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sony + leica = giant killer budget camera

unless you intend to use AF lenses at some point

ha ha ha!


Changing ISO is also sub-optimal. Sure, you can configure it to be done in a number of ways, but none of them are as elegant as Nikon's ISO button which you depress and then turn a wheel.

my fuji has that and i hate it -- so many times, i have managed to also rotate a second "disc" beneath the dial and throw the camera into some kind of silly mode or other.
 
I used a Sony a7r (second hand £700) for a few years with various Leica M to good effect. Works best 35mm up, best images were with Tele-elmarit 90mm. My son recently took it to China for 8 weeks, with my Tele-elmarit, his V 35/2.5 Skopar and a Zeiss Planar 50/f2. He also took my Zeiss 21/f2.8 and got purple fringing.

Sony ergonomics are total s**t, but it's a cheap way of getting full frame RAW images with M lenses at a sensible price.
 
ha ha ha!




my fuji has that and i hate it -- so many times, i have managed to also rotate a second "disc" beneath the dial and throw the camera into some kind of silly mode or other.

I suspected these would be your answers :D
 
I'm confused. If you have a Leica camera and Leica lenses, why go the tortuously indirect route of sticking the lenses on a Sony with an adaptor? Or is the point to construct a photographic Rube Goldberg machine of sorts?

Joe
 
I'm confused. If you have a Leica camera and Leica lenses, why go the tortuously indirect route of sticking the lenses on a Sony with an adaptor? Or is the point to construct a photographic Rube Goldberg machine of sorts?

Joe

joe.

i am preparing a 7 part answer.

here is part 1 -- argument by [camera] porn:

image.php
 
joe.

i am preparing a 7 part answer.

here is part 1 -- argument by [camera] porn:

One reason was to be able to use live view for long Leica lenses.
I had a set-up: Sony a7R > NEX to M adapter > M to R adapter > R 2x extender > 180mm APO Telyt-R.
Didn't work as the a7r has terrible shake and the 2x extender is poor. So I got the APO extender. The More recent Sony bodies would do a better job.

I have been using:
Leica M10 > M to R adapter > R APO 2x extender > 180mm APO Telyt-R
The results are superb.

Leica realised that putting R lenses on an M body is to use long lenses (the long R's are optically superb), so the M to R adapter has a tripod mount to take the weight. Good thinking. I used a monopod. Worked a treat.

42871120435_2b7988be3d_o.jpg
 
I've been thinking of something similar myself. I have an M240 and the Olympus version of the Leica EVF. Back when I was using R lenses on Canon SLRs the only two long lenses I had were a 180mm and 250mm - neither of them modern APO versions, but they worked really well. The only problem is I sold the lenses when I switched to an M8 so would need to buy everything again.

I was looking at cheap Chinese M to R adaptors on eBay. They're not expensive but as ever the worry is about finish and fit.
 
I've been thinking of something similar myself. I have an M240 and the Olympus version of the Leica EVF. Back when I was using R lenses on Canon SLRs the only two long lenses I had were a 180mm and 250mm - neither of them modern APO versions, but they worked really well. The only problem is I sold the lenses when I switched to an M8 so would need to buy everything again.

I was looking at cheap Chinese M to R adaptors on eBay. They're not expensive but as ever the worry is about finish and fit.

I would not use a cheap adapter. Novoflex or Leica for me. The one Metabones one I had didn't actually lock properly and I could have lost a lens before I realised.

The M to R adapter is a serious piece of kit. It's not cheap but worth it. My APO 180 Telyt-R recently had a service and new front element, so is tip top. The real benefit besides the optics is the small size and low weight. It can be used hand-held at sensible speeds. The APO 2x extender is also pricey, I got mine at a bargain £300, but was well worth it.

Other possible uses are with the 60mm R Macro, very good optics at a sensible price if you want Leica macro, but I wouldn't want to carry it around for long.
 
part 2 - the future

helicopter movies were all the rage with the advent of home cinema. this new trend of mirrorless cameras with lens cross-breeding is going to trigger a comparable wave of helicopter photography...

image.php
 
The trick as ever is to surf the second hand market for bodies as well as cameras. I picked up an X-T1 recently for £425 which is working well for me. Given such cameras can be bought, i'm really not sure how far down the price can go to make it worthwhile compromising the handling or looks.

As for older lenses on this, i've had fun with the voigtlander 25mm f4 on the fuji body.
 
The trick as ever is to surf the second hand market for bodies as well as cameras. I picked up an X-T1 recently for £425 which is working well for me. Given such cameras can be bought, i'm really not sure how far down the price can go to make it worthwhile compromising the handling or looks.

As for older lenses on this, i've had fun with the voigtlander 25mm f4 on the fuji body.

Got my son an X-E1 when he started. He now has an X-T1, also about £400 from LCE. Mainly uses a Fuji X 35/f1.5.
 
The trick as ever is to surf the second hand market for bodies as well as cameras. I picked up an X-T1 recently for £425 which is working well for me.

I was a bit surprised to see that you can get a used Canon 5D from Ffordes for under £250. An older body, but still capable IMHO - I had one before I bought my M8.
 


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