Has anybody else ever used the Gandy lens adapters to mount non-leica brand lenses on the Leica M? I just got an M42 to Leica M adapter, and am having a ball using my 20mm SMC Takumar lens on my M6TTL. Although I lose the ability to focus with the RF, I find that of little consequence outside, since at a hyperfocal setting of f8, everything from 2.5' to infinity is sharp. And the metering seems to be accurate with this setup.

I haven't bothered with an auxilliary finder yet, just assuming I'm going to get more than I see through the camera. Just wondered if others have tried this route?

Alec

-- Alec Jones (alecj@bellsouth.net), March 14, 2002

Answers

I bought set of three adapters from him and they work perfectly. They also align almost at 12 o'clock position. As far as 20mm goes -- you may want to try 21/4 CV lens. Great compact rangefinder-coupled lens with excellent bright-line finder.

-- Alexander Grekhov (grekhov@wgukraine.com), March 14, 2002.

Hello Alec, my namesake!

Oh boy, do I have tales to tell! I haven't ordered anything from Stephen Gandy yet but I have been using an Olympus to Leica LSM, a Pentax M42 to LSM and recently a Canon FD to LSM adapters. Talk about a ball!

I use the Olympus 16/3.5 fisheye with my CLE and Hexar RF and M Leicas. Great. Especially with the 12mm VC external finder. Am now having a blast and half with Canon 19/3.5 FL (R).

More later. Must rush.

-- Alex Shishin (shishin@suma.kobe-wu.ac.jp), March 14, 2002.

Hi--

I am back after my second ceremony of the day.

Am wondering if any one has found a Pentax K to Leica LSM / M adapter? If so, how is it?

External finder for weird lenses are a problem. The weird VC 12mm finder does not show as much as the fisheye but approximates the sense. For the 19mm Canon FL (R) I use a fairly cheap Avenon 21mm external finder. It's okay. The VC finder is better as it shows a little outside the frames. I also use an old Pentax M42 18/11 fisheye "Pancake" with a M42 to LSM. The lens is very very soft around the edges but is sharp by f22.

-- Alex Shishin (shishin@suma.kobe-wu.ac.jp), March 15, 2002.