Use your Leica M Lenses on the Hasselblad X1D! New adapter from Kippon
Wow, I just found out there is a new adapter that allows the use of Leica M lenses on one of my favorite two cameras in the world, ever…the Hasselblad X1D. First reports from those who have the adapter and have tried it are GOOD, and from what I have read over at the Hasselblad X1D forum (See it here) so far, so good. Minimal vignetting, no cropping..and from those who have shot with it, better color than what you get from a Leica M. I want to test this myself, so will be ordering the adapter from the only place I can find it right now, and where others have bought it, EBAY. When it arrives I will report!
UPDATE: A reader of this site, Mr. John Görten sent in an image he shot using this adapter with his X1D and standard 50 Summicron f/2. While this adapter doesn’t give anyone a reason to BUY an X1D. It does give X1D owners the chance to use their M lenses on the camera! Very cool. His image is below. The image is full size but compressed to 10MB as he sent it to me via email.
See the adapter HERE.
That is beautiful.
Nothing is in sharp focus. Close and pleasant only.
Sure there is, her knuckles seem to be where the focus point was captured here. Maybe he missed her eye by a bit but that is where the focus point lies, and at f/1.4 that’s how it goes.
Here is a X1D picture taken with a Leica M summicron rigid from 1957.
https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/278537-hasselblad-x1d-with-leica-m-lenses/
Unfortunately its the only M Lens I own.
Have to be a member of that forum to see that unfortunately.
Thanks for sending the image Mr. John Görten. It unfortunately shows extremely heavy vignetting, most clearly on the book on the bottom left corner, and the table on the bottom right that almost turns black.
You are welcome.
I do not find the vignetting that extreme.
As I am not a professional, the results please me for my private use,.
I like to play around with adapting all kind of lenses on my different camera’s (call it a kind of hobby)
Of course I also us the native XCD lenses on the X1D!
John
Thank you so much Steve et al.! I just ordered one and hope it allows me to keep using my 75mm APO Summicron. I’m not going to hold my breath on the MS-Optical 50mm Sonnetar but you don’t know until you try. I’ll try my wides too (21mm, 28mm, 35mm) though no adapter can overcome physics.
Hi, Steve.
I have tried that adaper today with my M lenses and x1d.
With noctilux 50mm and summilux 28mm, there were terrible vignetting and I could not recover with PP.
50 apo cron was a bit better but not much.
Have a nice day.
Good to hear, others have said it was not that bad so I guess examples need to be seen. To some, small amounts of vignetting are unacceptable, to others it is perfectly fine. I have yet to see a sample image anywhere, just going by what some have said in forums. Thanks for your input. If it has bad vignetting I see no point really.
Sounds like part 5 of X1D review.
Can’t wait, 50 apo, retro voigtlander heliar – whatever’s in da house!
Thanks
Wow, this is great news. Just ordered one and can’t wait to try fast M-lenses on the outstanding X1D sensor.
Very interesting, seeing I have a sack of M mount lenses! How is manual focus compared to the SL?
Thanks again, i have one technical question( i am not very technical). No cropping , means that a 50mm M lens behaves a such on the X1D???
No cropping. So you get a full image. You can read thoughts of some who have this combo at the hassleblad digital X1D forum, linked in the article here. I have not used or tested this yet, and am skeptical but so far, reports are not bad at all. You will have to use the electronic shutter as there is no mechanical shutter in the X1D (leaf shutters are in the lenses). So there are limitations.
To clarify Steve’s comment: not only is there no cropping, but the FOV will be slightly wider than with a Leica. Some M lenses have larger image circles than necessary, so they just manage to cover the larger sensor in the Hasselblad. So a 50mm lens on the Hasselblad will have a similar FOV as a 35-40mm lens on the Leica. Make sense?
In short, focal length is absolute, and has nothing logically to do with FOV. But the FOV of any lens is limited due to the fact that image circles projected by lenses are not infinitely wide.
thanks, Karim….that is the question I wanted to ask. So, the field of view will end up being wider than the focal length of the lens? So, advantage goes to wide angle lenses?
“So, advantage goes to wide angle lenses?”
If you want to put it that way, yes. 🙂
“So, the field of view will end up being wider than the focal length of the lens?”
Illogical question. 😉 But I know what you’re asking, so basically yes. The logical statement would be that the FOV will be wider with a bigger sensor (assuming that the image circle covers it).