Leitz Telyt 560 on DSRL

Hi to all.

I am interested in bird photography, and I am currently shooting with a D200,

300/4 afs and TC14E, TC20E. When using the blind + feeder techique I usually

manage to shoot with the lens alone, or with the TC14E, more seldom with the

stronger TC20E converter. There are situations where I feel the need for more

reach, for example when using the car as a blind, so I am considering a longer

lens. The problem is budget, so I am considering one of the olter manual focus

lenses. I have seen very very nice photos taken with the telyt, either with

slide film, projected, or printed on books or good quality prints, even from

DSRLs. So I am looking for someone elses experience here, in particular i see

the lens is available in the original leitz focusing device or in the novoflex

type. Which would be more practical to focus and to put on a tripod? I already

own different manual focus lenses, so I know the lack of automation and can

tolerate it, I even switched from a D70 to the D200 to enjoy more my manual

focus micronikkors and the Ais 180 ED. Other than the Telyt I am considering

spending more on the Nikkor 500/4 P or the Sigma 500/4.5 HSM, but I have to say

that I really like the look from the old 560 Telyt, and I am inclined to try it

first. I think I can always sell it if I am not happy with little loss. Thank

you Marco

Perhaps a used 600 5.6 EDIF Nikon lens would be a better option?

I would go for the Nikkor 500mm P. You have said that you can live without the automatic features. Not to second-guess you, but you couldn't pay me enough money to try to do bird photography with a cobbled-together setup like that Leitz. I'd sacrifice the loss in focal length (which really isn't much here, it seems) to have the operational speed of true IF telephoto. It's just that a CPU-capable lens makes more sense, for this type of work. Best of luck in your search.

Marco: is the Telyt you have in mind the 560/5.6? I have owned one of those since about

1972 and a friend is currently using it on a Canon DSLR. It works OK but he finds it a but

clumsy and a little hard to focus (this is on an old 10D, which has an APS-sized sensor and

a correspondingly small viewfinder). Optically it's acceptably sharp, but not up to the

standard of my much more contemporary Canon 500/4 IS (not even close, to be honest).

 

The Telyt 560/5.6 has an odd but quite usable focus mechanism and some rather poorly

placed tripod sockets (IMO). It's also not all that robustly constructed -- beautifully made

but, oddly, not particularly strong in some key spots. Mine is currently held together in a

couple of places with epoxy. Not sure if the same caveats apply to the other old 560 Leitz,

which I think was f6.8 or something like that. Doug Herr (Leica forum) knows these lenses

very well (I've had substantial experience only with the 560/5.6).

 

If you can swing the cash, the Sigma 500/4.5 HSM or the Nikon 500/4 P will likely be

better optically and a lot easier to use (especially the AF Sigma).

There is actually something irrationale in preferring the telyt to the other lenses, which would also add the benefit of being useable with my converters (I already filed the tabs). The imagins I saw are probably the culprit in this irrationale. The telyt I know of is an f6.8, and I am bit surprised to hear it is not robust, if I understand correctly your comments. I am still curious about the novoflex focusing unit and its useability with a tripod. Thank you for the comments so far, and yes the 600 5.6 would be also interesting being the double of my current 300, and presumably underpriced being manual focus and without CPU. Marco

Marco: read my comments again. I was talking about the Telyt 560/5.6, not the f6.8. They

are quite different. You could go to the Leica forum and look up Doug Herr's posts -- he has

experience with both the f5.6 and f6.8 560 mm Leitz lenses.

 

I would be a little concerned about my ability to manually focus an f6.8 lens with an APS/DX

format DSLR, but maybe your eyes are better than mine.

I have the 560 5.6 and use it with a 14137 televit coupled to a Nikon D100 (or the Leicas when I want film). The 5.6 is a really heavy and clumsy arrangement fully warranting use of a tripod. The later f6.8 was smaller and more usable with the shoulder stock...but dimmer in the finder. In all honesty I would recommend the Nikkor...I think you will have a better shot at precise focus due to greater light transmission. The Telyts, in my experience, have razor sharp central focus which diminishes as you move toward the periphery making them excellent for nature work. As others have suggested...you might check out some of Doug Herr's outstanding wildlife photography...most done with Telyts.

I use the Nikon 500mm f 4.0P lens on my d 200 with great success. It is a superb lens. You can get one used for about $2100-2200. It takes the Nikon tc 14B and tc 301 tcs, not the AF ones you now have. Many modify the tc 14E for use on such lenses. Do a search and decide if you want to do that to avoid another tc purchase.

 

Another option is to stay AF and get the Sigma 50-500mm.

 

When you get into these lenses, you need a system to get good images: proper tripod, ball head or gimbal head, and long lens technique.

 

Joe Smith

I was able to adapt an older Leica Telyt to my F4S. It wasn't worth the effort! I am much happier with my Nikkor 500 f/4 P.

Thank you all. Marco

I'm using the 560mm f/6.8 on the Leica R8 with the DMR digital back. It has been a very handy and useful kit. I normally use it with a shoulder stock and monopod:

 

<CENTER>

<IMG SRC="http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/anatidae/come10.jpg">

<BR>

<B>Common Merganser</B> Lake Tahoe California

<P>

<IMG SRC="http://www.wildlightphoto.com/mammals/artiodactyls/dash01.jpg">

<BR>

<B>Dall's Sheep</B> Denali National Park, Alaska

<P>

<IMG SRC="http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/trochilidae/anhu01.jpg">

<BR>

<B>Anna's Hummingbird</B> Sacramento California

</CENTER>

<P>

It's not as handy to use on a tripod because of its unique focussing method. With the shoulder stock & monopod I lean forward or backward for fine focus. When working from a blind I prefer the Novoflex focus grip because unlike the Leica focussing mount my hand stays well back from the blind's lens port and birds are less likely to be spooked.

<P>

Aside from the image quality, one of the big advantages of the Leica-mount lens is its light weight. I've carried it with the shoulder stock & monopod on hikes lasting most of the day, which was handy for getting the Dall's Sheep photo above.

Thank you Douglas for the insight and the sample images (congrats!).

So, the novoflex focusing system is better on a tripod inside a blind, and the leica one wins hanheld or with a monopod. This is exactly the kind of information I was looking for. Thank you again. Marco