Unbranded eBay focal reducers

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squirrel$$$bandit

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I'd been thinking I might want to try a focal reducer with my Minolta MD lenses, and found these unbranded ones, for under a hundred dollars, drop-shipped from China:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/272399519609

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There's another version that's even cheaper—like $80. Are these any good? And has anyone used the Zhongyi Lens Turbo II? (It seems to be out of stock for Minolta-to-Fuji, but still.)
 
I have not seen an MD to FX or NEX so this is interesting. I have Zhongyi II in various mounts for NEX and they work well, eliminating most/all of the blue dot flare that was common for version I. I would go for a branded version, only because it is likely easier to sell if not to your liking.
 
There's a Kipon one, as well, it appears. Most people seem to just get the Canon version and add an adapter for the lenses of their choosing. I'll probably end up trying the Kipon or Lens Turbo II. Thanks!
 
I had the first version of the Zhongyi Lens Turbo for Pentax lenses on my Fujis.
That was a good one, but it had some problems with wide angles.

Now, I have the Zhongyi Lens Turbo II for my Nikkor lenses on my Fujis.
This second version is better IMHO.
 
I have one Lens turbo II EOS-Fuji and to be honest i can't put a fault to it. The only downside is really that weird flare when you shoot against really bright spot lights.

I haven't been using it much lately because i sold most of my MF lenses so im considering selling it. If anyone is interested just let me know.
 
Technically there is no reason why their design and production should cost more than that of a teleconverter or relay lens. YMMV - the Zhongyi I own is perfectly fine when used with stopped down Nikon lenses, but it has significant flare and ghosting at speeds above f/2.8. That is, it is good enough as a FL compensating adapter, but hardly worth using as a "speed turbo" as advertised...
 
I had that one and sent it back. That is an option rather than selling on. Only costs postage to try it. I lied and said it was a present so was for the wrong camera. Build quality, postage, box etc were all good. I did find a few comparisons on line of the zhongyi against the metabones and the like and there is very little difference.

There wasn't anything wrong with it as such but I had my 58mm 1.4 adapted to my A7 before and the shots were a lot more characteristic of the lens on a full frame with no reducer. I now have a cheap ebay standard adapter with no reducer bit so the 58mm is now an 85mm and use it now and again, was only £11.
 
I have 2 non-AI to Nex adapters, both very cheap £25 or so and I bought a Pixma focal reducer non-AI to Nex to get my 50/1.4 somewhere near the original focal length and that becomes a 50/1 using the Pixma!
All 3 do the job they're advertised for and the Pixma is especially good as you get an extra stop as well. Very good value.
 
mabelsound said:
What's this Pixma brand though? Haven't heard of it...
Click to expand...

If he did not misspell it, a trademark violation you probably will never hear of again. PIXMA is the main brand of the Canon printer division - pinching brands with that high a profile tends to be a very short-lived operation.
 
Hi,
The name is Pixco, not Pixma. Doh.
There is info on the web about them.
@sevo I don't think it makes it 35mm, it just brings it back to a 50mm (roughly) field of view on an APSC sensor and there is a gain in aperture size apparently.
You can read about these Metabones adapters and all the other expensive ones, and I just wonder, why bother when the cheap ones are nearly as good.
I don't know how to get the URL of a picture to post it up, But I'll look on Google and try to figure it out to post up a couple and the box!
 
andybrown said:
@sevo I don't think it makes it 35mm, it just brings it back to a 50mm (roughly) field of view on an APSC sensor
Click to expand...

35mm is (roughly) the focal length that provides 50mm equivalent field of view on APS-C.

andybrown said:
there is a gain in aperture size apparently.
Click to expand...

Or rather, the aperture stays exactly the same - the change in focal length makes it relatively bigger. So you get higher speed (out of the changed ratio), but the same DOF (as that is a function of the absolute diameter).
 
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