Lens adapters Love or loathe them

lxmike

lxmike

M2 fan.
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Personally l am split, yes adapters are cool and handy when attaching vintage glass to digital cameras such as my XE-1 but l also loathe them as they have driven the price of classic glass up making it very difficult for grabbing a bargain or adding to your 'film glass collection', how do people feel about adapters and the ever rising prices of glass
 
Well I love them. The rising price I worry about is the cost of "having" to one day get a full frame digital to use the full image circle.

I dont have any lenses without film cameras to match. But a dual use lens is a plus over one that only attaches to the film body.
 
lxmike said:
... how do people feel about adapters and the ever rising prices of glass
Click to expand...

I have adapters for mounting my Nikon F, Leica M, Pentax M42, Fuji M42, and Contax G film lenses on my Fuji X and Olympus micro 4/3 digital bodies. I also have an adapter for mounting Nikon F lenses on my Leica M body and an adapter for mounting M42 lenses on a Nikon F body.

All of my adapters are hollow tubes. None have glass elements.

I loved the low-cost adapters because they allow me to continue using the expensive lenses I already own.


Lens Mount Adapters by Narsuitus, on Flickr
 
Similarly, I have the following adapters for my Sony digital: Nikon F, Leica M, M42, M39, Nikon Rangefinder... I think that is all. They are fun! I also have an M42-to-Leica M adapter which lets me use other lenses on my Leica CL, although they are not rangefinder coupled. The purists probably cringe when I mount my "Focal"-brand 28mm lens on my made-in-Japan Leica!
 
I've tried to get the hang of adapting other lenses to my XE2 but without success. Never had a decently sharp shot no matter lens/adapter combo I use.
 
Trouble is, a lot of good film camera bodies then get sold without lenses. So we film users have to compete to buy them. Worse still, look at all the bodies for sale without a body cap, sending them through he post like that will wreck a few of them.

And, if they don't bother with body caps, will they have bothered with rear lens caps when posting the lens?

So, a bad thing, imo.

Regards, David
 
lxmike said:
Personally l am split, yes adapters are cool and handy when attaching vintage glass to digital cameras such as my XE-1 but l also loathe them as they have driven the price of classic glass up making it very difficult for grabbing a bargain or adding to your 'film glass collection', how do people feel about adapters and the ever rising prices of glass
Click to expand...

I love them for Reason the First, and don't care too much about Reason the Second since I already own most of the lenses I'd want and, frankly, am happy to save my pennies for the rest.
 
I'm a fan - they really open up possibilities. I've been working on an urban photography project: buildings, traffic and narrow roads made framing awkward, so I needed a zoom lens; and things of interest were often above head height, so I wanted a shift lens.

My solution? I unveil possibly the world's most unwieldy lens: the Mamiya–Nikon 55–110mm shift zoom! This combination weighs 2.5 kg (5.5 lb), and needs a tripod - it's so heavy my hands shake!

As to the rising cost of lenses, I'm fine with that. Apart from anything else, it's nice knowing that old lenses are being used rather than languishing forgotten and unloved. Anyway, the prices for most lenses may have risen but aren't exactly astronomical.

Mamiya 645 Sekor 55–110mm + Kipon shift adapter + Nikon D800E:

saJJfaT.jpg
 
Thanks for the replies chaps, in one way l feel they are a good thing and allow old glaass to gain a new life, but also a sad knock on effect is that it drives prices high for even common glass such as pentax 50mm
 
Love `em.
I can now use my Leica glass on a digital body other than M and then switch to a Canon 70-200/2.8 L when I have to cover some sports events.

More old glass given a new lease of life on a scale that just wouldn`t have happened without the advent of the adapter.
 
I had a Sony A7II for a short while, to use my Leica Lenses on Digital. The Focusing isn't as accurate as I'd like it to be. Whilst Digital isn't really for me, I must admit I do miss seeing my Collapsible 'Cron swirling in real-time.

In my opinion, you may as well use the Lenses designed for a Camera to have an easier user experience and focus on your Photography.
 
I had a problem with the twenty dollar Chinese one I bought to mount my OM lenses on my 240 ... typically not quite right and the lenses were rocking a bit. A layer of magic tape on the surface of the mount on the OM side made it perfect! :D
 
It's nice to have options, 10 years ago it was much more limited. Focusing and controlling aperture (on SLRs) is quite a pain though, so for "serious" shooting am preferring native lenses.
 
I started with adapters with ltm-M adapters when I had an Epson RD1. Since then I've bought adapters to use M-Mount lenses on Olympus and now Sony digitals. Favorite combinations -- the Voigtlander 40mm on my OM-D which made for a compact short tele package, and more recently, using 2 adapters, the old Canon 85mm ltm on my Sony. similar short tele, but not so compact:)
 
RichC said:
I'm a fan - they really open up possibilities. I've been working on an urban photography project: buildings, traffic and narrow roads made framing awkward, so I needed a zoom lens; and things of interest were often above head height, so I wanted a shift lens.

My solution? I unveil possibly the world's most unwieldy lens: the Mamiya–Nikon 55–110mm shift zoom! This combination weighs 2.5 kg (5.5 lb), and needs a tripod - it's so heavy my hands shake!

As to the rising cost of lenses, I'm fine with that. Apart from anything else, it's nice knowing that old lenses are being used rather than languishing forgotten and unloved. Anyway, the prices for most lenses may have risen but aren't exactly astronomical.

Mamiya 645 Sekor 55–110mm + Kipon shift adapter + Nikon D800E:

saJJfaT.jpg
Click to expand...

You coulda fooled me: I could have believed it was a Leica lens, what with the Red dot, yellow lettering and, I don't know, just the look of it. Leica R, I'd say, or else something meant to go on a Visoflex.
 
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