[Leica] M Lenses on GF-1

[simon.ogilvie at gmail.com (Simon Ogilvie)]

David Rodgers wrote:

>I don't doubt what you're saying. I'm just a bit mystified how a lens
>can vignette on a sensor that's half the size of film that it was
>designed to cover. That hasn't been my experience with M lenses on Micro
>Four Thirds. I actually have to use Lightroom to add a little forced
>vignetting because in many cases I like that look.

As Henning (with his far superior knowledge than mine) has pointed
out, vignetting isn't just about image circle...

But I still find it annoying to have to correct for this when using
the Panasonic 45-200 lens.  I tried to do a panoramic stitch using
four frames, but gave up as I couldn't get them to match.  I thought
the Panasonic lenses were supposed to be corrected in-camera?

>I'm also perplexed at how Contax G lenses can be materially better on
>Micro Four Thirds than are Leica M lenses, or even CV lenses for that
>matter. While I haven't used all on Micro Four Thirds I have used them
>all on film and for the most part they're all pretty good. Thus I'm
>curious as to why the performance would be so different on Micro Four
>Thirds. What kind of adapters are you using?

I agree - one of the primary reasons I bought into the 4/3 system was
because it allowed me to use my Leica M (and Voigtlander) lenses which
don't see much use any more as I shoot very little film these days.
The results using these lenses were very disappointing.  The Panasonic
14-45 covers the range of nearly all of my M lenses anyway, so as the
results seem better and it's much more convenient to use, I stick with
the zoom.    I was surprised that the results from the Contax G lenses
looked so much nicer.  Why this is the case when the Leica lenses are
so nice with film I cannot explain.  The adapters are the Voigtlander
one for the Leica-M lenses, and an adapter imported from Hong Kong for
the Contax G with a little manual focus wheel that engages with the
focussing drive on the lenses.

>The main issues I see in using Lumix lenses versus Leica M lenses on the
>GF-1 is that Lumix lenses have AF and Leica M lenses don't. It's easy to
>miss focus, particularly with the longer lenses wide open. A focus
>assist LED in the viewfinder would be a nice feature to have.

The magnified area when manual focussing these lenses is very helpful,
and it's just two button clicks away...

Simon.