I have an extensive array of Minolta manual focus lenses from the 1970s and 1980s. These are very good to optically excellent lenses. I was wanting to use these lenses on my Fed 2 - a soviet era camera from the Ukraine - it is essentially a modified Leica III. I like my Fed 2 body because it has dioptre correction for the viewfinder. The only L39 screw mount lens I have is an Industar 50mm f2.8 which is a tessar inspired design. Coincidentally Leica and Minolta collaborated in the 1970s & 80s. Some of my minolta lenses were given a Leica makeover and sold by Leica. My minolta lenses were made for minolta's manual slr's.
Making the adapter
Using the adapter
The adapter does not allow for use of the rangefinder in the camera body. However my manual focus minolta lenses come with excellent depth of field scales on the lens which allow for zone focusing which is faster than autofocus once aperture and focus have been preset. Zone focusing works well for street photography!
Using other lens makes
This approach can be used to adapt other makes of manual lenses to a leica screw mount camera - the main prerequisite is that the flange distance of the lens is greater than 28.8mm.
Adapting to Leica M Bodies
My adapter can be mounted via a commercially available L39 screw mount to Leica M mount body adapter - so I can now use my minolta lenses on leica m-mount bodies as well!
New Improved Adapter
Rod Reynolds the President of the Australian Photographic Collection Society - made a precision adapter for me (Fig.3). He machined it from metal and due to the variability in flange distances in some L39 screw mount bodies he reduced the depth of the adapter by 1mm. This ensures that all of my minolta lenses will focus at infinity - Thanks Rod!
Making the adapter
- The main specification for the adapter apart from being light tight is to provide the correct lens to camera flange distance for the L39/M39 screw mount camera body (e.g. Leica III or Fed 2) when using a Minolta SR (mc/md) mount lens. The flange distances are 28.8mm and 43.5mm respectively. Therefore the adapter needs 43.5-28.8= 14.7mm between the minolta lens base and the leica camera lens mount.
- To make the adapter I used two parts an L39 (Leica screw mount) camera cap and a minolta rear lens cap.
- I then drilled out the centre of the camera cap and the rear lens cap.
- Using two part epoxy glue I glued the minolta rear lens cap and leica camera cap together - ensuring that the adapter provided 14.7mm between the lens base and the camera mount.
- After the epoxy had fully cured I painted the adapter with matt black paint.
- Fig. 1 shows the completed adapter and Fig.2 shows my 35mm f2.8 md minolta lens mounted on my Fed 2 with the adapter.
Using the adapter
The adapter does not allow for use of the rangefinder in the camera body. However my manual focus minolta lenses come with excellent depth of field scales on the lens which allow for zone focusing which is faster than autofocus once aperture and focus have been preset. Zone focusing works well for street photography!
Using other lens makes
This approach can be used to adapt other makes of manual lenses to a leica screw mount camera - the main prerequisite is that the flange distance of the lens is greater than 28.8mm.
Adapting to Leica M Bodies
My adapter can be mounted via a commercially available L39 screw mount to Leica M mount body adapter - so I can now use my minolta lenses on leica m-mount bodies as well!
New Improved Adapter
Rod Reynolds the President of the Australian Photographic Collection Society - made a precision adapter for me (Fig.3). He machined it from metal and due to the variability in flange distances in some L39 screw mount bodies he reduced the depth of the adapter by 1mm. This ensures that all of my minolta lenses will focus at infinity - Thanks Rod!
Fig.1 - Leica Screw Mount to Minolta Lens Adapter
Fig.2 - Minolta Lens adapted to Leica screw mount (Fed 2 Body)
Fig.3 Machined Metal Minolta Lens to Leica Screw Mount Adapter.