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Adapter for old Canon EF 300mm f:2.8L NON IS to E-M1?

Equifan
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p.2 #1 · p.2 #1 · Adapter for old Canon EF 300mm f:2.8L NON IS to E-M1?

Thanks very much! Does your lens have optical stabilisation? A USB port? (Trying to nail down which version it is) And from what I understand it works on your Olympus em5 and em1ii but the focus is not fast (which is fine for me) but accurate enough - might be back or front focused? Does it look sharp until you zoom in?

Thanks!

No IS on the 120-300. Both Oly's have IBIS so that takes care of that issue. No USB port (for firmware?).
I don't think front/back focusing comes into play, although there were certainly reports addressing that proclivity.
That said, I don't think I ever checked to see if micro-adj (Canon M5ii) could improve the AF.

Once the Viltrox is introduced into the equasion I should think all bets are off as to tack-sharpness.
The M5 seems to lock in the AF in the neighborhood. The M1ii does a much better job.
Sorry, I'm not much of a pixel-peeper.

May 24, 2021 at 08:39 PM

dazaau2
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p.2 #2 · p.2 #2 · Adapter for old Canon EF 300mm f:2.8L NON IS to E-M1?

Equifan wrote:
No IS on the 120-300. Both Oly's have IBIS so that takes care of that issue. No USB port (for firmware?).
I don't think front/back focusing comes into play, although there were certainly reports addressing that proclivity.
That said, I don't think I ever checked to see if micro-adj (Canon M5ii) could improve the AF.

Once the Viltrox is introduced into the equasion I should think all bets are off as to tack-sharpness.
The M5 seems to lock in the AF in the neighborhood. The M1ii does a much better job.
Sorry, I'm not much of a pixel-peeper.

Thanks!

May 24, 2021 at 11:13 PM

J.D.
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p.2 #3 · p.2 #3 · Adapter for old Canon EF 300mm f:2.8L NON IS to E-M1?

For anyone interested in this outcome of this, I did eventually get a second-hand Metabones smart adapter to couple the old EF 300mm f/2.8L USM to the E-M1 body and yes, it works. Quite well, in fact. I wouldn’t say it’s anything like as good as the AF in my A7 III but it’s okay. The problem isn’t the lens but Olympus’ rather snoozy AF (this is a first gen E-M1, not the Mk II or III).

The motivator for this was that by some quirk, the Sony A7R suddenly started working with it. No idea how or why but it did. It’s not very good but it works. On the other hand, that’s a first generation A7R with contrast detect AF and no phase detect. The 300 is very good on the A7 III.

I haven’t got around to adjusting the AF through the E-M1 menu yet. The biggest difference is the inclusion of the focus limiter switch that stops the AF from hunting quite as much as it does with the M.Zuiko 75-300. I suspect this has a lot to do with the much faster aperture. An effective 600mm f/2.8… what’s not to like about that?

Nov 20, 2022 at 04:35 AM

ragsn_old_iron
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p.2 #4 · p.2 #4 · Adapter for old Canon EF 300mm f:2.8L NON IS to E-M1?

Good follow up, thanks.
I used the similar 500mm 4.5L with success on E-M1 and Metabones. I still use the original E-M1 bodies along with EM1X, and S1/S1R bodies. Love the original E-M1, but use the Zuiko 300 or Sigma 120-300 now instead of the 500mm.

Nov 20, 2022 at 08:12 PM

J.D.
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p.2 #5 · p.2 #5 · Adapter for old Canon EF 300mm f:2.8L NON IS to E-M1?

For anyone who is interested, I finally did the AF adjustment for this lens. The Metabones adapter reports lens data, like serial number, focal length and f-stop, which makes a massive difference. Because it's not an M.Zuiko, you need to create a lens file for it. For those familiar with the old Canon AF Micro Adjust, this is quite similar. Here's a rough approximation of how it works:

Menu > Custom Menu > Utility > AF Focus Adj > Lens Data > Create Lens Data Set.

Once you get in here you are presented with a map of the 37 adjustable focus points in a diamond shape. Start with the centre point (make sure that's the focus point you are using in the AF menu) then do some test shots. Go into the menu and select the point you want to adjust and start by making maybe +2 or - 2 (+2 for forward focusing and -2 for the opposite) and work from there. I ended up calibrating mine to -4 and changed all of the central nine to that value.

When you exit that page, make sure the AF Focus Adj has changed from "Off" to "Lens Data". In my case it simply created a setting called "300mm f/2.8". You can make changes by selecting Lens Data > Check.

I believe there is a way to change the whole thing in one hit but I haven't worked it out yet.

Pics to follow when I get around to it.

Nov 23, 2022 at 12:41 AM

J.D.
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p.2 #6 · p.2 #6 · Adapter for old Canon EF 300mm f:2.8L NON IS to E-M1?

Okay, gave it a try today with -4.

Mmmm...

Okay... not brilliant but okay, I suppose...

Still looking a bit myopic. Hmmm... maybe wind the adjustment back to -3...

Boom!

"Yeah. I can fly." - Tony Stark

Conclusion: yes, you can indeed get excellent results from a 30 year-old Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L USM and a Metabones adapter on an 8 year-old OMD E-M1.

Nov 24, 2022 at 01:26 AM

J.D.
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p.2 #7 · p.2 #7 · Adapter for old Canon EF 300mm f:2.8L NON IS to E-M1?

So, here it is with a bit of tidying up (levels, resize, sharpen for web)

The deets: 1/1000 at f/4 ISO 640

Nov 24, 2022 at 03:10 AM

J.D.
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p.2 #8 · p.2 #8 · Adapter for old Canon EF 300mm f:2.8L NON IS to E-M1?

I know there are some who are interested in this and I should have updated this thread sooner but didn’t get around to it. However, there are a few things to point out.

Conclusions:

First of all, this can be a bit hit or miss. I was lucky and my little setup works well but not everyone will have the same experience as me. Small sensors are very hard on glass and Not all lens/body combinations will look as good as this one does. There are people who have put medium and even large format lenses on mirrorless bodies - God knows why - and been disappointed with the results.

I have never tried this with a zoom, so if you’re planning to use say a 70-200, you may get inconsistent results. Obviously this is only really useful for longer lenses and wide angles are probably a waste of time.

IMHO, any lens with a focus limiter switch will be better than one without it.

Secondly, the Metabones adapter I’m using is no longer made and is becoming harder to get. There are alternatives like Viltrox but I have no experience of them. Since these things are just an adapter with contacts, I don’t see that there would be a lot of difference. Also, the Metabones adapters are becoming very expensive. I suspect the newer ones are designed to match the IS in the body with that of the lens, using an internal chip. I haven’t got IS in my lens so it makes no difference to me. I just tracked down an old model on eBay but even that can be a rude shock.

Thirdly, there are limits on what you can do with this. I am using an original, Gen 1 E-M1 and the AF is not the best. Because this is not an Olympus lens, I can only use the centre focus point. I have tried the others but they don’t work. Perhaps on one of the newer adapters I might be able to use other parts of the screen but not on this one. I also tried AF tracking mode but it was unsuccessful. In fact, it was pretty dreadful but I will try on something with more contrast at some point and see if it’s any better but I don’t hold much hope. I’m still trying to establish whether or not the body is limited to 4 fps with this lens or whether this was operator error on my part.

*EDIT I just checked: it wasn’t operator error.

Next, you read comments about the AF being slower. I think this is entirely subjective. Sure, the AF in a lightweight lens like the 40-150 ‘plastic fantastic’ is fast because the elements are easier to move than in a big lens like this. But this lens focuses fast enough that it isn’t a problem and the only limitation I have is the AF in the body. I expect an OM-1 will be a lot better at acquiring the subject.

Finally, the Olympus AF adjustment system is very good and reasonably easy to use. All is does is create a lens file and AFAIK, it only works for that lens. I will give a general description at the end of how I did it.

I have two projects in the wings at the moment: shoot some surfing with it and do some astrophotography with this lens. That will most probably be done with an E-P5 body because the AF will not be required and the E-P5 has huge weight advantages for an equatorial mount.

This combination isn’t really suitable for most sports - certainly nowhere near what I can do with a Sony A7 III and an FE 200-600 G OSS - but I’m still experimenting with it. The lack of really decent AF tracking is a bit of a handicap here. But anyone considering doing it with a similar lens, like a 300mm f/4 or 400mm f/5.6 could end up very happy with the results. I actually think this lens works better than it ever did on any of the Canon bodies I owned, which is more than a bit surprising but the results speak for themselves.

It doesn't track as well but the pictures look better.

The sequence for adjusting the AF is as follows:

Custom Menu > Utility > OK > AF Focus Adj. > right arrow > Lens Data > right arrow > Create Lens Data Set > right arrow > OK > scroll up or down to suit. I recommend using increments of +/- 2.

Hit OK and OK again and make sure AF Focus Adj. is set to Lens Data. In my case the Lens Data file is called ‘1 300 F2.8’. Make sure it has a tick next to it and use the left arrow to back out to the main menu.

There are 37 focus points but you probably only need to set the centre one, so if you get a bit lost and find yourself in that part of the menu, just do that.

Edited on Jan 14, 2023 at 07:41 PM · View previous versions

Jan 14, 2023 at 07:35 PM

galenapass
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p.2 #9 · p.2 #9 · Adapter for old Canon EF 300mm f:2.8L NON IS to E-M1?

Before people get too excited by all of this. Here is my experience. I had a metabones adapter (probably the same adapter) on an EM1 Mk1, Mk2 and Mk3 with a Canon 100-400 v2 and Canon 400/5.6. Yes, it is possible to get bird shots and some action shots as long as birds/players are relatively stationary in one spot...such as shown above or when a player is up to batt in baseball. Perched birds are no problem. I have posted many shots in this forum with the metabones adapted lens. However, in my experience, as soon as there is subject movement and action to follow the adapted Canon lens is too slow to focus. For those who are shooting wildlife, I would not recommend this pathway. Particularly now that we have the OM-1 as an option. It is one of my biggest regrets that I stuck with an adapted Canon lens as long as I did. As soon as I switched to the Oly 300mm (and PL 100-400) my keeper rate went up dramatically. But, if you want to experiment or shoot slow or stationary subjects, then an adapted Canon lens should be OK. Just have the right expectations.

Jan 15, 2023 at 01:57 PM

molson
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p.2 #10 · p.2 #10 · Adapter for old Canon EF 300mm f:2.8L NON IS to E-M1?

galenapass wrote:
Before people get too excited by all of this. Here is my experience. I had a metabones adapter (probably the same adapter) on an EM1 Mk1, Mk2 and Mk3 with a Canon 100-400 v2 and Canon 400/5.6. Yes, it is possible to get bird shots and some action shots as long as birds/players are relatively stationary in one spot...such as shown above or when a player is up to batt in baseball. Perched birds are no problem. I have posted many shots in this forum with the metabones adapted lens. However, in my experience, as soon as there is subject...Show more →

Small, fast-moving subjects like "Birds in Flight" are only a tiny sub-set of wildlife photography, outside of these forums... otherwise, everyone would be using a Sony A1.

Jan 15, 2023 at 02:16 PM

galenapass
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p.2 #11 · p.2 #11 · Adapter for old Canon EF 300mm f:2.8L NON IS to E-M1?

molson wrote:
Small, fast-moving subjects like "Birds in Flight" are only a tiny sub-set of wildlife photography, outside of these forums... otherwise, everyone would be using a Sony A1.

I've missed shots with walking moose - couldn't keep focus on the eye/head. My opinion here is based on several years of experience with adapted Canon lenses. I am not claiming to talk only about birds in flight (which clearly is not possible), those were your words.

Jan 15, 2023 at 02:34 PM

J.D.
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p.2 #12 · p.2 #12 · Adapter for old Canon EF 300mm f:2.8L NON IS to E-M1?

I think I made it pretty clear that there were limitations, particularly WRT AF tracking. That would tend to exclude BIF.

But there a lots of other things it could be very useful for and that include some sport. My keeper rate with those cricket shots the other night was about 90-95%. But that was good lighting and a high level of contrast. I would rather work along the lines of ‘use what ya brung’ than not try because of a technical limitation. I’m not saying you’re wrong - your own experience with this would make that pointless - but there are probably lots of people here who have some very capable equipment sitting around doing nothing, that could be brought back to life. There’s fun to be had.

Jan 15, 2023 at 04:40 PM

galenapass
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p.2 #13 · p.2 #13 · Adapter for old Canon EF 300mm f:2.8L NON IS to E-M1?

J.D. wrote:
I think I made it pretty clear that there were limitations, particularly WRT AF tracking. That would tend to exclude BIF.

But there a lots of other things it could be very useful for and that include some sport. My keeper rate with those cricket shots the other night was about 90-95%. But that was good lighting and a high level of contrast. I would rather work along the lines of ‘use what ya brung’ than not try because of a technical limitation. I’m not saying you’re wrong - your own experience with this would make that pointless - but there...Show more →

I agree on all points. I am just cautioning readers not to have high expectations with moving objects.

Jan 15, 2023 at 05:07 PM

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