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Nikon Adapter pros and cons?

Rawfa

Active member
Hi gang,

I've been thinking about getting one of those adapters that allows you to use lenses with a nikon mount on four thirds cameras (namely the e410) and I was wondering what the pros and cons are?...light loss, multiplication factor, manual control limitations, etc?

thanks,

Rafa
 
V

Vivek

Guest
None that you list are a problem for me. Nikon lenses are ugly and bulky (at least on the M 4/3rds) and do not offer anything that isn't covered by others, unless, you have a bunch of T/S lenses. These I find are useful.
 

Rawfa

Active member
The difference is that you can get an amazing nikkor 28mm or 24mm f2.8 for 50 bucks instead of having to pay 300 for the zuiko pancake...The nikon 24mm and 28mm are also small enough for you to carry around and would make a nice alternative. Sure you don't have autofocus, but with the e410's lcd you could focus your self...This is just my theory and I'd really like to hear from people with actual experience.
 
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Vivek

Guest
I have the lenses you mention (can not be found for $50, OTOH, if you can, then you are very lucky!:)) and a whole lot more.

I also have an adapter to mate the lenses to my G1 (same 4/3rd format), I have tried some but not all.

No clear advantage, IME.

But, any lens that you own and use are better than anything else out there! :)
 

jonoslack

Active member
The difference is that you can get an amazing nikkor 28mm or 24mm f2.8 for 50 bucks instead of having to pay 300 for the zuiko pancake...The nikon 24mm and 28mm are also small enough for you to carry around and would make a nice alternative. Sure you don't have autofocus, but with the e410's lcd you could focus your self...This is just my theory and I'd really like to hear from people with actual experience.
HI There
What about using some of the voigtlander M mount lenses - seems silly to use great big lenses designed for a mirror box, when there are greatly superior lenses designed for m series, half the size, and pretty cheap too.
 

Rawfa

Active member
HI There
What about using some of the voigtlander M mount lenses - seems silly to use great big lenses designed for a mirror box, when there are greatly superior lenses designed for m series, half the size, and pretty cheap too.
That actually sounds like a great idea. What I'm aiming for is a solution like the DP1...a small compact with great quality and a decent wide angle. Is there any vogitlander that could generate something like a 28mm after the multiplication? How much are we talking about? Where can I get this adapter?
 
V

Vivek

Guest
There is no adapter that would allow you to use any M lens (with infinity focus) on a 4/3 body.

Check out what many of the 4/3rds folks are using. The Konica AR mount is almost the 4/3rd mount (the registry is slightly off).

Brian has shown some samples from his 57/1.2 Konica lens.

There is a whole bunch of Konica lenses (a pancake, macro, what not) that can be found for reasonable prices (not for $50/-) and used with a bit of manual labor on your part (google to get the information) on any 4/3rd body.

No adapters needed!
 

monza

Active member
There is no adapter that would allow you to use any M lens (with infinity focus) on a 4/3 body.

Check out what many of the 4/3rds folks are using. The Konica AR mount is almost the 4/3rd mount (the registry is slightly off).

Brian has shown some samples from his 57/1.2 Konica lens.

There is a whole bunch of Konica lenses (a pancake, macro, what not) that can be found for reasonable prices (not for $50/-) and used with a bit of manual labor on your part (google to get the information) on any 4/3rd body.

No adapters needed!
This is great info Vivek...thanks for the post. :) Now off to search Konica...
 
J

Johann Wolfgang

Guest
"Nikon lenses are ugly and bulky"

I like my NIKKORs ...... and you don`t have to care about Ai or AiS, F-mount is okay :cool:


Regards
Johann
 

Rawfa

Active member
There is no adapter that would allow you to use any M lens (with infinity focus) on a 4/3 body.

Check out what many of the 4/3rds folks are using. The Konica AR mount is almost the 4/3rd mount (the registry is slightly off).

Brian has shown some samples from his 57/1.2 Konica lens.

There is a whole bunch of Konica lenses (a pancake, macro, what not) that can be found for reasonable prices (not for $50/-) and used with a bit of manual labor on your part (google to get the information) on any 4/3rd body.

No adapters needed!
Wait, you when say manual labor you don't mean like having to drill extra holes on the camera or anything like that, right? You man extra labor for focusing and measuring light, right? Because I saw a link of someone who would adapt other lenses to 4/3 by modifying the mount and I'm not a DYI guys at all...I'd probably destroy the camera and make it useless...
 

greypilgrim

New member
I have the lenses you mention (can not be found for $50, OTOH, if you can, then you are very lucky!:)) and a whole lot more.

I also have an adapter to mate the lenses to my G1 (same 4/3rd format), I have tried some but not all.

No clear advantage, IME.

But, any lens that you own and use are better than anything else out there! :)
The advantage is for those of us who have lots of quality old Nikkors that want a new and better way to use them.

I joined here because I followed the trail of the M adapter threads elsewhere and then saw these great discussions, and then I got to thinking about my Nikon glass in a similar way.

The Holy Grail for me would be an FM2D equivalent. But the G1 with an Nikon F adapter might just be getting close. My 105 f2.5 becomes a 210 f2.5, or my 75-15- Series E, or my 20, 24, 35, 50, 200, etc.... I can easily see an argument for getting the 7-14 lens when it comes out and then having everything else covered by my nikkors. Could be fun.

And then, of course, since I would have the camera, I'd have to get an M adapter, wouldn't I, and then some of those CV lenses.....

But anyway, the point is for those of us who live in MF Nikon land, we miss **small**, tough, basic cameras like the FM2... My daughter shoots film only still just so she can use her FM :D.

Doug
 
V

Vivek

Guest
Doug,

I understand. If you look at the G1 with some tiny primes and the G1 with Nikon primes, you would instantly recognize why I said what I said.

I never said anything bad about the lens "quality". Pointing out some draw backs of any tool ought not to be mixed up with "trashing" a brand or a system and heavens forbid as some kind of a personal attack directed at any person!

FWIW, I have dozens of Nikon lenses.
 

greypilgrim

New member
Doug,

I understand. If you look at the G1 with some tiny primes and the G1 with Nikon primes, you would instantly recognize why I said what I said.

I never said anything bad about the lens "quality". Pointing out some draw backs of any tool ought not to be mixed up with "trashing" a brand or a system and heavens forbid as some kind of a personal attack directed at any person!

FWIW, I have dozens of Nikon lenses.
Vivek,

Oh, I DO understand, and I drool over the concept of the G1 with quality tiny primes.

But $$$$ :(, and I have a stable full of old nikkors with unique qualities, and if you compare using them on a D200 versus a G1, you see what I am saying :).

The bottom line is I think Panasonic has stolen a march on Nikon and Canon here. If they can attract those of us who are looking for that less hefty camera experience, they have truly carved themselves a good niche.

And of course, the advantage for those of us that would like to use other lenses is clear as well... The biggest obstacle to attracting users of other platforms is their existing glass. Problem solved. It makes for an interesting argument in favor of getting a G1 no matter what set of lenses you have.

For me, I am always looking for that combination of MF experience, quality of images, and lower weight. If I could use a G1, I drop a pound of camera weight, then add in the fact that I can use my smaller primes effectively, and my travel kit becomes much ligher indeed...

So, even though it doesn't match the experience of a CV or Leica lens on a G1, the delta from a D200 and my AF lenses 12-24 Tokina, mf primes, 70-300 AF VR, macro, etc... is on the order of pounds of weight saving if I look at it. Intriguing.

Add in being able to more effectively focus my mf primes, and it gets even more intriguing.

And it was your posts about your work with those tiny primes that got me thinking that way :D.

Doug
 

monza

Active member
Dittos, this pretty much sums things up for me as well.

I just put my old 105/2.5 Nikkor next to a new 18-55 Nikkor kit lens and they are almost exactly the same size. Should be a good fit on the G1.
 
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