this whole business of LTM and M mounts............

haagen_dazs · 03-21-2006

i have been reading up on RF and learning more about it.

i am not sure but i think i read somewhere that buying a LTM mount camera is good because that opens up many many choices of LTM lenses out there...

nowif i am correct, a LTM mount lens can mount onto a M camera but not the other way around ( M lens to LTM camera)

then how can my second statement be true?
Isnt buying a M mount camera better since it has the choice of LTM lens w/ adaptor as well as M mount lens???

i am *CONFUSED*

Guy Bennett · 03-21-2006

Many companies made lenses in LTM, so you might choose from an array of focal lengths from a number of manufacturers. As most of these are at least 50 years old, they are not too expensive. In comparison few companies have produced lenses in M mount.

wlewisiii · 03-21-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by haagen_dazs

now if i am correct, a LTM mount lens can mount onto a M camera but not the other way around ( M lens to LTM camera)

then how can my second statement be true?
Isnt buying a M mount camera better since it has the choice of LTM lens w/ adaptor as well as M mount lens???

i am *CONFUSED*

Yes, that is correct. The M mount was designed with a slightly different distance from lens to film plane so that a correctly made LTM lens could have a simple adaptor spun onto the lens to make it compatable with the new mount. If you buy a M mount camera, you have access to all LTM lenses as well as all M mount lenses. If you buy a LTM camera, you "only" have access to LTM lenses. Given the glorious lenses that have been made in that mount over the years, that's not as terrible as it seems. My primary camera (Canon 7) is LTM while my very secondary camera is M mount (Leica CL).

Your milage will vary. Have fun finding out just where and how it does ...

William

pvdhaar · 03-21-2006

Mark, whether you get an LTM mount camera, or an M mount camera, you basically can't go wrong. Both your statements are correct, as is Williams' explanation. There's just one thing not mentioned, and that is the cost factor.

M-mount lenses are overall more expensive, and LTM-M mount adapters are expensive. As Guy mentioned, you can find real bargains in LTM mount. You'll find that an M based system is more expensive to run in the long term. You can get away with a single adapter on an M-mount system and screw in/out lenses, but this is no fun compared to the ease of the M-bayonet. In the end you'll get one for each LTM lens. The peculiar bit is that the thread on a LTM body works more smoothly than the ones on adapters. So it's not a problematic system in that regard..

At the end of the day, it boils down to a question of cost and whether you really are lusting for a lens that's only available in M-mount.

haagen_dazs · 03-21-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by pvdhaar

There's just one thing not mentioned, and that is the cost factor.

M-mount lenses are overall more expensive, and LTM-M mount adapters are expensive..

you are really right..
i was looking around the classifieds, ebays and other places.
the M mounts are always more expensive.

since i am new... think i can live with the LTM for now...

haagen_dazs · 03-21-2006

oppz another question

is the M39 mount = M mount ?

and what is M42??

wlewisiii · 03-21-2006

yep, M39 is shorthand for LTM. Or LSM or any of about a dozen other acronyms I've heard for that particular screw mount ...

BTW, I'll still point you at a good Canon 7 ...

Screwmount and a Selenium meter ... what could be better???? <LOL>

William

haagen_dazs · 03-21-2006

what is a M42?

and

what is a Nikon AI-S mount ?

wlewisiii · 03-21-2006

M42 is what is usually called Pentax Screwmount. It didn't come from them, but they made it famous. It only exists for SLRs.

Nikon mounts... that's a mess I know little to nothing about as I've never owned a Nikon F mount camera (I've been a Canon Grognard all along

) so one of the others will have to help you there.

William

Will · 03-21-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by wlewisiii

yep, M39 is shorthand for LTM. Or LSM or any of about a dozen other acronyms I've heard for that particular screw mount ...

BTW, I'll still point you at a good Canon 7 ...

Screwmount and a Selenium meter ... what could be better???? <LOL>

William

Go for a Canon 7 (LTM) or M3 (M, if you use 35mm, then M2)

If you use a handhold meter, they are all the camera you ever need!

scigeek · 03-22-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by haagen_dazs

i have been reading up on RF and learning more about it.

i am not sure but i think i read somewhere that buying a LTM mount camera is good because that opens up many many choices of LTM lenses out there...

I have both M and LTM - if I had to choose between them, I'd go for the LTM every time.