LTM to M adapters: are some better than others?

Biggles

Biggles

My cup runneth amok.
Local time
4:59 PM
Joined
Jun 9, 2005
Messages
667
Am looking at adapting an old Voigtlander Prominent 50mm lens I have to M-mount. Will need to use two adapters; a Prominent-to-screwmount adapter, and LTM-to-M. Have never even held one of the latter in my hand, so I ask before buying: is there a no-brainer, Rolls Royce choice when it comes to screwmount adapters? Or is everything I'm likely to see secondhand on eBay created equal?
 
Wow, classic Prominent to LTM? That is pretty special. Rolls Royce LTM mount is of course Leica.

I have some Cosina mounts and they look very nice.

Never tried the "out of China" mounts. I suspect some are aluminum, versus chromed brass.

Each would have their complexities (don't need to coat aluminum so maybe better toleranced; brass should be chromed but needs proper tolerancing).

Vick
 
It's apparently not a trivial part to make. It needs to be exactly 1mm in flange thickness (that's the difference between LTM and M mount flange distance), for one thing. I've heard that the cheap knock-offs can vary.

My only M adapter is genuine Leica. It was so cheap ($15 or so from KEH) that I didn't even think twice. It all depends on which framelines you need. The M3 permanently displays the 50, no matter which lens/adapter is on, so a 90 adapter is all I need. Those run much less than 35 or 50.

I'm sure CV adapters are just as good.
 
They usually get the registration distance OK but fall down when bringing up the frame-lines. Worse still, people often adapt them themselves...

Regards, David
 
D'oh. I just noticed your location says which camera you're using. For the CL, you will need an adapter that brings up the 50 framelines.
 
You know, it only occurred to me that Leica might make them an hour after I posted. Doh. Given that, and the comments about the thickness and the fact that people tend to modify them, I think I'm gonna resort to massive overkill and buy a Leitz specimen, new in box. There's almost nothing to read about the Kipon Prominent to LTM adapter I'm planning to buy, so minimising dimensional error wherever I can seems logical. I hate blaming the equipment.

Lens is a 50mm, and will be used on both a CL and a Zeiss Ikon ZM, so yes, I'm gonna need one that brings up the 50mm frame.

Thanks for all your insights!
 
I have bought and used the LTM to M adaptors purchased through Cameraquest. Great quality and have not had any problems bring up framelines.

You can link to Cameraquest directly from the RFF home page.
 
batterytypehah! said:
D'oh. I just noticed your location says which camera you're using. For the CL, you will need an adapter that brings up the 50 framelines.
Click to expand...

Hi,

From memory the 50mm and 35mm ones bring up the 40 & 50 frame-lines on the CL but the 40mm FL's are there all the time anyway.

BTW, I don't know if you've a Leica rear end cap or the anonymous ones but the black with grey inner Leitz ones have "pimples" on them to engage with and turn the adapter when (stuck) in the M body. The grey and black ones fail quickly, in my experience, but don't throw them away as a loose one in the bag is very useful. And the Japanese ones on the back of the lens are more practical.

FWIW, the Leitz and CV adapters are worth having as the lens they fit is marked on them. A lot of Chinese ones are nicely made but un-marked which can be a pita.

Regards, David
 
I have a worn old Leitz one from the M3-M2 era and a modern Voigtländer mk II adapter. Both work OK. I recommend buying a new Voigtlander adapter. Nicely finished, not too expensive, generally well-reputed.
 
I had quite a stash of these at one time, and mic'd them to check. It turned out that the Leica ones I had, covering several decades of manufacture, were NOT as precisely thicknessed as the Cameraquest ones, which surprised me, but the CQ ones were very sharp-edged in places, to the point of almost being dangerous. Which I quickly took care of with some 400-grit sandpaper. Overall, neither really worked better in any meaningful way.

That was about 10 years ago--I don't know the state of things now.
 
David Hughes said:
BTW, I don't know if you've a Leica rear end cap or the anonymous ones but the black with grey inner Leitz ones have "pimples" on them to engage with and turn the adapter when (stuck) in the M body.
Click to expand...

So that's what they're for! Thank very much for that tidbit, my dear sir.
 
LTM->M adapters are so simple, there's really no excuse for them to have problems. That said, I have one Fotodiox adapter that doesn't even lock into place on my M2, but works fine on my M5. I have three other Fotodiox adapters that are fine. I replaced the bad one with a Voigtlander, which works perfectly on both bodies.
 
Would anybody happen to know Leica's part number for their 50mm adapter? Either I'm a dunce, or it's remarkably search-resistant.
 
And ISBOO (14 098) for the 90mm and ISOOZ (19 099) for 35 and 135mm. The 50mm version does 21 and 28mm as well. The 135mm one also works with the Visoflex 1.

Just mentioned for people doing a search on the things...

Regards, David
 
Biggles said:
What happens when one screws a 50mm lens into such an adapter, and then mounts it onto an M-mount body equipped with both 50mm and 28mm frames?
Click to expand...

Hi Biggles , I'm sorry only one question but the rangfinder work propely with prominent lens and the two adapter?
Thankyou Matteo
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom