AF100 Nikkor glass

R

RandyVideo

New member
I am a new AF100 user. I am currently using the standard Lumix 14-140 lens. I have a 35mm Nikkor for my Nikon D5100 DSLR. It is good in low light. Does it make sense to use the AF-S Nikkor 35mm f1.8 G glass on the AF100?
 
It is my favorite lens to use at the receptions for event videos. Absolutely but use it when needed. Sometimes you'll need telephoto and sometimes wide angle. Happy shooting.
 
With a proper adapter, absolutely. I recommend the Novoflex. A little pricier, but they have an aperture ring that will allow you to use Nikon "G" glass.
 
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Mike Harvey said:
With a proper adapter, absolutely. I recommend the Novoflex. A little pricier, but they have an aperture ring that will allow you to use Nikon "G" glass.
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I want to ask about this. So, you have no indication of what aperture you're currently at with the "G" glass adapters, but how much of an issue is that really in practice?
 
Gary Huff said:
I want to ask about this. So, you have no indication of what aperture you're currently at with the "G" glass adapters, but how much of an issue is that really in practice?
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I can only speak for myself, but practically speaking it's not an issue for me. I don't have any "G" glass, but the two Nikons I use, I tend to be less concerned about the exact f-stop. Most of my stuff tends to be more run and gun interview type stuff. I adjust until I like the Depth of Field, then adjust the ISO accordingly. I tend to not like the 3mm deep DoF look, so if it's too bright and I need to iris down a bit more, I don't sweat it. As long as the background is reasonably out of focus.

Your mileage may vary.
 
The issue with using lenses that can only be controlled electronically is that when using a mechanical adapter you will not have control over your aperture. There are mechanical adapters with an aperture ring built in but it's a compromise at best. It will only control your brightness and it's not really the same as a real aperture on the lens at all. The adapter will vignette at some point and most importantly will have zero effect on your DOF. You will always be shooting wide open. With a F1.8 lens for example this means quite thin DOF which you may not need or may not want if you're trying to keep up with somebody walking for example. Also, most older lenses are softer wide open and show different artifacts. They perform better stopped one or two stops down. This is why if I had to use still lenses on the AF100 and they were not M4/3 lenses that I could have full control over, I would only use fully manual still lenses such as a lot of the Nikons and basically none of the Canon EOS.
 
I use Nikon lenses all the time with my AF101. I use an Adaptimax adaptor which is fine although it has created some issues in the past (the inside is shiny metal which can bounce light around and create unattractive flares - I fixed it with some matt-black gaffer tape). It has a knob which allows you to alter the aperture on lenses which don't have a manual ring.

The Nikon glass allows you to get some really cinematic shots in relatively low light on a budget (I probably spent no more than £100 on any of my Nikon lenses).
 
Adamsenoj said:
The issue with using lenses that can only be controlled electronically is that when using a mechanical adapter you will not have control over your aperture. There are mechanical adapters with an aperture ring built in but it's a compromise at best. It will only control your brightness and it's not really the same as a real aperture on the lens at all. The adapter will vignette at some point and most importantly will have zero effect on your DOF. You will always be shooting wide open. With a F1.8 lens for example this means quite thin DOF which you may not need or may not want if you're trying to keep up with somebody walking for example...
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This is completely incorrect (at least as far as Nikon lenses go).

With my Nikons and Novoflex, I physically control the the lens iris. I have also tested this on "G" lenses (which is what the O.P. was asking about) and that is also the case. There is a small tab on the lens a Nikon camera body uses to open and close the iris. The Novoflex is designed to also use this same tab to open and shut the iris.

I can't speak about Canon lenses as I don't use them, but with the Nikons the O.P. was asking about, a Novoflex (or any adaptor with a similar design) will in fact control the lens aperture.
 
Mike Harvey said:
This is completely incorrect (at least as far as Nikon lenses go).

With my Nikons and Novoflex, I physically control the the lens iris. I have also tested this on "G" lenses (which is what the O.P. was asking about) and that is also the case. There is a small tab on the lens a Nikon camera body uses to open and close the iris. The Novoflex is designed to also use this same tab to open and shut the iris.

I can't speak about Canon lenses as I don't use them, but with the Nikons the O.P. was asking about, a Novoflex (or any adaptor with a similar design) will in fact control the lens aperture.
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I was clearly talking about adapters that have they own iris as opposed to an adapter which controls the lens iris. Otherwise I would not have said this:
Adamsenoj said:
There are mechanical adapters with an aperture ring built in but it's a compromise at best. It will only control your brightness and it's not really the same as a real aperture on the lens at all.
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An adapter which controls the lens iris obviously has the same effect as controlling the lens iris itself and I would not have said that it's not the same as a real aperture on the lens, because well, you are controlling the aperture on the lens. Also the fact that I mention having a real aperture on the lens should already be a give away I was talking about another aperture which is not on the lens, i.e. an aperture which is on the adapter itself. I guess you just misunderstood what I said.
 
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