Mitakon, Metabones, Roxsen, Camdiox, focal reducers, share your experiences.

[andymcd]

I have tried the Camdiox Nikon F->Fuji X focal reducing adapter and found that it does not allow infinity focus.

 

The wider the lens, the closer the infinity focusing became. For example, a Vivitar 19/3.8 would only allow me to focus to about 6 inches, whereas a 24/2.8 let me get to about one foot. There is a hint on some of the available information that this might be the case, but nothing to suggest it would be as bad as I found it to be. Fortunately the seller immediately agreed to me returning it for a full refund. From what I can tell, this is only a problem with their Nikon to Fuji adapter - the others appear to be okay.

 

I'm hoping to pick up the Mitakon version instead at some point.

[milandro]

Yesterday I bought, here in the Netherlands, this Zhongyi Mitakon lens turbo version II, secondhand, but very little used. It was a little more than I would have wanted to spend originally but less that it would have been in a shop.

 

I bought the version for M42/Fuji X.

 

NO problems with infinity focus both on short as medium focal lengths.

 

 

This morning I tried it with:

 

100mm f4 macro Pentax Takumar 

 28mm f3.5 Pentax Takumar (This shows that one CAN use a wide angle with the lens Turbo Adapter, just make sure that it is not of the type which protrudes too much inside!)

58mm  f2 Helios.

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[milandro]

100 mm macro at f10

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[milandro]

58mm f2

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[milandro]

100mm f4

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[milandro]

100mm f4

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[milandro]

for the purpose of comparison two files made with AF Fuji zoom lenses 

 

 

 

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[milandro]

50/230  approx100mm f5.4

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[milandro]

B&W

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[milandro]

color

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[milandro]

auto 

 

 

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[darknj]

[...]

 

Milandro ? Small question about your pictures, did you processed them or are they SOOC jpeg files ? I have been looking at the Mikaton II lens turbo too but for maybe some older nikkor lenses like the 24mm F2.8, that would save me some money on the long run.

[andymcd]

Thanks for posting samples from the Mitakon Turbo II - I've ordered the Nikon -> Fuji version, just have to wait a week or three for it to arrive now

 

Andy

[andymcd]

Milandro ? Small question about your pictures, did you processed them or are they SOOC jpeg files ? I have been looking at the Mikaton II lens turbo too but for maybe some older nikkor lenses like the 24mm F2.8, that would save me some money on the long run.

I've ordered the Nikon->Fuji version and will report once I have it. I have the Cosina 24/2.8 which is one of the lenses I am keen to try it with.

[milandro]

Hi, minimum processing only for the last 3, the rest are as they came out.

 

Those were shown mostly to show the sort of bokeh rendering of the Helios.

 

I thought especially that the one of the gate was useful because it shows the “ swirl” in all its peculiarity.

 

One word of warning about wideangles, some might protrude too much inside and touch the lens elements when focused at infinity.

 

I have a Takumar 28mm 3.5 and that one is not a problem but other lenses would most certainly be!

 

If you buy this lens on line in China from the factory you will save a lot of money compared to buy in the EU but you will pay VAT and “ handling through customs”.

 

Be careful, the back part of the lens element is very exposed to touching or scratching when inserting in the camera.

[Jackalized]

My first focal reducer was a "Camdiox" one... it was, well, okayish. It had a 'blue spot' problem at more closed apertures and a curved plane of focus.

 

Now I'm using a Zhongyi LensTurbo II Canon EF to Fuji-X one and it's _much_ better optically. No weird flares, sharpness and contrast is great. The plane of focus is way flatter with the LensTurbo II. 

I don't think it changes much how a lens draws, if a lens has bad corners and great central sharpness (Helios 44 up to around f5.6) it stays the same with the LensTurbo II. I only used my Helios 44 only on film before that, but bokeh & sharpness are how I'm expecting the lens to behave, not changed by the LensTurbo.

 

 

Helios 44M + LensTurbo II + X-Pro1, both wide open:

 

 

 

WB & contrast adjusted on both, second one was cropped a little bit. 

[milandro]

It goes without saying that these focal reducers cannot perform any magic tricks and make of any lens made for an analog camera of the past a lens that would be even remotely comparable, in terms of the usual measurable criteria, to a modern lens such as the ones developed for the Fujifilm cameras.

 

However the reason to use any such lens as the Helios, is not to profit of their inherent optical “ quality”. In fact, quite the contrary, it lays precisely in using their limits and optical quirks.

 

If one sees the enormous success of the whole of the “ lensbaby” line, some of which are lenses of incredible questionable quality, one has to understand where this adapters fit in the great scheme of things.

 

They are fun lenses, special effect one, but they are not competitors of the Fuji lenses.

[andymcd]

My Mitakon Nikon->Fuji Turbo II will hopefully be delivered tomorrow. I will post an update here to say how it performs - hopefully it will be a lot better than the cheaper version that I tried back in December.

[milandro]

look forward to see the results! Good Luck!

[bobcom]

I've got a Kipon Baveyes which is rather good - no flare, sharpness or distortion problems as far as I can see. I opted for the Eos-FX version, and joined it with an Eos-M42 adapter - am still looking for a Eos-Nikon adapter that will fit, and allow me to use it with most of my MF lenses at their original specifications. More recently I also bought a no-name FD-FX adapter, but this one has a huge blue spot in the center on almost all apertures - both with FD 50/1,8 and 28/2,8 lenses, so it has been a waste of money (not too much, fortunately).

[milandro]

two test pics of a Meyer Optyc Görliz Orestor 50mm 1.8 at 1.8 with the lens turbo I am really impressed by the rendering of the not in focus part of the image ( what this days is called bokeh, ...ah the bokeh!      I always make fun of the word because it was completely unknown to me for years and years and not everybody uses it!).

 

 

I have added a last image made with an adapter without optics for comparison purposes.

 

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Edited March 10, 2016 by milandro

[jefftexas]

My first post...just thought I would chime in on using Metabones adapters with Nikon lenses on my Fuji X-T10.  I'm in the process of switching from Nikon D7100 to Fuji X-T10 and while I love Fuji lenses, my Nikon macro lenses (Nikon 60mm f2.8 and Tokina 100mm f2.8 macro) are just better than the 60mm Fuji.  I also have a 11-20 Tokina f2.8 that I use for astrophotography.  Since macro and night photography usually require manual focusing, using an adapter is not a problem.  I have the more expensive Metabones adapter with the aperture ring included since some of my original lenses were DX and did not have a aperture ring on them.  The adapter will work with both types.  Just set the lens at the smallest aperture and let the adapter ring control aperture.  Attachment is easy and the lenses are reasonably balanced on the camera given it is so small.  I use the collar on the adapter to attach to my tripod and/or monopod.  I've adapted to focus peaking and can focus them quite well, especially at 2.8.  Images are fantastic!  The metabones adapter was definitely worth the money ($139) because it allows me to stagger my Fuji lens purchases into the future while still having nice quality lenses in the meantime.

[milandro]

Welcome to the forum, perhaps you have misinterpreted the spirit of this thread dedicated to adapting lenses by means of focal reducers.

 

 

A regular metabone adapter like the one that you are talking about, without lens elements inside, is a very different animal than the speed booster which is at least $600!

 

If you go thought the pics that I and others have shown you see manual lenses adapted with focal reducers. Good luck with your endeavor.

[TaffyTheGog]

I love how gear snobs will chime in completely missing the point of 'any experience with LESS EXPENSIVE focal reducers' just to say they like Metabones, regardless whether they've only ever used Metabones and therefore CANNOT answer the question, at all, even remotely.

I am personally curious about the Adplo and like focal reducers. Anyone? And please do not use the word Metabones in your reply - I can barely afford my camera, let alone a horribly overpriced accessory.

[milandro]

Unless one is prepared to make a blind purchase on line, the choice of focal reducers differs greatly around the world and even more so if you chose one system over another one.

 

I went for M42 lenses because that meant that I could purchase many lenses which would cost very little money, in fact the investment, once you’ve decided to stick to M42 lenses is not so much in lenses but in the adapter itself.

 

Metabone, to date doesn’t even make a M42/Fuji XF  ( and if they make it is not available on the Netherlands) so this option wasn’t even available to me and given the price ticket of the Metabone speed booster I wasn’t going to chance buying one of these unless it would have come from a disillusioned buyer who thought that he could make a better lens out of an extra piece of glass added to a not so great lens ( in comparison to a native Fuji lens).

 

I bought a Mitakon lens turbo II, bought second hand in the NL although I could have bought it new in Cina for the same price.

 

 

 

My vision is that adaptive photography by means of focal reducers or not, has to be taken for what it is.

 

1) it’s a great way to use something you have already or can buy cheaply 

 

2) One makes images which might have a very different “ character “ than the ones made with modern autofocus lenses at the expense of image quality measured in resolution, micro-contrast and all of that whole shebang.

 

Of course that whole thing comes at a price ad I personally have elected to have a certain amount of autofocus lenses and  a certain amount of modern non autofocus wideangle.

 

Then I have M42 lenses which I use on a focal reducer or a tilt adapter ( which I do admit it is an acquired taste to say the least).