hello i wonder if there is a possibility to fit a nikon 16mm fisheye (mf) on a leica m6. i just bought that lens, because i shoot a lot of skateboarding and that´s a lens you need. (with a camera+motor drive to shoot sequences.) i don´t want to carry a nikon f3+drive around, just to use the fisheye. example:when i´m in a foreign city and shoot travel pics. (yes i could buy a fm2....), but i have an m6 already +35mm lens and i love that camera. so if i can mount the fisheye on the m6 i have more options to shoot... any ideas and /or experience. thanks oliver

-- oliver kurzemann (moengi@zip6020.com), May 12, 2002

Answers

Check it out: http://www.cameraquest.com/adaptnew.htm

-- Bert Keuken (bkkn@wanadoo.nl), May 12, 2002.

thanks

usefull information 5 minutes after i posted the question.. oliver

-- oliver (moengi@zip6020.com), May 12, 2002.

I'm not sure where you'll be able to come up with a fisheye finder- Maybe you could modify one of those door "peephole" lenses so it would mount on your shoe.

-- Andrew Schank (aschank@flash.net), May 12, 2002.

How about the Voigtländer 15mm finder? http://www.cameraquest.com/voigtlen.htm

-- Bert Keuken (bkkn@wanadoo.nl), May 12, 2002.

Fisheye is nearly 180 degrees as opposed to 110 or so on the 15mm.

-- Andrew Schank (aschank@flash.net), May 12, 2002.

I regularly shoot with a Leica R 16mm full-frame fisheye on a M6 or M4-P. Works very well, nice and quiet and no mirror to lock up. Because the lens FOV° is so large, you don't need any finder to frame the shot, also just keep the lens focus distance at 3m -everything will be in focus and everything in front of you will be in frame.

BTW, I have a detailed page on lots of different lens-mount adapters in the FAQ I keep at: nemeng.com/ leica/017e.shtml

-- Andrew Nemeth (azn@nemeng.com), May 12, 2002.

IF you don't need exact corner-to-corner framing the 15mm v'lander finder has enough barrel distortion to give you a good idea of what you're getting for use with a full-frame fisheye.

If you DO need exact corner-to-corner framing you shouldn't be using a rangefinder for any lens. 8^)

The 15 V'lander finder should get you in the ballpark better than a peekaboo door finder. The manual-focus 16mm's are starting to show up often used, and I plan to pick up one and do exactly like Oliver.

-- Andy Piper (apidens@denver.infi.net), May 12, 2002.

The manual-focus 16mm's are starting to show up often used, and I plan to pick up one

FWIW…

I use the 16mm professionally for creating QTVR 360-scenes. I've found from experience that the Nikon 16mm, while sharp enough, suffers quite a bit from flare when you point it at the sun (cannot be helped outdoors) or into a spotlight. The Canon FD 15mm isn't as bad, but still flares. So beware…

Apparently the 3 best 16mm full-frame fisheyes are (in no order) the Leica R 16mm (a Minolta design), the Zeiss Contax 16mm and the Olympus 16mm. The Leica lenses are pretty easy to buy (but of course, expensive!). The Contax is even more expensive, mainly because they are so rare. The Olympus lens is much cheaper than either, but very hard to find (a friend of mine had to import his from the USA, after a 3 month search!).

-- Andrew Nemeth (azn@nemeng.com), May 13, 2002.