Comments on Adapters

[BillN]

I thought that it would be useful to get members views on adapters that they have bought:

I have two adapters so far - both from RJ Camera, but bought thru a guy in the UK who seems to buy them in bulk and resell them - more expensive than RJ in China but they arrive the next day

M4/3 to Nikon F = £48
M4/3 to Leica M = £57

Comments
+ve - Well built - look OK

-ve - the lens to adapter and adapter to body are initially stiff and the smaller the adapter the more difficult it is to free it from both the body and lens

Problem - the fitting - lens to adapter on the Nikon F adapter has worked loose causing the lens to move - like a "loose tooth" - what has happened is that the three screws that hold the "plate" to the adapter body have worked loose - when I re tighten them, (small jewelers screw driver), all is good, but they will work loose again, (I have read about this problem on the net)

Is there a solution? - if you only have one lens and keep the adapter attached to that lens I would think that it will NOT work loose. If, like me, you are using the ONE adapter with a NUMBER of different lenses, I would think that one day you may have this problem and each time you re tighten the effect will be less good and effective for a shorter period of time.

I am going to try and "loctite" the three small screws in - to see if this is effective - but the loctite "seal" could "break"

Anyone had similar problems or can suggest another method?

 

[Alan Wolf]

Red loctite

Loctite comes in several varieties. The most common are "red" and "blue." For a problem like this the red is what you want—it's considered permanent. The blue holds screws in, but allows for disassembly. This isn't to say that the red will totally solve the problem, but I'd sure give it a try before looking for something more exotic. If you have a way of degreasing the screws and adapter before you reassemble it, you will have better luck.

 

[rst]

Interesting, I have also the Nikon F adapter from RJ and not seen this problem. But good to be aware of it.

Thanks
rst

 

[OzRay]

I've got adapters from various sources, Olympus, Voigtlander, Camera Quest, szkacha, DC's Photography Store and others for my various lenses and other experiments on the boil.

The best adapters are still those from Voigtlander and Camera Quest, as far as pure engineering quality is concerned. The others are OK, and DC's is pretty good, but they all have rough edges and minor design issues to some degree that are a result of the price compromise.

The Olympus adapter obviously has all of the electronics, but I have to say that it's a plastic monstrosity that exudes cheapness, to the extent that it rivals many whitegoods. If nothing else, Olympus could have at least made it black to make it appear as if it was made from quality materials.

The Voigtlander adapter is as good as anything made by Leica and the Camera Quest one is only a few shades less; both show where the Chinese knockoffs fall down in quality. The DC adapter is surprisingly good in this regard, as it follows the Voigtlander design of making both the lens and camera flange of stainless steel/chrome plated brass, for smooth engagement/disengagement, but doesn't quite follow through with the lens unlocking mechanism.

The cheaper brands usually have the lens flange a separate chromed affair and the camera flange just anodised aluminium. The cheaper brands also don't go the extra yards to make the lens unlocking mechanism more than an afterthought.

Cheers

Ray

 

[andyw]

I have bought 3 adapters

Olympus ON to GF1 About £30 from Hong Kong - It works perfectly so no complaints. Link to seller: http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/roxsen/

M42 to GF1 Again from Hong Kiong about the same price and again fine. Link to seller: http://myworld.ebay.com/ciecio7?ssPageName=ADME:X:AAQ:US:1181

Leica M39 to GF1 £30 from Hong kong perfect! nice and small.

Link to seller: http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/jinfinance/

 

[sebastel]

see:
https://www.mu-43.com/showthread.php?t=663

 

[Justified_Sinner]

Spreadsheet of Adapters

There is a useful spreadsheet here:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dx428wg_10fdvsmtd7

I can also just add that I got a Pentax Auto 110 adapter from Hawks_factory on Ebay and it is a lovely piece of engineering. He does other adapters too, like C-mount. He is based in Taiwan - though my adapter arrived in the UK after 7 days - and his descriptions can be a little bit confusing but he is very helpful by email.

 

[Bullfrog]

really nice overview JS, thanks

 

[sebastel]

only, it is a little bit outdated. still helpful.

 

[BillN]

supply from China could "dry up" for two weeks - Chinese New Year, (The "eye" sorry, Year of the Tiger) - maybe, don't order until after the 21st!!!

 

[pdh]

I'd be interested to see this thread "relit" as I am in the market for one or two more adapters.
If anyone else could follow BillN's lead and post short reviews, especially of the Chinese/HK adapters it could be really helpful for more people. Or maybe there could be a subforum for adapters?
Mostly I'm looking for "cheap and good enough", into which category falls the

Fotodiox M42 to micro4/3 adapter -- approx. £22
Fotodiox have a good range of adapters and I'm guessing they are all or mostly Chinese/HK even though they are based in Waukegan (Illinois USA)
Good service and cheap postal rates from USA to UK (cheaper direct from their own website than from their eBay site!)
Pro: Good enough
Con: It's got the "wiggle" (slightly worse than the MMF-1 "native wiggle") -- which is particularly annoying with a fairly stiff focusing ring;

EDIT: After only a week or so of "one and off" the mount shows distinct scratching and signs of wear; I'd be concerned about tiny flakes of anodising and/or aluminium ending up inside the camera.

Score: 4/10: Ok for experimenting but if I found an M42 lens I wanted to use all the time, I'd buy something better;

 

[JoeG]

I've got one adapter, for Konica lenses, that I bought from "Rainbowimaging" on Ebay. His product shot shows an RJ adapter, but mine has no maker's name. Nonetheless, it works very well as far as I can see. It firmly supports my 90MM 2.5 Tamron, a pretty heavy lens that already sits on a detachable Konica-flavored Adaptall mount. No flex or play anywhere in the assemblage.

But I bought the piece for my Konica 40mm 1.8. It will be attached to that lens more or less permanently. To tell the truth, I generally forget that there's an adapter on there at all. It just seems part of the lens and mounts as naturally and securely as the lens itself did to my Konica SLR of blessed memory.

 

[BillN]

Just got a couple more, Konica and Pantax K, this time from Bondscamera in China/HK - EBay seller - their adapters are at the same good quality as the others I have bought from RJ camera in HK - in fact they look as if they came from RJ - similar prices - around £30 each
No complains - shipped to the UK in about a week - marked as a $5 camera accessory and no problems with UK VAT or clearance

 

[FaradayCage]

I'm loving Robert Jagitsch's adapter to mount the Contax G rangefinder lenses. Check it out:
Contax G – Micro 4/3

You can successfully use the 35, 45 and 90mm lenses. The 45mm is one of the best pieces of glass made for 35mm film, ever. Period. As good as Leica. Its oddball autofocus scheme made it highly unadaptable, but people have done it. Robert's adapter is the best out there for the G lenses, IMAO.

Some examples here:
Member Profile - Mu-43 Gallery

 

[Charles2]

Contax/Yashica bayonet mount to m4/3

Several weeks ago I bought a Contax/Yashica bayonet mount to m4/3 adapter on eBay from Rainbow Imaging in Brooklyn, NY (rainbowjiam@gmail.com). Have used Yashica ML, DSB, and a Zeiss Planar on my Olympus E-P1 with no problem. The Zeiss lens is a bit loose; I feel a jiggle when I flip the camera by turning my wrist. But the lens holds and I haven't seen an image problem.

 

[JudyM]

Fotodiox adapters

I recently purchased two of the Fotodiox adapters through Amazon (about $39 each). I purchased the Contax/Yashica to 4/3 to use the Zeiss lenses from my Contax 167MT on my Gf1, and a T-mount to 4/3 for mounting a telescope or spotting scope (or any other T-mount optic) on the Gf1. Both adapters seem to be well made for the money, attach easily and fit securely with no free play. I'm happy with them.

Regards,
Judy

 

[nokiamia]

This is a good thread.

I bought myself a Nikon to m4/3 mount from eBay. It's a Japanese brand called Metabones. The store owner is also a forummer here by the name Lasjas. My review on this adapter is simply outstanding. The built quality is top notch. I really have no complaints actually. I really recommend Metabones. Contact Lasjas and he'll give fellow forummer a generous discount.

 

[Freedomwalker]

I got my friend in HK to buy me a Konica AR adaptor (RJ Brand) and a Canon FD adaptor (Pixco brand), both fit nicely on my G1.

 

[Lash]

My Voigtlander works well.

 

[ehktang]

Hi everyone,
This is a great thread about adapters, tons of valuable info. Now, I have a specific concern. The Olympus webpage on MMF-2 adapter says there are some unspecified compatibility problems with accessories. I have an four-thirds EX25 extension tube which I want to migrate with the ZD50mm f2 macro to micro four-thirds.
Question number 1: Will this set-up MMF-2, ZD50 and EX25 work, i.e. auto aperture, manual-focus? Has anyone tried this out or has the answer?
Question number 2: Is there any 3rd party adapter for four thirds lens which allows (through electronic contacts) auto-aperture but not necessarily auto-focus?