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Fuji & metabones adapter for Nikon G lenses

Paul2660

Well-known member
Does anyone use this setup?

Metabones makes an adapter for the Fuji x mount to allow Nikon G lenses. I am assuming that it's it a G lens, the adapter will allow for manual aperture adjustments.

If you use a Nikon lens with an aperture ring, or a Zeiss Nikon mount, I was curious how that works. Since you still can set the aperture on the Nikon lens also.

The old Nikon 45mm F 2.8 is one of the lenses I would like to use as it's small and an excellent optic. This is the pancake lens Nikon made for a while.

Thanks
Paul Caldwell
 

greypilgrim

New member
Does anyone use this setup?

Metabones makes an adapter for the Fuji x mount to allow Nikon G lenses. I am assuming that it's it a G lens, the adapter will allow for manual aperture adjustments.

If you use a Nikon lens with an aperture ring, or a Zeiss Nikon mount, I was curious how that works. Since you still can set the aperture on the Nikon lens also.

The old Nikon 45mm F 2.8 is one of the lenses I would like to use as it's small and an excellent optic. This is the pancake lens Nikon made for a while.

Thanks
Paul Caldwell
I have it, and I have used it on a rented X-E2 and now my own X-T1. There are pluses and minuses, but I will first say that I will continue using it.

First, it does work with G lenses. It has an aperture ring on it that will adjust the G lens apertures.. I do not use those as I am mostly shooting old favorite F mount lenses that have their own rings.

I have a 45mm f2.8, but iirc correctly, it did not mount on the adapter. I will try it again as I am very fond of that lens.

Now, the wider the lens, the more pronounced the smearing you will get in the corners. If corner sharpness is important in a particular shot, you will either need to stop down or crop or both. The longer the lens, the less pronounced this is and the less stopping down you need to do.

Note that it is not quite a 1:1 equivalent. You need to multiply the lens focal length by .7 and then by the 1.5 crop factor. So, my 28 f2 becomes a 29.4 f1.4 equivalent for instance. That lens needs to be stopped down to f4 or f5.6 to get rid of the smearing as an example.

I have seen the adapter bring some lenses back to really shine on my m43 system which is why I got it for the Fuji as well. Sharpness does improve imo (corner smearing aside), and I see some really nice results in terms of contrast.

So, my experience is a mixed bag, but I think it is totally useable if you know its limitations. This is somewhat different from m43 where (with a 1.4 ultimate equivalent crop when using the adapter), I did not run into corner smearing issues (makes sense). And, the ability to have my 28 become an f1.4 and my 50 become and f1.0 is crazy fun.

Lenses I have used:

20 f3.5, 28 f2, 35 f2, 50 f1.4, Tamron 90 f2.5, Vivitar 90 f2.5 Series 1, 105 f2.5, 75-150 f3.5 series E, 200mm f4, Tamron 300mm f5.6.

When I decided to go for the X-T1, I did end up buying the 14 f2.8 as I was not crazy about the results of my 20 f3.5 and the speed booster. I also have the 55-200 as I wanted AF for some trips. So, I may not be using it as often with the Fuji system at first. I do intend to use it on an upcoming Bryce trip for night photography where the extra stop will really help.

Be glad to answer more if you have specific questions.
Doug
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
Does anyone use this setup?

Metabones makes an adapter for the Fuji x mount to allow Nikon G lenses. I am assuming that it's it a G lens, the adapter will allow for manual aperture adjustments.

If you use a Nikon lens with an aperture ring, or a Zeiss Nikon mount, I was curious how that works. Since you still can set the aperture on the Nikon lens also.

The old Nikon 45mm F 2.8 is one of the lenses I would like to use as it's small and an excellent optic. This is the pancake lens Nikon made for a while.

Thanks
Paul Caldwell
Paul,

Regarding the lenses with aperture rings, you need to set the adapter's aperture setting to wide open and adjust the lens aperture ring. They act independently of each other.
 

Paul2660

Well-known member
Doug

Are you using the speed booster version of the adapter or just the standard x to g ?. I am surprised to see smearing as you should be only using the center if the lens due to thee 1.5 crop.

Graham

Thanks for the clarification on the adapter/ aperture settings

It would be a bust for me if the 45 28 P f 2.8 didn't work with the adapter as that lens should be a perfect solution for the Fuji.

Paul
 

greypilgrim

New member
Doug

Are you using the speed booster version of the adapter or just the standard x to g ?. I am surprised to see smearing as you should be only using the center if the lens due to thee 1.5 crop.

Graham

Thanks for the clarification on the adapter/ aperture settings

It would be a bust for me if the 45 28 P f 2.8 didn't work with the adapter as that lens should be a perfect solution for the Fuji.

Paul
Yes, it is the speed booster (Given that I paid $429 for it, not to mention the glass in the adapter which is also a clue :)).

The speed booster reduces the lens' focal length with a multiplier of .71, and then you multiply back in by the 1.5 crop. So, for instance, the 20 becomes a 14.2 and then you multiply that by the 1.5 crop. This gets you to 21.3. And it reduces the f-stop by 1 stop.

And yes, the smearing on wider lenses at wide open is a known feature. The point is for an aps-c sensor, if you use an FF lens, you get close to the original focal length and a stop more light. Sharpness is improved.

If you go through the threads on the SpeedBooster on other forums, you can see conversations there covering this. It is not an issue with m4/3 because of the 2x crop factor there when using ff lenses, but if you use APS-C lenses on m43, you get the same results.

There is also a white paper that explains this somewhere on the MetaBones site.

Brian is also a member here (brianc1959).

Doug
 
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Paul2660

Well-known member
Doug,

Thanks for the info, I have never been exactly sure how the speed-booster worked.

For me, I would most likely start with the basic adapter, non speed booster. Have you seen any reports about the smearing with that? I will assume it will have better success since you are back to the 1.5 crop, i.e your 14mm becomes a 21mm.

Paul
 

greypilgrim

New member
Doug,

Thanks for the info, I have never been exactly sure how the speed-booster worked.

For me, I would most likely start with the basic adapter, non speed booster. Have you seen any reports about the smearing with that? I will assume it will have better success since you are back to the 1.5 crop, i.e your 14mm becomes a 21mm.

Paul
Hi Paul,
I have used a regular adapter from Rainbow Imaging (They have one for G Lenses), and I have had plenty of success. No smearing which as you said is to be expected since there is the 1.5 crop. Some lenses do better than others with the crop as you are "cropping". I have found that that shows up the imperfections in a lens much faster. For instance, I am not crazy about the image quality my 200mm f4 with the 1.4 crop, but really like how it renders with the speed booster.

The 45mm f2.8 works fine with the regular adapters, btw. I still have to look at it again with the speed booster.

I really like my macro lenses with a regular adapter and the nikon 105mm f2.5. The bokeh on my 75-150 gets a bit busy at times with oof, but it is still a fun lens even with the crop.

Doug
 

fordfanjpn

Member
Ok, I have to admit that I'm confused about the G lens adapter. As far as I know, the only way to set the aperture on a G lens is to put it on a Nikon camera and set it electronically. So when you take the lens off the camera, isn't it pretty much stuck at whatever aperture it was at when you took it off the camera? And if so, wouldn't you need a Nikon camera to open the aperture up before putting the lens on the adapter? Or do the G lenses open up automagically when you take them off the camera?

Sorry for all the questions. I hope someone can clarify this for me. Thanks.

Bill
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
The lens opens up through the use of a cam inside the adapter mount. Without the cam linked to the aperture ring, the lens would stop down all the way. When you mount the lens the cam in the ring and the aperture control on the lens mate to set the aperture to the manually selected value.

There is no electronic control of the lens aperture when used with the metabones adapter.
 

Paul2660

Well-known member
Graham:

Have you heard about any damage to the Nikon lenses G mounts? I worried a bit about the adapter damaging the contacts or whatever the adapter is married to on the G lens to allow the aperture to stop down.

Paul
 

greypilgrim

New member
Graham:

Have you heard about any damage to the Nikon lenses G mounts? I worried a bit about the adapter damaging the contacts or whatever the adapter is married to on the G lens to allow the aperture to stop down.

Paul
If it is properly made, there is no reason there would be any damage. It is a simple mechanical linkage. When reading descriptions of adapters online, I did read about one brand whose locking pin for mounting the lens broke, and the adapter would become permanently attached to the adapter at that point (needless to say, I avoided that brand of adapter).

Doug
 

fordfanjpn

Member
The lens opens up through the use of a cam inside the adapter mount. Without the cam linked to the aperture ring, the lens would stop down all the way. When you mount the lens the cam in the ring and the aperture control on the lens mate to set the aperture to the manually selected value.

There is no electronic control of the lens aperture when used with the metabones adapter.
Thanks Graham, I appreciate you clearing that up for me.

Bill
 

fordfanjpn

Member
I'm having a running battle with a Nikon friend who insists that since the G lenses have only electronic connections, there is no way to mechanically control the aperture and therefore it's not possible for an adapter to change the aperture in the lens mechanically. I keep telling him that the adapters exist and people are using them, but he's stubborn (probably why he's still using Nikon!). So I'm wondering if anyone has, or knows where to find some pics that show how the adapter links to the lens in such a way as to be able to mechanically control the aperture of the lens. I'm afraid the only alternative would be to buy an adapter and some G lenses, but I'm not ready to do that just to win an argument! ;-)

Bill
 

greypilgrim

New member
I'm having a running battle with a Nikon friend who insists that since the G lenses have only electronic connections, there is no way to mechanically control the aperture and therefore it's not possible for an adapter to change the aperture in the lens mechanically. I keep telling him that the adapters exist and people are using them, but he's stubborn (probably why he's still using Nikon!). So I'm wondering if anyone has, or knows where to find some pics that show how the adapter links to the lens in such a way as to be able to mechanically control the aperture of the lens. I'm afraid the only alternative would be to buy an adapter and some G lenses, but I'm not ready to do that just to win an argument! ;-)

Bill
He's wrong. You're right. :)

I don't have G lenses anymore, or I would show you, but just look at the MetaBones G adapter for Nikon F lenses to Fuji for example. They provide a physical aperture ring on those adapters specifically to adjust the aperture on G lenses, and they specifically state compatibility with them.

There are lots of "G" adapters out there that provide this functionality, and I used it before I got rid of my few G lenses.

I do have a friend who has some, so if necessary, I could borrow his to prove it works :).

Doug
 

fordfanjpn

Member
Thanks guys. He's still not convinced. I guess the only solution is to buy an adapter and a G lens or two and show it to him.

Bill
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
Tell your friend to flip over his G mount lens and look at it. There's a mechanical lever that if he moves it will open up the lens. Unlike canon lenses, the Nikon G/F mount has a mechanical vs electronic aperture control.

When you use a G mount lens on a Nikon camera, mounting the lens opens up the aperture to max and dialing in the aperture on the body makes the lens stop down to the requested aperture when you press the shutter or do a DOF preview. When you use a non-Nikon camera or adapter, you have only stop down mode which means that the lens is always set by the aperture dial on the adapter and isn't wide open for composition and metering.

There are legions of Canon users who use the Nikon 14-24 lens who can attest that this does work. :deadhorse:

If I were at home I'd send you pics.
 

doc4x5

Member
I have a Fuji X T-1 and a Metabones G adapter (NOT the Speedbooster). I just this moment attached a Nikon 85mm f/1.8 G lens to the camera with the adapter and observed the diaphragm as I moved the ring on the adapter... it closes the diaphragm! That should be the end of this debate.

What no adapter will do, at least none I've found, is operate the ELECTRONIC diaphragm of the Nikon PC-E lenses. If anyone has found a way around that one, I'd LOVE to know since I have all three PC-E's and would really like to use them on my Fuji.

Eric
 
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