Canon is clearly the most popular current choice when it comes to shooting video on a DSLR. Deservedly so, Canon claims the podium when it comes to DSLR video and has worked hard and accomplished a lot with their video division. It was only natural for them to excel at including video in their DSLRs. However, they are still not the creme of the crop when it comes to glass. While not bad, it’s just now as good as some of it’s German competitors such as Leica and Zeiss. The prospect of using the good camera with the good glass was limited only by the lens and camera mount. Now with so many mount adaptors on the market, there is quite a bit of crap to sift through.
Fotodiox makes a lot of mount adaptors including a Nikon : EOS and Leica R : EOS. Perfect for this application. The difference in quality has a lot to do with tolerances and material. While most people think the mount on a DSLR is steel, it’s not… They are almost always made of brass and then nickel plated to look nice. The same goes for the mount adaptors offered by many companies. The higher quality adaptors are made of anodized aluminum or stainless steel. Fotodiox offers two versions of both adaptors I tested. A “pro” and a normal, i suppose. I’ll start with the Nikon : Canon adaptor.
All in all, Fotodiox did a great job of covering the bases. The “Pro” versions are in fact better than their standard counterparts, but I would not consider them professional since a professional would be using gear that is functional as-is. That said, the pricing is spot on. The standard adaptors are $28 each and the “pro” versions are just shy of $90 a piece. If you need your full frame quality glass to fit on your Canon 5DII, then these are the way to go. I’ve seen a few other brands but have not formally tested them. If you know of any popular mount adaptors, feel free to email me or leave a comment and I will look into their quality as well.
UPDATE:
After I ordered the Photodiox adaptors, I did some more searching and found that a lot of people were using and liked the Novoflex Nikon : Canon adaptor. So I added that to my list of mount adaptors. At $270 I expected big things. While the Novoflex does in fact outperform the Photodiox in regards to mechanical shift, it is a very similar design, similarly difficult to remove and doesn’t seem to use any materials that are more exotic or reliable than the other cheaper adaptors. So yes, the Novoflex is a better adaptor. And no, it’s not worth the additional $180.
Have you try the cinevate version?
it seem to be a good candidate
I’m not positive, but I’m fairly certain that the mounts they sell are the same as the ones I reviewed, maybe rebadged etc.
i just test the cinevate version against the fotodiox pro
and the cinevate has no shift it fit perfectly
so far it is the best adaptor i know
test it for your self it only cost 40$!!!
Cool stuff, as always, Matthew. I use the pro version of the Fotodiox for my Zeiss ZF primes and the slight shift when focusing is annoying. Plus, infinity is off. There must be a better solution.
As for my Leica primes, I use an adapter from Leitax ( http://leitax.com/Leica-lens-for-Canon-cameras.html ) and it is simply amazing. It is a bolt on adapter so it is very, very solid. Plus infinity is spot on. Take a look and tell us what you think.
CameraQuest apparantly make a high quality adapter… worth a look at the following links:
http://www.cameraquest.com/adaptnew.htm … &
http://www.cameraquest.com/frames/4saleReos.htm.
Matthew – have you tried theirs yet? We’d be interested in your appraisal. They also do a good Nikon / Voigtlander to 4/3 adapter I read.
I have Nikon Zoom-Nikkor Zoom lens – 18 mm – 200 mm. Can anyone tell me if i can use Fotodiox for mark ii 5d
Thanks
Yes, Fotodiox has a Nikon G to Eos adapter that will allow you to mount it to an Eos and control the aperture with a little tab on the adapter. However, the current 18-200mm lens is a DX lens and will not cover the entire 5D MkII sensor. It’s meant to cover crop sensors like the Nikon D300 or the Canon 7D.
Thank you Matthew.I guess I cant really use this lens is that what you are saying?
Not on a 5D MkII. Not unless you are going for that heavily vignetted look.
is there any dedgradation in image quality with the fotodiox adaptors?? I am considering using a fotodiox adaptor to use old minolta MD MF primes (nice fast glass) on a nikon D200, and am concerned that the adaptor glass will degrade the images. Unfortunately, I would have no way to compare image quality between MD lens w/adaptor and a nikon prime lens (I don’t have any). Any info on image quality would be appreciated.
I have not used that specific adapter, but since it isn’t made by a reputable lens manufacturer, I would assume that the quality will be reduced. It’s very difficult to add third-party glass to a lens and not degrade the quality.
Would you recommend the Pro version of the Fotodiox, did it reduce the play while racking focus enough to make a difference compared to regular version?
see if you like these:
http://peleng8.com/af-lens-adapters.html?Treeid=11
I would, also, like you to test their 8mm lens, if you could, please 🙂
Have you used the EF to PL adaptor made by Photodiox? If so, I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on it.
A Canon EF lens to PL mount camera, this isn’t possible. Perhaps you mean the other way around? A PL mount lens to a Canon EF camera. This is possible on some lenses, but the options are very limited due to physical mount dimensions limitations.