Adapting third party Nikon mount lenses to EOS

[bert_gamory]

<p>Hi,<br>

I've seen a Zeiss Nikon mount lens for sale fairly reasonably, and I have an XSI. Does anyone know how well a Nikon to EOS adapter would work?<br>

Bert </p>

[dennisgg]

<p>The Nikon to EOS adapters work very well. You can even get ones on ebay that have autofocus confirmation on them (they are about $10-15 more than the plain ones). I use them all the time. You set the camera to manual, AV or program, focus (the AF confirm will beep and light up where the lens is in focus), turn the aperture down to what you want and the camera will figure out the exposure and click. Even the autofocus Nikon lenses can be used if they have the manual aperture ring to adjust (most did, only new digital ones don't pretty much).<br>

Dennis</p>

[craigd]

<p>The main issue is that you will have to use stop-down metering. When you turn the aperture ring on the lens, the lens will immediately stop down, so you'll want to compose and focus at maximum aperture and then stop down to set your shutter speed and shoot.</p>

<p>If you have an adapter without the focus confirmation chip, you will see the aperture displayed in the viewfinder as "0.0", meaning the camera has no idea what the actual aperture is. This is fine, since you're metering stopped down anyway.</p>

<p>But if your adapter has focus confirmation, then the camera will think that it has a certain lens (usually 50mm f/1.4, though some adapters are user-programmable) and it will allow you to set whatever aperture you want using the camera's aperture control. Do <em>not</em> do this. In this situation, the camera thinks it can control the lens, but really it can't. The result will be badly overexposed images. With a focus confirming adapter, always leave the camera set to whatever it thinks is the lens's maximum aperture.</p>

<p>You will hear horror stories from some people about blowing up their cameras with focus confirming adapters. This can happen but it has not happened to me. I think if you stick to the more reputable adapter brands, such as Fotodiox and Novoflex, you are pretty safe. I've had good luck with adapters from Rainbow Imaging (sold through Amazon) as well.</p>

[JDMvW]

<blockquote>

<p>You will hear horror stories from some people about blowing up their cameras with focus confirming adapters. This can happen but it has not happened to me.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>While not "common," it is not rare, however. Given that this product depends on <em>pirated</em> circuitry, one may ask how "reputable" any vendor can be when they offer "focus confirmation". Everyone I have seen, moreover, simply has the chip glued on an otherwise normal adapter. How long will this hold up in use?<br>

It's just easier to learn how to manually focus, you know.</p>