M-mount -> LTM -> Olympus OM!

[chambrenoire]

Hi guys!

I found an adapter on eBay, LTM -> Olympus OM-mount. Since I love my CLE and also Zuiko glass, I thought it'd be fun to try them out together. Got it today in the mail, but I just had a couple of Q's:

I use a M-mount -> LTM -> Olympus OM-adatper now. So that's two adapter put together, to mount my Zuiko lenses onto my CLE body. Lightmetering works fine.

I noticed that the distance from the back of the lens to the film on the Zuiko's is further that if I mount a M-mount lens directly. Will this cause a problem with focusing? Will I be able to focus to infinity with it?

Thanks for any help 🙂

 

[xayraa33]

This is great !
It is like using my OM lens on my OM-1 with its mirror in the locked up position.

 

[ZeMane]

Hi Chambrenoire! Sorry I can not help you with the focussing issue. I have been searching on evilBay for the adapter but could not find one. Do you have the seller name or item number?
Regards,

Zé

 

[hans voralberg]

If you have a piece of freshnel or ground glass you can put that against the film door to check

 

[xayraa33]

I just place my SBOOI finder in the hotshoe , lock the mirror and voila, a scale focus camera worthy of the Leica standard.

 

[Trius]

I use the same method (finder/lock-up) with my Zuiko 21/2. In really dim light, it's very handy.

 

[ChrisN]

The distance between the camera mount and the film plane (for any system) is called the register distance. There's a list here. The OM is 46mm, while Leicam M is listed as 27.95mm. Most SLR systems need a longer register distance to make room for the mirror.

It's probably fine - shoot some pics and let us know.

 

[pagpow]

Hi guys!

I found an adapter on eBay, LTM -> Olympus OM-mount. Since I love my CLE and also Zuiko glass, I thought it'd be fun to try them out together. Got it today in the mail, but I just had a couple of Q's:

I use a M-mount -> LTM -> Olympus OM-adatper now. So that's two adapter put together, to mount my Zuiko lenses onto my CLE body. Lightmetering works fine.

I noticed that the distance from the back of the lens to the film on the Zuiko's is further that if I mount a M-mount lens directly. Will this cause a problem with focusing? Will I be able to focus to infinity with it?

Thanks for any help 🙂

Each camera system has its own register distance or film to flange (F2F) distance. The general rule is that a lens from a system with a longer film to flange distance can be made to focus to infinity on a system with a shorter film to flange distance. That's why we can mount LTM lenses on M Leicas and focus to infinity; the LTM lens has a longer F2F distance than the M body.

In the case of the Oly OM system the difference is greater, as ChrisN states, so it is possible to focus OM lenses on M bodies to infinity. To do that, the adapter MUST mount the OM lens farther out from the body that the M lens. The OM lens will bring items to focus 46mm behind the lens (assuming you want to read the distance scale correctly); if the OM lens were mounted with its back where the M lens back would normally be, the image could not be brought into focus.

Whether the particular adapter you have will bring an object at the distance indicated on the distance scale into focus depends on whether it was machined to add the appropriate distance to the mount of the lens -- the difference between the two F2F distances (46-27.95), which generally is the case with adapters.

The exceptions are generally when the F2F distance of the lens is shorter than the F2F distance of the receiving body, in which case the adapter indicates the lens can be mounted on the body, but will not focus to infinity.

 

[Eugen Mezei]

Anybody knows how to calibrate the Voigtländer rangefinder Chambrenoire has on top of his CLE? Have one myself but it is decalibrated.

 

[Eugen Mezei]

Is it just the distance that is off? You adjust the distance with the little knob in the center of the distance scale. Turn it to infinity, hold the scale and twist the little knob until images (of something really far away) coincide. It'll take a few tries, but you'll get the hang of it. It should then be correct for all distances. If not, I suppose it has to come apart. Yes, the knob is quite hard to turn.

(This procedure was in the original instruction leaflet that I got with mine.)

I hope this helps.

Yes, it was another idiotic move of let's see what does that knob. Well.. before looking after that the rangefinder worked nicely....
I tried what you suggest, but couldn't get both the scale and the images back to infinity.

By any chance do you still have the instruction leaflet?


Eugen

 

[chambrenoire]

Thanks so much for the answers! I will give it a try soon.

 

[john_van_v]

This is great !
It is like using my OM lens on my OM-1 with its mirror in the locked up position.

I like using my OM lenses on my OM-1 with the mirror in normal position.

 

[Pablito]

I like using my OM lenses on my OM-1 with the mirror in normal position.

That is downright perverted.

 

[raid]

I use a Minolta Lens to LTM adapter with an M adapter. The focusing is fine,as explained above by people here.

Same applies to Canon FD to LTM adapter.

 

[splitimageview]

Here's an interesting array of adapters. I can't quite figure out what all this means, but it sure looks interesting:

http://bit.ly/wI4jp

 

[Keith]

Can you not get a mirror and prism conversion for the CLE ... just to be sure it's all OK? :angel:

 

[Trius]

Can you not get a mirror and prism conversion for the CLE ... just to be sure it's all OK? :angel:

So you're suggesting he turn his CLE into an OM. 😀

 

[Keith]

So you're suggesting he turn his CLE into an OM. 😀

Sell it and you could turn it into several OM's I'd imagine ... this determination to put an OM Zuiko lens on a CLE mystifies me!

Why not just get an OM-2 and have a decent camera with AE that you know the Zuiko is made for? :angel:😀

 

[Trius]

Well, I do admit to thinking about using my Zuiko 21/2 on an M body. It's not likely I could afford a fast M 21, so using an adapter on an M makes sense ... sorta. Locking up the mirror on an OM is easier since I have a Leitz 21 finder.