So I'm a professional photographer that has a good amount invested in Canon EOS lenses and cameras. For my digital cinema equipment I use Nikon lenses, mostly due to the manual aperture control, on my Red Rock Micro M2 rig, and in the future my Red One. When I purchased the Red Rock Micro M2, I purchased it with the EOS adapter AND the Nikon adapter, but since they have different flange focal lengths and different optics, you need to change out the mounts and the flange. So with all the work with that I changed my mount to a Nikon and haven't used the EOS mount since.
Now I want to use both my EOS Canon L lenses with my Nikon primes, so I went and purchased the Fotodiox Nikon to EOS adapter from Adorama. So now I'm able to add this adapter to my Nikon lenses and then attach the Nikon lens to a Canon EOS mount (like my 5D). The adapter is a small piece of metal that has a very small amount of metal to adjust the flange focus for a Nikon lens to a Canon flange distance.
My initial excitement about the ability to use my Nikon lenses on my Canon cameras and my Red Rock Micro M2 was quickly dashed after 2 minutes of attempting to work with the adapter. Now I already knew that with the adapter there would be NO AUTOMATIC CONTROL, but in a cinema environment, thats not really needed since manual is preferred. The issue with this adapter is attaching it to the Nikon lens is a pain! Its difficult to figure out where the alignment is going to go since the marker for matching up the mount to the adapter is hard to see. Once thats been found the attachment is so tight that its easy to move the aperture control without being aware of it. Also once the adapter is on the lens, changing the aperture is impossible with how it presses onto the lens.
With the adapter being so tight, I was almost scared when I thought about it getting permanently lodged onto the lens. Good thing is, once its on, it attaches to the EOS mount easily.
Now taking it off is another story. Just one suggestion, with the Fotodiox adapter, wear gloves when putting on the adapter and taking it off. The metal edges on the adapter are SHARP and make cuts in you fingers. Now I don't know if I got a bum adapter, but after attempting to get the adapter off of the lens I had numerous cuts in my thumb and forefinger. Also, in order to free the lens from the adapter you have to pull up on a tiny metal tab and twist the adapter free from the lens. Not an easy task and you risk putting your grubby fingers on the rear element of the lens.
Good thing about this adapter it its cheap. There are $255 adapters for sale (Novoflex) that might have a better build quality and easier usage, but this one is $50. In the end they work the same, but the cut fingers and frustration are difficult to justify.
Pros: Ability to attach Nikon F Mount lenses to an Canon EOS camera or mount. Price at almost a third the cost of the other adapters.
Cons: Hard to mount to lens. Difficult to remove from lens. Sharp metal pieces cut fingers. Taking adapter on and off lenses not good for the life of the lens.
Suggested: No. I don't know about the Novoflex adapter, but I'm sure its another case of you get what you pay for.
4 comments:
I just purchased the FotoDiox "Pro" adapter as it was recommended by others using the Canon 5D Mk II and received it today.
I am experiencing the same issues. It was hard to get on, and I cannot get it off. Pressing on that sharp "lever" has ripped up my fingers just as you had experienced.
I finally resorted to carefully using a small slot screwdriver. I can see that the pin that locks the lens into the mount retracts fully into the recessed slot, but, for the life of me, I cannot get the adaptor to twist off.
I plan to call "customer no-service" tomorrow to see if they have any suggestions. I will keep you posted.
How did you get on Publius?
I have just received my Novoflex Nikon/Eos adapter and it's tight to the 5D MkII body. I'm nervous to apply too much pressure and by the look of it, it seems too close for comfort between the nikon flange and the mirror and Eos CPU contacts.
Anyone have any advice on this?
Customer service told me to send the lens and the adapter to them and they would remove it for me.
Before I did that, I made one last attempt wearing gloves so as not to rip my fingers to shreds and managed to get it off.
My ultimate solution was to purchase some cheaper eBay adapters, one for each lens. I paid about $25 each with shipping.
These adapters come off easily and the quality difference between the two is barely discernible.
It is really nice to change the lens just like it were a Canon lens. When I get my Red Scarlet (yep, there are enough problems with the 5D Mk II to make one pull out his hair) I plan to purchase it with both the Nikon and Canon mounts so I will be able to use any lens I want.
The 5D Mk II is still a great film camera and it will do until I can afford the Red Scarlet. I have now shot two short films using the camera and am mostly pleased with the results.
I'm thinking about going this way myself. I have two nikon lens that i want to use and I'm having trouble finding out if they will work well with this adapter.
I want to use my 24-70mm f2.8 and a 80-200 f2.8 and I can't seem to find anything on line to tell me if these work or not. Have you had any luck with these lenses?
Josh
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