Re: [Leica] 2 x Converter

["A.H.SCHMIDT" <horsts@actek.com.au>]

m037iu00@cwcom.net wrote:

> Horst,
> I have one of these devices (being of perverse mind that is interested in the wierd and
> wonderful stuff made to attach onto a Leica!) and will fill you in briefly with its
> performance.
> Disappointing.
>
> I tested it at several apertures and on 2 different lenses, 90/2 Summicron and 135/4.5
> Hektor. The Summicron would seem the ideal lens for this, longish and wide aperture,
> gives a 180/4, unfortunately the performance does not begin to approach usability (on
> 10x8) until you stop down 3-4 stops!, therefore a 180/11, not good. You need a very
> bright day to be able to make use of it, stopping down also helps on the focussing side
> of things. Up until this point, corner imagery is swept with an imaginary rotary
> blurring brush!
>
> Leitz were going to introduce a teleconverter for the M camera and cancelled the launch
> when they decided they would have to dedicate converters to specific lenses to ensure
> total focussing accuracy.
> On a seperate point, the viewfinder is hardly inspiring in its not very-brightline
> finder.
>
> The Russians also produced a 2x converter for the r/f Leicas, screw only, and my tests
> show this to be inferior to the Komura. Marc James Small owns of the the others (not
> many are known to exist) and he reports good results so be prepared for variety of
> findings in this area of experiment.
>
> Komura had a long history of producing LTM lenses, I have 2, 28/3.5s; a 105/4 and a
> 135/4, all of these had seperate viewfinders and there was a more extensive list
> available. I suppose that with the success of the Komura Telemore 95 (II), which was
> widely regarded as the best of its day, they decided to see if they could make it
> available in Leica fit, something that even Leitz hadn't offerred for their cameras.
> The most impressive part of it, I feel, is the ability to mount it on either M or screw
> cameras and use either M or screw lenses! Terrific, er, or not...
>
> best regards,
>
> Jem
> =====================

Jem,

Thanks a lot for your very thorough response. Your absolutely correct with the viewfinder.
The bright lines are very hard to see. It looks like the thing is just useful for
collecting.
thanks again,
Horst Schmidt