Leica S-2 Adapters

[Mike Sellers]

If you were going to go with third party lenses on an S-2 which one would you use Contax or Hasselblad?
Mike

[william]

I can't answer the question directly: I have the Contax adapter, didn't consider the Hasselblad adapter. As I wrote on another thread:  No complaints or problems at all, and the Contax lenses on the Leica S focus about as fast and as accurate as on the native Contax body.

I'm quite pleased with the Contax adapter and lenses.  Samples below.  Both taken with the 80mm.  I've shot extensively with the 80, 120, 140, and 210 Contax lenses on the Leica S (first 006, now 007), but just wanted to pick a couple of very different examples that I had handy:

The first is a street shot, natural light, not processed at all other than basic color adjustments, no noise reduction, ISO 800; the other is (obviously) very posed, with mixed natural light and strobes, heavily processed, ISO 400.  Both shot at F2.

Note that the foreground blur on the second attached image was solely from the lens itself shot at F2.  I didn't add any blurring in the post-processing (I did add overall grain, but not any blur).  I've added in the original of that second image by way of comparison.

In reviewing the first image, I continue to be stuck by the relative (that is, near total) lack of noise at ISO 800 on the 007, even in the deepest blue of the sweater.  On the other hand, in reviewing it, I noticed some fringing around the bird's head and other highlight areas (see the bottom of the white van on the left) when zoomed in to 100%.  So the 80mm at F2 on the 007 certainly isn't immune to color fringing when viewed at 100%.  But nothing I couldn't fix quickly if I wanted to (and I didn't even notice it unless/until zoomed in to 100%).

[Theodoros]

If you were going to go with third party lenses on an S-2 which one would you use Contax or Hasselblad?
Mike

Don't know about Blad lenses, but there are many reasons why one could use his Contax lenses...
1. They are faster
2. One can get rid of his DSLRs (and lenses) altogether and finance a 007 instead...
3. I can name another ten reasons, but I'll just have the most important to pros for No three... which is... having an S007 & a multishot MFDB for your Contax and view camera, saves a ton of space, yet improving on performing tasks...

[peterv]

Of course the Hasselblad lenses offer the full use of their central/leaf shutter on the Leica S, if that's important to your (flash) work.

[deliberate1]

William,
I am looking at Contax lenses for my S 006 and have the adapter. I will get the 120 macro, which is universally admired. On the wider side, I am looking at the 55mm or 35mm. If you have any experience with either, I would appreciate your take on this glass.
Finally, how do you shoot these lenses. The native Leica  lenses have no manual aperture adjustment on the lens - that is done in camera. Since the Contax have an f stop ring, I assumed that you are essentially shooting in aperture priority mode - setting the f stop on the lens and then adjusting the shutter speed via the body dial. Changes in the the resulting exposure settings would be visible in the view finder. Do I have this right?
Thanks
David

[william]

(1) Interestingly, I learned back in the film days that the aperture ring on the Contax lenses is electronic, not mechanical.  That is, when you turn the ring, it doesn't actually physically change anything: rather, it send an electronic signal to the camera to stop down to the aperture selected.  (Perhaps all lenses with analog controls work this way on electronic cameras.  But I don't think so.  As I recall, when using my Zeiss ZF lenses on my d800 body, the aperture ring actually controls the aperture unless you set the ring to the locked position (the smallest aperture), in which case the setting on the thumb/finger wheel will then control the aperture.   In any event, if you hold the Contax lens up to a light and rotate the aperture ring, you'll see that doing so doesn't actually open and close the aperture.  The same is true of the shutter speed dial on the Contax body: they're both "fake" analog controls.)  It's the same as if the Contax 645 film body had a thumb wheel to change the aperture rather than the facsimile of an aperture ring.

On the Leica S, it doesn't matter what aperture the ring on the lens is set to. You set the aperture using the thumb wheel on the camera body and read it on the top screen or through the viewfinder.  If you set it to F8 using the thumb wheel, it will shoot at F8 even if the aperture ring is set to F2.  If you set it to F2 using the thumb wheel, it will shoot at F2 even if the aperture ring is set to F8.  Etc.

I am a fan of analog controls, so I would actually prefer it if the aperture ring rather than the thumb wheel controlled the aperture.  OTOH, the way it works makes it impossible to forget to change the aperture back if shooting quickly with multiple lenses (I.e., the Leica retains the last aperture set regardless of what the aperture ring on the lens is set to, so if you accidentally flipped the aperture ring on a lens in the process of pulling it out of the bag, it doesn't matter.)  So it's more practical/less human error-prone.

(2) I shot the 35mm back in my film days: it was outstanding.  Never used it on the Leica S because I no longer have the 35mm.

[deliberate1]

William, most grateful for your reply. Interesting that these lenses are, indeed, fully automatic. Again, I rather thought that they would work like my LF lenses which, as you undoubtedly know, are mechanically adjusted by the aperture toggle on the lens. So the Contax lenses actually function just like native Leica lenses with adjustments via camera. While the aperture ring may be vestigial, it is still nice to have the focus markings on the barrel to get a sense of the DOF, or to use hyperfocal technique in an aperture priority mode. I am very new to the S system and have only the 70mm but do miss seeing the distance scale on the barrel.
Also appreciate the fb on the 35mm. I think that lens and the Distagon 120mm, along with the 70mm Summarit will be a very good quiver.
Best to you.
David

[Theodoros]

William,
I am looking at Contax lenses for my S 006 and have the adapter. I will get the 120 macro, which is universally admired. On the wider side, I am looking at the 55mm or 35mm. If you have any experience with either, I would appreciate your take on this glass.
Finally, how do you shoot these lenses. The native Leica  lenses have no manual aperture adjustment on the lens - that is done in camera. Since the Contax have an f stop ring, I assumed that you are essentially shooting in aperture priority mode - setting the f stop on the lens and then adjusting the shutter speed via the body dial. Changes in the the resulting exposure settings would be visible in the view finder. Do I have this right?
Thanks
David

Actually David, I think you've got it wrong... The Contax lenses do have an aperture ring, but it's not mechanically linked to the aperture... the aperture control on the Contax lenses is done electronically... So, when one uses the S-adapter, the aperture ring should become inactive and all control of the aperture will be done from the camera wheel exactly as if it was a genuine Leica lens... In other words, when using Contax lenses on Leica-S via the S-adapter, you may forget the existence of the aperture ring... 

[deliberate1]

Actually David, I think you've got it wrong... The Contax lenses do have an aperture ring, but it's not mechanically linked to the aperture... the aperture control on the Contax lenses is done electronically... So, when one uses the S-adapter, the aperture ring should become inactive and all control of the aperture will be done from the camera wheel exactly as if it was a genuine Leica lens... In other words, when using Contax lenses on Leica-S via the S-adapter, you may forget the existence of the aperture ring... 

Yes, Theodoros, your explanation mirrors William's explanation which I now understand. Obliged.
Cheers.

[Mike Sellers]

Leica makes an adapter for Pentax 6x7 lenses. Are these lenses of high enough quality? Has anyone here used them on their S-2?

[peterv]

Mike, there's a thread about that on the Reddot Forum:

http://www.reddotforum.com/forums/topic/pentax-67-lenses-on-the-s2/

[Mike Sellers]

thanks Peterv!