Photographer modifies Canon 5D Mark II to mount Leica M lenses including legendary Noctilux

Here's one of those "it's so crazy it just might work" ideas that photographers get from time to time. Photographer Robert Benson did some massive reverse engineering on his Canon 5D Mark II so he could mount and shoot with a Leica Noctilux 50mm f/1 lens on front.

The reason? He had the $6,500 Noctilux M-mount lens but no Leica cameras to use it with.

Rather than buy an Leica M9 -- which Benson  says he couldn't afford (curious, considering the astronomical price of the Noctilux, but whatever) -- he decided to "cut into a Canon 5dmk2 and modify it to accept Leica M lenses; all of them."

Sounds like a simple enough idea but, of course, not simple to execute.

"The modification isn’t easy; nearly impossible for the average person to do it," Benson wrote on his blog. "For modifications, the camera is completely dissasembled and the mirrorbox is stripped of its components and removed."

The "operation" was an apparent success as you can see from some of the sample images below, which were all shot at f/1 (!) with the Noctilux on front of the Canon 5D II.

Benson seemingly enjoyed the experience so much he's willing to modify other photographer's cameras to use Leica M-series lenses. For the delicate camera surgery service, he's charging $2,950.

Read more about it and see more sample photos here.

(Via Canon Rumors via PetaPixel.)