Canon vs Leica lenses

[JK]

Given the huuuge price difference between Leica and Canon lenses, are these rather desirable pieces of glass really worth the money ?
How do they stack up against L series lenses ?

Does anyone here own any Leica gear ? If so, it'd be great to see a comparison of shots taken with Leica cameras/lenses against the good ol' Canon!:D

[sdommin]

I don't have any Leica lenses that can be put on a Canon, so I can't really answer your question the way you might like me to. However, I do own the Leica Digilux 2, and I will say that the lens on that camera is as sharp or sharper than any lens I have ever seen - "L" glass or not!!

[JK]

I don't have any Leica lenses that can be put on a Canon, so I can't really answer your question the way you might like me to. However, I do own the Leica Digilux 2, and I will say that the lens on that camera is as sharp or sharper than any lens I have ever seen - "L" glass or not!!Hi sdommin,
Sorry, I didn't mean for someone to put Leica lenses onto a Canon body - rather, I was after a comparison of a scene taken with a Leica vs the same scene/object with a Canon. Could you perhaps do one with your Digilux 2 & Canon ? Maybe a landscape and a portrait ? (only if you feel like it & have the time of course!:D )

Cheers,

JK

[ron chappel]

Leica R lenses can be mounted on canon EOS with the help of a inexpensive adapter,so a direct comparison is possible.
Most people talk of leica not in terms of ultimate sharpness (even though they are extremely sharp) but more in terms of georgeous bokeh (out of focus bluring) .

The most modern leica lenses also give incredible performance even wide open.

[Rob612]

I used to have Leicas looooong time ago. My last Leica SLR was an R3. And yes, I never, never, never had anything like that in terms of quality, bokeh and build. Today, you'll need a mortgage and I'm not even sure that you get the same overall quality. I still have a IIIc with the Elmarit 5 cm (note that focal was expressed in cm and not in mm). Unfortunately, its broken.

[chtgrubbs]

About 20 years ago some friends and I did some comparison of Japanese versus German lenses in 35mm, medium and large format. Our general conclusion was that while the Japanese lenses came very close in terms of resolution there was a quality of contrast and color saturation in the German lenses which made colors pop and lent a strong 3D effect to the images. The German lenses, particularly older lenses, with larger numbers of blades in the aperture giving a perfectly round aperture had better bokeh. I would assume that there is less difference in lenses today, but I was very surprised when Hasselblad chose Fujinon lenses for their new medium format camera!

[ron chappel]

This review has some interesting example images that might give some clues to what you can expect with modern leica lenses

http://photo.net/equipment/leica/m6

[JK]

This review has some interesting example images that might give some clues to what you can expect with modern leica lenses

http://photo.net/equipment/leica/m6Thanks for that link - it's an interesting read. It's really hard to tell just how good Leica lenses are from those sample pics they've provided. They're far too small and to be honest, at that size they really don't look all that impressive.

Does anyone know of any good Leica photo galleries ?

[rollsman]

I have purchased 3 leica lenses and 2 adaptors from cameraquest and the quality is excellent on my canon 20D. The problem I am having is I cant seem to manual focus that easy anymore as my age and my vision have changed( for the worst). So, I am selling my Leica lenses and the Canon adaptors. If interested my email: rollsman4@yahoo.com. I have R 28/2.8 2cam, R 90/2.8 2cam and R 5o summic. /2.0 for sale and all in Excellent condition. Thank you, Dennis

[buze]

rollsman, you need a prism focus screen to do proper focussing with manual lens on Canon 20D, otherwise it's next to impossible (and very frustrating)

[condyk]

Agree with Buze ... my keeper ratio has increased easily 50% since I fitted a Haoda focusing screen. My most used lenses are Zeiss and Pentax MF primes.

[Lord_Malone]

I've owned two exceptional Leica lenses that I used on my old 20D body. Can't deny the IQ and quality of the glass that's for sure. Marginally sharper than my L's. I've since sold them off because I need AF, the tough build of L, and compatibility of Canon glass with my system. And manual focus lenses won't cut it for me any more.

[mbze430]

Funny how everyone only talks about bokeh, color, and contrast. Yet the real reason of a Leica hasn't been spoken of....

[chancellor]

mbze, so what's the real reason of Leica? ;-)

[buze]

Some of us don't buy Leica glass even for Leica bodies :D :D

A 35mm Summicron would cost me 3 times the price of the Voigtlander :/

Now I WISH I could use it on my EOS ! :D :D

http://oomz.net/scaled/IMG_7728.JPG

[chancellor]

Some of us don't buy Leica glass even for Leica bodies :D :D

A 35mm Summicron would cost me 3 times the price of the Voigtlander :/

Now I WISH I could use it on my EOS ! :D :D

Hey, but you did pay 3 times more for the Leica body than you would've paid for CV :D

[mbze430]

Distortion Level. Leica had made a commitment to make lens and only release lens with a less than 2% distortion level.

[buze]

Hey, but you did pay 3 times more for the Leica body than you would've paid for CV :D

Nope, thats a user M2, it costed me less than a new CV R*A. And I handled both, the build quality and feel is severely different (the Bessa shutter rings like a bell beside an M2!) ! Beside I don't need TTL and stuff, I'm happy with all manual!

The lens on the other hand compares very, very well with the Leica glass. The black ones are brass; the "chrome" one are aluminium and do not feel as good (not like an old Leica chrome one!)

[tiziano]

I have purchased 3 leica lenses and 2 adaptors from cameraquest and the quality is excellent on my canon 20D. The problem I am having is I cant seem to manual focus that easy anymore as my age and my vision have changed( for the worst). So, I am selling my Leica lenses and the Canon adaptors. If interested my email: rollsman4@yahoo.com. I have R 28/2.8 2cam, R 90/2.8 2cam and R 5o summic. /2.0 for sale and all in Excellent condition. Thank you, Dennis

Hi Dennis,
Before you sell it, maybe you want to try something like this:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=169259

[mbze430]

Again, read the thread... there Is NO Leica L/M adapter to EOS. Only R adapters.

[Double Negative]

Canon makes some fantastic lenses. But in the grand scheme of things, they're not the best. Perhaps in build, IS, weathersealing and all the other attributes - but not IQ.

But to be honest, focusing manually is just a pain in the ass. I don't miss that.

[coreypolis]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v721/viperx27/56196343.jpg



Having been able to use a m7 with 50 F/1.0, I can say that the quality is 2nd to none, but the differences between a rangefinder and slr drove me crazy. parallax error also can become an issue with rangefinders, and the tiny viewfinder.

loading the film is a real pain, and its metering system isn't that intuitive right out of the box. Its also extremely heavy, infact without looking at the actual weights, would say its near my 1dII with a non tele lens attached. Very solidly built, but the weight isn't distributed over as large of an area

[foxbat]

Ahhh the legendary Noctilux f/1.0, what a beautiful sight. It's not just for show either, being a Leica it is of course sharp with beautiful colours wide open:

http://oomz.net/mf/viewtopic.php?id=283

[coreypolis]

with a cloth shutter and the f/1, you can shoot under candle power light :)

[Double Negative]

Having been able to use a m7 with 50 F/1.0, I can say that the quality is 2nd to none, but the differences between a rangefinder and slr drove me crazy. parallax error also can become an issue with rangefinders, and the tiny viewfinder.
There are some not-so-subtle differences for sure. The rangefinder method of focusing, the parallax error... I liked the SLR/TLR system better right off the bat.

I'd love nothing more than to shoot Leicas, medium format... But with film and paper rapidly disappearing, plus the need for drum scanning or similar high-end process... It's just not worth it compared to digital, especially where the turnaround is measured in minutes rather than hours or days. A real shame, but that's progress for you.

[coreypolis]

i wish medium format backs were more justifiable. they really have so many positives about the system, but not as that price. using a 4x5 for 2 years sort of threw many away from anything other than a pro slr body design. 4x5s produce such nice quality and have so many image manipulations, but hte speed and cost were awful