Excelsior!
...No, seriously, that shaved-wood padding stuff is called "excelsior."
Longtime camera buffs will recognize those telltale lenscaps as being from the AF Carl Zeiss lenses for the Contax G1 and G2, which were deluxe AF viewfinder cameras from the end of the film era. The lenses have been converted by Japan Exposures (which loaned us these) to manual-focus Leica M mount, for use on any M-mount camera.
Here's a size comparison between the tiny converted Planar 45mm ƒ/2 and the Panasonic Lumix G1's already wee zoom lens, shown here with the lens hood on in a transparent attempt to make it look bigger. Next we need...
...The currently coveted and hard-to-find RayQual Leica M to Micro 4/3 adapter.
The adapter is actually a fairly intricate bit of machining, complete with a little spring-loaded lens locking clip. So maybe the price isn't quite so exorbitant as it initially seems.
Be careful, though—with the adapter attached, the rear element of the Biogon 28mm ƒ2.8 protrudes past the rear rim. Don't forget and set this down the wrong way.
So put it all together and what have you got?
...Right, a li'l bastard. Lest anyone think I'm being crude, I hasten to point out that I'm using both terms in the technical sense...meaning "small" and "of mixed parentage."
And you know what this means, of course. It means that before the week is out, I'm probably going to be out making comparison shots between the Contax G 28mm (56mm-e) and 45mm ƒ/2 (90mm-e) vs. the G1's zoom at the appropriate settings. I live an empty, useless life.
Kinda cute, though, idn't it? Of course you don't need to use the Leica M to Micro 4/3 adapter to mount converted Contax G lenses; you can mount any Leica M mount lens you happen to have, from the Konica M-Hexanons to the M-Rokkor 40mm ƒ/2 made for the Minolta CLE. ...Or, of course, many different authentic Leica lenses of a wide variety of vintages. And, if you also get an M-to-screw adapter, you can mount LTM (Leica Thread Mount) 39mm screwmount lenses too.
Mike
Featured Comment by Michelle: "All of this just to put G1 lenses on a G1? (Sorry, I know it's a silly joke, but someone had to say it.)"
I guess this is called "Old School Heaven";-)
Is there a TINY adapter for K mount to Micro 4/3? Now... that would interest me ;-)
Posted by: ShadZee | Sunday, 01 February 2009 at 02:43 PM
Mike, I DO envy you...
Shadzee, well, it's not a really tiny solution, but what about using K -> 4/3 -> M4/3 adapters? I guess it would add about a centimetre and a half to the length of the lens.
Posted by: erlik | Sunday, 01 February 2009 at 03:33 PM
Sean Reid has been writing about this kind of thing. I can't get too excited about manually focusing a G1, it's not how I like to work, but it is definitely cool in a how-'bout-that kind of way.
Posted by: Ben Rosengart | Sunday, 01 February 2009 at 03:43 PM
Was I right in my currency conversion when I found that converting a G mount 21mm lens to M mount actually costs more (or about the same if you have the optic already) as just buying a brand new Zeiss 21mm from B&H?
Why wouldn't someone just sell the G lens and buy a new ZM lens? Are the designs different?
Posted by: Mark Sperry | Sunday, 01 February 2009 at 04:10 PM
There's a blog world which has remained at white heat for almost two months trying various tiny rangefinder lenses on the G1 using everything from old extension tubes, Novoflex, CameraQuest and Japan Exposures adaptors. The fastest lenses made to work so far are some 50mm f/0.95's, and the most appealing small lens is the Olympus 25/2.8 pancake (using the Olympus 4/3 to u4/3 adapter, it even autofocuses!).
The EVF sorts 'em out. While it is neat to have the ability to magnify for precise manual focus while working slowly, those who were hoping to obtain an M8 for a fraction of its cost, as well as those hoping this would be the DecisiveMomentCamera have by now put their G1's off to E-Bay and are murmuring about the next u4/3 from Olympus... The appearance of the planned Panasonic 21/1.8 might start things humming again.
Have fun with your interesting combinations...
scott
Posted by: scott kirkpatrick | Sunday, 01 February 2009 at 04:30 PM
Man, that Contax G system was lovely. I wish I'd had money back in the nineties. (I do now, but I already have enough old beautiful film cameras I don't use, one more would make me feel too guilty.)
Posted by: Eolake Stobblehouse | Sunday, 01 February 2009 at 04:32 PM
Well Call Me Crazy...
..but...68000 Japanese Yen is currently about 780.00 US dollars.
That is for the converted "G" lens alone and does not include the Rayqual Adapter (or shipping or taxes & duties if they apply).
The Contax G 28/2.8 lens is currently available from KEH (LN-) for US172.00 (plus shipping).
I hope nobody gets injured in the mad rush to buy these things from "japan exposures"!
I also hope blog entries like these do not cause an artificial, Contax G lens, price increase...thus screwing (without an adapter) the folks who wish to use them on "normally aspirated" Contax G bodies.
Sometimes it seems we are our own worst enemies!
Cheers! Jay
Posted by: Jay Frew | Sunday, 01 February 2009 at 04:35 PM
On my last comment I´ve said that the G1 is my favourite camera do play, not work.
But just posted a slideshow where I did a little more than that... actually some real work
http://ultimasreportagens.com/index.html#d32
It is a church in the south of Portugal, and the main camera is a Nikon D3... but the last images are from the G1, the ones inside the church with the priest ... you can see which one by the 4:3 ratio. Now I´m using it as a 3:2, that you can choose to do so on the menu. (it turns in to a 10 something megapixel) and I was using the standard zoom lens because of the stabiliser.
Why the G1?
Well size sometimes matters, so do noisy cameras. And the large articulated rear screen is a must.
Best,
Fernando Guerra
Posted by: Fernando Guerra | Sunday, 01 February 2009 at 04:41 PM
Mark Sperry,
There's no practical reason to prefer one of these converted lenses, in my opinion. It's just what passes for fun among some hobbyists.
Mike J.
Posted by: Mike Johnston | Sunday, 01 February 2009 at 05:39 PM
Here's to the lens mount converters! I thought I'd cured myself of M42 mount curiosity and sold off my M42-FD adapters, but now I'm happily testing my new M42 mount Zeiss 35mm/f:2.0 Distagon on my rather old Canon "New" F-1 and my newish-to-me Canon 40D.
Fortunately M42 adapters can be simple and cheap, though those clever Chinese have figured out how to chip an adapter to send focal length and such information to the camera, so you can use spot metering (which I like) and get AF confirm (which I don't see myself using) with an uncoupled lens, so even though my $4 M42-EF adapter is perfectly adequate, I can't resist springing for a $30 chipped adapter to get the most out of this outstanding lens.
Posted by: David A. Goldfarb | Sunday, 01 February 2009 at 09:56 PM
Make you wonder why somebody doesn't just come out with a digital camera using the original Zeiss G series mount. I'm holding onto my lenses.
Posted by: Stephen Best | Monday, 02 February 2009 at 12:05 AM
Jay Frew: between Mike and Ken Rockwell and the G1 hackers, who knows? I was shocked at how little money the G lenses (and bodies) are selling for.
As far as this ebay scrounger is concerned, the ability to adapt just about any lens is the G1's most exciting feature. Even my Rokkor MD's have cheered up.
Posted by: robert e | Monday, 02 February 2009 at 12:54 AM
I'm with you on that one, Stephen! I'm holding onto my G2 + 21, 45, and 90 G lenses in hope of that incredibly unlikely event. There was a rumour that Sony had bought the rights to the G system and was considering a digital G - nothing more than a scandalous internet rumour, I fear. In the meantime, I continue to run the occasional roll of Ilford XP2 through the camera and continue to enjoy the quality of those lenses.
Posted by: John Friar | Monday, 02 February 2009 at 01:21 AM
There's a gear freak deep inside me. I just know it.
Look'n at that G1 with some sweet optics makes my wallet twitch.
If that 'Lil Bastard had 1080p video, the new 5D MkII would be out of my house and ever so much history in such short order, it'd have heads spinning! LOL!!
Posted by: Christopher Perez | Monday, 02 February 2009 at 05:53 PM