adapter problem

[pmu]

(EDIT: march 4, 2007. This is an old post of mine...new question added to the end of the thread.)


Hi, I just recently purchased an urkainian industar 61 lens for my M2 and that means of course that i had to buy the screwmount --> m-bayonet adapter as well. Well, I bought that adapter from ebay -- it was "new, made in ukraine" and otherwise it is nice, but it has one not so funny problem: the lens occationaly tend to detach from the bayonet on its own... Last week one day I was walking in the streets with my camera hanging on my neck and suddenly the lens all by itself decided to drop on the pavement 🙁 To clarify; the lens detached from the bayonet -- not from the screws (well, it detaches from there also all the time).

Have you had any similiar problems with adapters? Is this a case of very poor quality control / craftmanship from the Ukrainian manufacturer?

What about those other adapters what you can find from ebay besides leitz and voigtlander -- have you had experiences with those? Like this one for example "made in china" brand --> http://cgi.ebay.com/Leica-screw-M39...5QQihZ011QQcategoryZ30059QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Maybe it would be wise to buy voigtlander adapter... where is the lowest price for those? Also, if some of you have it for sale, feel free to offer...

 

[pmu]

Up! Please read the original post and post a comment...if you have anything to say, that is 🙂

 

[Nick R.]

Do you actually hear and feel the lens/adapter click in? Is this the only M lens you have or can you compare it to another one. I have one leica adapter and one Voigtlander and haven't had this trouble ever.

 

[pmu]

Do you actually hear and feel the lens/adapter click in? Is this the only M lens you have or can you compare it to another one. I have one leica adapter and one Voigtlander and haven't had this trouble ever.

Yes it "clicks". The adapter is made poorly -- when I "lift" from the adapter (without twisting) the adapter detaches from the bayonet. And it is so loose that all by itself it "unclicks" itself so that the viewfinder shows the 35mm frames instead of the correct 50mm... This happens all the time. At the moment the adapter and lens are taped to the body so the lens doesn't totally drop off, but I'll have to get a proper adapter because I am planning to use other lenses as well.

EDIT: 35/2 summicron's m-bayonet works perfectly.

 

[Nick R.]

Time to punt, as we say. Both my adapters feel as solid as an M-lens when I click them in. The adapter either works or it doesn't. Yours doesn't so throw it away.

 

[Fred]

I have heard of adapters not correctly engaging (no click) but if yours clicks but can still be removed without the button signals one of two things. The adapter is faulty (do not read into this that all FSU adapters are bad) or the release mechanism is worn. I guess its the former given that the cron works fine. Do check the release mechanism though.

I've several CV adapters and they all engage correctly although I have heard of one and only one that did not engage fully.

 

[mad_boy]

If you search you will find lots of adapter woes on this forum
(one from me as well).

My guess is that your adapter is made to the wrong tolerances, and in this case it may be the distance between the flange and the 4 lugs.

If this is the case, then it can come forward enough to clear the locking system (hence it falls) and enough to clear the frame selector notch (hence it defaults to 35mm).

Just check if you can move the lens to and away from the camera.
Or otherwise, hold the camera lens up by the lens such that it hangs from the lens. can you get a sheet of paper between the adapter and the camera?
My guess is you can and in that case, bin the adapter. Not only is it faulty, it will also lead to focuss problems since the distance between lens and bidy is very critical.

good luck,

mad_boy

 

[pmu]

... hold the camera lens up by the lens such that it hangs from the lens. can you get a sheet of paper between the adapter and the camera?

Not only a paper sheet, but I almost managed get a 400 page book there! 🙂 Yes, that adapter is poorly made and it goes to the bin when I recieve a working one. Thanks RFF members for your help.

 

[pmu]

God damit! I just recieved an original Leica adapter (from ebay) and this either doesn't work 100% correctly. It is a lot better than that ukrainian adapter, but still I wouldn't attach an expensive lens to the body with that adapter. It does not come loose by itself (at least hasn't yet), but it definitely does detach from the body when "pulled away" from the body -- and when mounting the lens to the body, there is no that click sound. I just recieved my 35/2 summicron from cla today and that fits just perfectly....but the focusing on that lens is actually not so smooth as I hoped for even after cla -- I have several manual slr-lenses which have smoother focusing. Now I am actually pretty pissed off. I think I'll stick with my original plan and sell leicas and shoot with my nikon slr-equipment.

 

[payasam]

The Ukrainian adapter is clearly badly made, and it appears that the mount on your M2 is either worn or incorrectly fitted; or else the catch isn't working as it should. I used two Leica adapters on my M3 for seventeen years without any trouble but never touched a no-name one which seemed to have been made from equal parts of pitted aluminium and horse dung. One bad experience with an M Leica is no reason to abandon all Leicas. Your Nikons can probably do all or most jobs, of course.

 

[ErnestoJL]

Recently, another RFF member was visiting BUE for about a month, and after buying two nice Leitz screwmount lenses, was forced to buy a couple of M adapters for them, in order not to be detaching the lens from the adapter every time he needed it.
The first adapter was suposedly japanese made, and had to be filed a little to allow the infinite lock (used with and old Elmar 3.5) to seat into place.
The second adapter he bought (a secondhand Leica original adapter) showed another problem, and needed another filing session. This one didn´t rotate easily up to the place where it locks with the body.
Both adapters seemed to be poorly made however none of them fell from the body. They locked tight in place.
I really don´t know if there are lots of fake "Leica original" adapters, or if they are made by a third company which QC is really nil.
The only advice I can bring is to go to a shop, and check if the adapter really locks easily but tight (no play) and if the LTM lenses really fit properly.
As a rule of thumb I allways bring my camera body (sorry I´m in the other side, Contax!!) when shopping for lenses.
Leica cameras (IMHO) are excellent, but a fake or wrong adapter can make it´s quality fade very fast. Hope you can solve the problems soon.

Cheers
Ernesto

 

[Ronald M]

Don`t give up. I have 3 or 4 CV ones and 6 Leitz ones. They attach all my screw mt lenses to M`s and work perfectly.

I understand they are some poorly made ones in the market.

 

[pmu]

One bad experience with an M Leica is no reason to abandon all Leicas.

It is just that this is getting too expensive... 50-60 USD for an adapter is allready pretty much...and I have 2 faulty ones... and the lens I use costs only 6 USD (industar 61) so I am not getting any more adapters. And on the other hand, I can't afford on spending another 400-600 USD on 50mm summicron either. :bang: So, Leicas has to go or I will have to get along with only 35mm lens.

 

[ampguy]

another option, well 2

another option, well 2

if you already have a bunch of nikon glass, you might be on the right track, also consider getting working adapters for the 3 framelines, screw and unscrew ltm lenses, 3 adapters working should be reasonable. My 35/135 adapter works perfect on 4 lenses, all with infinity focus.

Consider getting M42 lenses (or kx-mount), they are a great value, and work on many film and digital slr's and can be found at a much better value than many other types of mounts.

God damit! I just recieved an original Leica adapter (from ebay) and this either doesn't work 100% correctly. It is a lot better than that ukrainian adapter, but still I wouldn't attach an expensive lens to the body with that adapter. It does not come loose by itself (at least hasn't yet), but it definitely does detach from the body when "pulled away" from the body -- and when mounting the lens to the body, there is no that click sound. I just recieved my 35/2 summicron from cla today and that fits just perfectly....but the focusing on that lens is actually not so smooth as I hoped for even after cla -- I have several manual slr-lenses which have smoother focusing. Now I am actually pretty pissed off. I think I'll stick with my original plan and sell leicas and shoot with my nikon slr-equipment.

 

[pmu]

Once again I am in a situation where I need adapters for 50mm lenses. I think I'll need maybe 2-3 50mm adapters and one 35mm adapter. And of course those cheap "made in china" adapters are tempting because of their price... Any recent experiences in those adapters that you can find on ebay?