Z6 and Leica M mount lenses : toward the quest of holy grail

[rosko]

Welcome to the discussion !

When I saw first this mirrorless body, I thought : Wow ! A smaller full frame body ? Lighter ? Ok, good !

Now, let's have a look on the lenses...What is that ? Z lenses ? As big as the F lenses ? Ok, are they lighter ? No necessarily, although they are made with plastic.

Wait a minute, what about F lenses compatibility ?

Ah ! There is a special adaptor to use our F lenses, FTZ ? that's good...What ? You only get autofocus with AFS lenses ?

What about AFD lenses ? Oh, I see, no AF because no build-in motor...

Well, I really wondered what is the interest to buy such body, then ?

And after further readings and opinions, I find out about :

# the focus peaking;

# the IBIS system reducing vibrations to  any lens ;

# the possibility to do focus stacking (if you have an AFS macro-lens, though)

#And most of all : A 16mm REGISTER DISTANCE …

And then, the first Z adaptors appeared. This how my decision to purchase was  triggered.

I could see on this chart https://www.graphics.cornell.edu/~westin/misc/mounts-by-register.html , that the leica M lenses's register distance is 27.95 mm.
So, 27.95mm minus 16mm = 11.95mm whicht means that any M/Z adapter cannot be thicker than 12mm !

This is how and why I went for M/M39* range of lenses.

In this mount there are many different makes from wide angle lenses to telelenses of good quality :
# Leitz
# Voiglander
# Nikon (vintage, like S models)
# Minolta (40mm)
# Zeiss Jena
# Zeiss (made by Cosina now)
# Canon
# Russian lenses like Jupiter
# ect.

My first Leitz is the summarit 50mm f/1.5. Vintage from the 50ies. I love it for its sharpness and ''character''. A masterpiece of glass and metal (plus a small piece of fabric glued in the lid to fit the lens smoothly). I.am not sure what the red dot is made of. Perhaps plastic...
So, small but not light !.
To hold this lens, a LM/Z adaptor.

With M39 screwing mount lenses, like Jupiter 50mm, you just need a very thin ring which go inside the M/Z. or buy a specific adaptor, M39/Z.

To be continued...

* LTM : Leica Thread Mount
*M39  : screw diameter of 39mm. pitch is 1mm.

[Fons Baerken]

Will follow with interest, Francis.

[rosko]

Thanks, Fons !
Will post some pics soon !

[bobfriedman]

This is one and maybe only reason I would buy a Z... of course after the banding issue gets fixed.

[John Geerts]

Very interesting, Francis, thanks for the write-up.   Looking forward for the continuation 

[rosko]

This is one and maybe only reason I would buy a Z... of course after the banding issue gets fixed.

I never noticed banding issues with the Z6 so far. Probably because a lack of practice with long exposure ?

Or not enough pixels in Z6 sensor to notice any banding ?

[Kenneth Rich]

So, Rosko, since I have an M mount collapsible Summicron and two LTM lenses,(28mm Canon) and the tiny  35mm f3.5 Summaron, both currently fitted with screw to M mount adaptors, do I need two different adaptors, or just the M to Z adaptor?

[rosko]

Very interesting, Francis, thanks for the write-up.   Looking forward for the continuation 

You're welcome, John !

[Frank Fremerey]

I love the Z6.

But which lenses?

I will start with the Z 1.2/50S

and then?

[rosko]

So, Rosko, since I have an M mount collapsible Summicron and two LTM lenses,(28mm Canon) and the tiny  35mm f3.5 Summaron, both currently fitted with screw to M mount adaptors, do I need two different adaptors, or just the M to Z adaptor?

Actually, I bought a M39/LTM ring to use my 35mm f/3.5 Summaron which I got recently, on Z6 via the LTM/Z6 adapter. The problem this ring is so thin and sharp that I now leave it on this lens, as it's no easy to unscrew. the second reason, I tried to use this ring on my Nikon CRT 55mm f/1.2 (and the LTM/Z6 adapter, but it didn't work hence the purchase of a M39/Z6 adapter allowing me to get infinity with this lens. It as a M39 scew mount.

So, I would say the M39/Z6 is better because less manipulations when you swap lenses. In addition this adapter is cheap and work well.

Few pics below :

1# Z6+Leitz Summaron 35mm f/3.5
2# same
3# Z6+Jupiter 50mm f/2
4# Z6+nikon CRT 55mm f/1.2 set to infinity.



 

[rosko]

I love the Z6.

But which lenses?

I will start with the Z 1.2/50S

and then?

Frank, it depends on your photographic habits. I know you use AF lenses, so go for a Z lenses.
As for my habits, I mostly use MANUALS lenses. Just matter of feelings : I love to set my lens, taking my time, choosing the right aperture (stop), controlling the DOF, touching all the rings of my lens it's something sensual...this is why I am not impressed with AF lenses, mostly the G ones (without a aperture ring).

When I bought the Z6, I purchased a second-hand zoom AFS 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 G, the one I used mostly in Scotland because there were so many nice things to shoot in a limited time. I had a macro lens as well for close-up, plus my old 300mm (manual too).

For those who shoot manual, Leica mount lenses is a goldmine of treasures, I mean excellent lenses, not bulky and for decent prices . (well, may be not some leica lenses like Summilux or Summicron).

Below : Z6+summarit 50mm f/1.5 @ f2.8

[Frank Fremerey]

Francis,

yes, Leica lenses make perfect sense on the Z6. Very high quality glass, very small and light package.

Gosh, look at these beautiful mushrooms!!!

All the best

Frank

[Roland Vink]

Digital sensors work best if the light strikes near perpendicular, I guess this is why modern mirrorless wide-angle lenses are telecentric, and relatively big. Most wide-standard Leica M lenses are not telecentric, the exit pupil is very close to the sensor and light strikes the corners of the image at a shallow angle. Does that give problems with vignetting and colour shifts?

It is nice to use old quality glass on new cameras, even if the resulting combination looks less than elegant, the proof is in the pictures!

[Erik Lund]

It does - That's why Leica M8, M9, M, M10 have a very special sensordesign with offset lenses on the sensor to compensate for this.


Only very few wide Leica M lenses perform well on digital sensors anyway despite the special design,,,

[Frank Fremerey]

Erik: Where is the threshold in your experience? 35mm+ or 50mm+ ?