Leica R Mount Lenses for Canon HDSLR

I started sharing a Leica list with individual colleagues and the requests just kept coming. So, we decided to also share it with everyone on the blog.

These lenses are only R-Mount. They are simply put: the cream of the crop. Through various tests, we have discovered for ourselves just how excellent they truly are.

PROS:

  • Slightly warm in color, I alter my color temp. 200 degrees colder to counteract
  • Wonderful Contrast and color reproduction
  • Creamy
  • Lenses do not breathe while racking focus
  • Better cinema-style  focus rack than other still lenses

CONS:

  • Flare easily,  will need to have lens hoods, matte boxes, and french flags to help combat losing contrast
  • After we de-clicked the lenses the blades on the f-stop ring close while shooting.  Be sure to tape your f-stop every time you shoot so  your exposure doesn’t drift
  • Older lens technology, not up-to-date coating
  • Out-of-focus highlights will give you a stop sign effect because of not having as many iris blades

This lens set was put together with love and commitment to excellence by my good friend David Marconi and Eva Jay. He is a writer/director and has fallen in love with this technology. David is directing a movie in the fall of 2010, where we will be taking the Leica’s and our Canon 5D’s to the Moroccan desert to shoot a thriller.

In early June David asked me to take this group of lenses and put them to the test. We used them on a Medal of Honor commercial with Bandito Brothers and a Nike commercial that Robert Elswit, ASC photographed.

Fotodiox lens adapters are the tightest fitting and will focus at infinity.

Here are the best websites according to David and Eva for factual info. about the Leicas.

Leica Lenses MIN. F-STOP MAX. F-Stop
15 mm Elmarit -R ASPH ROM Leica 2.8 22
19 mm Elmarit -R Leica 2.8 22
21 mm Super-Angulon-R Leica 4 22
28 mm Elmarit-R Leica 2.8 22
35 mm Sumilux-R Leica 1.4 16
50 mm Summilux-R Leica 1.4 16
80 mm Summilux-R Leica 1.4 16
90 mm APO- Summicron-R Leica 2 16
35 mm Leica 2 16
60 mm Macro Leica 2.8 22
100 mm Macro Leica 2.8 22
280 mm Apo-Telyt-R Leica 2.8 22
280 extender Apo Extender-R 1.4 x
180 mm Telephoto-Apo-Summicron-R Leica 2
Apo-Telyt-R Modular Leica lens system
280/400/560 mm Lens Head Telephoto-Leica-R
400/560/800 mm Lens Head Telephoto-Leica-R
1x 280/400 – Focus Module 2.8
1.4x 400/560- Focus Module 4

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About Filmmakers Academy Cinematographer Mentor Shane Hurlbut, ASC

Director of photography Shane Hurlbut, ASC works at the forefront of cinema. He’s a storyteller, innovator, and discerning collaborator, who brings more than three decades of experience to his art. He is a member of the American Society of Cinematographers, the International Cinematographers Guild/Local 600, and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Hurlbut frequently joins forces with great directors: McG’s Netflix Rim of the World and The Babysitter, plus Warner Bros. We Are Marshall and Terminator: Salvation; Scott Waugh’s Need for Speed and Act of Valor; and Gabriele Muccino’s There Is No Place Like Home and Fathers and Daughters. His additional film credits include Semi-Pro; The Greatest Game Ever Played; Into the Blue; Mr 3000; Drumline; 11:14, which earned Hurlbut a DVDX nomination; and The Skulls. Notably, his television credits include the first season of AMC’s Into the Badlands.

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By Shane Hurlbut, ASC

Director of photography Shane Hurlbut, ASC works at the forefront of cinema as a storyteller, innovator and discerning collaborator, who brings more than three decades of experience to his art. He is a member of the American Society of Cinematographers, the International Cinematographers Guild/Local 600, and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

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