Announcing The Adaptimax Plus Nikon to Sony PMW-EX3 Adaptor for DX & G Series Lenses

I was curious as to whether the price in post #1 was a special introductory price or have changing economic conditions caused the 30%-38% price increase shown for the various Adaptimax models.

Was there not a US distributor at one time?
 
Hi Larry, I can answer that easily enough.

The first price was the introductory price to see if interest was there. It was. So we increased production. However, we looked at the Adaptimax and decided everything would be made "in house". The first version had a third party manufacturing the bayonet, and although it was good, we thought it could be better. So we now make the bayonet as well as the quick release mechanism. Last week the new version of the Adaptimax has been launched. Due to manufacturing costs the price has risen accordingly. We are not making more money per unit sold, just covering our increased costs.

We now make every single part of the Adaptimax here in the UK, except for the very small spring which is incorporated in the quick release. Rather than have three screws holding the bayonet in place, we now use four 2mm screws. It has now got to the stage where we don't think we can improve this adaptor any further. It works perfectly, looks fantastic and is guarenteed for 12 months no quibble.

As the new Adaptimax has only been released for the last week or so, we haven't yet had the opportunity to update the website with new images. This will be done in the next few days.

There are now 4 different versions of the Adaptimax.
We have the Original Adaptimax for Nikon lenses with external aperture rings.
Then the Adaptimax Plus, for all Nikon lenses including DX and G series lenses.
The Adaptimax Nikon to 1/3, which is for Sony HVR-Z7,JVC GY-HD 100 and 200,Panasonic HPX300. JVC GY-HM700 and Sony HVR-S270
and finally the Canon EF to EX3 is out next week.

When we started this business, our thoughts were to produce a good quality product at a cheap price point. This has now developed into to something for the better in my opinion. Our aim now is to produce the best possible product in terms of quality, at a price point which is honest and fair. The Adaptimax range are beautifully made and we are very proud of them as are our hundreds of very satisfied customers.

As for our US distributor, he has been doing a roaring trade. They are called Vortex Media.

http://www.vortexmedia.com/AdaptimaxPlus.html

But of course you can order diretly from us as we sell worldwide.

Best regards
Steve Shovlar
 
Thanks for the information, especially that the EF version is on the way. Now to decide which one to get as I have both Canon and Nikon lenses. Guess I'll have to do an inventory to see which one has the most useful lenses for me.......can't get both right now.
 
LeftyLarry said:
Thanks for the information, especially that the EF version is on the way. Now to decide which one to get as I have both Canon and Nikon lenses. Guess I'll have to do an inventory to see which one has the most useful lenses for me.......can't get both right now.
Click to expand...

Hi Larry, the Nikon Adaptimax has a big advantage over the Canon version. Both are made to the same high standard, but with the Nikon Adaptimax it's easier to change the aperture of the lens.

If you own Nikons with an external aperture, then all you need to do is open and close the aperture ring to get the correct exposure. If you own DX and G series lenses, the Adaptimax Plus has a thumbscrew which uses the lever on the camera side of the lens so you can adjust exposure. Of course the Adaptimax Plus can be used with Nikons with an external aperture ring as well.

The Adaptimax Canon EF to EX3 is similar to the Orginal Adaptimax for Nikon, except that Canon EF lenses don't have an external aperture ring, and they also don't have a lever on the camera side of the lens to adjust exposure. It's all done electronically through the Canon stills camera. So you have to set exposure on the Canon stills camera, then transfer the lens onto the Adaptimax. No easy way around it. It works perfectly but you have to go this extra stage. With Nikon lenses you don't have this problem.

The Nikon Adaptimax Plus covers all bases for Nikon lenses and you can future proof yourself by going this route, because if you buy new Nikon lenses in the future, it is guarenteed to work on your Adaptimax fitted to your EX3.

Hope that helps.

Cheers
Steve Shovlar
 
Steve,

Thanks for the discussion. You have confirmed what I pretty much already understood. The annoyance involved in using the Canon lenses is indeed a cause for concern. My situation, however, is that I have some Canon lenses with unique qualities - large aperture, tilt/shift. On the other hand my Nikon lenses are generally much older, but they are mostly primes and would probably have great resolution. That's why my decision is not easy. I am leaning to the simple Nikon mount as all my lenses are old-style and is it less expensive.
 
LeftyLarry said:
Steve,

Thanks for the discussion. You have confirmed what I pretty much already understood. The annoyance involved in using the Canon lenses is indeed a cause for concern. My situation, however, is that I have some Canon lenses with unique qualities - large aperture, tilt/shift. On the other hand my Nikon lenses are generally much older, but they are mostly primes and would probably have great resolution. That's why my decision is not easy. I am leaning to the simple Nikon mount as all my lenses are old-style and is it less expensive.
Click to expand...


That's the very reason the Nikon Adaptimax is much more popular.

As long as you have no plans to purchase Nikon DX or G series lenses, and all your Nikons have external aperture rings, you are good to go on the Original Adaptimax.

I just picked up a batch of 80 of them from our workshop this morning. As usual they won't last long. These are slightly different from the bayonts shown in the photos on the website in that we manufacture our own bayonets now with four 2mm screws holding it in place rather than three 1.6mm screws. We are getting some new photographs shot any day and we will have them up on the site soon.

Plus from the 1st October we will be using Fedex for fast worldwide delivery (and of course the cheaper Royal Mail service for those not in a rush to have it yesterday)
 
MaxThomas said:
Well, after working it out a little more, I have a little more hope, but this is all still theoretical:

From what I've read, Letus Extreme users zoom into about Z77 on the stock EX1/EX3 lens to properly frame a 35mm image. Given that the stock lens is 5.8mm-81.2mm, 77% of that range places it at 58.1mm.

Voigtlander makes a very compact 58mm prime (See here at B&H) with a 58mm front thread (supported by Letus). It's got high ratings on B&H, drawing comparisons to similar length Zeiss primes.

If that works, it seems like a great way to get some extra light and reduce the bulkiness of the adapter. This lens is even slightly faster than the Letus relay (f1.4 vs. f1.5). My only concern is focusing distance. I don't know how focusing on the 35mm adapters works; if it has to focus as close up as the ground glass, this one probably won't work. If you focus "past" the ground glass, this could work.


Hopefully someone with more experience with these adapters can shed some more light on this?
Click to expand...

I have found that the Redrock M2 encore gives very similar results to an Ultimate, for half the price. The Zacuto relay lens (even more $$ than an Ultimatte) still puts lots of glass before the actual 35mm lens. I have not seen visual comparisons, just Phil Blooms usual "rave reviews" of all that is Zacuto (can we really call thse reviews at this point? Isn't he an employee/partner there?) You lose the spinning glass, but is there really much improvement in IQ? Who knows. One side-benefit of any traditional adapter is that it works to increase dyamic range and protect highlights.

I think Zacuto's pricing is ridiculous. Pro gear, fine, but not double what everybody else is charging.
 
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