Thursday, August 27, 2015

LEICA DIGILUX 3 WITH NOVOFLEX LENSES

Leica Digilux 3 with Novoflex Follow Focus 400mm f/5.6

Digital photography started for me with the purchase of a Leica Digilux 2. It proved to be an excellent camera with a performance level way beyond what one could reasonably expect from a five megapixel camera. A lot of the credit for this goes to the outstanding 7 - 22.5mm (28-90mm equiv.) f/2 – 2.4 Leica DC Vario-Summicron lens. As a matter of fact, the only thing that ever bothered me about the camera was the fact that it had a fixed lens.

That problem was solved for me when I purchased a Leica Digilux 3. Besides a 50 percent higher pixel count, the camera does offer interchangeable lenses. One of my interests lies in the use of long lenses, primarily for wildlife photography. At the time I purchased the Digilux 3, it was the only alternative of a digital Leica that could be equipped with lenses longer than 135mm.

At that time I had a 105mm Micro Nikkor which turned into the equivalent of a macro focusing 210mm lens on the Digilux 3.

Leica Digilux 3 with Micro Nikkor 105mm f/4

Of course the first choice of longer lenses were the Leica R lenses. However, many years ago I also had a set of Novoflex Follow Focus lenses which I used on a Leica R4. I had long since sold them, but I remembered them fondly. At the time I managed the largest Leica dealer in Minneapolis. Since the Novoflex 400mm f/5.6 and the Leitz Telyt 400mm f/6.8 were virtually of the same design, we decided to do a side by side comparison test. As it turned out, the Novoflex lens was very much equal to its Leitz counterpart. Another test with the Leitz 560mm Telyt f/6.8 and the Novoflex 640mm f/9 Novoflex rendered similar results.

Once I had the Leica Digilux 3 in my hands, I began to ponder what other lenses might make sense for me. One advantage of the Digilux 3 is its 2x crop factor. It effectively doubles the focal length on any lens compared to full frame or 35mm cameras.

Leica Digilux 3 with Nivoflex Follow Focus 200mm f/3.8

I decided on the Novoflex 200mm f/3.8 and the Novoflex 400mm f/5.6 which gave me the equivalent of a 400mm f/3.8 and an 800mm f/5.6. Especially the 200mm lens proved to be very handy because it rendered 400mm type results in the small package of a 200mm lens. I also find the pistol grip type focusing of the Novoflex lenses extremely easy to use.

Unfortunately I could not find a mount for the Novoflex lenses to go onto the Leica Digilyx 3 directly. So I opted to obtain the lenses with a Nikon mount and then adapted it to the Digilux 3 4/3 mount.

Whenever possible, I use these two lenses on a tripod. But I have also obtained quite successful shots by using them on a monopod with a shoulder stock for extra stability.

Both lenses have been used rather successfully over the last three years. I feel that the results prove that my decision was accurate. Of course both lenses can now be used on the Leica M Typ 240 and its derivatives as well. But that is another story.