HappypageHK: total of 3 adapters purchased, each arrived in <1 week from Hong Kong to middle of the US, all work perfectly
Big_IS: 1 adapter purchased. 5 weeks from purchase to arrival, and the adapter would dock onto the lens but not rotate to lock into place
Su at Big_IS was very pleasant and indicated that this had never happened before and offered a replacement or refund. Customer service was good. Shipping was poor. Product delivered? If it is really the first time in 100s shipped, then maybe I was just unlucky. [I am the one that always gets the bone in his throat from the fish "filet".]
Love my happypagehk Optix v5 chip c/y adapter...very well made adapter, and the chip programming is very easy (when I did my 85 Planar vs Sonnar thing today, I used that adapter on both lenses, and just quickly changed the aperture value when I switched lenses so I could differentiate them.)
It looks like Happypage is now using good, 2-piece adapters (probably Widepan) which is great.
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The difficulty in programming the Big IS is the same with Happypage's programmable V5. Both can be figured out, with a lot of patience.
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None of the programmable chips let you program just ANY aperture number. - It has to be a number that you can see in you camera's VF read-out. Thus, with my 5D I cannot correctly program for my Vivitar Series-1 135/2.3
If I'm understanding rfkiii's post, above, Rudy CAN program this into his V4 chips. Can anyone confirm this?
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There is a DIFFERENT programmable chip out there, that also can auto-fire your shutter. You dial-in the focus, and when your lens gets to the center of the sweet spot, it fires. This can be a real help in low-light, though I find it a bit of a pain, as sometimes the bloody camera won't fire at all, even manually. There's no easy way to defeat it.
Rudy is evidently NOT using this chip for his "V5" (I asked) and it doesn't sound like BigIS is. Some folks may want this, and the chips themselves are easy to apply.
The Tago chip rfkiii links to, above, DOES have this feature. You may love it, or you may end up ripping it out and tossing it in the river.
I ordered a HappyPageHK Pro adapter a couple months ago. In terms of the materials it seems like a nice improvement over the older chrome versions. But adapter thickness wasn't any better. It works fine with my 100/2, but the adapters might be too thick for some of the wide angle lenses. Here's a quick write-up on the adapter.
Thanks for that review. Clearly Rudolf is NOT using Widepan adapters. That's too bad.
Have you let him know that his new adapters have thickness issues? Perhaps he doesn't know.
Best to buy your own adapter (Widepan, Kaidan, fotodiox, etc) and install a chip yourself. -or send the adapter to Rudolf.
There is a DIFFERENT programmable chip out there, that also can auto-fire your shutter. You dial-in the focus, and when your lens gets to the center of the sweet spot, it fires. This can be a real help in low-light, though I find it a bit of a pain, as sometimes the bloody camera won't fire at all, even manually. There's no easy way to defeat it.
I just got a lens (with an adapter from Big-is) that wouldn't let me fire after a few shots, nor would it let me zoom out after I had zoomed in during preview. It also drained my battery in about 20 shots before it locked up and then went to totally dead battery (from full charge). I changed battery (full charge) and got more of the same. So I quickly changed adapters to a non-chipped one and my camera was back in business before the second battery could drain. (1D MKII)
that's a fairly common problem, and the cause is typically that the chip is not quite in the right place. Maybe you can heat the adapter up (oven, or hair dryer) remove the chip & re-install it?
I received my Big_is adapter today. Ordered on 5/29 so, based on reports of slow shipping, I was surprised to see it so soon.
To rhorta:
After a couple of false starts, I was able to program my Leica R 35mm for 35mm with a max aperture of f2.8.
I can not dial past f2.8 going towards f1.2 so this is how I know I have been successful.
However, I can dial the aperture (with the camera dial, not the aperture ring) past f2.8 going towards f22. As I change aperture by this method, exposure is affected. The diaphragm ain't closing but sumptin's happening. I find this disconcerting as previous adapters would display f2.8 and f2.8 only (if f2.8 had been programmed as max aperture). When I change the aperture via camera dial, to f11 for example, it gets written into the EXIF but the exposure is all f'ed (not on Live View but on the actual image). The simple answer is to leave the wheel alone and at f2.8 but accidents happen and I do not chimp every time.
Does this happen with your adapter? In the instructions, there is not a sequence for ending programming after setting the aperture so I am a little afraid I did not fully program it afterall.
rfkill,
My newly ordered Big_is adapter does the same thing. There is a good side to it - use manual mode, dial in the aperture you want, determine shutter speed while your lens is wide open, stop down and make a shot. In this case you will have correct exposure and your real aperture in EXIF. But I do think that it is to much hassle. I don't think I will evere buy another one...
I wrote Big_IS about the issue. He is fairly responsive as he desires to do right by the customer and protect his business. I imagine it's fairly complex to start monkeying around with Canon's programming from scratch. He has a fellow working with him to get his versions of the chip up to snuff. I know for a fact he is currently upgrading the chip as we speak, but I don't know about this issue per se.
All I can say is capitalism is alive and well in Hong Kong, which is more than I can say for the U.S.
i told him this was a significant issue, regarding the aperture varying on the camera.
I've programmed the Oly 21/3.5 to 21000mm (the best I could do) and 3.5. With the camera dial, it will not now go lower.
When I use the lens at 5.6, which I most frequently do, I leave the camera saying 3.5, and the exposure is correct. If I accidentally move the camera dial from 3.5 (say to f4 or 5.6) then it overexposes (it forces the speed to go down).
I think what's happening is that the camera assumes the lens is autoaperture (because it sees a chip mimicking an autoaperture lens), so when you stop down a stop, the shutter speed doubles in length in the LCD or in the viewfinder, and eventually when the shutter is released. Trouble is, the lens isn't auto aperture, so the exposure is blown when the manual aperture is used, unbeknownst to the camera.
I've shot with the Big_IS adapter outdoors now and the Leica R 35 and adapter are nice and snug on the 5D mkII, and the images turn out fine. My first shot was completely blown out since the camera's aperture had been accidentally turned to f11. This is a bad accident waiting to happen.
Getting inifinity focus and no mirror hang-ups. Exposure simulation works again. I bought a non-chipped adapter with this Leica lens to save money and although it was just fine as an adapter, the 5D mkII's Exposure Simulation requires the chip.
I've just ordered the happypagehk adapter for the 35-70. I will report my experiences with it and the 35-70 when I get it.
There has been a lot of discussion here on the ideal CV adapter thickness for the 5D over the years. I've been following those discussions for about 4 years. I have the 21, 28/2, 28/ 2.8, 35-70, 100/2.8 MP, and 135/2.8. The general consensus is the wides tend to require an adapter thinner than 1.42 to achieve infinity focus.
Several years ago Son Pham studied the issue. He used several different thicknesses, did some test shots with each one and analyzed the results. It was not clear whether Son used multiple bodies. Son's research determined the correct thickness for various CV lenses. He had adapters made at 3 different thicknesses. The thicknesses were 1.2mm, 1.3mm and 1.42mm. I have several of all 3 of these adapters and happy chipped them for me. The 1.3 is on the 21 and 35-70, the 1.2 is on the 28/2 and the 1.42 on the others. I paid $175 for each and then $75 each to happy for the chipping and shipping.
Point here is many users here have reported that their CV lenses require different thickness to get max IQ and infinity focus. Others report that their CV lenses work fine with a thick adapter (1.42 or thicker). The variances of the Canon body comes into play here. You will have to test your lens and your body and determine what works for based on these general guidelines. By a few adapters of different thicknesses and try them out on each lens.
Is there a recommended material to use for shimming an adapter (testing purposes) instead of buying multiple thicknesses?
Does the 1D MKII seem to have as much issue with adapter thicknesses as the 5D?
I'm currently shooting the 35-70 & the 80-200 (will measure my adapters) with my eye on the 28mm 2.8 & 50mm 1.7 ... oh & of course the 100mm planar (someday)
