CANON 5dmk2 converted to Leica M!!!!

[I Love Film]

I said you can get adapters for M42 lenses. That means Pentax screw lenses, NOT M lenses.

Before you think outside the box, you need to be able to think at all.

You can find Leica M mount adapters that let you mount Leica lenses on DSLRs, but the lens wont focus to infinity. They wont even focus to three feet. It will behave like a macro lens.

If you want to use Leica M lenses on a DSLR you have to physically mount the lens much closer to the sensor. This is what I did.

You'll be doomed to mediocrity if you don't think outside the box or do radical things every now and then. I don't like following the masses like a sheep.

 

[f16sunshine]

I said you can get adapters for M42 lenses. That means Pentax screw lenses, NOT M lenses.

Before you think outside the box, you need to be able to think at all.

Another thread headed for the gutter! The snarky attitudes of some members is seriously selfish behavior. Keep it nice please!

 

[rxmd]

If you want to use Leica M lenses on a DSLR you have to physically mount the lens much closer to the sensor. This is what I did.

While I think "I Love Film" is a bit too abrasive in the way he tries to get his point across, I think his point itself is valid and interesting. If you're modifying the camera to have a 27.8mm flange distance, why did you decide to use a 44mm screw thread, instead of an M mount, which would allow using M lenses without having to change the bayonet?

 

[Lss]

M mount is definitely the way to go for majority of M mount lens owners. I certainly have zero interest to modify my lenses, but would welcome another camera that takes the lenses. If the point is to offer cameras for sale, it makes sense to cater to the market.

 

[Griffin]

I must have missed the part where he said he hacked into his Noctilux to modify the mount. It sounded to me like he modified the camera to fit the lens, not vice versa.

 

[Benjamin Marks]

I for one applaud this, even if it is the art of the possible. I wonder whether the newly announced Leica M will allow for the kind of flexibility the OP strives for. You want to mix your Canon L glass, Konica AR glass and Minolta glass on one chip? Go for it.

Ben

 

[Monz]

Why don't you just put a Leica M mount on it?

Having to replace the mount on the Leica lenses you want to use is a TOTAL deal killer.

Really silly. You can already use M42 lenses with a simple adapter without tearing apart the camera.

From the OP's website:

"....I have this $6500 exotic Noctilux 50mm f1 Leica lens, and didn’t have a camera to put it on. Couldn’t afford the M9 at the time, and wasn’t sure I wanted to afford it, so I decided to cut into a Canon 5dmk2 and modify it to accept Leica M lenses; all of them. "

 

[rxmd]

I must have missed the part where he said he hacked into his Noctilux to modify the mount. It sounded to me like he modified the camera to fit the lens, not vice versa.

From the OP's website:
"I make the lens mount a universal 44mm screwmount. There are a butt-ton of screw mount lenses out there, and I didn’t want to be limiting, so that’s what I chose. Included in the mod is a 44mm to 42mm step up ring and a 42mm Leica lens mount flange, which can be attached to your favorite Leica lens with five small screws (goes in place of the bayonet mount)."

In the pictures you can also see that this is not an M bayonet (there is no release button).

It would be interesting to know what precludes putting a "real" M bayonet on the camera. There are enough adapters for all sorts of lens mounts on M-mount cameras (the appearance of the Ricoh GXR has done a lot in this department), so it can't be the universality of the mount.

 

[Avotius]

This is really cool. Forget the naysayers, this is people tinkering and innovating which is more important that "oh it doesnt have a rangefinder so why bother....nhhaaaah...."

 

[Ruhayat]

Not having seen how the lens mounting works, I would imagine screwing on lenses would be simpler than having to reach into the body cavity to press the bayonet mount release trigger each time you need to change lenses. I'm actually keen on buying this camera to shoot video with. But I'd be interested to know about the warranty and after sales support.

And also, how exactly the camera "wraps" around the different sized lens diameters - how good is the closure between the camera body and the lens body to block out stray light from getting in, and how does it work? Would be nice if we had samples from a wider range of M lenses - wides and teles - apart from just the 50mm.

From the OP's website:
"I make the lens mount a universal 44mm screwmount. There are a butt-ton of screw mount lenses out there, and I didn’t want to be limiting, so that’s what I chose. Included in the mod is a 44mm to 42mm step up ring and a 42mm Leica lens mount flange, which can be attached to your favorite Leica lens with five small screws (goes in place of the bayonet mount)."

In the pictures you can also see that this is not an M bayonet (there is no release button).

It would be interesting to know what precludes putting a "real" M bayonet on the camera. There are enough adapters for all sorts of lens mounts on M-mount cameras (the appearance of the Ricoh GXR has done a lot in this department), so it can't be the universality of the mount.