hubsand wrote:
pascal03 wrote:
Thanks for the pictures.

Now for another question - either Mark or anyone else - can this adapter be used with other Nikon lenses or is this one strictly for the 14-24mm f2.8 lens.

By default, they're EXIF coded for the 14-24mm f2.8, but the same adaptor could be used to control the aperture of any G Series lens: including the 10.5mm fisheye, 24-70mm f2.8 and 70-200mm. With a small modification, it could also be use for conventional Nikon F lenses, but for that application, you may as well buy a standard Fotodiox Pro or Cameraquest unit.

Has anyone used the 10.5mm with this adapter on a canon body? I would love to see the results.

Also, i assume that the adapter can be used on 1.3 and 1.6 crop bodies with a 14-24?

Chris

All no problem.

I am not familiar with Nikon fisheye lens but I believe it was designed for the DX line. The Nikkor 24-70mm is great lens and maybe, again just maybe, a tad better than Canon's but you loose AF, auto aperture, etc. and it is quite a bit more expensive than Canon 24-70mm. The Nikkor 70-200 VR is reputed to have quite severe vignetting and corner performance issues on FF and you loose the VR feature, in addition to loosing AF and auto aperture. Plus two of Canon models have the IS. At this point, the 14-24 is the best and maybe the only candidate for this purpose, at least on a Canon FF body. Not only because of its performance but simply Canon doesn't have any zoom in that range... I'd rather get 2mm extra on the wide end than 11mm on the longer end and I am covered with my 24-70/24-105 anyway.

For anyone interested, I've decided to sell my 14-24G, with Mark's new adapter:

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/648098

That's a wicked deal for the adapter AND lens.

Aside from not using that FOV much, what was your impression of the images it rendered?

Is it all it's cracked up to be?

I wish I had more time to really play with that lens and do some good testing on it. I've been traveling a lot lately for work, and just haven't had much time to shoot since I got the adapter about two weeks ago.

I probably took about 20 shots with the adapter, and from those shots, I can tell that this lens is definitely very good, just as Mark has pointed out on his site. One thing I really like - it produces deep dark blues in the skies - moreso than my Canon 16-35 II. It's also clearly sharper in the 16mm-20mm range than the Canon, although I saw less of a difference from about 22mm-24mm.

If you shoot ultra-wide landscapes, this Nikon 14-24 G is a pretty special lens, and Canon just doesn't have anything in it's class.

Mike

Hi Mike-

Is it really a contender for the CZ21?

jjlphoto wrote:
Hi Mike-

Is it really a contender for the CZ21?

Well, I haven't had a CZ21 for about a year, so can't really compare them head-to-head.

From what I've seen, I'd say that they are definitely in the same league. The CZ21 might have a bit more sharpness at 21mm, but the Nikon is certainly more versatile with the 14-24 range.

I also didn't see any of that annoying mustache distortion on the Nikon.

But this is all just anecdotal, since I can't compare them head-to-head.

Mike

I just bought Mike's G-EOS adapter.
When it arrives, I am going to meet up with fellow FM'er Brandon Mizar and take some
interior shots of the recently renovated Utah Capitol building using the Nikkor 14-24G on Canon 5D, 1DsMarkII, and 1Ds MarkIII. If any local CZ21 owner wants to join us - that would be great. We'll post some results on the ALT forum when we're done.
Cheers,
Scott

We can't wait, congratulations!

I have a rental 14-24 on the way to use with the adapter. Should arrive today or tomorrow. I'll be testing it on my 5D and a buddy's 1Ds3 and 1Ds2 (and if there's interest, I can test it on my 1D2n and my buddy's 1D3). I don't have any "high end" alternative wide glass with which to compare it but can do direct comparison's with my Sigma 12-24, Canon 24 TS-E and my buddy's 16-35 Mk2. Let me know if there's any interest in these comparisons. If so, I'll make sure I post my results.

Cheers!

Mike: Thank you very much for the G-EOS adapter and quick shipping.
Wayne: Thank you very much for the advice and the instruction sheet.
Mark: Thank you very much for making this all possible.

1st impressions: what a beastly combination (with 1DsMarkII)!
It's a good thing that I have a sturdy tripod and a strong back.
Will post some pics after I've had a little time to figure the adapter
and focusing out...and where the sweet spots are.
I would post the pics from last nights twilight excursion, but there was hardly any light...I had the adapter locked on 2.8 (shooting a cliff face)...and the Loritab (just came from the dentist) enhanced focusing didn't turn out to be...ah, quite as sharp
on review as I had felt it was at the time of capture. But - I had a good time, and that's all that matters.
And what the mailman really likes is that I'm not out hanging around the mailbox any more.
Cheers,
Scott

sorry if this isn't really on topic, but I've got a question regarding the use of the adapter. Is it possible to select apertures other than f2.8, f8 and f22 and if so how? Would this be easier with the future lever-adapter?

Thanks a lot for the help!

Cheers

Dave

The adaptor controls the diaphragm steplessly, so (literally!) all apertures are selectable.

This week I've had to pull the plug on the people developing the lever version because they just weren't giving the job the priority it deserved. I have a working prototype that I'm touting around a number of precision fabricators next week with a view to getting things moving again. It's very, very difficult finding reliable people prepared to work on small scale projects like this.

Anon Moss: I'll sort your refund this weekend. Hope you get on with Mike's unit and the 14-24!

Do not trust any lead times given to you by a machine shop. Multiply that by 2 as padding.

We should join forces to better manage our supply chains. We are to a certain extent competitors, but the far bigger problem we face is to procure parts. I switched supplier for the same reason so let me know if you need my new supplier for your fabrication needs.

Here's a shot from a wedding yesterday at the temple in Salt lake.
I was tagging along with fellow FMer Brandon Mizar, and shooting a 1DsMkII. I had
more success focusing and getting the aperture set correctly this time (the 1st time out, I didn't have the instructions and was fumbling in the dark). I still have trouble defining sharp focus manually by eye (I've never used an adapter like this before).
Also, when I look through the viewfinder, I see (so did Brandon) a faint and very uniform layer of fine black dots across the entire viewfinder, which further obfuscates focusing. Brandon said that when he used his 14-24G on his D3...he didn't get this effect. Maybe someone can explain to me what this is and whether or not it is normal. Brandon said that it seemed similar to having the depth of field preview button engaged. Maybe I still don't have the adapter adjusted just right.
Anyway, I will continue to experiment (along with Brandon with his 1DsmkIII). In the mean time here's the shot from yesterday. It was cloudy and blustery. This is the same shot with 2 different looks (quick and dirty PP - nothing special). To get the full refection of the Temple in the water, I had the focal length at 14-15, and aperture was approximately 16 (red dot). I didn't have time to mess with it very much - we were mid-wedding and on the move (12 hour day). Had a lot of fun shooting with Brandon.

Great wedding venue . . . sounds like a viewfinder artefact caused by viewing the image through a small aperture: presumably this doesn't occur when the lens is wide open?

I find critical focusing by eye almost impossible with any 35mm lens wider than about 21mm: hence the AF confirmation chip. At 14mm, I can't help but think that anything smaller than f8 was overkill!

Thanks for the help Mark,
I just checked it, and yes - what I see through the viewfinder is crystal clear at 2.8, and as I slowly dial down to f16, the 'view' becomes progressively matte-like with the tiny black dots. This must be what I've read about where you have to focus and then stop down. I usually shoot with the focus confirm beeper off, so I hadn't noticed the AF confirm beep. I just checked that, and it is working.
I'm getting it - slowly but surely...
Cheers, Scott

Anon, that will happen with any lens (viewfinder darkens as aperture is dialed in) is shooting all-manually. This is why auto stopdown was invented (all composition is done wide open, no matter what is set on the aperture dial, and the camera, vie electronics or a pin/lever/cam arrangement stops the lens down in the moment of the exposure).

This is why I moved back to Nikon—when the Zeiss ZFs were released, I could set aperture and actually take the picture when I wanted to, rather than composing wide open, then setting aperture *before* exposing, which can mean a lost shot. Of course, for macro or any slow work, less of a problem. Enjoy your new adapter. cheers to all, KL

Sounds like you're sorted: stop-down metering quickly becomes second nature to view camera users: compose with the lens wide open, stop down to the required aperture (check DOF) and fire. The red dots and AF-beep will make a better job of telling you where you've focused than the relatively squitty viewfinder on a 35mm DSLR.

Thanks for the info gents!

Does anybody can comment on distortions, as I might use that lens for architecture shots?

It has +3-4% barrel distortion at 14mm, grading down to dead neutral at about 19mm, rising to +1 pincushion distortion at 24mm.

thanks, Mark, that looks good!, as I'd be interested in the 16 mm - 21 mm-range
So how do you correct it?

You wrote: "By default, they're EXIF coded for the 14-24mm f2.8, but the...."

If I understand correctly, the EXIFs have the information of the zoom range as well; example 15 mm or 19 mm.... this helps a lot when correcting distortion with software...

By interpretating correctly your tests, the 14-24 would be close to the Distagon 21 with the 1 Ds-2? you did mentioned, that it required the Mk 3 for seeing a difference...

That's right: I haven't published the 5D / 14-24 v CZ21 test yet, but that's pretty much the bottom line overall. The uniform barrel correction in the 14-19mm range is not problematic to correct: actually a simple Spherize does the trick perfectly for geometry, but PTLens makes a better job of retaining resolution.