Fuji X-E1 and V-Pro1 with M adapter

[Captain]

Just curious does anyone on the forum use this as the Digital M option? I noticed Fuji has their own M adapter and ability to set up 6 lens profiles. I would be interested in hearing views on the different finder arrangement between the two and general opinions. Does it work well with your older Leica M lenses? Or is the Ricoh GXR M module a better option? Thanks

 

[den_sh]

Just curious does anyone on the forum use this as the Digital M option? I noticed Fuji has their own M adapter and ability to set up 6 lens profiles. I would be interested in hearing views on the different finder arrangement between the two and general opinions. Does it work well with your older Leica M lenses? Or is the Ricoh GXR M module a better option? Thanks

Most rangefinder lens wider than ≈40-50mm have soft corners on Fuji X cameras due to the fact that sensor isn't optimized for non-telecentric designs. This means that the most interesting and useful lens in 18-35mm range (28-50mm ff equiv) will underperform and are generally not worth if you compare them to excellent native autofocus lens. From my research experience most lens wider than 35 are not just soft but plainly unusable (especially CV 21, 25 and Zeiss 21, 25)

 

[GaryLH]

Ymmv quite a bit. A lot depends on how picky u are. I am ok w/ 35 and 28 being the start of the grey zone when it comes to any issues, most can be corrected using the custom options. If u are not using the Fuji adapter then u don't have the lens correction capability.. Fuji does not allow third party lenses to make use of the feature.

That being said, the only place I use non-Fuji x mount lenses is w/ following two lenses
- Canon ltm 50f1.2
- Leica 90f2.8

The Fuji lenses are really good optically.

If u plan to use leica mf lenses, u are better off w/ the Ricoh gxr w/ module solution otherwise the other alternative is Sony Nex. I am not a fan of the Sony due to UI related idiosyncrasies. The MF focus assist advantage for Nex may disappear w/ the new xp2 given what we have seen in the new x100s.

There are enough people who do like using Fuji w/ mf lenses, but I prefer to use Fuji lenses outside of the two mf lenses mentioned, until Fuji has their own.

Gary

 

[Kwesi]

Hi Captain, I have been shooting with the XPro1 and Leica M lenses since August and I have to say I really enjoy the experience. My lenses are v1 and v4 35/2, v3 28/2.8, v5 50/2, 90 tele-elmarit and a 135 elmar. I use the Fuji M adapter. I also have the Fuji 35/1.4 which I use very rarely. It's a great lens but its A very different kind of camera with it on.
I can't compare with the Ricoh or Sony NEX since I haven't used them. Focusing is veery easy with the evf. The OVF is neat but very hard to see in daylight. Also the OVF frame lines stop at 60mm so the tele lenses have to use the evf for accurate framing.
I find it best to use aperture priority and manual iso. In auto iso the shutter speed defaults to 1/30th even though the camera knows what lens you are using through the adapter.
The image quality is really very good. I hope this helps. Please feel free to ask anything more pointed.
Kwesi

 

[Kwesi]

I forgot to mention that in my experience the Fuji M adapter focuses past infinity.

 

[Jamie Pillers]

I use the M-mount adapter on the XPro1. It works great. I use it with the Voigtlander 15/4.5 and 40/1.4 lenses. Both of these lenses create images that are sharp all across the frame, at least to my eye.

The only real advantage to using the Fuji adapter is that it allows you to access the manual lens functions portion of the camera menus with the push of one button on the adapter. Otherwise, when you mount a manual focus lens, you need to dig down through the menus to set the camera up to function properly with those lenses.

Using manual focus lenses on the XPro1 is an 'acquired taste'. You have to get used to either using the electronic viewfinder and its faint 'focus peaking' feature, or using the optical viewfinder and zone focusing the lens. I've been doing this for a few months now and it now feels comfortable to work this way.

If you decide to use manual focus lenses with the XPro1 or XE1, be prepared to give yourself a bit of time to get used to it. It will not feel like a traditional rangefinder camera, but it time it works well and the Fuji image files are fabulous!

 

[Jamie Pillers]

Another note regarding use of non-Fuji X lenses: I had the 18, 35, and 60mm Fuji lenses. I didn't like what I'd call over-sharpness of the images they made. I much prefer the more traditional look of images made with non-Fuji lenses like my Voigtlanders. I sold all the Fuji lenses and don't regret it at all. When I get a few more $$ together, I'd like to try an older screw-mount Canon or Leica lens with the Xpro1.

 

[YYV_146]

I've played with my lenses on an Xpro1 and was quite happy that I chose the NEX7 instead. IMO the Xpro1's real advantage is with 800-3200 iso which trumps the NEX7, but wide angle lens performance suffers. There's no peaking and camera operations are also slower than the NEX7.

If you want the best compatibility with all focal ranges a NEX6 or GXR is still the best choice, if you only shoot at 35mm equivalent or above, the fuji is worth a look

 

[Kwesi]

Another note regarding use of non-Fuji X lenses: I had the 18, 35, and 60mm Fuji lenses. I didn't like what I'd call over-sharpness of the images they made. I much prefer the more traditional look of images made with non-Fuji lenses like my Voigtlanders. I sold all the Fuji lenses and don't regret it at all. When I get a few more $$ together, I'd like to try an older screw-mount Canon or Leica lens with the Xpro1.

I shot quite a bit of B/W with my v1 35/2 (1959) and 135 elmar this winter. Really great tonal range with the xpro sensor

 

[Jamie Pillers]

I shot quite a bit of B/W with my v1 35/2 (1959) and 135 elmar this winter. Really great tonal range with the xpro sensor

Can't afford the 35/2, but I'll put the 135 elmar on my list of lenses to look at. 🙂

 

[Benjamin Marks]

Just to chip in with another point of view. I do use the XP-1 with a Rayqual (mechanics only, no chip) adapter and various M-compatible lenses. I routinely go as wide as the 15/4.5 CV, 21/2.8 ZM, 25/2.8 ZM etc. I do notice the strain in the corners of the image but a) it really is the extreme corners and b) it doesn't bother me that much. Obviously, the answer to this is going to depend on the kind of photographer you are and what matters to you in an image. When using the XP-1, I tend to photograph a lot of people and to have my subject/focus somewhere in the middle 1/3 of the image . . . as you can imagine, having a fuzzy little corner is just not that big a deal. I do lust after the new 14/2.8 though. It is much faster than the C/V lens I currently use and it is plugged into the camera electronically for all those great in-camera corrections to the >ahem< "RAW" file.

Ben

 

[Captain]

I've played with my lenses on an Xpro1 and was quite happy that I chose the NEX7 instead. IMO the Xpro1's real advantage is with 800-3200 iso which trumps the NEX7, but wide angle lens performance suffers. There's no peaking and camera operations are also slower than the NEX7.

If you want the best compatibility with all focal ranges a NEX6 or GXR is still the best choice, if you only shoot at 35mm equivalent or above, the fuji is worth a look

Thanks for the information so far. After reading some of the things people have mentioned regarding wide angle lenses I thought I should list the lenses I want to use it with. They are;

Leica Elmarit 21mm f2.8 E60
Leica Elmarit 28mm f2.8 v3
Leica Summicron 40mm f2
Leica Compact 90mm f2.8 TE
Leica Tele-Elmar 135mm f4

Given the crop factor its important to be able to use the 21 and 28 I think.

 

[GaryLH]

Images using legacy lenses

Images using legacy lenses

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=125679

Here is a picture thread on rff dedicated to legacy lenses on the fuji.

Gary

 

[Captain]

Hi Captain, I have been shooting with the XPro1 and Leica M lenses since August and I have to say I really enjoy the experience. My lenses are v1 and v4 35/2, v3 28/2.8, v5 50/2, 90 tele-elmarit and a 135 elmar. I use the Fuji M adapter. I also have the Fuji 35/1.4 which I use very rarely. It's a great lens but its A very different kind of camera with it on.
I can't compare with the Ricoh or Sony NEX since I haven't used them. Focusing is veery easy with the evf. The OVF is neat but very hard to see in daylight. Also the OVF frame lines stop at 60mm so the tele lenses have to use the evf for accurate framing.
I find it best to use aperture priority and manual iso. In auto iso the shutter speed defaults to 1/30th even though the camera knows what lens you are using through the adapter.
The image quality is really very good. I hope this helps. Please feel free to ask anything more pointed.
Kwesi

I do have a more pointed question with regards to your Leica 28mm v3 as this will basically become the standard lens used most replacing the 40mm Summicron. Does it suffer the bad corner smearing mentioned with alot of the wide angles on the X-E1?

Do any users have experience with the Pre-ASPH 21mm Elmarit on this camera as well? Some have mention that the Zeiss 21 suffers from this yet the much wider Voigtlander 15mm doesnt seem to be affected?

 

[YYV_146]

Thanks for the information so far. After reading some of the things people have mentioned regarding wide angle lenses I thought I should list the lenses I want to use it with. They are;

Leica Elmarit 21mm f2.8 E60
Leica Elmarit 28mm f2.8 v3
Leica Summicron 40mm f2
Leica Compact 90mm f2.8 TE
Leica Tele-Elmar 135mm f4

Given the crop factor its important to be able to use the 21 and 28 I think.

My 18mm distagon zm shows considerable (but easily correctable) red edges on the NEX7. The xpro1 shot has the right tone, but corners smear badly to the point I wouldn't want to use the shots.

My 28 elmarit v4 works just fine, I'd say as good as on the NEX7. Sharpness does fall, but mostly unnoticeable at wider apertures. Longer lenses should all be fine. My 90 summicron has yet to fail on any body I use it with, although focusing without peaking is a pain.

 

[Kwesi]

I do have a more pointed question with regards to your Leica 28mm v3 as this will basically become the standard lens used most replacing the 40mm Summicron. Does it suffer the bad corner smearing mentioned with alot of the wide angles on the X-E1?

Do any users have experience with the Pre-ASPH 21mm Elmarit on this camera as well? Some have mention that the Zeiss 21 suffers from this yet the much wider Voigtlander 15mm doesnt seem to be affected?

The 28v3 is great on the xpro 1. No issues at all with corners. It has a 40mm FOV on the xp1

 

[FalseDigital]

Most rangefinder lens wider than ≈40-50mm have soft corners on Fuji X cameras due to the fact that sensor isn't optimized for non-telecentric designs. This means that the most interesting and useful lens in 18-35mm range (28-50mm ff equiv) will underperform and are generally not worth if you compare them to excellent native autofocus lens. From my research experience most lens wider than 35 are not just soft but plainly unusable (especially CV 21, 25 and Zeiss 21, 25)

lol @ unusable!
I'm going to have to HIGHLY disagree with you on that one.

I rock a CV15mm on my X-E1 on a daily basis.

Stop worrying about specs!
Go out and take photos!!!

 

[mark_pw]

Thanks FalseDigital

Thanks FalseDigital

It is great to see the photos posted by you. Seeing is believing. The quality is really very good. I own a couple of M lens, I think it is a wise move to plug them on a Fuji x-pro 1 or x-e 1.🙂