine shop that said she would turn out of brass an adapter for me if i could cad up the item ( I am an engineering student and Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) is not a problem for me) but i am not able to even borrow one to put calipers to so i can measure it.

<p>Dan, I happened upon this thread again after a long time. Not sure if you have notifications or will ever see this, but those Exakta-SR adapters have definitely come down in price the last year or so. I've noticed a few selling in the past six months or so that sold for around $20, and like you said, for years they rarely surfaced and fetched much higher prices.</p>

<p>Hey I did not have notifications on this one, but was without a computer for a while and my emails piled up and i just got a computer again and was doping all sorts of searching and came across this thread again.<br>

So anyway, yea i decided to look on eBay again after i 1st read this thread and had a notification set on my eBay alerts. One came to me like a few months later and i lost out on the auction. It sold for 85 dollars. I couldn't really afford that but I might have charged it if i won it , but i was sniped at the last minute.<br>

Wow 20 Dollars sounds great. You seem to come across all the deals. If you see one again that cheap buy it for me ill pay you for it ..lol</p>