Hello
Does anyone know of a site explaining how to do this conversion? There is one site, but the image links are broken. Alternatively, does anyone know of a workshop in Sydney (or anywhere in Australia) that would do this conversion at a price?
I've just taken possession of a really nice copy of the PG version, but my conversion options fell through. I decided on this lens based on the great reviews on this bored and due to it being a slightly different focal length than the other 50s (of which I have 3), and thus having slightly thinner DOF at 1.2 (I assume).
Thanks guys.
Sorry I haven't been in touch. I am planning an explicit howto that will show how anyone can do the conversion. I'd rather do that than be shipping lenses all over the world. Forgive me.
If anyone wants to know, I had a very bad experience with this whole conversion thing and it has made me very gun-shy about having lenses shipped directly to me from e-bay auctions that others have won (for conversion purposes).
If everyone is patient, I'd be happy to show you how to do it yourselves. Otherwise, I've got a couple converted here that will be for sale in the next few weeks and I know others who have them as well. I refuse to pay the Buy&Sell fee here, so look elsewhere for my copies.
No worries. As I say, it's a really nice copy (from the look of it - unable to shoot yet, but may pick up a $15 body and shoot a roll of film with it), and there was a reason (slightly longer focal length than other ~50s) I went down the more arduous path than picking up a Nikon 50 1.2. I may just sell it and get the Nikon, but it does seem like a waste.
Well, looks like I have the solution: there's a gentleman in the US who makes a new mount altogether for the MC to EOS conversion. You unscrew the MC mount and replace it with an EOS mount. No shaving or filing is required (except of the aperture lever and perhaps the 5D mirror) and infinity is still achieved. At a good price, too. I'm not sure if I can mention the guy's name, but I found it in an earlier (archived) thread on this forum.
Justin D wrote:
Well, looks like I have the solution: there's a gentleman in the US who makes a new mount altogether for the MC to EOS conversion. You unscrew the MC mount and replace it with an EOS mount. No shaving or filing is required (except of the aperture lever and perhaps the 5D mirror) and infinity is still achieved. At a good price, too. I'm not sure if I can mention the guy's name, but I found it in an earlier (archived) thread on this forum.
That is exactly what I have done with mine. I've discussed this with Pete Ganzel before. We do it the same way (there's only one way to do it).
Pete's use of a T-mount adapter creates more work for him and requires a much more significant arsenal of tools. With a standard M42-EOS adapter as the new mount, the only tools required are a drill, some bits, some 80-grit sandpaper, a small file, and some flat black metal paint.
>I refuse to pay the Buy&Sell fee here, so look elsewhere for my copies.
...Like xxxx, I also do not pay the buy/sell fee here.
Ever notice that FM has no advertising? You've certainly contributed a lot of great photos and useful information here on FM, but I wonder to what extent you feel you have benefitted from the facilities provided here. FM is in real danger of losing money, and I don't think Fred is going to keep running it as a charity.
gasrocks wrote:
I think it was Cogitech who just mentioned the Nikon Noct lens as a possible comparison.
The only comparison I have made between those two is the appearance of the lenses themselves. Sure, they are both 58/1.2, but the size and shape of them is also so very, very similar. Suspiciously so.
Regarding performance, I think the Noct-Nikkor is probably the most over-priced lens on the planet. It is said to be "optimized for wide open" but a German photo magazine tested it in a huge group of ultra-fast normals and it did not impress. The Nikkor 50/1.2 certainly faired well, though.
Based on my experience with three MC Rokkor 58/1.2s, I would estimate it would land very close to the top of this list (based on comparisons I have seen between the MC 58/1.2 and the MD 50/1.2. On top of that, the MC 58/1.2 bokeh is simply superb.
I think it is recommended. I'm going to see how I go. There's also the rear element retainer which can be removed and shaved, though it's meant to be harder - but then, you're only messing with a few hundred dollars of a lens you're already modifying rather than a couple of thousand dollars of body you may want to sell when the mk II comes out.
The rear element retaining ring needs to be reduced (there are various methods) and the 5D mirror needs to be shaved in order to get infinity focus and clear the mirror.
I modify the rear element retaining ring on all the conversions I do, but I will not modify your 5D
There is another option, though. It is possible to reduce the rear element retaining ring as much as possible and then setup the mount such that it does not hit the (un-shaved) 5D mirror. Infinity is lost, but no mirror issues. Depending on the particular 5D, the maximum focus distance attainable before hitting the mirror will vary. It would be possible for someone to convert the lens in such a way that it will hit no 5D mirror. After the fact, the mount could then be easily removed and the shim reduced (I use sandpaper) incrementally until a nice balance between max. focus distance and mirror clearance is attained for a specific 5D.
My forthcoming howto will cover all of these issues in detail.
