On Fri, Apr 16, 2010 at 11:28 PM, Stan Halpin <[email protected]> wrote: > As I have mentioned, my father-in-law passed away recently. Through his 80's > he was an active photographer with a primary emphasis on supporting the local > theater guild, etc. with portraits and production shots. Also CD covers for > professional musicians, etc. He traded some of his good gear in on a Nikon > D50 a couple of years ago. (At 95+, he never did figure out the whole digital > thing. Couldn't understand a film-less camera. But as long as I loaded and > unloaded his SD card, and assured him that there was film in the camera, he > could still do his photo thing.) Of the remaining equipment, the Hassleblad + > lenses etc. went to his son. Nobody seems to care about the Nikon F3 and > older Nikkor lenses. My sister-in-law has one Leica body and lens purely for > sentamental value - never intends to shot a roll of film. I spoke up for the > Nikkor ED AF 180/2.8 and bought a simple adapter to use that on my K20. I > also have one of the Leica lenses, just because it looked and felt like a > nice lens. > > So, what can I do with it? Elmarit-M 1:2.9/28mm. I've done some poking around > and have found a consensus that Leica-M and K-mount cannot mix due to flange > depth issues or some such technical issue. As I understand it, the Leica > lenses like to get up close and personal with the imaging medium, while the > Pentax K is a bit more standoffish. > > If I can't use the M-series on a K-body, then I can either shelve the Leica > lens as a memorial, or I can buy a body (digital) which can use that lens. > > I seem to recall that Godfrey, maybe others, have a Lummix G1 (?) usable via > adapters with Pentax K-series, Leica M-series, and a multitude of other > lenses. > Is it worth buying another camera body just to be able to use this lens? > Alternatives to the G1? Leaving aside the M-9; the $7000 is a bit much for me > right now. > > One factor that may come into play - in his equipment stash my father-in-law > also had other Leica lenses including IIRC a 35/2.8, 50/2.0, and 135/4.0. > > stan
Two options. Get an M mount body like the Voigtlander Bessa R2 or R3 series and shoot film. Go digital with an M43 body and use those excellent lenses. The GF1 or Oly Pen's are the most leica-esque, but the G1 or G2 are good options as well. IN between the m43 stuff and the M9 remains the M8/M8.2, which can be had for $2-3k and are actually good, if quirky cameras (think *istD-level UI performance, just with way better IQ). -Adam -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
