Metabones adapter - *very* tight fit

[daveleo]

I received a new Metabones adapter today (NikonF-to-Fuji body), and tried to install a manual focus Nikkor 50mm/ f2.0 that I have used recently (and it's fine).
The lens-to-adapter fit is incredibly tight ! I looked at this and that, the locking pin, the orientation, any dirt?.
The adapter-to-camera fit is only slightly less incredibly tight.

I got up the moxie to twist it hard and it did install and the lens made nice images, but I removed it and put the Fuji zoom back on. Never had a fit this tight ever. Am concerned that this level of force will eventually break something.

Any comments about this? I am tempted to send it back and try another one.

 

[Godfrey]

Send it back. I ran into the same problem with several Metabones adapters and returned all of them.

They're expensive but the Novoflex adapters always fit perfectly.

G

 

[daveleo]

Thanks for that comment, Godfrey.

Should have done some homework first. I found discussions on "How to fix a too tight Metabones ... adapter" elsewhere on the internet, but I don't like what see - the warantee gets voided at step #1.Why should I do that? I just got it today.

 

[GaryLH]

Get one of the novoflex, better made adapter. The metabones speedbooster seem to be good but the others seem to be hit or miss. My own experience...
- Nikon G speedbooster to Fuji was good
- Leica m to Fuji not good. I needed to shimm the adapter because infinity was off replaced w/ a Novoflex. Good fit and infinity was spot on. If u scale focus u need to have infinity spot on.

However, novoflex does not make a wide range of adapters. For example not contax g adapter. I just ordered a metabones contax g adapter. Anyone's guess which way it will turn out, but I liked the new bigger focusing knurl the metabones has compared to other third party adapter makers.

I hear the adapters that camera quest is selling are also good.

Gary

 

[xyz3450]

Get one of the novoflex, better made adapter. The metabones speedbooster seem to be good but the others seem to be hit or miss. My own experience...
- Nikon G speedbooster to Fuji was good
- Leica m to Fuji not good. I needed to shimm the adapter because infinity was off replaced w/ a Novoflex. Good fit and infinity was spot on. If u scale focus u need to have infinity spot on.

However, novoflex does not make a wide range of adapters. For example not contax g adapter. I just ordered a metabones contax g adapter. Anyone's guess which way it will turn out, but I liked the new bigger focusing knurl the metabones has compared to other third party adapter makers.

I hear the adapters that camera quest is selling are also good.

Gary

My Metabones Contax G to Fuji adapter did not work out for me. I could not get the lens to secure to the adapter properly (2 copies). The adapter to mount was fine. This was all a while back and I had purchased it directly from Metabones in HK (BH was not selling these adapters at the time). Metabones did give me credit in the end, but the process seemed drawn out (due to shipping etc.). Next time, if I made a purchase, I'd deal with BH instead. -- Martin

 

[Godfrey]

Get one of the novoflex, better made adapter. The metabones speedbooster seem to be good but the others seem to be hit or miss. My own experience...
- Nikon G speedbooster to Fuji was good
- Leica m to Fuji not good. I needed to shimm the adapter because infinity was off replaced w/ a Novoflex. Good fit and infinity was spot on. If u scale focus u need to have infinity spot on.

However, novoflex does not make a wide range of adapters. For example not contax g adapter. I just ordered a metabones contax g adapter. Anyone's guess which way it will turn out, but I liked the new bigger focusing knurl the metabones has compared to other third party adapter makers.

I hear the adapters that camera quest is selling are also good.

Gary

Novoflex makes a healthy range of adapters ...
NEX-A7 body to Canon FD, Contax/Yashica, Hasselblad 6x6, Leica M, Leica r, LTM, Pentax/Praktica M42, Mamiya 645, Minolta AF/Sony Alpha, Minolta MC/MD, Nikon F, Olympus OM, Pentax 6x7, Pentax K, Visoflex II/III, and T2 lenses.

They just don't make some of the oddballs, like Konica Hexanon, Contax G, etc. For those, I'd look for Rayqual (CameraQuest sells Rayqual and Voigtländer adapters) and Kipon. Both of these makes are almost on par with Novoflex quality. There's also Rin Jong or R. J.., a lower priced Chinese manufacturer who sells OEM to a lot of different vendors. Cirrus is another good name. I've had good luck with all of these.

But I stick with Novoflex for the Sony A7 first because I only really need a Leica R adapter for the vast majority of what I do with the camera (although I also have a Nikon F and Leica M mount), second because the quality is there, consistently and reliably, and third because I can use the ASTAT/NEX tripod adapter with all of them, which makes putting the camera on a tripod much safer (loads are all on the adapter, not on the camera's somewhat weak base plate and tripod mounting). It balances better too.

Metabones, which is much ballyhooed on various sites, have been very inconsistent and disappointing. I exchanged a NEX for Leica M adapter twice, and returned the third. First was too tight to fit the A7 body correctly. Second fit the body correctly, but fully half my lenses could not be made to lock on the flange. The third fit both ends, but too tightly on the lens side ... and then I found that it was over-length for the mount registration which made infinity focus impossible. Sent that one back and ordered a Novoflex NEX/LEM ... fits perfectly, precisely.

Might as well get the good stuff once and not worry about it.

G

 

[GaryLH]

Well I get the metabones on Friday.. Will c how the crap shoot turns out this time. I'll check to c if the contax g is available from camera quest if the metabones ends up a dog.

Gary

 

[daveleo]

Well, it's going back as soon as B&H sends me the RMA#.
Going to rethink my plan. (I had a plan ? ! 😀 )

 

[Roger Hicks]

. . . But I stick with Novoflex . . .because the quality is there, consistently and reliably . . . Might as well get the good stuff once and not worry about it.

Dear Godfrey,

Exactly. There is often a good reason why some things cost more than others.

Cheers,

R.

 

[MaxElmar]

B&H has a Novoflex adapter in stock. It is for all Nikon F mount lenses including "G" (w/o aperture ring) so it is breathtakingly expensive. But it is properly made.

I would consider looking at the Rayqual adapters on Cameraquest.com - there are 3 types in stock. The most expensive type (G w/tripod mount) is 2/3 the cost of the Novoflex.

Do not continue to use the Metabones - your instincts about the fit are spot on. I went through the "cheap adapter" thing in my M43 phase. It does not end well.

 

[daveleo]

It went back to B&H this morning for a refund.
I don't get it. It is a well made piece - it's not cheap junk. Yet the internet has lots of complaints about this specific problem, and to be honest, machining a bayonet mount and doing a quick "go-nogo" test before it's boxed and shipped is kind of a no-brainer, huh.
May be another example of manufacturers using their customers as their QC inspectors.
Okay, I won't go on and on about it 😛

But I have to wonder where this particular unit is going to end up 🙄 . . . if it stays in the marketplace, that means more customers are going to pass along this same complaint, and Metabones gets extra bad publicity from a single bad unit. . . . I would have done the go-nogo check before I shipped it.

 

[GaryLH]

Well looks like I got lucky on this metabones - contax g adapter. It is a tad tight but I am ok w/ it. There is no play and wiggling like I have seen on other third party adapters.

Contax g lenses are af only, no manual focus capability. They have a af focus shaft that is suppose to hook up to the af motor on the contax g body. Since there is no af motors on the lens body they tend to be very compact designs.

My previous contax g third party adapter had a very thin manual focus wheel around the body of the adapter which could mate to the focusing shaft on the lens. The new one from metabones is about 4-5 times wider and thus real easy in terms of fine tuning the manual focusing.

The only thing I do not like is they put the contax lens lock on the underside where the bayonet mount for the normal camera body resides. So u need to take the adapter off your camera body in order to un-mount your contax lens.

So far I have three novoflex adapters and they are by far the best ones I own. Infinity is always spot on. This is a must if u are going to use the scales on your lens for zone/scale focusing.

Gary