snicker_doodle

I think I'll have it right this round. I don't need stabilization on wide-normal FL lenses. I'll have four midrange zooms to test. I'll keep the best one and resell the others. I'm fairly happy with the Sigma 8-16mm and will keep it. On order are two vintage Soviet lenses for portrait use... a 58mm Helios 44-3 with 13 aperture blades and an 85mm Jupiter-9 with 16 aperture blades. These were made in 1986 and 1988. I'm sure I'll have to use a monopod with the Soviet lenses. I also bought some sharp primes... Sigma 19mm f/2.8 ART, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 40mm f/2.8 Micro Nikkor, 60mm f/2.8 Sigma, and Samyang 85mm f/1.4. I'm looking for a a good 24mm and a suitable replacement for the Nikkor 55-200mm.

The retailer who sold the Viltrox adapter advertised that the VR function works with all Nikon lenses with that feature. They confirmed with Viltrox this isn't true. Hmm... you folks already told me that.;) So they accepted return of the adapter. I'll be replacing the Nikon lenses with Sigma equivalents made to work properly with the Sony A6300. I'm also considering Sony brand.

The retailer who sold the Viltrox adapter advertised that the VR function works with all Nikon lenses with that feature. They confirmed with Viltrox this isn't true. Hmm... you folks already told me that.;) So they accepted return of the adapter. I'll be replacing the Nikon lenses with Sigma equivalents made to work properly with the Sony A6300. I'm also considering Sony brand.

...I meant "I don't know if there's a M42-NF adapter that will allow infinity focus on a DSLR".

febres I haven't dealt with digital equipment for nearly two decades so my knowledge regarding the latest cameras and lenses is nearly nil. I don't know if there's a M42-NF adapter that will allow infinity focus. I have non-electronic (manual everything) adapters for NF-NEX and M42-NEX that work very well but they're used on a mirrorless body. The inexpensive 'smart' adapter I have doesn't work properly with my Sony A6000 and Nikon-G lenses. From what I can gather from research, the pricey smart adapters work 'fairly' well but they cost US$300-400 each, so not worth it (IMO) unless you have a valuable cache of lenses in a mount different than the body.

I've been corresponding with the seller of the Viltrox adapter. It's supposed to be VR compatible. Maybe mine is defective. In the meantime, I ordered a 58mm f/2 Soviet Helios 44-3 (ca. 1986, with 13 aperture blades) for portraits. And a Jupiter-9 (ca. 1988, with 16 aperture blades) for closer portraits.

I've been corresponding with the seller of the Viltrox adapter. It's supposed to be VR compatible. Maybe mine is defective. In the meantime, I ordered a 58mm f/2 Soviet Helios 44-3 (ca. 1986, with 13 aperture blades) for portraits. And a Jupiter-9 (ca. 1988, with 16 aperture blades) for closer portraits.

I updated the firmware in my Viltrox adapter so auto focus works a bit better but I had to set auto focus to 'slow' in the camera. The camera can now control lens aperture too (it didn't before the update). However, VR still doesn't work. I attempted changing the adapter firmware to the firmware from various pricier adapters to no avail. I'm fairly certain it can be done but I'm not tech-savvy enough to do it.

I know primes are better than zooms and the faster apertures would be nice but I can't afford to buy six or eight primes... not good ones anyway. This system is more for casual enjoyment than anything else. I spent too much on the Sigma 8-16 HSM but I like wide lenses and that one is very good for the price (used) and given its extreme design. If I can make this setup work for my needs then I'll have reasonably good lenses ranging in focal length from 8mm - 200mm plus a very good dedicated macro.

I just bought an A63000 which should be here in about ten days. I'll sell the A6000 once the other body arrives. I'm hoping this does what I need. If it doesn't then I'll start from scratch, having learned expensive lessons.

I just bought an A63000 which should be here in about ten days. I'll sell the A6000 once the other body arrives. I'm hoping this does what I need. If it doesn't then I'll start from scratch, having learned expensive lessons.

I'm going to try one more thing before starting over from scratch. I'm going to replace the A6000 with an A6300. If that doesn't do what I want with what I already have then... lesson learned.

Ha... I remember that seen. :D

You have a point. I'm probably making things more difficult than necessary. Still, I wonder if lens adapter firmware is interchangeable with no 'hacking' needed.

Two hundred-fifty plus dollars is "little money"? Not to me. :-/ "A lot of trouble" to update firmware? Not to me. :-/ Questionable quality increase? Really... if the hardware and internal electronics are identical but some firmware works but others don't???

Thanks Ed. Maybe there's a hack available? The hardware ID is part of the firmware, right?

I've read that the internal electronics of various lens adapters come from one Chinese factory and are identical. Since the hardware and electronic contact points are 100 percent compatible, couldn't one brand of firmware work with any other brand of adapter? It seems the only difference between brands is firmware, so updating to the best firmware of any brand should work with any other 'budget priced' brand. Shouldn't it?

I misread the reviews stating the Viltrox adapter works with my camera. It works with the A6300 and A6500 but not the A6000. I jumped into this pool before checking the level and bounced off of my head.

Yes, but I've read reviews which claim the latest adapters do work. As I'm sure you're aware, filtering through all the internet conflicting misinformation is very difficult. I can't afford the latest/greatest so 'old' is all I'll have access to.

No, I expect 'reasonable' operation with adapters, as promised by the manufacturers/sellers. I tried a Nikon-G lens on a Sony A6000 body. The Viltrox NF-E1 adapter is guaranteed to work in every way. It doesn't. I don't have a Nikon body. I bought the Sony mirrorless body because Nikon only has new very pricey offerings in mirrorless. I bought Nikon glass because it's moderately better than Sony offerings and is less pricey.

Now I'm getting pissed. I bought a Viltrox Sony-Nikon smart adapter so VR would work on my Nikon lenses. VR doesn't work and neither does auto focus. Maybe a firmware update?? I'm returning the Sigma 8-16mm because it's faulty. I bought another one for US$51 less. I hope the next one is better.

Correction regarding the Sigma... First, I failed to mention that this lens/adapter combo works fine. Everything seems to function as it should, except I don't trust autofocus accuracy. That doesn't bother me though. It's much sharper than I originally thought. I was fooled because it's focusing beyond infinity which might be due to the Sony adapter, though it would surprise me that Sony would make their adapter too short. Also, I trusted reviews which clearly stated there is no significant focus shift when zooming. This one does shift focus, though it seems to stop at the longer focal lengths. The above stated, this lens is always fuzzy on the left side of the image, no matter how careful I am. Did I buy a faulty lens?

The Sigma doesn't appear to be very sharp at any focal length or aperture. I'm old school so maybe this new stuff isn't what I'm accustomed to. Or... perhaps I've bought three zoom lenses of two makes which are all substandard??

Thanks everyone, for your advice. The Sony A-to-E adapter is due today so I can test the Sigma 8-16 this afternoon. It's raining here so the light will be dull but hopefully good enough to give me an idea regarding this lens' performance on this body.

I'm thinking you folks are right. I should have known better. That stated, since I've already spent the money, I'll give this setup a try for awhile. If I find it doesn't perform to my liking then I'll start over. At least I'll have learned a bit regarding relatively current digital offerings. FWIW, I don't mind manual focus, manual exposure, etc. All I really want is manual compatibility and image stabilization for normal-long lenses. I'm very accustomed to balancing manual ambient light with flash and balancing use of CC filters on the lens to correct ambient light with opposing filters on the flash to achieve balance on both exposure and color. I did that every day without significant error. Of course, that was decades ago.