Question about adapters. I bought a Canon to M4/3s on Ebay. It is very solid and seems nice, but has a built in aperture ring that only goes down to 2.8. I got it to use with my 1.4 lenses...did I just get screwed?

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Call me Al. Gear:Oly E-PL 5, Pan GF3, 45 F1.8, 14-42 II, Oly 45-150, Pan 14mm and 25mm Summilux

I assume you're referring to a Canon EF/EOS adapter with the built in aperture ring, correct? Most of these that I have seen don't actually have f/number markings (the ring is just marked with a 1 to 6 or something). I would be a bit dubious of any adapter that purports to tell you the f/stop, since this is a ratio of focal length to aperture diameter and the adapter does not know the focal length of the lens you have mounted. Here's one that's marked to f/1.7, but I doubt it actually has a larger maximum aperture diameter than the adapter you have.

The way to tell if this will be a problem for you is to open your f/1.4 lens up all the way and note whether the aperture diameter of the lens is larger than that of the adapter when it is wide open. If the aperture is larger on the lens, then the adapter will obviously prevent you from shooting wide open with that lens.

If that's the case, then you can try to find an adapter with a larger aperture. If that search doesn't prove fruitful (as I fear it will since all of the adapters I've seen appear to have roughly similar aperture diameters), then your other option is to get an adapter without the adjustable aperture and just leave the lens aperture set wide open. If you have a Canon body you can adjust the aperture of the lens by connecting the lens and setting the aperture you want, then disconnecting the lens while depressing the DOF preview button. Another (much more expensive) option would be one of the Red Rock Micro adapters that allows you to control the aperture in the lens.

Here's a video of a guy who uses a Bower adapter with his 50/1.2 lens and he doesn't note any issues in shooting wide open.

By the way, which adapter did you purchase?

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Thanks a lot, DeeJayK, for the thoughtful response, useful information, and links. I bought mine from a seller called "smile bird" (With a name like that, how can they not be top quality?).
The fit and solidness of the device are excellent, btw. It does give F-stop type numbers around the edge, from 2.8-22, but I guess they don't mean much. I'll try your suggestion of looking through the lens with it on later, and see how it pans out.

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Call me Al. Gear:Oly E-PL 5, Pan GF3, 45 F1.8, 14-42 II, Oly 45-150, Pan 14mm and 25mm Summilux

Does the HELIOS-44M-4 require an adapter with a flange?

I have a 44-2 and it does not have an aperture pin which would require a flange to stop down. I don't believe the 44-M-4 has an aperture pin protruding from the rear of the lens either.

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If your lens has a separate control ring on the nose to engage/disengage the aperture mechanism you won't need the flange to hold down the pin. As above, if there is no pin you don't need the flange, but I would still get an adapter with one so that you can use lenses that do have a pin.

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Nic
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Thank you for the info and the work reuired to produce it.
I am trying to use an AI-M4/3 adapter with my OM-D but only get a blank screen. Is there anything I should do in the settings?
Thanks again.
Peter

I have found with the Canon FD lens adapter that apart from using the open/lock switch to mount on the camera (G5 in my case), if this is left at LOCK as you suggest, it locks the aperture wide open and whatever aperture you set on the lens nothing changes...shutter speed or anything. However, when you set it to OPEN, all apertures can be selected. So it is not really for mounting the lens.

Also....can anyone tell ne what the little green A is for after the f22 aperture on the lens ring? I have tried this setting using the little black button next to it but can't seem to see anything.

Have also notiiced that when focusing, you can press the thumb wheel to get a nice big magnification although it doesn't work by just turning focus ring on lens like the Panny lenses as no electronics etc.

Thanks for the info in your original post....very interesting.

This is true, and it's basically stated in the original post although in a slightly different way. Twisting the adapter ring moves the lens' aperture lever which stops down the lens. As far as I can tell the lens' breech lock is what really mounts the lens, so labeling this ring "Open/Lock" is a bit confusing. For myself I occasionally use this ring if I want to set critical focus while shooting with the lens stopped down...I'll turn the ring to "Open" and nail focus with the aperture wide open, then turn it back to "Lock" before I press the shutter.

My understanding is that the "A" setting on an aperture ring would allow the native body to control the aperture. When adapted, the "A" setting essentially sets the lens wide open -- I can see no reason why you'd want to use it.

This is true of the Panasonic bodies. The Olympus bodies generally have a "magnify" button that achieves the same purpose.

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Hi all

Very much looking forward to using some legacy OM Zuiko glass with the E-PL3. Manual focus holds no fear for me. I'm interested, though, to know how aperture is dealt with if I'm shooting in aperture priority mode, which I'm led to believe will work as normal.

It's a long time since I've used an OM lens and I can't properly remember, but as I recall the aperture remains open fully when you turn the aperture dial unless you're actually shooting or you're holding down the preview button.. so how does aperture priority work? Does the adaptor have something which effectively keeps the preview button pressed..? Or does Av only function properly if I manually engage the preview button somehow? Or am I going to be restricted to manual? I don't mind that either, I was just interested when I read several reviews saying that aperture priority mode works as normal.

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