yongfei

<p>Jonathan, I reported my experience on Hartblei with digital back many years ago. My latest finding is that, you can set the sync time to 2-4 seconds in CFV back, and then connect it to a H cable release.<br>

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/265099-REG/Hasselblad_43370_Release_Cord_H.html<br>

I got the much cheaper Vello, which also works fine:<br>

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/765659-REG/Vello_RS_C1II_RS_C1II_Wired_Remote_Switch.html<br>

You press the button to trigger the back, and then, within 1-2 seconds, press the shutter. That way, your CFV can synch with the Hartblei body all the way up to 1/1000.<br>

However, the Hartblei body's shutter is really weak. My shutter doesn't reliably function any more at 1/15, 1/30 etc.<br>

</p>

<p>I just build one. For details:<br /> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://forum.getdpi.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13534" target="_blank">http://forum.getdpi.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13534</a></p>

<p><img src="http://forum.getdpi.com/gallery/files/1/7/5/7/dscf1860w_1.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>I just build one. For details:<br>

http://forum.getdpi.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13534</p>

<p><img src="http://forum.getdpi.com/gallery/files/1/7/5/7/dscf1861w.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="672" /></p>

 

<p>David, just see your question.<br>

Right now, Kapture or Silvestri is the only option. I used to have an Eyelike M11 back, which can be bought from eBay for $1000+. The important thing is to get involved in the hobby, while waiting for the price to go down, or upgrading to a better back. I was break-even on the Eyelike M11 deal.</p>

<p>I recently bought the Kapture Group's plate, and tried it on a ETRSi. I did some initial testing. Both 60MM PE and 105Macro looks very clean. <br>

I used 105Macro to duplicate some 6x6 slides, and found the focusing is very accurate. Here is a link to my sample slide duplication pictures. It is in Chinese, but all the pictures are from 105MM + CFV I.<br>

<a href="http://forum.xitek.com/showthread.php?threadid=690945">http://forum.xitek.com/showthread.php?threadid=690945</a></p><div></div>

<p>>My goal is to pick up a reliable Hasselblad 220 back to use with a <a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/#" target="_blank">camera</a> that will take it<br>

I use a Hasselblad 220 back on Hartblei. It works fine.</p>

<p>

<p>There have been a few discussions about this project on some internet BBS . Obviously, some of the guys didn't read the whole thread. So I'd like to post some of my conclusions here:<br>

- There are multiple purposes associated with this experiment. At the beginning, I want to put things together just for fun. Later on, I became quite curious about the performance of my Leica 35mm/1.4 on a full frame CCD. Because if the image quality is not good, I will sell it before its resale value starts to go down.<br>

- I tested Leica 50mm F 2.0. There is no obvious problem with this lens on a full frame CCD.<br>

- I don't have any Leica wide angle lenses, so I tested a Sigma 24MM SLR lens. The full frame result is quite good. So I can't say if the Leica/Zeiss wide angle lenses will work or not on a full frame CCD.<br>

- In the current configuration, I use a Copal shutter behind the lens. So sometimes the total distance is to far for infinity focus. The real M type shutter will not run into this problem. But to put a digital back on the M camera at the film plane rail, is very easy to scratch the CCD.</p>

</p>

<p>I developed 220 slide twice in local Walmart (Texas). The cost is around $5 each time. It is the same price as 120's. Can any of you confirm this?<br>

I just want to share this wonderful cost saving option with you. But, please don't argue with your local Walmart stuff if it turns out to be double price:)</p>

<p><img src="http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/8/2/6/8/1/0/webimg/212489156_o.jpg" alt="" width="696" height="466" /><br>

My M11 setup</p>

<p>I also tested a Eyelike M11 Precision (Sinar) digital back on Hartlei. It also works under 1/30 shutter speed. I have a few more updated pictures on the link above.</p>

<p>On my Hi-Fi system, the amps are Stratos <a href="http://www.odysseyaudio.com/">http://www.odysseyaudio.com/</a> and Audio Note Kit-1. And I am using Lavry DA-10 D/A converter with volume control as the pre-amp. The loudspeaker is a DIY design after Dynaudio Contour 1.3.</p>

<p>35mm is a total miss. But fortunately, I got a sharp picture last time. I just post here a F5.6 result. It is still out of focus.<br>

With those pictures, I think I have completed my Leica M lens full frame testing effort. It has been a fun experience. And I am glad that I can share those findings with a wonderful group of people who are passionate Leica lovers.</p><div></div>

<p>Here is the 100% crop</p><div></div>

<p>Another 50mm, forgot the F stop. Should be below F5.6</p><div></div>

<p>As you can see, the depth of field is very shallow. That could be because the lens is not totally evenly "mounted". So it effectively becomes a tilt lens. Here is the 100%.</p><div></div>

<p>As promised, I tried to do some more testings on 50mm Summicron and 35mm Summilux. It is a very difficult task. It took me a total of four hours to get a few usable pictures. Focusing is purely a matter of luck. Last time, I got sharp pictures with 35mm even at 1.4, but the lighting was too strong. This time, I got very good luck with 50MM, but not so with 35mm.<br>

Sunpak 120J was used as flash (on the left side). Shutter was only used to trigger the digital back. Shooting needs to be in total darkness for the back to come into "ready to shoot" status. So I have to restart the Eyelike capture application almost after each shot.</p><div></div>

<p>Bob, maybe you can take a look at this link: Camera Mounts Sorted by Register <a href="http://www.graphics.cornell.edu/~westin/misc/mounts-by-register.html">http://www.graphics.cornell.edu/~westin/misc/mounts-by-register.html</a><br>

Ideally, there should be just one universal mount specification for all 135 cameras. But the manufacturers just don't want their cheese to be moved away.<br>

The practical value of my testing approach is: if you can use this method to test all your expensive Leica lenses, you will be able to know which lenses work well under full frame and which ones don't. So if the Leica or Zeiss Ikon full frame camera ever comes out and becomes popular, you may want to sell off those not working lenses ASAP, as their second hand value may go down big time. </p>

<p>The above link is very impressive, especially the attention-to-details during the testing. I need to learn from that for my own testing procedure.<br>

Lens selection wise, I am more interested to know the image circle coverage of each Leica M compatible lenses. Especially, Zeiss ZM wide angle makes me very curious. It would be very interesting to know their performance under full frame.</p>

<p>Reinier, good to know that such an adapter exists. Yes, people can adapt normal Leica M lens to as many SLR bodies as they wish, as long as they abandon the hope for infinity focus;-)<br>

BTW, I've found a way to further reduce the lens to CCD distance by another 1mm. And I will try to mount it on a tripod. I will retest the Summicron 50mm and a few other SLR lenses this weekend. Hope to get some sharp images this time. Stay tuned...</p>

<p>

<p>Patrick, really appreciate your thoughtful concern and understanding. However, most people here would like to see a digital back put on a real M camera, with nothing more or nothing less. So I have two choices here: 1) stop right here as it is today, believing that my box is conceptually an equivlant to a Leica M. 2) do as other people's wish (as well as my inner devil's wish) to put the CCD filter as close as possible (within 1mm) to the shutter. I should be able to get some decent images before the filter glass gets noticeably scratched. Does any insurance company provide an affordable CCD filter replacement insurance? I may need it;-)<br />If you look at my M11's picture, you can see that it has a "naked" CCD frame if the Hasselblad interface is taken away. Beautiful, isn't it? That's why I like the idea of open platform: buy a digital back for once, and play with it on all platforms and DIY projects. I think it is risky but possible to mount it on a Voigtlander M body. My secret plan will be: 1) cut a 24x36mm hole on my CCD's alminimum protective cover (unshown here, but it is something of the size of a match box); 2) glue this cover to those two film rails outside the shutter. 3) push back's CCD inside the protective cover as far as possible, right before the filter glass touches the shutter.<br />So it is easy for me to come up with this interfacing approach, but it really requires some high degree of precision to implement it.<br />BTW, Horseman's Digiflex can connect a Hasselblad V digital back, with Nikon lens mount. It seems that it was custom build on some Voigtlander's Bessa body parts. But like you said, they must have recessed the shutter inside the body to compensate for the increased distance caused by the back.<br />Godfrey, nice to see you here! I still remember reading your shared experience about your Rolleiflex cameras a few years ago. Then you moved on to some Sony or Olympus digital gear. Then I lost track of your adventure. But hope you didn't get lost in this digital jungle yourself;-)</p>

</p>

<p>I agree that to make a full frame M camera that will work with most of all EXISTING M lenses may be a mission impossible. But technically, as my experiment shows, you can use Zeiss ZF equivalent lenses on the wide angle side and (relatively speaking) easily build a M with the current 16 bit full frame CCD techonolgy.<br>

Yes, this is a compromise. But to some users, this is less an compromise in nature than a cropped size CCD. Besides, all Nikon, Canon, Hasselblad and other manufactuers are using retrofocus design in their wide angle lenses. Leica can beat them with high precision, all metal design lenses. Besides, I think the current M8 is actually using 8 bit final raw file, which is against Leica's own claim of its high performance standard.</p>

<p>It seems many people would prefer to see a digital back that is mounted to a real M camera.<br />I MAY have a way to continue this project with a Voigtlander T or other M mount cameras. I prefer Voigtland because it is easier to modify, and also because it has 1/125 flash synch.<br>

But first I need to find a functional, used M mount camera. Destroying a brand new camera is not an environmental friendly behavior.<br>

If someone can help me buy a cheap one, please post your information here.</p>

<p>Steve, thanks for your insider information. It's good to hear that Leica is finding ways to build a full frame M.<br>

Yes, I agree that putting together a prototype camera and get some images is one easy thing, but to get high performance is a totally different game.</p>

 

<p>Jay, hope Leica can have the resource to further minimize its Imacon-R digital back and make it full frame. The Eyelike is similar to Sinar backs. It is an open platform back. You may use most of the MF or view cameras via dedicated adatptors (which is expensive or hard to find though). I like this open source idea.<br>

Alan, I would be happy to sell my stack of floppie disks for $100 which is a fortune for what they are. Then the collector can send them to Leica factory to paint an authentic red dot.<br>

Reinier, I am not sure if I am the first one who puts M glass on FF and took some pictures or not. I regret that I don't have enough resource to make it more accurate. One needs very little money and time to make a 80% functional camera. But to sequeeze the last 20%, one needs to spend a lot of time and a fortune.<br>

I believe the Canon adapter you are talking about is for Leica R, not M. Therefore, I claim myself to be the first (corporate or personal wise) in the world who has obtained Leica M lens image on a full frame sensor . Now I am waiting for Leica optical lab to show us otherwise, if they ever bothered to make some full frame prototype images to support their "currently full frame is not possible on M"claim. Also, don't forget to wait for Zeiss Ikon digital lab's response;)<br>

Stephen, I agree with your software enhancement approach, as shown on my Leica 35/1.4 test shots, a lot of things can be done by software.</p>

<p>Hi Bruce, this Sinar board is not mine:)<br>

Anyway, the CCD needs be to less than 28mm from the M lens mount. The shutter itself takes 20mm. If I need 5mm for a safe CCD distance, then I have about 3 mm to make adaptions. Or even less if you consider the true CCD surface is under a glass filter.<br>

Anyway, I have learned a lot with this project and may just put the back to where it belongs: I have a Hartblei camera that can synch under 1/30 using this back. So I already have too much fun with the Carl Zeiss Jena MF lenses. This Leica M project is just icing on the cake.</p><div></div>