Minolta MC 50/1.4 converted to Leica Mount

[BrianV]

Minolta made great M-Mount lenses. Minolta made great 50/1.4 lenses. Why didn't Minolta make a 50mm F1.4 in Leica M-Mount! The 1976 Pop Photo test of 32 normal lenses put the Minolta 50/1.4 second to the Summilux for lenses in it's class. The wide-open center-performance of the Minolta was better than all of the F1.4 lenses from other SLR manufacturers. Wide-Open Edge-performance, that's for Bokeh anyway. By F4 it all evens out.

The RF cam is made from the aluminum leg of an old tripod, fit perfectly over the rear retaining ring of the back of the lens. Epoxy and copper tape used to attach the Cam. The insert of the tube is a split ring, and it acts to thicken the Cam for the cam follower to pick up, and acts as a light baffle for reflections from the inside of the tube. Foto-Diox makes a series of uncoupled adapters to mount SLR lenses for M-Mount cameras. Scale focus or "Liveview" with the new M model 240 work. So does polishing down a leg from a broken tripod.

 

[BrianV]

First test, at 0.7m.

The second attempt at polishing down a cam worked- I overshot the first one. Best to leave the cam on the long side when cutting it, use the difference in flange distance of the SLR lens from 27.8mm as a start. Then polish down slowly. This one is pretty close.

 

[BrianV]

Wide-Open shots, with 100% crops.



I believe the old Pop Photo tests regarding center sharpness for this lens was correct.

 

[BrianV]

The lens has an aperture on it, and it does work.

This is at F4.





The Summilux performed better than the Minolta on the Pop Photo tests. The pre-aspheric Summilux from that test runs about $1600 used these days. This lens was $40 at a camera show, and the adapter was another $40. 2 hours required for the conversion, digital calipers, pipe cutter, file, sand paper and some patience required. Hardware Skill: I write software for a living...