raid
Dad Photographer
Thanks for your understanding!
21mm For Film Leica M
- Thread starter chuckroast
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bjorke
Designated Driver
M246, ZM 21/2.8
Phil_F_NM
Camera hacker
I've owned and used a lot of 21mm lenses, but one thing I always strive for is compatibility with as many bodies as possible. The first version of the CV 21mm f/4 was good, the first SA 3.4 I owned was better, the second SA 3.4 was probably the finest lens I will have ever made an image with, the ZM 21mm 2.8 was great but squeaky and loosely goosey. There have been a couple others here and there, but I finally settled on the 2.1cm Nikkor O for Nikon F mount. I stuck this lens into a home brewed/modified Novoflex F to M39 adapter and I now have a lens I can use on my Leica M4, my Leotax bodies, and of course my Nikon F2.
Zero distortion, excellent field illumination with less vignetting than the SA, but it's scale focus. I don't care since I was always scale focusing anyway when I had the other RF coupled lenses because I was looking through the 21mm viewfinder, paying attention to composition, not fiddling with focus. F/5.6 or f/8 with a 21mm lens is a very deep zone of acceptable focus, so anything more than looking at the scale on the lens and estimating my distance was just wasting time in my opinion.
I need to get back to shooting film...
Phil
Zero distortion, excellent field illumination with less vignetting than the SA, but it's scale focus. I don't care since I was always scale focusing anyway when I had the other RF coupled lenses because I was looking through the 21mm viewfinder, paying attention to composition, not fiddling with focus. F/5.6 or f/8 with a 21mm lens is a very deep zone of acceptable focus, so anything more than looking at the scale on the lens and estimating my distance was just wasting time in my opinion.
I need to get back to shooting film...
Phil
raid
Dad Photographer
Hi Phil.
My Nikkor-O 21/4 is for the F2 that I own. Is there an easy way to create an adapter for this lens so that it can be used with an M? Home-brewed modified does not sound basic!
My Nikkor-O 21/4 is for the F2 that I own. Is there an easy way to create an adapter for this lens so that it can be used with an M? Home-brewed modified does not sound basic!
Phil_F_NM
Camera hacker
Raid,
The main issue is grafting in a tab that prevents the whole lens from rotating in the mount, instead of focusing. The F and F2 bodies have this tab built into the mount which allows for focus and aperture changes. Basically, you would take a Nikon F to LTM adapter, then epoxy (I used JB weld) in the tab to the Nikon mount and you're good to go. Fabricating the tab and getting it really close to the appropriate location in the mount itself is more of a pain. I took a million measurements before scratching the mark for tab location and gluing it in. I made the tab out of a piece of plexiglass. The whole thing has been reliable for at least the last 10 years.
Phil
The main issue is grafting in a tab that prevents the whole lens from rotating in the mount, instead of focusing. The F and F2 bodies have this tab built into the mount which allows for focus and aperture changes. Basically, you would take a Nikon F to LTM adapter, then epoxy (I used JB weld) in the tab to the Nikon mount and you're good to go. Fabricating the tab and getting it really close to the appropriate location in the mount itself is more of a pain. I took a million measurements before scratching the mark for tab location and gluing it in. I made the tab out of a piece of plexiglass. The whole thing has been reliable for at least the last 10 years.
Phil
Tim Gray
Well-known
I’ve heard good things about the newer CV 21 lenses. And lots of good pictures from the older CV 21/4.
The Leica Super Elmar is fantastic. But if you are shooting film (or monochrome digital) the Zeiss 21/4.5 is amazing. One on my favorite lenses.
The Leica Super Elmar is fantastic. But if you are shooting film (or monochrome digital) the Zeiss 21/4.5 is amazing. One on my favorite lenses.
chuckroast
Well-known
Now that I've used the 21mm f/4 Color-Skopar for a few months, I have nothing but praise for this lens. While the Leica might be better under rigorous measurement, you'd be hard pressed to find any bad manners on the part of the Voigtlander.
In fact, that lens impressed me so much, I bought the 50mm f/2.2 Color-Skopar LTM to complement it.
The newer Leica optics are no doubt better than these lenses, but, of course, they're not available in LTM. So far, the Color-Skopars have well outperformed my very old Leica LTM optics. Obviously, there are people who prefer the look of the 1945 uncoated Elmars or mid-1950s collapsible 'crons, so it's not an absolute "better or worse" judgment, but rather what kind of look you prefer.
P.S. I would note that my use of these lenses is strictly monochrome. I have no idea how they'd perform with color film or digital. If someone would like to buy me an M11, I'd be pleased to do that testing 😉
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