I searched through this forum and the alternative gear forum, all the way back to 2014 - and didn't really get the info i am in search of.
When i had the 14-24 and my Nikon 70-210, i bought a Novoflex adapter. That thing is well built and a beast. For my Minolta lens i had, i bought a cheap fotasy ($15 from amazon) to use. Both worked well, though i suspect the infinity focus wasn't precise on the fotasy - but it was $15.
fast forward to now. Ordered a Contax 35-70 3.4 and am going to order a few more Contax lenses in the coming months. I don't want to either over spend on the adapter, but don't want to stick expensive glass on a fairly expensive camera with a shotty adapter.
When i bought the fotasy, i was naive and didn't realize that not all adapters would not focus to infinity perfectly. It seems like a solid built adapter though. I bought a Hawks VM-E adapter for my Voigtlander 15mm M mount lens.
Fotodiox seems to be popular, but have mixed reviews. The camera quest brand keeps getting mentioned, as does Kipon and Novoflex. I will eventually end up with a Contax 100-300 at some point, but will most likely buy the 80-200 or several primes in the meantime (to give an idea of size/weight)
I am not in love with spending $200, but i want something i can rely on and be confident. The fotodiox Pro (with tripod foot) is $60, the camerquest is on sale for $180 (w/foot) and the novoflex is $178.
any suggestions would be much appreciated. I get my lens later this week, and have no adapter for it
I generally get good results with Fotodiox and Fotodiox Pro adapters. For "keeper" lenses, I often go for a better solution, where one exists.
My CZ 35-70/3.4 CY and 100/3.5 CY are on Leitax/Canon mounts. I've also owned Leitax/Canon mounts for other CY lenses, plus Leica-R, Rokkor 58/1.2, and OM, and they're all excellent.
After deciding that my CV 75/2.5 OM was a keeper, I got a CameraQuest OM/Canon adapter for it, and it's one of the best adapters I've owned (fit, finish, function, fetc.).
A couple of years ago, I compared six Pentax-K/Canon adapters, and the Rayqual stood out as the best. The others were, from very good to not good at all; oldie (looks like a DIY project from a machine shop), Kiwi, generic, Rolf (from Germany in 2002), and Big-is).
Most of my Mamiya 645 C and A lenses are on Fotodiox Pro M645/Canon adapters; they fit well and they're pretty solid. Actually, some of them say, "Pro" and others don't, but they're pretty much the same.
Most of my M42 lenses are on Fotodiox M42/Canon adapters, too. My only Nikon lens (Nikkor 105/2.5 AI) is on Fotodiox Pro. Finally, I think, both of my Leica-R 'crons are on Fotodiox (no "Pro"). They're all pretty good.
I have a K&F Concept C/Y-to-Sony E adapter that I use with my Zeiss C/Y 35-70. It's $20 USD on Amazon.com. The lens mounts solid on it and it seems like a good quality adapter. I haven't used it in a while so my memory is fuzzy, but I don't think it has a foot, so this may be an issue with the 100-300.
If you get Canon EF glass, the Metabones IV adapter works well for AF.
For Leica M-mount glass, the Hawk's adapter works great for manual focus with hard-stop infinity adjustment and a shorter MFD. I also use the Techart Pro (TAP) adapter, which provides AF with M-mount glass. My TAP is great, but several people's TAP adapters have developed a "wobble" issue, so YMMV.
scrappydog wrote:
I have a K&F Concept C/Y-to-Sony E adapter that I use with my Zeiss C/Y 35-70. It's $20 USD on Amazon.com. The lens mounts solid on it and it seems like a good quality adapter. I haven't used it in a while so my memory is fuzzy, but I don't think it has a foot, so this may be an issue with the 100-300.
thanks for the info! You don't have any issues with focusing to infinity on the $20 adapter?
I generally get good results with Fotodiox and Fotodiox Pro adapters. For "keeper" lenses, I often go for a better solution, where one exists.
My CZ 35-70/3.4 CY and 100/3.5 CY are on Leitax/Canon mounts. I've also owned Leitax/Canon mounts for other CY lenses, plus Leica-R, Rokkor 58/1.2, and OM, and they're all excellent.
After deciding that my CV 75/2.5 OM was a keeper, I got a CameraQuest OM/Canon adapter for it, and it's one of the best adapters I've owned (fit, finish, function, fetc.).
A couple of years ago, I compared six Pentax-K/Canon adapters, and the Rayqual stood out as the best. The others were, from very good to not good at all; oldie (looks like a DIY project from a machine shop), Kiwi, generic, Rolf (from Germany in 2002), and Big-is).
Most of my Mamiya 645 C and A lenses are on Fotodiox Pro M645/Canon adapters; they fit well and they're pretty solid. Actually, some of them say, "Pro" and others don't, but they're pretty much the same.
Most of my M42 lenses are on Fotodiox M42/Canon adapters, too. My only Nikon lens (Nikkor 105/2.5 AI) is on Fotodiox Pro. Finally, I think, both of my Leica-R 'crons are on Fotodiox (no "Pro"). They're all pretty good. ...Show more →
wow, thanks a LOT for all this info. I have used fotodiox before, but on my 1Ds, and they were just metal fittings.
The Leitax looks solid - but i would have to get one for each lens it seems, rather than one adapter. perhaps i will give the fotodiox a try.
Dustin Gent wrote:
The Leitax looks solid - but i would have to get one for each lens it seems, rather than one adapter. perhaps i will give the fotodiox a try.
Leitax is for keepers only, for sure. I only get a Leitax mount after I've decided to keep the lens, for the long term. Then I sell it.
For telephoto lenses, the novoflex also has available the ASTAT-NEX tripod ring that works pretty well. The nice thing about this is I can use it on multiple lenses. It fits on my novoflex adapter for Leica R (I use it on my Leica R 180/2.8 apo) as well as for my Zeiss adapter for my 100-300. The other nice thing about Novoflex is that the tolerances seem to be very good. I have bought metabones adapters that did not reach infinity. Other good adapters are Voigtlander and I too like Hawks Family.
These adapters are generally metal tubes. It's not hard to make a decent one for $15. I wouldn't buy an expensive one just because it doesn't feel right somehow to sandwich a cheap adapter between an expensive camera and and expensive lens. There's physically not much going on.
It's another story if you want a good tripod mount on the adapter. I'd probably want that if I was planning on using a heavy lens like the 100-300mm on a tripod. But if you're talking handheld, there's not a lot of value in buying an expensive adapter for a SLR mount.
Dustin Gent wrote:
thanks for the info! You don't have any issues with focusing to infinity on the $20 adapter?
No, there are no issues focusing to infinity. In fact, it goes far beyond infinity. I tested my Zeiss C/Y 35-70 at 35mm and 70mm. I can also confirm that the K&F Concept does not have a foot on it.
arduluth wrote:
These adapters are generally metal tubes. It's not hard to make a decent one for $15. I wouldn't buy an expensive one just because it doesn't feel right somehow to sandwich a cheap adapter between an expensive camera and and expensive lens. There's physically not much going on.
It's another story if you want a good tripod mount on the adapter. I'd probably want that if I was planning on using a heavy lens like the 100-300mm on a tripod. But if you're talking handheld, there's not a lot of value in buying an expensive adapter for a SLR mount.
I'm going to have to disagree with you somewhat on this. Although there are some inexpensive adapters that work fine, I've had adapters that have issues such as extremely tight mounting ..risking damage to lens or body, poor finishing rough and sharp edges, locking pins that don't engage (oops there goes my lens) and questionable flatness or thickness. I don't have a problem using/buying cheaper adapters that I can check out first, but if I'm buying online from an unknown seller, I'd rather pay the extra for a known high quality adapter
I crawled through a progression of cheap adapters for C/Y lens to Canon body, and they varied from mediocre to excrable. With my alt body now being Sony FE mount, I decided my lenses deserved better, so settled on Novoflex for Leica R and C/Y. These are expensive but beautifully finished. More importantly, they attach with a silken smoothness instead of scratching and grinding the mount. They focus slightly past infinity which is fine by me. I also have a Cosina/Voigtlaender for Leica M, and it is also well made. Chinese no-names like those from eBayer "big-is" can have uneven quality and unfinished edges: my copies for Visoflex lenses are sharp enough to draw blood.
Having bought over a dozen adapters, I'd say that the K&F ones have been the most consistent cheap adapters. Not one dud in the lot.
I do have a very nice Kipon adapter I got used for next to nothing. But brand new, it wouldn't be worth the price to me relative to the K&F.
If you want to be certain, buy them off Amazon and return or exchange if there are issues.
For Canon FD, the somewhat pricier Polish made ones work best though the K&F are fine too, but finickier and less solid. Nice thing about the Polish ones is that they don't need that Open-Close ring.
I confirm that the K&F adapters are nicely built, but at least the Nikon-NEF one I bought caused LOTS of reflections, and had to replace it with an equally inexpensive one from Neewer, which clearly states to be crafted so as to minimize the issue. It works well, focuses to infinity and build quality is on par with the K&F; so far though, nothing beats the build quality of the Novoflex adapters I have (Rayqual adapters are difficult to obtain here).
Mentioned it in similar posts before - the simpler the adapter, the better IMO. I only use Fotasy and Fotodiox adapters for Leica M, Minolta MD, Canon FD, and M42 based lenses. Never made a bad experience there - good price/quality ratio.
coase wrote:
For Canon FD, the somewhat pricier Polish made ones work best though the K&F are fine too, but finickier and less solid. Nice thing about the Polish ones is that they don't need that Open-Close ring.
Yes, the open/close ring is a bit annoying regarding most FD-mount adapters. I always forget after a while which direction to turn the ring to make sure the aperture changes as desired by moving the lens' aperture ring. Best way is to look inside the lens and check if the aperture changes after it is mounted on the adapter to make sure that the open/close position is the right one.
I've been very happy with the Metabones CY-E mount adapter for my Contax lenses. I put a micrometer on it and it's coplaner all the way around within 0.001". It has a nice arca Swiss mount on it. The mounting springs on the lens side are easily adjusted for tension. It focuses just past infinity. It's well built.
I've found lots of different ones work, but there's one gotcha.
Most M42 adapters have a small "ledge" inside the outer ring to push down the auto pins on later M42 lenses. But some early lenses (like many from Zeiss) won't focus to infinity with that ledge blocking the way.
I found this out after much trial and error and surprisingly my Zeiss Biotar 58/2 works well with a cheap $5.00 m42 adapter.
