[Leica] Fitting R lenses on M bodies..... Especially the 3 Cam and ROM versions. V3, and [probably last version of this story.

[Frank Filippone]

Received my cheap ( $20) Chinese copy of the Leica 14642 adapter to go 
from R lenses to M bodies with 6 bit coding to bring up the lens info in 
the camera.

The adapter came with a 50/75 VF cam.  That turned out to  be a 
problem.  You MUST have the 28/90 VF Cam to activate this feature.  I 
changed it.

It works.  What else is there to say?  ROM Lenses?  Yes, works fine with 
ROM lenses.  Everything fits properly.  Works properly.

There are 2 models of this adapter ( EBay if you want to get one).... 
one has 4 screws to hold the chrome mount to the adapter  (black) body, 
the other has 6 screws.  Get the 6 screw model..... It is, engineering 
wise, a more secure method.

On my adapter, the VF selector cam was a 50/75 cam.  ( you can tell by 
looking through the VF).  Nothing happened when mounted.. no R lens 
menu.  I needed to buy a 28/90 6 bit coded lens flange and swap with the 
50/75 supplied.  I coded the lens ( the code is: BBBWBB when looking at 
the camera side of the flange, and the coding at the 6 o'clock position 
(NOT THE 12 o'clock position.  Pay attention to my orientation.  Holding 
the flange in another position will get the codes messed up.). I used a 
tiny amount of BLACK NAIL POLISH. ( wipe off excess with the edge of a 
credit card after the paint dries).

Now for some details on what happens when you turn your camera on....

Mount lens and adapter on the camera..   Turn camera ON.  What 
immediately happens is that the camera turns on the MENU function and 
shows R lenses for you to select which lens you manually select.  There 
are NO buttons to push to get this menu up.  It just happens. If you do 
not select a lens, the camera defaults to the last loaded lens you 
selected.  The lens info is recorded into teh EXIF data on each image.

Yes, the VF is of no use.  Use the EVF (Visoflex or Back LCD screen)  
for focusing.   Infinity focusing looks off, but with the 28/90 VF 
flange mounted, I can focus PAST infinity.  Not a problem unless you 
insist on having the lens go to the infinity stop when properly focused 
at Infinity.  I don't.

I am going to consolidate all the info below....


I am writing this so no one has to do repeat my research.

The idea is to use Leica R (Leicaflex) lenses on a Leica M body.

With the advent of an EVF ( sometimes called a modern Visoflex ) and the 
digital Leicas ( M240, M10 and later models and variants) it is more 
practical to use these legacy lenses on a modern Digi-M body
Yes, there is NO electrical connections between lens and body.
Yes, there is NO MECHANICAL CONNECTIONS.  You pretty much must use the 
EVF or back LCD or zone focus to get correct focus. Setting the F-Stop 
is a manual process.
Yes, there is NO AF.
So how do you accurately  focus?  Through the camera onto the digital 
sensor and through the EVF or LCD.

Now how do you adapt your R lenses to fit on your M body?  Solutions:
1) There are cheap Chinese adapters.  They work.  Yes, with ROM lenses.  
Need to have a 28/90 VF flange.  The 35/135 and 50/75 will NOT work.
2) There is a Novoflex adapter.    Does this fit 3 Cam and ROM Lenses?......
     Yes, there is NO electrical connections between lens and body.
     Yes, there is NO MECHANICAL CONNECTIONS. You pretty much must use 
the EVF or back LCD or zone focus to get correct focus. Setting the 
F-Stop is a manual process.
     Yes, there is NO AF. So how do you accurately focus? Through the 
camera onto the digital sensor and through the EVF or LCD.

  Now how do you adapt your R lenses to fit on your M body?

  1) There are cheap Chinese adapters. They work. Yes, with ROM lenses. 
Need to have a 28/90 VF flange. The 35/135 and 50/75 will NOT work.

  2) There is a Novoflex adapter. Does this fit 3 Cam and ROM 
Lenses?......I do not have one .... The one thing I do know is that the 
Novoflex adapter came in 2 versions:  One WITH 6 Bit coding, and one 
WITHOUT 6 bit coding.  Get the one WITH the coding,  Without the coding, 
you will not be able to access the R lens Codes.

  3) There was a Leica 22228 and 22228/500934 adapter that was made for 
the Leicina movie camera. This will work with comments and exceptions.
All NON ROM lenses, with 1 or 2 cams will fit and work and focus to 
infinity. Some lenses will vignette ( or so goes the online info.) Which 
Lenses? Mostly the LONG lenses. Why? Because the throat inside the 22228 
adapter is not very large in diameter. Long lenses will cause vignetting 
with these lenses as the light rays come in almost perpendicular to the 
sensor plane.....what is needed is a 24x36 clear area, and the 22228 was 
not made for that purpose... And thus, vignette. The adapter would work 
fine with the same lenses on a Super 8mm film movie camera because the 
film is so small. (roughly 4x6 mm.)

See this for some additional info: " A note about the Leica #22228 R-M 
rings: they were all made prior to the introduction of 3rd cam lenses, 
so they do not work with 3rd-cam only R lenses! The reason? Recent R 
lenses, because they only have the 3rd cam, have a small collar added to 
the lens mount ring to prevent you from trying to mount them onto older 
(1st cam) SL and (1 & 2 cam) SL2 R bodies. The presence of this "collar" 
unfortunately also prevents you from mounting these lenses onto the 
#22228 adapter ring as well! The only work-around it to machine a flange 
into the front of the #22228 lens-mount ring (not too hard or expensive 
to do)."

3 Cam and ROM lenses will NOT WORK. They will NOT FIT (maybe, per Doug 
Herr). No, the ROM is not the problem. The 3 cam and ROM lenses have a 
step towards the center of the the mounting ring that prevents these 
lenses from fitting. See above explanation. You need to have both a ROM 
lens and a non ROM lens next to each other to notice this. So now what? 
In the supplied description of the problem is part of the solution.... 
The 22228 adapter can be modified to accept 3 Cam and ROM lenses. Don 
Goldberg does the mods, and charges a very reasonable $35 fee for the 
work and return shipping. Today is Spring 2021.

The DAG mods do not contain mods for 6 bit coding. and thus will not 
bring up the special menu in the M10 to choose which R lens is mounted. 
I have confirmed that the DAG mods to the 22228 reflex lens to M body 
adapter work and allow the use of ROM lenses on the M body.
I have ordered an aftermarket lens flange (28/90) to replace on the one 
on the back of my 22228. This is as yet untested. The question is IF 
this replacement flange, mounted on a 22228, will focus at infinity.
(personally, I do not find this a big deal. As long as I can REACH 
infinity, even if it is past the infinity position on the lens, this is 
OK with me)

4) Finally, and made for the job, is the adapter called the *R-Adapter 
M* model # 14642 that was meant for this job, and has a 6 bit code that 
brings up a special list of R lenses that will allow you to manually key 
in the lens for the EXIF file. It is not terribly expensive, about $450. 
It SHOULD take all R lenses. Any number of Cams, ROM or not. ( There 
will be exceptions.) This was written for those who ask the question of 
what works with what, and to save folks the problem of buying the wrong 
part.


basically you have 4 choices:

1) The 14642 that is the most expensive, but will work on R lenses.
2) The Chinese cheapo version of the 14642, but you may have to change 
the rear flange.

3) The Novoflex version of the 14642

4) A DAG modified 22228 with the rear flange changed to the 28/90


Which you select depends on what you own, how much yo wish to pay, and 
how much trouble you wish to go through to get this all to work......


Frank Filippone