Nikon adapter and 50/1.8D on Elan 7

[songtsen]

How well would this setup work in terms of IQ? My EF 50/1.8 II often forces me to focus manually in low light but the narrow focus ring is sometimes difficult to find. The Nikon lens seems to have a decent focus ring and I think stop-down metering shouldn't be a significant issue if I use f2.8 or wider. Would it require exposure compensation?

 

Thanks for your help.

[JDMvW]

I regularly use a non-AI Nikkor-S 55mm f/1.2 on my Canon 20D. Of course, it's all manual, stop-down and focus.

 

Just shoot in aperture priority and it should work just fine. IQ is the same as on Nikons, since the adapter works to infinity and has no additional optics in it. A few people have suggested there may be some adapters that are not precisely the right thickness, but I've not seen this on those I've bought.

[bill_boshoven]

I've used an adapter with a few Nikon lenses. This has worked well for me. It's a bit hard to focus manually with an AF camera, but no more difficult than with your EF lens. There are also adapters that contain a chip which allows for focus confirmation. As you stated, you'll need to do stop-down metering.

 

You may also want to consider the original EF 50/1.8. Unlike the MKII version, the original has a focus ring that is easy to use.

[bill_boshoven]

You can use aperture priority or manual mode and you should get the correct exposure. No exposure compensation should be necessary.

[songtsen]

Thanks!

[bjscharp]

> My EF 50/1.8 II often forces me to focus manually in low light

 

But with the Nikkor, you'll have to focus manually every time..

 

If you're buying glass anyway, look around for a second-hand 50mm 1.8 mkI, it has a much nicer focussing ring. (and

a metal mount, distance window, proper lens hood, etc) Won't be much more expensive than a new Nikkor.

 

a 50mm 1.4 (or the Sigma 50mm) will of course give you full-time manual, but will be significanly more expensive...