Thread: Anyone have any experience with using Leica lenses on a Nikon mount?

Will a 80mm Summilux R (non ROM) lens mount a Nikon D800E without any issues? Especially with a Leitax converter.

Any info on this would be much appreciated. What are Leica lenses like in use on Nikon cameras? I understand that one has to resort to stop down metering for it to work. Is it a complete bother? I saw some results on a D800E and was blown away by the IQ from these R lenses.

Any help/comments would be much appreciated.



I know this is nowhere a "compact camera" discussion, but I also know a lot of you come from using DSLRs and would probably know a lot about this.

Here's an article and sample images I came across on shooting with Leica glass on the Nikon D800E.

http://tashley1.zenfolio.com/blog/20...on-nikon-mount

135, 60 and 28 Elmarits here, all Leitax'd. They work fine, or did on my D700. If you go on the Leitax website it tells you exactly which lenses can be converted, with pictorial step by step instructions as to how. The Leitax mounts are high quality and work well. It took me about 15 minutes to convert each lens. Keep the bits in case you ever want to reverse the process and don't, whatever you do, lose the tiny ball-bearing! :D

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Thanks! I've poured over the pictures of Leitax assembling the mount and did see the tiny bearing. Also they provide you an extra one with the kit. Rather nice of them. I'll be sure to be careful.

What's it like using these lenses on an SLR? Would I need to change the prism? How do they compare with the Nikon lenses?

I came across opinions on the web that one should stay away from the 28mm that do not have an attached lens hood (ie the newer version).

I'm mostly interested in the 80mm Summilux for portraits.

When I had tried using manual focus lenses on DSLRs (Olympus OM on Canon EOS) I found myself using the live view screen with magnification since standard modern optical viewfinders come with no focusing aids. I would imagine though that it is possible to swap the viewfinder screen on a professional Nikon body like the D800. The problem with a split prism is that it needs good light transmission, so if you have the lens stopped down while focusing and not a lot of available light you will struggle to see the split image.

Originally Posted by Luckypenguin

When I had tried using manual focus lenses on DSLRs (Olympus OM on Canon EOS) I found myself using the live view screen with magnification since standard modern optical viewfinders come with no focusing aids. I would imagine though that it is possible to swap the viewfinder screen on a professional Nikon body like the D800. The problem with a split prism is that it needs good light transmission, so if you have the lens stopped down while focusing and not a lot of available light you will struggle to see the split image.

Thanks Nic! That's very useful info.

Caution! I had a Katzeye screen for my D700 which provided split-screen focussing and worked well. Check their website but AFAIK there is NOT one for the D800 because Nikon have not played ball by making exact dimensions available...

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Originally Posted by Lightmancer

Caution! I had a Katzeye screen for my D700 which provided split-screen focussing and worked well. Check their website but AFAIK there is NOT one for the D800 because Nikon have not played ball by making exact dimensions available...

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Thanks Bill, I'll research this in detail.