I have often heard mention of the eos-leica r adaptor and even went to a manufacturer's website but couldn't find any specific details. I take it that no such device works with nikon af bodies? How usable are these devices (what metering do you get - stop-down and spot?) and how much are they? How easy is focusing on those af screens? Phew...you get the idea. Any comments would be appreciated. (BTW, I did try to do a search on google but came up with nothing - probably my incompetence...)

-- steve (stephenjjones@btopenworld.com), January 15, 2002

Answers

Go on Cameraquest Web site and scroll to the lens adapter section under Leica stuff.

-- Xavier Colmant (xcolmant@powerir.com), January 15, 2002.

Leica R lenses can not be used on Nikon bodies while maintaining infinity focus because Nikon bodies are nearly as deep as Leica-R bodies. Leica-R lens to Canon EOS body adapters work because the Canon bodies are not as deep as Leica-R bodies. Novoflex makes numerous adapters:

http://www.novoflex.de/english/html/adapters.htm

-- Douglas Herr (telyt@earthlink.net), January 15, 2002.

thanks for the website addresses. Doug - I can't get the novoflex site to cooperate. Any idea how much the things cost? There's an sl2 in a local shop and I keep umming and erring...

-- steve (stephenjjones@btopenworld.com), January 15, 2002.

They are pretty easy to use ($143 @ BH), you just mount them on your R lens and then you can mount them in the EOS. They can be a pain to remove from your lens once on, so it's difficult to bounce back and forth between an R and EOS body. I modified mine by removing the locking tab. That way the adaptor stays in the EOS body and you can switch lenses between bodies. Of course the down side is your lens could fall off if your not careful!

For metering you get stop down, whatever pattern is avalible for your body, I think. Focusing was a problem with mine. I was using a Canon A2 which does not have a screen avaliable with a focusing aid. I found my 50 summicron and 35-70 Elmar a bear to focus, which is ultimately why I bought some R bodies. The EOS 1 and 3 would seem to be better choices, for they have microprism and split screens you can install.

As far as actual handling, I didn't find the stop down metering to be to much of a pain. I, like many, enjoy the fact that you can use leica glass pretty much wide open. I may want to try an EOS 3 body sometime in the future. Sure is a lot cheaper than an R8!

-- JDR (jrivera@vapop.ucsd.edu), January 15, 2002.

I've been playing with an EOS1 body (the one with only a central AF sensor--who needs 5 or 45 AF points with R lenses?). The first thing I notice is that even with the plain matte screen, it's brighter and easier to focus than my R8 with either Universal or Matte screen. In normal daylight I can leave a 50mm or longer lens at f/5.6 and still focus just fine. Going back to the R8 is getting less pleasurable. I'm actually thinking of keeping just my faster R lenses (35/2, 50/2, 90/2, 180/2.8)and the 21/4 S/A, and getting a couple Canon IS zooms (28-135, 100-400), getting a 1V (keep the 1 for backup) and selling all my R bodies.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), January 15, 2002.

Interesting Jay. I found the lack of contrast in the A2 screen a real problem. I couldn't tell when the image poped. This was particularly bad at 3/4 to infinity focus. The 1 and 3, being flagship bodies, may have better screens.

-- JDR (jrivera@vapop.ucsd.edu), January 15, 2002.

Of course, it could be my eyes!

One other point. I think it would be simple to modify the EOS mount so that you could leave the adaptor in place with the locking pin and remove lenses. The modification should not interfere with the operation of EOS lenses. I may find an old Rebel body with the plastic mount and try it first.

-- JDR (jrivera@vapop.ucsd.edu), January 15, 2002.

Jay:

Let us know how your "Canon EOS SLR/Leica R lenses" combination outfit works out. I have been thinking about doing the same thing. I used to have a Canon EOS-1N RS before switching to Leicas a few years ago.........

-- Muhammad Chishty (applemac97@aol.com), January 15, 2002.

Has anybody tried this adaptor on a canon d30 ? If so , did you get any error messages ?

-- leonid kotlyar (kotlyarl@mail.nih.gov), January 15, 2002.

I have a detailed entry on lens mount adapters in the FAQ at nemeng.com/leica/#017e

I use the Cameraquest R->M adapter so I can mount my 16mm R fisheye onto my M cameras for VR work. Works fine, nice and solid, no vignetting.

-- Andrew Nemeth (azn@nemeng.com), January 15, 2002.

The only ways you could leave the adaptor on the camera when changing lenses would be 1)remove the locking tab on the adaptor (not recommended because of the potential for accidentally dismounting the lens, although at least with new adaptors they fit quite snugly); 2) drill a small hole in the Canon body flange, as the adaptors have a pin that protrudes rearward when the locking pin is depressed. If you can do this yourself or get someone qualified to do this, it would be the better approach. The release "lever" on the Novoflex adaptor is actually a very thin little pin with a tiny knob glued onto it.

All this said, I should really clarify one thing: although my first inclination was to ditch my R bodies and go Canon+adaptors, after spending the better part of the morning shooting with the EOS1 I have to say that I'm not as sure about it any more. If I could fit R lenses to a Nikon it'd be a done deal. It's been a long time since I handled a Canon, and I'm beginning to recall why I stuck with Nikon despite their driveshaft AF system. The control layout on the EOS1 is not in the least bit intuitive to me, and the finder display is small and dim. Maybe those things were corrected on the 1n or 1v, I don't know. And I know this will sound really esoteric, but I find the esthetics of the EOS a little too Darth Vader for my taste. The Nikon (F4/5/100/n80)and Leica R8 just feel better in my hands. I may very well just shelve the adaptors and stick with my original premise, which was to have a "plan B" should Leica wimp out on a digital R.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), January 15, 2002.

Makes very little sense (hence the very small market for adaptors).

A Leica R photographer deciding to standardise on EOS (like most 35m professionals), would only contemplate this adaptor gizmo for a couple of "special" lenses, of very marginal usage or of purely sentimental value. This would postpone the expense of unnecessary retooling. As fantastic as Leica R lenses are, they will not bring any competitive advantage to an EOS user that would justify the trade- offs in functionality. Not even the APO stars, not even wide open.

Inversely the Canon photographer thinking of migrating to Leica R (a very rare beast) would waste his time "trialling" the R through such a cumbersome setup.

I find it completely stupid to contemplate an hybrid system: too many glitches, too many losses of functionality, etc. And please, do not tell me that this is the only way for Leica R users to access ultra fast motor capabilities, because that would mean deciding to radically slow all other processes under an acceleration pretense.

Using such adaptors, one looses the unique selling points of the EOS system (fast, silent & reliable AF, stabilised lenses, easily accessible worldwide servicing) at the same time as one looses the unique selling points of the R8 (traditional intuitive layout, very low battery usage w/o motor, silent manual rewind), not mentionning those of the R6 (pure mechanical).

In 2002, condemning one self to invest in high tech gear to work stopped down at real aperture is a purely masochist waste of time and money.

-- Jacques (jacquesbalthazar@hotmail.com), January 17, 2002.