leica lens on Canon XL2 at DVinfo.net

Matt Schulze · April 2nd, 2009, 03:17 PM

Hi,
does anyone have any input about fitting a Leica 135mm f2.8 lens onto a Canon XL2?
Will it even be worth the trouble whatever the trouble may be?
I think that the gain in focal length will be a little less then what I would get with the 1.4x telephoto extender in between the 20x lens and the body but more then with just the 20x zoom.
But that would be OK if I could get better picture quality.

I'm asking because I'm not terribly enchanted with the picture quality achieved with the extender. And I have the Leica lens hanging around waiting for some purpose.

Matt

David W. Jones · April 2nd, 2009, 08:04 PM

You would need a Leica R mount to Canon EF mount adapter, then the canon EF Adapter XL.
With the 7.6 X crop it would be the equivalent of a 1026mm lens.

Or you could use a 35mm DOF adapter like the Brevis or Letus, and the lens would still be a 135mm.

Dale Guthormsen · April 9th, 2009, 06:47 PM

Matt,

First thing I did was buy an extender for my xl2 and , of course was disappointed in it for the most part though I did get some useable shots I would not have. I should have known better.

for about the same price i bought a used ef adapter, tried some older FD lenses, was satisified enough to spend the bigger bucks on the better lenses.

The lieca lens is no doubt a nice lens but it will barely improve the reach from your 20x xl lens which is about 800. I am not sure what a leica adapter would cost but that money could be put toward obtaining a canon 70-200, a 300 f4 or a 400 f5.6, all about the same price if you search for them, all L series lenses.

Of course in the mean time you could grab the ef adapter and use the leica lens until cash flow is better if that is a current issue, like it is for most of us mortals.

Matt Schulze · April 12th, 2009, 05:14 PM

Thanks guys for your input.
I think that the Leica lens with the Canon EF adapter would improve reach just slightly over the 20X, but the quality of the picture would be improved. A Leica to Canon adapter is not the world.
On the other hand, is it really worth it to spend money on standard def equipment at this point?
I own an HVX 200 also and the picture quality is superb even though the reach of the 13X lens is nowhere close to the Canon. On the other hand it might be worth improving upon ones shooting and blind sitting abilities and just get closer to the subject.
I've gotten some good results shooting with the Panasonic by getting closer.

Matt

Steve Phillipps · April 12th, 2009, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David W. Jones

You would need a Leica R mount to Canon EF mount adapter, then the canon EF Adapter XL.
With the 7.6 X crop it would be the equivalent of a 1026mm lens.

Or you could use a 35mm DOF adapter like the Brevis or Letus, and the lens would still be a 135mm.

Or you could just get a Leica R to XL adapter from Les Bosher, cost you about £300.
I stuck a Leica 105-280 on the XL1 years ago and it looked great. BUT, as others have said you might struggle to get a much better image than with the stock lens, probably only worth it if you need extra reach. I also put a Zeiss 10:1 Super 16 lens on it and that looked great too.
Steve

April 2nd, 2009, 03:17 PM	#1
Matt Schulze New Boot Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: United States Posts: 9	leica lens on Canon XL2 Hi, does anyone have any input about fitting a Leica 135mm f2.8 lens onto a Canon XL2? Will it even be worth the trouble whatever the trouble may be? I think that the gain in focal length will be a little less then what I would get with the 1.4x telephoto extender in between the 20x lens and the body but more then with just the 20x zoom. But that would be OK if I could get better picture quality. I'm asking because I'm not terribly enchanted with the picture quality achieved with the extender. And I have the Leica lens hanging around waiting for some purpose. Matt

April 9th, 2009, 06:47 PM	#3
Dale Guthormsen Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Saskatchewan Posts: 3,048	Matt, First thing I did was buy an extender for my xl2 and , of course was disappointed in it for the most part though I did get some useable shots I would not have. I should have known better. for about the same price i bought a used ef adapter, tried some older FD lenses, was satisified enough to spend the bigger bucks on the better lenses. The lieca lens is no doubt a nice lens but it will barely improve the reach from your 20x xl lens which is about 800. I am not sure what a leica adapter would cost but that money could be put toward obtaining a canon 70-200, a 300 f4 or a 400 f5.6, all about the same price if you search for them, all L series lenses. Of course in the mean time you could grab the ef adapter and use the leica lens until cash flow is better if that is a current issue, like it is for most of us mortals. __________________ DATS ALL FOLKS Dale W. Guthormsen

April 2nd, 2009, 08:04 PM	#2
David W. Jones Trustee Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Little Rock Posts: 1,383	You would need a Leica R mount to Canon EF mount adapter, then the canon EF Adapter XL. With the 7.6 X crop it would be the equivalent of a 1026mm lens. Or you could use a 35mm DOF adapter like the Brevis or Letus, and the lens would still be a 135mm.

April 12th, 2009, 05:14 PM	#4
Matt Schulze New Boot Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: United States Posts: 9	Thanks guys for your input. I think that the Leica lens with the Canon EF adapter would improve reach just slightly over the 20X, but the quality of the picture would be improved. A Leica to Canon adapter is not the world. On the other hand, is it really worth it to spend money on standard def equipment at this point? I own an HVX 200 also and the picture quality is superb even though the reach of the 13X lens is nowhere close to the Canon. On the other hand it might be worth improving upon ones shooting and blind sitting abilities and just get closer to the subject. I've gotten some good results shooting with the Panasonic by getting closer. Matt