Using manual lensees on an EOS 5D

[jules_levine]

I will be getting an EOS 5D and plan to use leica-R lenses with an adapter. Two questions:

1. When using aperture preferred exposure, setting the Mode dial to Av, do I have to set the preferred aperture in

the camera and also set the same aperture on the lens in order for the camera to set the correct shutter speed or

just set the desired aperture on the lens and expect the camera will read the amount of light coming on to the

sensor to set the correct shutter speed?

2. The 5D has a focus confirmation light in the viewfinder. HAODA produces an electronic adapter for leica-R to

Canon EOS that, I think, indicates when the lens is correctly focused using, I assume, the focus confirmation

light. Has anyone used this? Does it work? How tough and well made is the HOADA adaptor? My alternative is

the Novoflex adapter which is reputed to be the best built of the bunch, although with no focusing aid.

Thanks for any info. --Jules Levine

[terry_smith2]

I don't know anything about your adapter, but you need to set the camera to AV and then set 0.0 or 1.0, the lowest setting for your model. Focus with your Lieca lens wide open. That done, close down to the desired f stop and see what shutter speed the camera is giving you. If you want or need something different, you'll have to change the lens opening to get the camera to change the shutter speed for you. Do NOT set AV and then dial in the lens opening that you will shoot with. That will give you a bad exposure.

[mark u]

The aperture will automatically appear as 0.0. You can apply exposure compensation in Av (or P) mode, or work in M mode, as described here:

 

http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-manual-lenses/#new

 

Note that some Leica lenses cause problems with fouling the mirror. There is a partial listing of lenses that work/work with modification/don't work at all here:

 

http://www.16-9.net/lens_tests/adapters_5d.html

 

You may have some minor metering discrepancies, but you will soon learn to work with them.

 

AF confirm adaptors do work. They simply signal the presence of a lens to the body via a chip and a set of contacts as with a normal EF lens. The confirmation comes with the viewfinder signal (green disc) illuminating. You can use your choice of AF points as with any lens. The risk with confirm adaptors is that a few have been known to cause a short circuit that damages the camera electronics - I believe this has been cheap clones, but do not rely on that statement absolutely. I have no experience of Leica adaptors personally. Some alternative adaptor suppliers are listed here:

 

http://www.16-9.net/lens_tests/compatible.html

 

You may find this a useful resource:

 

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/board/55

[JDMvW]

>>I believe this has been cheap clones<<

 

I wish mine had been cheap, I bought it early and it was very pricey even before it fried my camera's circuitry. It came from China.

 

As for "clone", ALL focus confirmation adapters rely upon "stealing" or "cloning" a little bit of Canon circuitry to fool your camera into believing it has a Canon lens mounted. Until Canon themselves make such a thing (do not hold your breath) all of these are a bit of copied circuit epoxied to the metal adapter. Because the making of such a thing is thus innately a theft of Canon intellectual property, there are no "reputable" manufacturers who make them.

 

How long will it stay in the right place? How long before it breaks? Do you feel lucky?

 

Frankly, with the larger viewfinder on the the 5D, and the use of the proper screens, you should have no trouble focusing a manual focus lens.

[jcolwell]

Q1. When using aperture preferred exposure, setting the Mode dial to Av, do I have to set the preferred aperture in

the camera and also set the same aperture on the lens in order for the camera to set the correct shutter speed or

just set the desired aperture on the lens and expect the camera will read the amount of light coming on to the sensor

to set the correct shutter speed?

 

A1. Set the aperture on the lens, and shoot away. The camera viewfinder and top LCD displays will show a fixed

aperture value which does not change as you rotate the lens aperture ring. Plain adapters usually show "00" or "02"

for the aperutre (I think the photonotes.org link above tells which cameras show which value), and adapters with

focus confirmation chips can sometimes show something else (my buybuyeasy Leica-R to EOS, and Haoda Contax

to EOS adapters both show "2.0"). Anyway, you focus and compose with the aperture wide open, and then stop

down to take the photo. The camera meter takes care of the exposure. For many lenses, the camera will under or

overexpose a bit (sometimes the amount is proportional to the taking aperture), but it stays consistent for each

individual lens, so you can learn what to expect. I don't bother to track this, so I use the histogram to check what's

going on - of course, I don't use manual focus "alternatives" for fast-moving subjects, that's what EF lenses are for.

You can also get great results using an external incident light meter to set aperture and shutter speed, and bypass

the camera's metering.

 

Q2. The 5D has a focus confirmation light in the viewfinder. HAODA produces an electronic adapter for leica-R to

Canon EOS that, I think, indicates when the lens is correctly focused using, I assume, the focus confirmation light

 

A2. Yes.

 

Good luck, Jim.

[frank_ernens]

You will need to change the focussing screen to the Ee-S one to get correct metering. The screen that comes with the

5D boosts brightness around f/2.8 to f/4, but that makes its response nonlinear. Since the camera's exposure meter

looks through the screen, the camera needs to know the shooting aperture in order to correct for the nonlinearity (and

that's why you need to tell the camera which screen it has in it).

<p>

As far as I can tell, the Ee-S screen needs no correction. I regularly use several adapted Zuikos at apertures from f/2 to

f/11. I have tested it for correct exposure, in spot and centre-weighted modes, at focal lengths from 24mm to 300mm and

up to f/16, and exposure is correct. I mean <i>correct</i>, to within 1/3 stop.

<p>

I don't know why some people claim not to get correct metering. Perhaps they're using evaluative metering, and the

results are merely <i>unexpected</i>. Presumably, evaluative metering uses focal length and distance as inputs, and

those aren't available. I don't know, and can't test, since I've never used evaluative metering on this camera, even with

the Canon lenses. I use a purely mechanical adaptor with no focus confirmation.

[frank_ernens]

In the first paragraph above, "shooting aperture" should just be "aperture".

[joaquin_bueno1]

<p>To second a previous response: I too am using a HAODA adapter. I have a feeling it is a more costly version of the Chinese adapters that sell for anywhere from $35 to $50, but I did not mind paying $80 considering I got it in two days (I've ordered Chinese stuff on ebay that's taken over a month to arrive) and the peace of mind of Haoda's 100% feedback and apparent dedication to standing behind his products. The adapter seems sturdy enough and works very nicely.<br>

I am using it to mount a 50mm Zeiss planar f/1.4 in C/Y Contax mount on a Canon 5D Mark II. At first, with the standard screen, I had the annoying problem that metering (using evaluative) would be spot-on at f/1.4 to about 2.8, then would tend to overexpose at any smaller apertures UNLESS I used live view mode (weird, but I think it has something to do with the focusing screen). As per the previous post, I switched the screen to a Canon Ee-s screen (cost about $35) and worked miracles. Firstly, it makes focusing easier due to its more precise magnification. Secondly, it makes the metering work perfectly shooting in Av mode at all apertures. Quite a bargain considering the camera price!<br>

I have not had any problems with the adapter/lens set up since I started with the screen. The only quirks are that it can be tricky to learn to focus with it, in tandem with the AF confirm light, but if you are used to manual focus it is really a delight to have on such a nice camera. I took some pics of the UNC celebrations last night with this lens setup (I'll post them to www.flickr.com/photos/blahgspot later) and I got images I would not have gotten in a million years with any other camera/lens!</p>