Having two days ago picked up an almost new-looking 135mm f2.8 Elmarit-R that’s 46 years old, I found that it wouldn’t focus to infinity at the infinity hard stop. Since an R 28-90mm I’d acquired a few days before was right on the money wide open at 90mm at the infinity hard stop, and not realizing at that moment that the lens was designed with focus travel a bit beyond infinity, I assumed the problem was calibration of the 135mm.

With but two R lenses up until recently, I’d opted for a Novoflex R-L adapter since the Leica R-Adapter-L I previously owned had been a bit of a disappointment. As the 180mm APO focus throw travels past infinity, normal for R telephotos to compensate for heat changes, I’d had no issues with the Novoflex, which is lightweight and a good fit at both ends.

When approached with the calibration issue, a very capable staff member at Leica Porto immediately reached for an R-Adapter-L and headed to the street to find something distant to shoot. He returned with an image of subject matter 150 meters away that was focused perfectly, wide open.

That pointed the finger squarely at the Novoflex adapter. I wondered if possibly the machined flange, much thinner than the Leica mount ring, could be the culprit. No matter, though; it just didn’t work right on the lens. And it’s the third German-made Novoflex adapter I’ve had trouble with.

After testing the R-Adapter-L to see if it would enable Perspective Control on my new-to-me zoom lens, and finding that it did, I headed out the door with a thinner wallet but with not only a better adapter, but also one that enables a function that’s very useful.

And, as usual, it provides me with some justification for a choice or two in the future . . .

SL2-S/1:2.8-4.5 Vario-Elmarit-R 28-90mm . . .