Ltm 35mm Lenses for Leica iiif Digital Conversion Project

[aidangale]

I am about to undertake a project fitting a Sony Nex sensor into a beautiful Leica iiif, and need to choose a 35mm (50 equivalent) lens to use it with. I am looking for the lens that is not going to look out of place on a barnack camera, but is still relatively sharp and contrasty and fits my teenage austerity. I have heard about the 35 elmar and summaron lenses, but have not seen much as to image quality or comparrison. What would you suggest?

 

[karlin]

Canon 35/2 Ltm

Canon 35/2 Ltm

Its A Bargain . Contrasty And Sharp
Very Small .

O.

 

[Spanik]

Put film in that camera, don't spoil it. It will never be as good as a real digital and never usable again as a film camera. And the value of it will be nill.

 

[grouchos_tash]

Voigtlander 35mm f2.5 Color Skopar - Tri-x

Untitled by Gary Harding, on Flickr

 

[NeeZee]

I don't get why you want to downgrade the best camera every built to digital, but FWIW the summaron is the better deal than the elmar at similar used prices. Condition is everything with old lenses, though, so get one without scratches (often called "cleaning marks") and have it professionally cleaned. There are several Nikon and Canon 35mm LTM lenses as well.

 

[NeeZee]

...and you must be aware that talking about your "teenage austerity" sounds a bit unconvincing if you can afford to destroy that Leica 😉

 

[02Pilot]

If the IIIf is really in great shape, and you are dealing with a small budget, you'd be better off selling it and buying a cheap broken bottom-loader to hack up. There was a Canon RF in the classifieds recently for $50 - I'm sure you can find something similar without difficulty.

 

[nongfuspring]

Better to find something with a removable or swing back like the Canon P, Fed 2 or Leica CL, you'd end up having to demolish half the camera to put the sensor into a bottom loader.

 

[Kirbot]

Since nobody mentioned it yet, how about using a Zorki 1 if the Leica style really appeals to you?
For practice, if nothing else.

I'd hate to see a real Leica destroyed in the name of a failed project.

 

[Dralowid]

Search the forum. Someone has already done this and links were posted some while ago. I think they used a Fed or Zorki. I think he also did a 8mm Bell and Howell. My son has done a Bolex with qualified success.

Here's a link to a simple 'what can I stuff inside a Zorki' hack but there is one out there using the original lens,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFnAefTly6k

I really have no problem with the OP hacking a Leica, what people do with their own stuff is really their own business.

 

[ottluuk]

Better to find something with a removable or swing back like the Canon P, Fed 2 or Leica CL, you'd end up having to demolish half the camera to put the sensor into a bottom loader.

This. Actually, the CL sounds like a good choice because the whole back comes off for loading. You could do most of your hacking on the back, leave most of the main mechanisms intact and easily assemble/disassemble the two sides for testing. Should you succeed, slap a 28mm lens on it and you can use the 40mm frame lines for reasonably accurate framing.