Thread: -Adapters question-

Hi everybody!

I'm happy with my E-P2 + Panny 20mm f/1.7, but recently I wanted to use some old MF lenses I own and so I have to buy a couple of adapters (M to M43 and FD to M43). I've seen many of 'em on ebay, in different ranges of price; the point is that I've read somewhere that cheap adapters may damage the camera? Is it true? Do you know some safe adapter that doesn't cost 200 bucks? I've seen those of Fotodiox and they seem the right thing, are those safe?

Thanks

In March Jens of the German MFT Forum published a test of different adapters - sorry in German only:
Testbericht Nr. 1: Micro Fourthirds Adapter & Gewinnmöglichkeit - Systemkamera Forum
He tested a chinese adapter against a NOVOFLEX product (~150 Euro) - and he preferred the NOVOFLEX piece by far.

Over there we also have long thread with weird lenses connected to MFT cams:
Die merkwürdigsten Objektive am mFT - Systemkamera Forum

Best regards
Andreas

Thanks

Even if my german is so poor, I'll try to go with google translate. . .anyway I've seen the Novoflex website and it's very inspiring, maybe I'll try one of their products soon. . .

There's no reason to purchase the expensive Novoflex adapter when you can purchase a much cheaper adapter off eBay. With Novoflex you're basically paying for expensive German labor. I have no idea how an adapter can possibly damage your camera - I've never heard of such a thing. I have a Fotodiox M adapter, and an RJ FD adapter. I've had some fitting issues with the RJ adapter, but I modified it myself a bit and it works fine. People have also recommended the ciecio7 FD adapters as being well-built.

Hope this helps.

Originally Posted by photoSmart42

There's no reason to purchase the expensive Novoflex adapter when you can purchase a much cheaper adapter off eBay.

From our experience: There are good reasons for the NOVOFLEX adapter - we compared it and they were much more precise than the cheap adapters we tried out.
Especially if you want to use Wideangle lenses, smallest distances may be the difference between a precise infinity setting - or not.
I can't judge all adapters available on eBay now - but the one wasn't worth even the cheaper price.

Originally Posted by photoSmart42

With Novoflex you're basically paying for expensive German labor.

O c'mon. Who cares where the price comes from if it works well?
BTW - this forum is run by expensive German labor too

Andreas

Originally Posted by nzyan

From our experience: There are good reasons for the NOVOFLEX adapter - we compared it and they were much more precise than the cheap adapters we tried out.
Especially if you want to use Wideangle lenses, smallest distances may be the difference between a precise infinity setting - or not.
I can't judge all adapters available on eBay now - but the one wasn't worth even the cheaper price.

Most adapters I've tried go to infinity and a bit beyond, so it's not an issue. Infinity is infinity, so if the adapter gets that then it makes no sense to pay 4x as much for something that does the exact same thing 'better' IMO.

Originally Posted by nzyan

O c'mon. Who cares where the price comes from if it works well?
BTW - this forum is run by expensive German labor too

No need to take offense. I have nothing against the German people or against German engineering, nor did I imply anything of the sort. It's a fact that labor rates in the industrialized nations are orders of magnitude higher than those in emerging economies. I feel the same about products coming out of Japan. However, in this economy, it DOES make a difference to some people whether they pay $20 or $200 for the exact same functionality. When this format first came out and the 'cheaper' adapters were still pretty expensive at $100 each, it made financial sense to go with a better technology in the Novoflex of Cameraquest adapters. When these 'cheaper' adapters are now selling for $20, and the price of the Novoflex/Cameraquest adapters are still at $175-$200, the advantages are no longer worth the price difference IMO, and I have a right to that opinion. So who cares where the price of labor comes from? Most everyone in this world who doesn't have unlimited resources to purchase everything their heart desires. I'm merely offering advice based on my experience.

I do appreciate the German labor that goes into this forum. I'm glad we have it as a resource. But then again we don't have to pay for it =).

No offense from my side - sorry if I sounded too hard.
Everyone has the right on his or her opinion - and this is a platform to express them.
Everything else would be boring...

Regards
Andreas

Originally Posted by photoSmart42

Most adapters I've tried go to infinity and a bit beyond, so it's not an issue. Infinity is infinity, so if the adapter gets that then it makes no sense to pay 4x as much for something that does the exact same thing 'better' IMO.

I would prefer an adapter, which ends at infinity. If I walk through the countryside and want to make some photos with infinity distance, I don´t have to focussing the image in my viewfinder/display, I only have to rotate the lens to the dead end and everything is sharp at infinity. It´s a question of luxury….so I prefer the Novoflex version.

ciao,

Jens

Some time ago I bought a Cirrus adapter to enable the use of Nikon F lenses on my G1. Mechanically it didn't look too bad, although the distance scale marker of the lens was not on top but shifted to the right. However, I found it totally unuseable because it generated a lot of flare, see picture below.

So I sold it and bought a Novoflex MFT-Nik adapter instead on eBay. No flare anymore, my Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/3.5 performs excellently on the G1. Most other Nikkor lenses I had at the time didn't fare too well, they simply couldn't deliver the resolution needed for the G1. For instance, the famous Nikkor 105mm f/2.5 AIS was disappointing.

Cirrus adapter with Nikon 135mm f/3.5 AI at f/8, notice the flare in the upper left part. The sky was grey, no sun in the picture or anywhere else.

Ad, I don't know about the flare but I doubt the resolution of the 135mm Nikkor isn't up to the Micro 4/3 sensor. The picture you showed seemed to be fuzzy because of camera (or subject) motion, not lack of lens resolution. The 135 and especially the 105 are very good lenses and the 4/3 sensor doesn't even need the frame edges, so average resolution over the film plane should be high.

Remember that your 135mm Nikkor is equivalent to a 270mm on a 4/3 camera, and is heavy besides, so is very difficult to hand-hold without visible shake at any exposure speed.

Jeffrey