Updated M39 to M43 adapter advice sought

[Chris DC]

Hi All:

I recently picked up a Leica IIIf and an Elmar 5cm, F3.5 lens at a yard sale, cheap

I thought it would be fun to shoot some rolls of film just for the nostalgia. Of course, the camera being nearly 70 years old didn't actually work. The lens looks pretty good though.

The body is now off for repair which will take three months and several hundred dollars.

I'd like to mount the lens (Leica Thread Mount (LTM, M39) onto my M43 camera body and have some fun in the meantime but the wide range of choices for adapters and the spotty performance (https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/57180669) gives me pause.

Can anyone offer me some recent advice on which adapter brand gives reliable results at affordable prices? I see at B&H and Adorama the major brands are: Fotodiox, Urth (formerly Gobe), Kipon, K&F and Novaflex.

I searched this forum and haven't seen any recent assessments.

Thanks,

CDC

 

[Tom Caldwell]

Hi All:

I recently picked up a Leica IIIf and an Elmar 5cm, F3.5 lens at a yard sale, cheap

I thought it would be fun to shoot some rolls of film just for the nostalgia. Of course, the camera being nearly 70 years old didn't actually work. The lens looks pretty good though.

The body is now off for repair which will take three months and several hundred dollars.

I'd like to mount the lens (Leica Thread Mount (LTM, M39) onto my M43 camera body and have some fun in the meantime but the wide range of choices for adapters and the spotty performance (https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/57180669) gives me pause.

Can anyone offer me some recent advice on which adapter brand gives reliable results at affordable prices? I see at B&H and Adorama the major brands are: Fotodiox, Urth (formerly Gobe), Kipon, K&F and Novaflex.

I searched this forum and haven't seen any recent assessments.

Thanks,

CDC

I doubt if there would be any other comprehensive test and mine was a private one with purchases of individual types at my own cost. As I had a few LTM M39 lenses and it made sense to semi-permanently adapt them with an adapter dedicated for each lens it was more important, even than usual, to get adapters with correct registration distances.

As can be seen most manufacturers made their adapters with good precision.

I “excuse” the two that were 1mm out on the basis that when their machinery was set up then operator confused LTM flange focal distance with Leica M.

If you only have the one lens to adapt and if you want the very best then Yi Neng make adapters with jewel-like quality and precision. They are expensive but in my opinion the best adapter manufacturers in the world at the moment.

But even the cheapest no-name adapters at about AUD$3-something freighted (from memory) - were correct for FFD.

In the end I found Pixco to be the right mix of correctly made, quality construction and reasonable price.

--
Tom Caldwell

 

[Chris DC]

Perfect advice. Thanks!

 

[Chris DC]

Hi Tom

Here in the US the Pixco adapter you kindly recommended is only available via eBay with a rather long delivery time of several weeks.



Instead I bought the Forodiox and got it in two days for less than 20 IS. dollars.



The adapter works fine and fits well. I did need to file away a small section that resides under the lens’ infinity lock to allow clearance for locking and unlocking.



Thanks for your help. I am having fun with the lens.



CDC

 

[Tom Caldwell]

Hi Tom

Here in the US the Pixco adapter you kindly recommended is only available via eBay with a rather long delivery time of several weeks.

Instead I bought the Forodiox and got it in two days for less than 20 IS. dollars.

The adapter works fine and fits well. I did need to file away a small section that resides under the lens’ infinity lock to allow clearance for locking and unlocking.

Thanks for your help. I am having fun with the lens.

CDC

Glad to hear it we can add Fotodiox to the “passed” list. In fact most of the adapters were ok and only the Fotga was terminally bad and I ended up with 20 of them when the (independent) vendor mucked me around - effectively sending me a defective return postage address.

On the other hand K&F Concepts immediately refunded my money in full for the single purchase I made when I complained - no questions asked.

 

[Travis Butler]

Glad to hear it we can add Fotodiox to the “passed” list. In fact most of the adapters were ok and only the Fotga was terminally bad and I ended up with 20 of them when the (independent) vendor mucked me around - effectively sending me a defective return postage address.

Yeah, Fotga is the only brand on my never-buy list after a couple of their adapters got stuck on lenses.

On the other hand K&F Concepts immediately refunded my money in full for the single purchase I made when I complained - no questions asked.

K&F is my current reasonable-priced favorite.

 

[Chris DC]

The Fotodiox was nice in that the threaded M39 ring is an insert into the mFT adapter. Three small set screws in the adapter lock the ring in place and allow for one to orient the lens to their liking.

So far, so good.

CDC

 

[photoholiko]

I would stay away from Pixco. I bought a EF to Q7 and the adapter doesn't stay on the camera, a complete misfit. An OM to Q7 adapter was OK, but I'll never buy Pixco again.