Leica-R Summicron 50/2 on Nikon F3

In a recent article on my website I spoke about a Leica-R Summicron 50/2 (v2) being converted to Nikon F mount, by means of a Nikon F mount ring (Leitax). As far as I know, this lens was made in 1985 in Canada. After the conversion, I could not wait to take the lens out for a spin, so I loaded some Agfa APX 100 (@80) into my Nikon F3 and went to my local natural park (of sorts). Weather was pretty cold, windy and somewhat slightly overcast, with the occasional, but brief, sun burst. All in all decent light.

Leica-R Summicron 50/2 (v2) on Nikon FM2

Looking into how this lens will perform after conversion, I done some research prior. It became clear that the lens will not behave as I am used to (aperture, metering) due to linkage issues. I knew the lens will not be able to perform in aperture priority mode (which is how I employ the Nikon F3 usually). While not an issue, I wanted to check if metering in aperture priority was possible with this lens, so I shot the entire roll of film by doing just that: focus at f2 (from 5.6 upwards, the viewfinder gets dimmer and dimmer, sort of DOF lever action), set the desired aperture, recompose and shoot.

Well, it worked; the negative was properly exposed and in focus. I haven’t messed with the frames in post, other than slightly cropping the margins. No sharpness or contrast intervention whatsoever.

Nikon F mount ring installed onto the Leica Summicron lens

It is better than my Nikkor lenses? Leica glass is something of a legend (if the word is not too big), and while the results do indeed appear a tad sharper and more contrasty than say, Nikkor 50/2, I cannot swear on it. I am not proficient enough to run serious tests on this glass, nor would I engage in making such comparisons for something I would not know where to start. And anyways, plenty of such articles on the wide web, and no shortage of pro and cons opinions on the matter. I am just happy the Leica-R Sumicron 50/2 lens, converted to Nikon F mount, proves to be a good addition to my otherwise beautiful, trusty Nikon lens herd.

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