Bob Locher Loc: Southwest Oregon

I own a Sony A-6000. Screw mount Leica lens adapters to Sony E-mount are available for a modest cost - around US $10. Check eBay. And the Leica lenses focus perfectly at infinity. Also, the camera has a focus magnifier capability that makes precise focusing easy. I did this personally for a while but a friend made me an offer for the Leica lenses I could not refuse.

Check Craig's List for a used A-6000 - you should be able to find one for about US $350.

Cheers

Bob Locher

Darkroom317 Loc: Mishawaka, IN

Canon Rangefinders

Pablo8 Loc: Nottingham UK.

Can you tell me more?? Remember, I'm looking for a DIGITAL body.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

No digital Leica screw thread cameras but the new Nikon and Canon mirrorless will likely get adapters soon as they are thin enough to meet all your demands except having the native mount.

Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

I use my Leica screw mount lenses on an Olympus mirrorless body via an adapter. As MT stated, there is no digital body that mounts screw mount lenses without having to use an adapter. Your best choices will be mirrorless cameras with short flange distances and an adapter.

Hsch39 Loc: Northbrook, Illinois

Why don't you just buy an adapter, the lenses are 100% manual anyhow. I use my 39mm Leica lenses on a Panasonic 4/3, and it works great.

Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

An adapter alone isn’t the solution. The flange distance determines whether or not an optical or mechanical adapter is needed. Unless the camera has a short flange distance, a mechanical adapter won’t allow for infinity focus. Thus mirrorless cameras are better suited to being used due to their short flange distances. The OP is looking for a digital camera that will accept screw mount lenses. He currently owns a Nikon DSLR and with Nikons long flange distance, he would need an optical adapter to maintain infinity focus. The extra elements in those type of adapters degrade resolution and affect focal length of the adapted lens. Thus just getting an adapter isn’t the answer he needs.

Darkroom317 Loc: Mishawaka, IN

Sorry. I only noticed that after I posted.

The Canon Rangefinders started out as Leica clones and Canon over time made modifications that made a wonderful series of cameras. They stopped producing them in the 1960s.

I was hoping that their new mirrorless camera would take some stylistic cues from their rangefinders similar to Fuji's mirrorless offerings. Sadly they didn't. It is likely as others have pointed out that an adapter for Canon mirrorless for L39 lenses made be in the future.

Kuzano

You are SOL. Nobody makes a digital body currently that has a Leica thread mount on the front. Nor an M39 mount directly on the camera. You are stuck with adapters. The only likely possibility would be a Leica digital, or possibly the NLA new Epson RD digital (if it had a thread mount) Those if found today and if they have the actual thread mount are around $1000 to $2000 used. But doubt if they are thread mount on the body.

What manufacturer in their right mind would have made an actual thread mount body, except Leica, and that not likely. Why are you opposed to using adapters as so many do?

Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

If you had really read his initial post, he has tried mechanical adapters on a Nikon body.. Nikon has one of the longest flange distances there are (other than their new mirrorless) and short of an image robbing optical adapter, the mechanical adapters won't allow infinity focus, only being able to close focus. Thus the reason for his post. Yes, he is limited to having to use adapters, but mainly on cameras with short flange distances. The best bet being mirrorless cameras as they all have short flange distances and, as such, won't lose infinity focus.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

You are not SOL, by any means. You just cannot use those lenses with DSLRs, as you've discovered. Any DSLR adapters for them will either require image-qualty-spoiling optical correction, or without optical correction will not be able to focus farther than a few feet. This is true with ALL vintage rangefinder lenses... not just m39. They just aren't practical to use on any DSLRs (just as those lenses weren't usable on film SLRs).

Certainly, you could use them on various modern Leica digital "mirrorless", with an M39 screwmount-to-Leica digital L-mount (no optics necessary). Digital Leica are available in both APS-C and full frame models, but are VERY pricey.

Alternatively, you can adapt and use them on most current mirrorless camera.... Sony (APS-C or full frame), Canon (APS-C.... coming next month, full frame ), Nikon (coming soon, full frame).... Fujifilm (APS-C).... Olympus/Panasonic (micro 4/3). These will require m39 screwmount-to-whatever adapters, but those won't need any optics to allow the lens to focus all the way to infinity, just as it was originally designed. (Note: there likely won't be adapters right away for the new full frame models coming from Canon and Nikon.... And there's also rumor that Panasonic will be introducing a full frame model soon.)

The "register" or "lens flange to film/sensor plane focus distance" of Leica m39 screwmount lenses is 28.8mm. Leica bayonet film rangefinders use 27.8mm (leaving 1mm for screw-to-bayonet adapters).

ALL the above mirrorless use shorter lens register.... ranging from 20mm (Canon RF) to 16mm (Nikon Z)... allowing plenty of room for adapters without need for any optical correction.

Also, many mirrorless use an electronic viewfinder. These have features to help with manual focus, such as "focus peaking". This is not found in the optical viewfinders of DSLRs, most of which are designed with autofocus in mind and have little to no assistance for manual focus. Some DSLRs have Focus Confirmation or focus peaking in Live View mode. But, it's a moot point, since ALL DSLRs use much longer lens register, leaving no room for adapters without optics or that will allow infinity focus, with short register vintage rangefinder lenses.

So... take your pick from the crop of mirrorless cameras available. (The only mirrorles I can think of that won't work is the Fujifilm GFX, which is a medium format camera. It has short register, too... but requires lenses with a larger image circle than m39 lenses are able to produce.)

Personally I plan to buy a Canon M5 in the not too distant future. One of the reasons is because it will allow me to use many vintage lenses in my camera collection (albeit, with 1.6X "crop", due to the camera's APS-C size sensor). Among those are several m39 lenses.... and I've already confirmed adapters are available for them (as well as a variety of other vintage mounts). Those simple adapters are pretty inexpensive, too ($25 to $40, for quality m39 to Canon EF-M adapters).

dmsM43

Any of the mirrorless cameras out there will work with your Leica screw mount rangefinder lenses with a simple, inexpensive adapter. And you will get infinity focus, although if you're picky like me, I usually end up shimming the adapter to get the infinity focus right on, so that when the lens is on the infinity mark, it actually is focused there.

mikal fisher

This is easy. Buy a screw mount to M mount adaptor anywhere for $15.00. Put it on the screw mount lense. It works without complications. Then look at the many digital cameras that accept M mount lens

mikal fisher

Try a Leica M8, M9, M10, Monochrome, or several other digital Leicas. Or an Epson R4

Pablo8 Loc: Nottingham UK.

Some suggestions for the digital body have been ( EG. Sony A6000) which boasts "Super rapid auto-focus". This would not be needed, as I will be having to use manual focus with the Leica lenses. I do not NEED TO PAY for Rapid Auto Focus, as it will never be used. Will any/ all Panasonic 4/3 bodies suit my purpose?. Thanks for your suggestion