The Sony A7R has opened a whole new world for Leica M lenses, especially in close-up photography. M lenses are limited in close-ups between 0.7 to 1 meters. With a helical M-mount lens adapter for the A7R, however, one can get much closer say from about half these distances and still maintain the ability to focus out to infinity as necessary. This is not quite in the typical macro range of 1:3 to 1:1, but it is still quite useful for shots that are otherwise unattainable – save for the clumsy, out-of-production Visoflex and those lenses with close-up adapters, such as the 50mm DR Summicron and the 90mem with their imperfect framing.
Does this mean the end of my film Leicas? No. While there’s great utility to shoot M lenses in a DSLR mode for close-ups, and the wireless photo transfer of the A7R, say for social media, the rangefinder-style of taking photos, the dynamic range and extended color palette of film, the ability to use small, distortion-free, true wide angles, and the more pleasing look of film images are compelling reasons to regard film as having an important and lasting role in photography. In fact, for these reasons I had a more enjoyable time shooting Velvia, Portra 160 and Ektar 100 film just prior to writing this article. Perhaps a suitable future topic of discussion could be – How does the A7R complement film Leicas?
The following are a few close-up shots taken with the Sony A7R, Leica lenses such as the 35mm Canadian Summicron, and the 50mm ASPH Summilux (2nd photo of plumerias), and the use of a helical (5mm) M-mount adapter. They were taken with the helical adapter at its maximum extension of 5mm and the lenses at or close to their built-in closest focusing distance of 0.7m. Focus peaking was turned on for quick judgement on critical focus on the subject of interest, e.g., dog’s eye, flower’s petal, or particular food item. The lenses were shot wide-open to provide for isolation of the subject and bokeh.
