I was sent a couple of Adaptimax lens mount adapters to test on my PMW-F3. I have used some of their EX3 adapters in the past and these worked very well. The new PMW-F3 adapters are finished with a very nice hard black anodised finish and look very smart indeed. I had 3 adapters to try, one F3 to Canon and two F3 to Nikon adapters. The Canon adapter is a “dumb” adapter, so there is no way to control the lenses iris. If your using Canon lenses this means using a DSLR body to set the iris before using the lens on the F3. Obviously this is not ideal, but you do have to consider that there is a massive range of lenses that can be used with this Canon adapter via a secondary adapter ring.
Canon’s flange back distance (the sensor to lens distance) is the shortest in the DSLR world. So this means that there is space to adapt to other lens mounts with longer flange back distances such as M42, Nikon, Pentax, Pentacon etc. This opens up a whole world of possibilities as now you can use those nice M42 Zeiss lenses that can be picked up cheap on ebay by adding a cheap M42 to Canon adapter.
If you have already invested in Nikon fit glass then you can use a Nikon to Canon adapter or you can use one of Adaptimax’s purpose built F3 to Nikon adapters.
There are two varieties, the original Adaptimax and the Adaptimax Plus. The Plus version includes a long screw that pushes the iris pin on the rear of the lens to give you iris control even when the lens does not have an iris ring. While this is not as elegant as MTF Services rotating adapter barrel, it works fine and the simplicity of the design means the adapter is a little cheaper. The standard version has no iris control, so you need to ensure your lens has a proper iris ring. Priced at £255 for the standard adapters and £265 for the plus versions these are good value for money.
dear sir ,
i want to buy adiptimax ring for z7 sony movi camera to cannon 5d series still camera pl send me best price for that converter ring, also quate me fob india
panorama creation
prashant s pandya
You should contact adaptimax.com direct.
Thanks for all the commentary on the ever-changing field of gear. Any word if someone is working on a lens adapter that transmits the lens info (AF Nikors) to the Sony F3 Body?
I have not heard of anyone trying to do this. It would be of limited use yet take a lot of work as you would have to convert the Nikon lens data to something the F3 can understand.
Good point. Definitely diminishing returns on the investment. I guess we should be thrilled to have a great camera and a way to use some outstanding Nikon glass. Thanks
Alister, thanks for the update. Any word on when the MTF Canon EF adapter is due out? Presumably this one will have iris control… I hope!
Harry
I’m not sure that the MTF adapter will have the ability control the Canon’s iris as this requires electronics. I know that Birger are making an electronic adapter for the FS100, but I don’t know about the F3.
That’s right, it’s the Birger adapter that will control the Canon iris. It sounds like the F3 and FS100 will not be interchangeable? I thought they had the same Sony mount…
Alister, it sounds like Nikon lenses might be the better direction to go with still zoom lenses for the F3, since you can at least control the iris (even if you don’t know it’s actual setting). Starting from scratch, which lenses would you suggest? So far, it looks like Nikon AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED and AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II Lens (copied from B&H) cover a large range with the best zoom glass. What do you think?
Hi Alister
I gather you tested the standard F3 to Nikon Adaptimax. I’ve just received the Plus model and am disappointed to discover that, regardless of aperture ring or not, all Nikon-mount lenses end up with the lens barrel markings like aperture, focus and zoom facing to the right of the camera. This means you cannot see them when operating the F3. I’ve written to Adaptimax hoping I was confused with the mounting position and was informed promptly by Steve that that’s the only way it can be done while accommodating the aperture screw. It makes operating very hard and I’ll think I’ll go back and order an MTF. But I think this should go in your report above.
Yes it is true that the lens is rotated. The lens is also rotated on the MTF adapter but only by about 40 degrees.
How do you remove the PL Mount from the F3 to install this mount in it’s place as it does not appear to have a PL mount male on the F3 side? Any collimating required?Shims? with this adapter?
You rotate the larger ring that is up against the camera body. They are normally pretty tight!
Hi Allistar,
Which Canon EF to Sony F-3 adapter is better, the Adaptimax Canon EF Lens Adapter or the MTF Services Canon EF Lens adapter? Have you heard anything about the Metabones (www.metabones.com) Canon EF adaptor for the new Sony FS700 Super35mm Camcorder?
Thanks
I prefer the MTF adapter but neither of the dumb F3 adapters control the iris, only the MTF active adapter which is much more expensive. I have one of the metabones e-mount to cannon ef adapters and am very pleased with it. It works on any E-Mount camera so that includes FS700, FS100, VG10, VG20, NEX5, NEX3.
I want to use the Adaptimax Plus with a AF Nikkor 70-200 f 2.8D lens to shoot wildlife video. Will I need a rod support system for that lens?
I’d be shooting with and EX-3 with the reinforcement baseplate.
Rails and a lens support will make it more stable but it is not essential.
Thanks for the reply. I think I will just bite the bullet and get the rails and lens support.
The extra stability certainly couldn’t hurt.
Thanks again-