[Leica] Japanese-made 2x

[Jeremy Kime <jeremy.kime@bbc.co.uk>]

Nigel,
I have one of these 2x converters for Leica-M use. They were made in Japan
by Komura and came complete with a bulky viewfinder showing 80-270mm (the
CL's 40mm lens through to 135) though the bright lines on this were anything
but. The kit arrived in a neat leather case including an additional
accessory shoe extender which gave you the flash contact back if you placed
it on a hot shoe.
The extender itself had the novel arrangement of being screw at one end and
bayonet at the other, along with a (provided) screw to bayonet adapter (just
like the Leitz ones) you could convert the device to either all screw or all
bayonet by moving the adapter from one end to the other.
Ultimately the useability depends on the quality of the results, and though
this was the 7 element converter with which Komura achieved a good
reputation, it is very disappointing at wide apertures. You need to stop
down at least 2 stops for it to be anything like useable, and I'm not
talking Leica quality sadly. Different lenses respond differently to the
extender treatment though, you might find a lucky match!
The recent prices I've seen put this at around 500 GBP in the Rare Camera
Co. in London.
Marc could tell you about the Soviet 2x converter made in LTM mount.

Jem


> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Michael Leitheiser [SMTP:flyh2o@worldnet.att.net]
> 
> Saw one advertised at Wall St. Camera many months ago....believe it was
> mfgd by Komura....
> 
> > I once saw a fellow using a Japanese-made 2x that rangefinder-coupled
> with an M, along
> >with a separate finder.  I've never seen another...anyone know what I'm
> >talking about?
> >
> >Regards,
> >Nigel
> 
> Mike Leitheiser
> 
> "When the trout are lost, smash the state."
>                                    Tom McGuane