C/Y Distagon 28/2.8 and C/Y Planar 50/1.4 - on the Leica M9!

[Hari]

Hi all,

Here's a fun experiment.

I came across an adapter C/Y-M on ebay and it had to be put to use!

I was dying to see how the C/Y glass would perform on the M9's FF sensor devoid of the AA filter

Of course, there in no RF coupling so the focussing is based on the photog's estimation but since 90% of us are fully manual, i dont think this is an issue for us

I tried to cover close distance, mid range and far/close to infinity with the samples and i shot mostly f2.8 - f4 and f5.6

I usually shoot with manual ISO + shutter

I tried this combo out with the C/Y Distagon 28/2.8 and C/Y Planar 50/1.4 so far, will shoot some more with the C/Y Distagon 35/1.4 and C/Y Planar 85/1.4 tomorrow

Here are the results, straight out of the camera ->

[shot in DNG -> converted to .jpg + white balance adjusted in LightRoom]

Distagon 28/2.8 ->

















































Here's a 100% crop ->




This was relatively easy considering the f2.8, f4 and f5.6 DOF of the 28mm

Wait till i upload the files from the 50mm at f1.4 in the next few minutes!

[Orio]

I bought the same adapter last year, but it was so awkward to use (you have to focus with distances, and the viewfinder is well off) that I quickly stopped using it.
Your results are much better focused than what I managed to do.

[LucisPictor]

And you really estimated the focus??
Wow, impressive.

[Vovan]

Fantastic!

[rbelyell]

i think you did a great job with a difficult setup, and as usual, these lenses impress.

[Hari]

with the 28mm i had a hit rate of about 80%

with the 50mm at f1.4 it dropped below 30%

Here are some samples of the C/Y Planar 50/1.4 on the M9 ->

[again - guess focus, converted DNG into jpg + set the WB from "as shot" to "Auto" in most cases - in LR]









































So that was quite a challenge and i loved every minute of it!

I finally found a MINT C/Y Distagon 35/1.4 MMJ for €1100 but it's really like new and i will shoot some more with this lens and the C/Y Planar 85/1.4 on the M9 and pesent the results here later this week!

C&C welcome! Remember, this was a fun experiment

[Hari]

And this is what the setup looks like ->

[BRunner]

Great results which really pay the effort.

[poilu]

great series, even better than manual focus, almost blind focus

[IAZA]

great Hari, Have you consider to try other cheapo lenses

[Hari]

Thanks guys!

Suat - hell yeah! i will now throw on every lens i have on the M9 and see what the results look like

the adapters are cheap and wobbly but for some fun, its a small price to pay and i hafta say the results have surprised me!

I'm on the road again the next few weeks but thankfully i can fly back home for the weekends and indulge myself in the little pleasures of life

[kuuan]

very impressive results with 2 great lenses, though your samples may show even more so what an exceptional camera the M9 is