The Novoflex Leica M to M4/3 adapter has arrived!

The Novoflex M to m4/3 adapter just arrived! Yep, I shelled out $240 (damn, that seems crazy) for this Novoflex adapter that will allow me to use my Leica M lenses on the Olympus E-P2. I used to own the Voigtlander adapter when I had an E-P1, but this time I decided to go for it and buy the Novoflex. If you read this site then you know that I believe Leica makes the best lenses in the world for 35mm photography. Period. When these little m4/3 cameras came out, one of the coolest features was the fact that you could buy adapters for almost ANY lens mount and use those lenses on your m4/3 camera!

Now, the reality of this is that the m4/3 sensors are not really quite up to the level of some of these lenses, especially the Leica glass. Sure, you can get some of that Leica look but on a m4/3 camera a 35mm F2 becomes a 70mm F2. If you want a fast 35mm equivalent then you need to find an 18. Sadly, a fast 18 is no where to be found. So while it may not be the best solution it sure can be fun. In any case, I wanted to test Leica glass on the E-P2 now that I have an EVF with high enough resolution to focus accurately without having to blow up my LCD to the 7X view. So yep, I ordered the Novoflex from B&H photo.

It arrived and my 1st impression was “Holy cow! This thing is light” – It feels lighter than the Voigtlander adapter. Hmmm. I attached it to the little E-P2 and it slid on with a sold twist and click. I attached some lenses and grabbed some shots of them mounted on the camera to show you what they look like. One thing is for sure…the camera feels AWESOME with an M lens attached! It’s solid and actually pretty M like! But what about performance? I’ll have some image results soon.

For today, here are some images for you so you can get an idea of how it all comes together! The E-P2 is now looking pretty sweet!

The little 35 Summarit with its hood attached on the E-P2. This would be like shooting a 70mm F2.5 lens with a minimum focus distance of 0.9m.

The 50 Summicron will give you the equivalent of a 100mm F2 lens. Not too shabby huh?

The 90 Elmarit looks like a monster on the E-P2! With this lens you have a 180mm F2.8!

This adapter is pretty nice. Solid and light. You can buy the Novoflex at B&H Photo HERE or save $60 or so and buy the Voigtlander HERE. In all of my new Leica lens reviews I will be not only testing the lenses on the M9, but also on the E-P2 so be on the lookout for those! As I get some samples I will be sure to post them and also include some “crazy comparisons” with the M9. I say “crazy” because who compares a $1000 camera with a $7000 camera? Well, I do!

Here is one shot with the Zeiss 85 Sonnar F2 from today. I have to say that this lens did not do so well on the E-P2 overall. Lots of CA, and for some weird reason NOISE even at ISO 200 in 3/4 of the shots. Here is one that I liked that had no issues. I did some PP to it but mainly contrast, brightness and desaturation.

I will be doing much more with this adapter and will be posting my results as I go. Thanks for looking!

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29 Comments

  1. Hey Steve, I just found your site, and I love your reviews. I am looking for an adapter to mount Ziess ZM lenses to my EP-1, but I am having trouble finding one that suits my need. I want an adapter that can stay mounted to my camera, and allow me to changes lenses without removing it. Basically turning my m43’s camera into an M mount camera. Does the Novoflex adapter work this way or perhaps the Voigtlander? I’d sure appreciate any help that you can give. Thanks.

  2. Why not just get the Panasonic or Olympus Adapter instead! Panasonic adapters are probably Leica design.

  3. Hello – figured it out. Thought I’d post it here in case others had the same trouble.

    I was trying to push the screw “in” i.e. towards the center axis of the lens.

    One needs to “pull” the screw with a finger towards the body that the lens is mounted on – or put another way in a direction parallel to the center axis of the lens with the force towards the rear of the lens.

    Always enjoy your site and postings!

    • Thanks from me too! Had to search numerous forums to get this vital info! Novoflex should add info to the documentation that comes with the adapter on how to release adapter from lens.

  4. Thanks for the quick reply. Something is not right with mine. Just got it from B&H. I put it on and got a nice click.

    However, now I cannot push in (or pull out) the screw. I’ll keep gently fiddling with it.

  5. Goofy question. Once the Novoflex adapter is on a Leica M lens, how do you get it off?

    There is a little screw (silver) – push? pull? turn? Mine didn’t come with directions and I don’t want to tweak anything too hard.

    thanks,

  6. Sure I could have bought one off of ebay and waited a month to get it but I bought a Novoflex as that was my choice and I am FAR from “loaded”.

  7. Who needs common sense if you’re loaded? You could have bought one on Ebay 10 times cheaper

  8. PPL, yea I saw that somewhere and that would be anothet sweet option. I know the Ricoh has great IQ, color, etc. With an M lens it would be the m4/3 cameras for IQ.

  9. Awesome Per! I shot today with the E-P2 and Leica 35 Summarit. Its good but not M9 good. Still, its really fun to use the M lenses on the camera. Let me know how you like the GF1! I love the 20 1.7 as you know 🙂

  10. I just bought the Panasonic GF1 with 20mm pancake. Extremely fun. Bye bye canon 5Dll, no fun factor IMO. Looking forward to your review on the adapter.

  11. The other adaptor I think you may be interested in Steve is the one which allows for the mounting of “C mount” cine lenses (used on 16mm films etc. These are tiny, cheap, usually fast (like the “25mm f1.4 Switar”) and, most importantly, are generally quite old designs with spherical abberations etc (and thus may give some of that “old-fashioned” look you enjoyed with the 50mm Zeiss Sonar at f1.5). There are even a few of Petzval design which gives that “swirly bokeh” look that is sometimes sen in the Noctilux ! 🙂

  12. I got the same Novoflex adapter this week, and am using it on my E-P2 with the Elmarit 90, and two Voigtlander lenses, the 35 f/1.4 Nokton and the 50 /f2 Heliar collapsible. And you’re right, it sure is fun! With the 90mm, I have a crazy long zoom for such a small camera.

    But most importantly, I think that manual focus with the E-P2 EVF is great. I also have stopped using the zoom-in enlargement on the EVF for focusing; 95% of the time I can focus just fine with the EVF at normal resolution. Sure, I still think the EVF is fugly, and it is just begging to be broken in my bag, but it does work very, very well.

    Until my M9 arrives, I’m going to have lots of fun with m-mount lenses on the E-P2. Looking forward to your reviews, Steve.

  13. No filter on the Zeiss and the CA was as bad as I have ever seen in any image. The Zeiss did not give me any CA on the M9 though, which is odd because most Leica Lenses do. But, my shooting was limited to today. I have 29 more days to go with the Zeiss 85 and 35 F2.

  14. I returned the Novoflex after I found the Fotodiox (amazon: $70). They are equally functional; there is not much to it, it is a piece of metal whether it is made in Germany, Ohio or China.
    I did not get any CA with any of my leica lenses (90/2, 50/1.4 & 28/2): Results were amazing.
    Did you have a filter on your Zeiss lens? on my 50/1.4 the filter was causing problems.

  15. Hey Damen, I went for the Novaflex because where I shop it was in stock and the Voigtlander wasn’t. Thats it. I’ll go into all of the specifics soon with more images as well. But yes, I agree that under 35mm, stick with the Panny and Oly lenses.

  16. Hi Steve,
    I was wondering why you went for the Novaflex over the Voightlander – comparisons ? I would also love to hear your thoughts on ease of manual focussing these lenses with the EVF. In general i know he wide-angle lenses won’t work so well (rear lens element too close to sensor = ray of light incidence too great), but I am surprised an 85mm showed these flaws. For wide angle use on micro 4/3rds I thnk you are really better off sticking to the Panasonic lenses (20mm f1.7 and the 7 – 14 zoom).

  17. I don’t understand why that Novoflex adapter is so much more money than the Voigtlander, or even one of the cheap £50 efforts from ebay – what makes it so special?

  18. P.S.

    I would love to see a few different ZM lenses on this baby to see if the problem is with ZM lenses on general or specific to the 85 Sonnar (which is strange and concerning).

  19. Steve, looking forward too.
    Have bought one and using the 35 and 75 Su, it was sensational but didn’t really go into a detailed analysis. If I just see how the colours look like vs. the kit lens then could say the colour difference is obvious. On the Leica it is much more natural. Have also bought a Panasonic one for R lenses but the Novoflex build quality is a dream.
    Awaiting your reviews and interesting views.

  20. Hi Steve,

    I am a long time reader, first time poster!

    Love your work! The reviews are excellent and I really appreciate the real world focus. The “crazy” comparisons are great! There cameras are not in the same class and should not be compared, but for reasons I cannot explain you are so right to compare them!

    I am looking forward to reading more about you EP-2 with M glass.

    If at all possible I would love to see the results using a 21mm and/or 24mm lens 🙂

    Also, I would love to hear your thoughts on the performance of the manual focus with the EVF after a while of shooting. Does it feel natural? Are you able to obtain crisp focus?

    Love your site! I read through it everyday!

  21. P.S. I thought the Voigtlander or Rayqual adapters were better, they even had light baffles built into them.

  22. Great ! Looking forward to your reviews with Leica mounted on E-P2 … That 90mm Elmarit-M was superb on my E-P2 …

    That is weird alright with the Zeiss …

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