Announcing A Bargain EX3/Nikon Adaptor

Lor said:
I have always been thinking why something like this can't be done. Why do we have to put in a relay + 35mm adapter+ lens? Any explanation why this simple setup with the Adaptimax being not as good as B4 relay ($6,000) + 35mm Ultimate adapter ($4,500) + lens setup? I don't have an Ex3 so it won't matter to me but I just like to know the workings of it.
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With a 35mm adapter you will infact transform your 1/2" sensor to a say "full" inch sensor. A "full" inch sensor results in better control of DoF.
The object is projected on a 35mm groundglass and the relay lens or stock lens is projecting this image on your camera sensor.
To eliminate the structure(texture) of the groundglass, which will be vissible under normal circumstances, the groundglass is brought in an spinning or vibrating state.
 
Endorsement for the new Adaptimax

Endorsement for the new Adaptimax

Thanks Steve, mine arrived today, I tested it on my EX3 with my 80-200 2.8, 300 2.8 and my 35-70 2.8 macro, all gave great results.
With the 35-70 macro you can fill frame with an area approximately 15mm x 27mm at minimum focus.

Thanks again Steve, looks like it's the most competitively priced adapter of its kind on the market presently.
 
Kenny_G said:
With a 35mm adapter you will infact transform your 1/2" sensor to a say "full" inch sensor. A "full" inch sensor results in better control of DoF.
The object is projected on a 35mm groundglass and the relay lens or stock lens is projecting this image on your camera sensor.
To eliminate the structure(texture) of the groundglass, which will be vissible under normal circumstances, the groundglass is brought in an spinning or vibrating state.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the explanation. So then what exactly is the B4 relay do? I mean why can't we do Adaptimax + 35mm adapter + lens?
 
Excuse my ignorance on this adapter, but is this true 'magnification' or is it a crop factor resulting in a lesser field of view?
 
Lor said:
Thanks for the explanation. So then what exactly is the B4 relay do? I mean why can't we do Adaptimax + 35mm adapter + lens?
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The adaptimax isn't a lens, it's just a mechanical coupling to make the Nikon lens fit.

An adapter needs a lens between it and the camera's chips. That's what the relay lens is.
 
Thanks, Barry. So besides the f1.5, 2/3", and probably lighter weight of the Letus B4 Pro Relay versus the f1.8 (or f1.6 I don't remember), 1/2", and perhaps heavier stock lens of the EX1/EX3, there is no need to buy the B4 relay, correct?
 
Lor said:
Thanks for the explanation. So then what exactly is the B4 relay do? I mean why can't we do Adaptimax + 35mm adapter + lens?
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The Adaptimax is just a coupling for using 35mm Nikon photo camera lenses
on your EX3 instead of the stocklens.
Because the Nikons are made for the 35mm sensor format and your EX3 sensor is just a 1/2" sensor, they are long lenses for the EX3 (about 5.5x tele - a 50mm becomes 275mm equivalent???)

Normal configuration:
Camera lens (stock lens)-> camera sensor - the picture that will be recorded

Adaptimax configuration:
Nikon lens (instead of stock lens) -> camera sensor - pic recording

35mm adapter configuration:
Nikon/Canon/etc lens-> 35mm adapter(pic. from Nikon/etc on groundglass)-> stock lens->sensor camera - pic recording

35mm adapter configuration:
Nikon/Canon/etc lens -> 35mm adapter(pic. from Nikon/etc on groundglass)->
relay lens(instead of stock lens) -> sensor camera - pic recording

Why the relay lens? Smaller then stock lens and specially made for this function. If it is a goed relay - better picture and less light loss than with stock lens if relay is faster(say 1.4 instead of 1.9 of the stock lens)

Anyway the purpose of the 35mm adapter with relay lens or with stock lens is to give you a camera that can manipulate the DoF.
All the "DoF" is done with the front lens i.e. the Nikon/Canon/ or whatever 35mm photo camera lens you have in front of the 35mm adapter.
 
Thanks, Kenny G. I just want to make sure I understand all these 35mm adapters with relay stuff to justify the big price tag.
 
That's well written Kenny G.

My Adaptimax puts Nikon lenses straight onto the Sony EX3 with no ground/vibrating glass. So you get edge to edge sharpness, can stop down to anything with no worry of patterning from any ground glass.

The magnifiation is 5.4x, so if you need telephoto you really want one of these. Stick a 300mm Nikon on the EX3 and you have 1620mm lens. With a 200mm its 1080mm. That goat up the mountain will fill the frame. Totally different usage to a Brevis, Letus, Redrock or SG Blade. And a fraction of the price.

A guy got his yesterday and said "With the 35-70 macro you can fill frame with an area approximately 15mm x 27mm at minimum focus", so it works long and short.
 
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Forgive me is this has been mentioned already..... How much are these in US Dollars???

Thanks, frisco
 
At this hours rate, $170. They have become cheaper for USA customers due to the weak UK£.

A year ago it would have been $240!
 
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Lor said:
Thanks, Barry. So besides the f1.5, 2/3", and probably lighter weight of the Letus B4 Pro Relay versus the f1.8 (or f1.6 I don't remember), 1/2", and perhaps heavier stock lens of the EX1/EX3, there is no need to buy the B4 relay, correct?
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Well, first of all, the relay would only apply to an EX3. The EX1's lens isn't removable, so you'd be using the built-in lens as the "relay" lens.

With the EX3, the lens is removable, so you could either use it as a relay lens, or pull it off and substitute in a relay lens. The whole point of a relay lens is to be as simplistic as possible - the simpler the design, the sharper, faster, smaller, lighter, etc. The stock lens is a 14:1 zoom, what do you need all that for? What you want is a fixed relay that connects between the chips and the ground glass, that transfers the ground glass's image to the chips.

At least, that was the original point of building a custom relay lens. Seems people now want to design relay lenses that zoom and whatnot... I mean, I can see why they'd want that, but it gets away from the original point which was one of "optical purity". But, to each his own.

You wouldn't want a B4 relay with an EX3 anyway, you'd want a custom 1/2" relay lens. A B4 relay lens is going to be built for the 2/3" image format.
 
The first batch of Adaptimax adaptors completely sold out last week. Thanks to all those early purchasers. Demand was far bigger than expected and kept me very busy.

The good news is the second batch are now in my hands and I will be spending most of today assembling, wrapping them up and addressing envelopes. These will be posted out tomorrow morning either first class post for UK customers or International Signed For, for international customers.

We currently have stock, so if you buy the Adaptimax now will go out same day or next day, depending on the time the order comes in!

Thanks
Steve
 
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