Leica Thread to M Adapters Follow-up

[kbinner]

I posted a question a week or so ago, asking about quality of LTM to M adapters

-- among Leitz, Voigtlander, and no-name adapters. I got impatient waiting for a

Voigtlander or Leitz at a good price, and bought a relatively inexpensive one

($20). While it does screw on the lens and mount to my M6 and M4-P, it's

difficult to get the lens to "seat" properly and bring-up the correct

framelines. By "seat", I mean get the little tab on the lens removal button (on

the body) to snap into place. Turning the lens hard will eventually bring-up the

correct framelines, but not "seat" the lens. Also, with the lens mounted the

best I can get it, the dot at the center of the depth-of-field scale is not

centered on the camera body. It's about 5mm to the right of center. The lens is

a Voigtlander 28mm f3.5. All insights, suggestions, offers for $30 Leitz 28/90mm

adapters appreciated. thanks.

[thomas_hardy1]

How much do the other "name brand" adaptors cost? I see screw mount lenses all the time

(for a relatively low price) and wonder if the cost of the adaptor would shrink any savings I

might have.

 

Sorry, I don't know much about the adaptors and why it won't properly seat (I've heard

that some are too thick) This problem seems that you have a little piece of metal keeping

the lens from completely rotating into the locked position. A machinist like the people at

Lensrepro or a DIY job might fix it.

 

Maybe (gingerly) file the offending piece of metal on the adaptor down so that it seats

properly? But then if you screw up could you damage an expensive camera?

[a._j._valys]

That is why the ones that are machined to close tolerances cost mere. You want cheap, buy Chinese, or, you get what you pay for. What can I say?

[ksargent]

I'm using a Voigtlander adaptor for my CV 35/2.5 and it was a little tight, but it seats

properly and brings up the correct framelines. The dot at the center of the DOF scale isn't

centered (it's actually abit to the left of center) - but that really isn't an issue imho. I have

to agree with AJ - you are better off buying name brands which have a proven track

record. The Voigtlander is only $55 new - so it isn't that much more than what you paid.

And they are guaranteed etc. Perhaps you should see if you can return the one you

bought and get the Voigtlander instead. It has the added bonus of coming with a rear lens

cap which doubles as a removal wrench. I certainly wouldn't mess with filing anything that

is going to be exposed to the interior of my camera - but that's me.

 

Ken

[jerry_pfile3]

Continuing with A.J.s comment: In the early 60's I transitioned from a IIIf to an M2. I had 35/50/and 90mm Leitz lenses at the time, so I purchased an adaptor for each.

 

I was kind of amazed to find that when the adaptors were mounted to the LTM Leitz lenses, the exact center of the DOF field was at 12 o'clock, and the proper frames were in place.

 

Say what you will about the Germans. They know/knew how to machine.

 

Jerry

[ronald_moravec1]

Buy cheap, buy twice.

 

Now you have the full price of a CV invested anyway unless you sell it to some other unsuspecting sole.

 

Maybe you could file it down for a 50 or 35 adapter. Also make sure the problem is not in your camera.

[GlennS]

A few days ago I removed the thread mount from my 15mm CV lens. This required removing the four Phillips screws holding the mount to the lens body. I found two extra sets of threaded holes that allow the mount to be attached slightly offset for correcting alignment problems.

 

If your Voigtlander LTM lens isn't centered when mounted you can probably fix it by using one of the other sets of holes. There is a tiny "o" mark stamped in the chrome mount next to the top hole in case you forget which way it came off.

I suspect that other CV lens have the extra holes as well.

[kbinner]

Well, I'm 100% German (and 10% French), so maybe I can machine the adapter and bring it up to tolerances. Only if I had a machine... It's not for sale to unsuspecting soles, but I will get my money back from the suspecting heel that sold it to me.

[jerry_pfile3]

L should have added that when the LTM lenses were mounted on the IIIf (with no need for an adaptor), they to tighened exactly at the 12 o'clock DOF mark on the lenses. So perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised when they did on the M2 w/adaptors.

 

There is so much DOF on the CV 15, even when wide open, I doubt there would ever be a problem w/focus. Especially when it isn't RF coupled on Ms anyway.

 

Jerry

[ksargent]

Jerry, that doesn't seem to be the case with all LTMs. My 5cm/3.5 Elmar doesn't line up at

12:00 (it's close) on my IIIF; and looking at pictures online and speaking with other users,

that seems to be common.

 

I agree about the DOF with the 15 - focus will likely never be an issue.

 

Ken

[chad_hahn]

I bought a cheap Chinese adapter, (It cost less than $20 delivered). It works great. DOF is

at 12 o'clock, focuses correctly everything. Maybe I was just lucky or maybe it was made at

the Voigtlander factory after hours but I like it. It even looks quality.

 

Chad

[luis triguez]

I don`t now if mine is Chinese but luckily works splendid with the M3. I paid 35 euros. Same seller has originals for 85.

 

In Spain is quite difficult to find them. If I buy in the States the shipping is so expensive for so small item.<div></div>

[dan flanders]

If the lens has the standard Leica focusing cam surface (no slope) there should be no problem if the lens doesn't line up exactly when properly seated. Obtain some 'crocus cloth' or other super-fine abrasive and carefully polish the cam lugs on the adapter. Probably there is some machining 'flash' residue from the milling process. I have made several generic adapters work by polishing the cam lugs. I was fortunate in obtaining a good supply of adapters years ago when they were cheap but have given a lot of them away. Despite the fact that I deplore the flood of cheap products from China I have to admit that much of their machine work is accurate and sometimes needs only finer finishing. If in doubt buy Leica or CV!

[aplumpton]

Perhaps my perspective is conservative, but why worry about paying 40 or

50$ more for a well-machined VC or Leica adapter, when the lens you are

adapting is probably worth 6X to 10X that, or more.

 

Every metal to metal surface adds extra imprecision to the proper seating of a

lens, so when you have two of these interfaces instead of only one, it makes

sense to me that the precision of manufacturing (thickness, fit) be the highest

possible at a reasonable price.

[james_lai]

I have 2 of the Chinese made adapters, bought from 2 different *bay vendors. Both look well made and worked fine right out of the box, no machining or polishing necessary. I use these to mount FSU LTM lenses on my M4, so a CV or Leica adapter would cost several times what these lenses cost.

 

I don't know what the CV or Leica ones are made from (I've heard the Leica ones are brass), but the adapters I have are made of aluminum. Mount one of these aluminum adapters with an aluminum FSU lens and you'll be surprised at how lightweight your M can be.

[vic_.]

Here are pics of Leica ones:

 

http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=757375

 

The backs of these adapters look like they have brass.