Russian Lens to Leica M8 Conversion.

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aaronphoto

aaronphoto
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Hi Im new to this forum and I hope I have posted this in the right place.
I am also a new leica convert.

I am interested in trying some Russian lenses with my leica M8.
I would like to know if it is possible to mount a Zenit Helios 44-2 58 f2 or a Zeiss Jena Biotar 58mm f2 to my M8
There are others that i would like to try. I think the Helios and Ziess use the M42 thread size?
Are there adaptors for this and will they work on the M8? Would I need a M42 to M39 adaptor.
I can understand if there are limitations with infinity etc, thats ok.

I am really after a short telephoto lens between 58mm - 90 that has old school Bokeh eg - the painted swirly look. Yes, not for everyone i know.
The lens needs to be reasonably small and light up to about 450g at the most. F 2 or faster would be ideal. I am not concerned with micro contrast or flair that much. Just the bokeh aesthetics.

Any help would be most appreciated. Thanks.
 
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Yes, there are plenty of adapters, and there are no limitations with infinity focus, BUT you can only scale focus -- easy enough with wide-angles but a bit demanding with fast lenses in the range you are talking about.

Oh: and welcome to the forum!

Cheers,

R.
 
What other lenses could you recommend that produce wonderful swirly bokeh that would fit my requirements. Obviously rangefinder coupled or easy adaptor conversion.
Thanks.
 
Can't help you there. Probably best to start yet another bokeh thread. I'm not especially sensitive to bokeh, and in any case I believe that the only good bokeh is the sort you don't notice. If you notice, there's something wrong with either the picture or the lens. Google the new Zeiss piece on bokeh by Dr. Nasse, too.

Cheers,

R.
 
Thanks for your help, I understand this is a topic of great discussion. Everyone has their own point of view on the subject. I will start another thread. See if anyone else can help me out.
Cheers!!
 
aaronphoto said:
What other lenses could you recommend that produce wonderful swirly bokeh that would fit my requirements. Obviously rangefinder coupled or easy adaptor conversion.
Thanks.
Click to expand...

Your requirements are difficult. Swirly bokey comes from bad lens correction in high-speed lenses. High-speed telephotos are heavy and usually expensive. Old high-speed telephotos are rare and collectors are driving up prices.

What fits your requirements best is probably the old Leitz Hektor 73/f1.9, it weighs short of 500 grams:

3327825808_ed1dd3e50e_d.jpg


2930813567_59225d02ce.jpg


Picture not mine, obviously.

Alternatively, you might look for Zeiss Biotar 75/f1.5 lenses - good luck finding one in LTM with rangefinder coupling and then you might just buy a car instead for the same money - or a Canon Serenar 85mm in 1.5 (heavy, rare) or 1.9 (somewhat elusive):

2593340865_83a0e23a4a_d.jpg


Again, flickr picture not mine.
 
My German Shepard Belle, shot with Leica III & Summar 50/2.0, close up and wide open:
3642726380_f1ba38b789_o.jpg

Rollei 25ASA, Rodinal 1:100 stand.

So, it can be done with a 50mm lens, but the effect will be less when focusing further away and past 3 mtrs. will be gone entirely, I reckon.
 
What you would need is a M39 to M-Mount adapter, and buy a couple of russian M39 oldies, such as the Jupiter 9, a 85/2, which has got a very nice bokeh provided you find a good lens (which is the most difficult part).
But since you have a M8, any 50mm - jupiter 8, Helios, Industar - will become a short telephoto.
Cheers,
 
aaronphoto said:
Thanks, Oh crap that was the next question I was going to ask.
Are there any adaptors that have rangefinder coupling. Price is not a problem.
Click to expand...


If you want to use your forecited SLR lenses (which may be worth EUR 40-60 each, I don't know) the calculus will become a very disproportional one;-)

Manual focussing SLR lenses don't care to tell the camera what is the chosen distance, that' the problem.
There is just a tiny chance to get them adapted, you'll just need for EACH lens an individual CUSTOM MADE "adapter". Of course, this will be a more or less fixed adapter. (I'd guess >EUR 300 each)

You can also get them "converted" -- that means, the shell will be removed and the lens and diaphragm transplanted into a shell which provides rangefinder coupling. (>EUR 500 each)

I guess, it will be costlier (in any meaning) than expected, am I right?
 
Swirly Bokeh, or football shapes in the out-of-focus regions, comes from astigmatism in a lens. The elongation is most pronounced towards the far-edge of the image. So in this case, the 1.3x crop factor works against you. Additionally, telephoto lenses tend to make the background one big blur.

Canon 85/2 Serenar is a 1-2-2-1, as is the Helios-103, Helios-44, and Biotar 5.8cm F2.

picture.php

On the M8. Background is so far out of focus, not much structure at all.

The Nikkor-S 5.8cm F1.4 demonstrated pronounced astigmatism, and is essentially the same formula as a Summarit. You could have someone make a custom RF-coupled mount for you, but it must use an "index-cam". Amedeo or Japan-Exposures would both be capable of doing a conversion, but it will not be cheap.

2830769793_ef55665507_o.jpg

On the Nikon F Photomic

Before doing this, I would try shooting with a Summarit or a Simlar 5cm F1.5, both are RF coupled and exhibit a real uncorrected look.

I prefer my uncoated Sonnars, converted to LTM using Jupiter mounts.

picture.php

uncoated 5cm f2 Sonnar, converted to LTM using a J-8 mount. On the M8.

picture.php

uncoated 5cm F1.5 Sonnar, converted using J-3 mount.

If the X-Files ever comes back, I'll make another one of these:
http://ziforums.com/showthread.php?t=138&page=2
 
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