Leica M lenses on Sony NEX-7

[jay bee]

<p>As I await the release of the much anticipated Sony NEX-7, does anyone know if all Leica M lenses will work on this camera with the proper adapter? If yes, any guesses on how well they will work? Apologize if this is a naive question but I have older lenses that i use with my M7. Would be a huge plus to me if they can also be used effectively on this baby.<br>

Thanks in advance.</p>

[georg_s1]

<p>It will probably not answer your question, but a very experienced pro-shooter in my town loves his Leica lenses (Summicron 35 & 50, Summilux 75) on his Panasonic G3. He said focusing works very well for him.<br>

Georg</p>

[mike_wagner2]

<p>Michael Reichmann on Luminous-Landscape has extensive things to say about using M lenses on the NEX-7 line. He is much enamoured, for what it may be worth.</p>

[Lou_Meluso]

<p>Here is a link to that LL article that compares the output of the NEX-7 to the M9<br>

<a href="http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/sony_nex_7_rolling_review.shtml#m9">http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/sony_nex_7_rolling_review.shtml#m9</a></p>

 

[Gus Lazzari]

<p><em>Click>>></em> <a href="http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/sony_nex_7_first_impressions.shtml">Luminous Landscape</a> has in this other link, additional interesting observations on this topic:</p>

<blockquote>

<p>"When it comes to image quality few lenses can surpass those made by Leica. Knowing that I would have a chance to work with the new Sony / Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 I left home with the Leica 24mm f/1.4 Summilux ($6,500) in hand so that I could do a comparison of the two on the NEX-7.<br /> This turned out <strong>not to be much of a contest</strong> – not because either lens is a dog, but because the Zeiss is custom made for the NEX-7 and the Summilux is not. The problem lies in the fact that while a Leica M adaptor allows the lens to mount on a NEX-7 (<em>or any NEX or Micro Four Thirds camera</em>) the sensor on these cameras <strong>is not designed</strong> with the micro-lenses needed to properly handle the extreme off axis rays from a lens of the Summilux's design"</p>

</blockquote>

[h._p.]

<p>I occasionally use my Summicron 50 and Elmar 90 on my Olympus EP-1. It's not very satisfactory because the focussing is a pain. Georg's aquaintance is probably more sensible, as the G3's eye level viewfinder will be much easier to use than a rear mounted screen.</p>

[aplumpton]

<p>Initial thoughts I do not always retain, but reading the articles above on the NEX-7 makes me wonder about the logic of moving from a Leica M8 to the M9 and perhaps instead waiting to see what an eventual M10 might promise some years down the pike. If the NEX-7 is that good from a resolution and dynamic range viewpoint, it might be the best choice for someone with Leica lenses and looking at present for a higher quality image output than the M8.</p>

<p>Does anyone else have such thoughts? I know the two cameras function quite differently, but simply from image resolution and tonality viewpoints does this make sense to you too? There is only one question that I have which remains unanswered partly due to my quick reading of the Reichman Nex-7 - M9 comparison, and that is, did Reichman unfairly present the comparison by cropping the M9 image down to the APS sensor size (although the NEX-7 resolution was itself downgraded from 24 to 17 MP)? </p>

[jay bee]

<p>Appreciate the responses/food for thought. I too read the LL article prior to my post and just wondered how effective my pre-ASPH 35 cron and 50 rigid cron may work on the NEX-7. If its just "yeah it will work but not great" then it dampens my enthusiasm quite a bit. Unfortunately I am not fortunate enough to afford the M9 so I was hopeful this may be a cheaper entry point...</p>

[pablito_pistola]

<p>works great on Nex 5n. Very wide lenses will get color shift in corners, though. I have gotten superb results with Leica lenses 28mm and longer.</p>

[leslie_cheung]

<p>Didn't they fixed the color shift on wide lenses on the 5n? Maybe not fixed, but the 5n is much better than previous versions, I have heard.</p>

[ardenpress]

<p>I've used my Leica lenses, Zeiss M lenses, and just the other day, having received the Canon adapter, used several of my Canon lenses on the 5N. (Having a good trade in arranged for the 7, I can hardly await its arrival.) All these lenses work beautifully, even a wonderful old Voigtlander 16mm that I cannot use on my M9. Focusing is fine with the little white or yellow dots that show up when you have achieved focus. This makes things easier than using a Leica body. Reichman made the, for Leica M9 users, almost outrageous claim that the 7 outresolved it and that only one DSLR outresolves the 7. That will surely change when a new Canon 5DII arrives. Being very careful I put on my very large and heavy 70-200mmCanon 2.8. The sharpness through the screen was remarkable. I wouln't use anything too heavy on a Nex camera without a tripod, though the 100mm macro is just fine on it. I tried a used Leica 135mm at a local shop but found it impossible to use because of the focusing rings on the lens that even with not large hands I couln't keep my fingers off and therefore moved just a bit. That was enough to throw off the focus.<br>

Arthur, I think it was downsized. Reichman says as much with the reason why.<br>

Now since almost all Canon and Nikon lenses can be used via an adapter why would anyone interested in photography not want a 7 especially at the very low price compared to Leicas and several others. And as Sony improves it, probably, who knows, even adding a full frame sensor, the world of photgraphy will change forever. All I have to do is improve my technique with the camera, photoshop and Lightroom.</p>

[philip_wilson]

<p>I do not have any experience with Sony bodies but own a Panasonic G1 that I use with Canon FD, Leica M and Contax G lenses. All of them work well and focusing is fine (except the G series lenses are fiddly as you turn a wheel on the adaptor to focus as they were designed as AF lenses). I tried the GF1 but decided not to buy it. The old MF lenses work great but I find that you need a viewfinder to focus so any camera with an EVF that you can zoom works well. Getting exact focus with the rear LCD is difficult and really only works well on a tripod. Similarly even using the EVF you need to zoom in to get accurate focus. So long as you have time and a good EVF you should have no problems. The act of focusing on a digital body is no in the same league as an AF SLR (or Contax G) and not even as good as a Leica M body (My latest body is the M6). At least on the Panasonic I have not had any issues with colour shift. That said the 2x FL means that I do not have any really wide angle lenses - the Canon 15mm Fiseye being the widest. I find that all my MF lenses work well but that top quality glass such as my Leica 35 F1.4 or high end Canons (e.g. 85 F1.2) give the best results. Interestingly macro lenses like my Canon 50 F3.5 give studding results as portrait lenses. At the longer end my Contax G 90 F2.8 gives better results than my Voigtlander 90 F3.5 although both are very good. The FL magnification makes these 90mm lenses rather limited in use. Given the price difference I would be very interested in seeing shots from the NEX7 and M9 as I have been debating an M9 for some time now (I was about to buy when Canon announced the D1X)</p>

[ardenpress]

<p>Arthus, you were right the resolution was downgraded on the 7. But I think the croppping was too.</p>

[quicoalvarez]

<p>It seems, as the reviews show, that Leica m, Zeiss zm and Voigtländer vm lenses work great mounted on NEX cameras, with the only exception for color fringing and vigneting in corners for symmetric ultra wides (18 mm. and lower). This issue seems to be at least downsided by software like CornerFix.</p>

[martin_paling1]

I have used the 90/2.8 Elmarit-M and the 50/2 Summicron on my NEX-5 with the excellent Metabones adapter. Results have been

first class. Using wider lenses has been mixed. The VM 25/4 and VM 21/4 both exhibited significant lens cast (bluish-magenta bands

at the vertical sides of the image); the VM 28/2 behaved similarly, although in a much less noticeable fashion. However, Cornerfix

sorted out the problem for each lens. I also have used an old Minolta Rokkor 24/2.8 MD manual lens with absolutely no issues at all (I

believe this design may also have been used for the Leica R 24/2.8 lens but Iam not certain about this).

 

I would magine results with the NEX-7 will be even better and I cant wait for its arrival!

[jay bee]

<p>Appreciate the responses and dialogue/contribution from all. Debating NEX-7 and X100 at this point with obvious trade-offs between the two cameras. Just need to determine which one is ultimately "right" for me...</p>

[dierk_topp]

<p>I got my NEX-7 yesterday and I tried my Leica lenses 18mm, 35mm Lux, 50mm Nocti and 75mm APO<br>

and my new Sony 30mm/3.5 macro.<br>

The 18 mm Super Elmar has some color cast.<br>

The other lenses are still under investigation.<br>

I am surprised about the performance of the tiny 138 gram 260€ Sony 30mm marco lens!<br>

First shots with the 30mm macro and the 50mm/0.95 Nocti in my studio are <strong><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dierktopp/sets/72157628624325469/">here</a></strong>.</p>

[wolf_rainer_schmalfuss]

<p>Dierk, compliments, really excellent photos with the Sony NEX-7!<br>

Sorry M9 guys, I would no doubt sell my M9 and keep and use the Leica glasses on the SONY NEX-7!</p>

[terence_jones]

<p>Guys, I am using a nex-7 together with a 35mm Summicron ASPH. Works really great - I intend to write a review about this combination soon. <br>

Post will appear here: http://terencesjones.wordpress.com<br>

Here is a sample shot that I took a couple of hours ago of the Petronas Twin Towers:

<p>Cheers</p>

[terence_jones]

<p>As promised I tried out the Nex-7 + 35mm Summicron and I had a lot of problems with magenta casts and cyan/purple fringing. See here <a href="http://terencesjones.wordpress.com/2012/02/15/sony-nex-7-with-leica-m-glass-rolling-review/">http://terencesjones.wordpress.com/2012/02/15/sony-nex-7-with-leica-m-glass-rolling-review/</a></p>

[ymages]

<p>What is the best M ring adaptor for Nex 6 actually ?</p>

<p>thank you</p>