Using rangefinder lenses on SLR cameras

[comradex]

Greetings folks.

Lately I have been shopping for lenses on ebay, and came across some great lenses I liked (for example, Jupiter 3 50mm f/1.4 M39 lens...) .

Is it possible to use such M39 mount lenses on modern DSLR cameras?

I own a canon DSLR, and I know that many kinds of adapters exist, but I also heard that there are some problems using such lenses on DSLRs.

 

[Livesteamer]

Not really. The important factor is the distance on the camera body from lens mount to film/sensor plane. On slr's the distance is much larger than on a rangefinder. You can put a rangefinder lens on an slr but it will not focus to infinity.

The better option is to put slr lenses on a rangefinder. For a 28mm on my IIIc I use a 28mm f3.5 Pentax Takumar with an adapter. A little big but it makes lovely images. I've also had a 30mm Arsat on the IIIc but that was a little crazy. Joe

 

[aeturnum]

Sure, there are plenty of m39->EF adapters on Ebay.

However, the focal distance (28.8 mm) on m39 lenses is much shorter than the focal distance on EF lenses (44.0 mm) (they don't need to accommodate a mirror housing). I don't know if you can get anything approaching decent optical quality using m39->EF. Maybe you use live view only, mirror lockup, and a recessed adapter? I'm not sure.

 

[Dwig]

...I don't know if you can get anything approaching decent optical quality using m39->EF. ...

It's not an issue of image quality in any way. The issue is that mounting the M39 lens on, say, an EF mount camera places the lens some 15mm plus the thickness of the adapter (~5mm at least) further from the film than the lens was designed to be. It's as if you inserted an extension tube. The result is that the maximum subject distance that you can focus to is somewhere around 1-2 feet with a 50mm lens. Since this extension's impact on focusing is relative to the focal length the impact is greater with wide angles and less with teles.

In general, such adapters are of use for extreme closeup and macro use only.

 

[comradex]

So, is there anything one can do to make the M39 lenses useable on an SLR?
Is there some adapter \ extender etc., for that?

 

[dandelion8]

So, is there anything one can do to make the M39 lenses useable on an SLR?
Is there some adapter \ extender etc., for that?

The only option would be to use an adapter with concave lens, which would decrease the image quality. The better option is to have two sets of lenses, one for your RF and another for the SLR ... There are lot of great and cheap M42 lenses out there.

 

[sevo]

The only option would be to use an adapter with convex lens, which would decrease the image quality.

Well, besides that there would be lens relay systems, which have much less negative impact on IQ. But I'm not aware of a relay lens intended for medium to large focal distances intended for photographic cameras - they generally are endoscopic and will have a very tiny field of vision (respectively image coverage, when inverted). Hollywood has "snorkel" model endoscopes - but the remotely affordable ones only have cine (18x24mm etc.) coverage and cine mounts, and already aren't cheap. There is not really any point converting a mid-range APS-C DSLR into a three foot-long beast that can clumsily hold Leica lenses at a price that would already buy you a Leica M8 or even a M9.