Canon f1.4 50mm on GH1, blurry

B

bronxjragon

Well-known member
Hi,

I slapped on a canon f1.4 fd 50mm lens onto my gh1 with an adapter from fleabay...however, I always get super dreamy looking footage, no matter where I turn the aperature, from 1.4 to the highest. How can I make the footage look sharp? Thanks!
 
What adapter are you using, it's possible that it was not built to correct tolerances and that the flange distance is wrong, causing focus issues.
 
By "dreamy" do you mean that the focus is not sharp, or that there is a significant amount of ghosting around highlights?
 
I dunno, I don't think its the adapter, I'm just not doing something right on the settings or something. By dreamy I mean the footage looks kind of like a dream sequence. A lot of light, too much really is coming in so nothing is sharp unless I am filming a bug or something. I guess, since its a manual focus lens, how do I change the f stop from 1.4 to something else and get the GH1 to recognize it? Because I try f4.0 or anything higher but they all look the same no matter what, that buttery/dreamy footage.
 
If nothing is changing when you turn the aperture then it sounds like it is stuck wide open.
 
A few ideas...
Does the adapter have a switch marked auto/lock or something similar? FD lenses only stop down if the adapter is set to the correct position.
Also, the GH1 will never recognise the aperture setting as there is no electronic connection between lens and body. You need to be in an aperure priority or manual mode with one of these lenses.
How are you focusing, by the way? I'd imagine it would be tricky to manual focus if the lens is wide open (very narrow DOF).
 
post some footage so we can better help you and compare it to our own footage with the same lens as I myself and many others here have that same lens
 
Ian-T said:
If nothing is changing when you turn the aperture then it sounds like it is stuck wide open.
Click to expand...

Being stuck wide open means at f1.4 right? When I switch to a different stop, could it still be possible that its actually filming at 1.4?
 
twist the lock on the adapter to the left, away from center. this will activate the aperture ring on the lens. you'll know you've got it engaged when you see the image brighten/darken as you turn the aperture ring on the lens. if it doesn't you don't have it connected quite right.
 
I made the mistake of getting an FD to EOS adapter for my T2i. FD lenses are scrap now and should rarely be used on modern cameras unless you already have an extensive amount of lenses.

You need to find a proper way, through trial and error to get the lens's aperture to change. It seems like every lens has a "sweet spot" where you mount it correctly and THEN the aperture will change. This should be relatively easy, most of my lenses I mount on the adapter, screw on all the way, then mount the adapter to the camera and when it locks, the aperture should change. You can see this by just looking into the front of the lens.

When that works out, it should be sharp(er) at around 5.6 or 4, and higher. At 1.4 or a little above, you ill get halos/dreamlike looks no matter what.
 
bronxjragon said:
Hmm, will do so, if it is, is there a way I can make it un-stuck?
Click to expand...


On the FD adapter I bought (rainbowimaging) you can either lock the aperture or have it so it can rotate. If you put the lens on while the adapter is set to lock then the aperture will stay as you put it on. Simply set the adapter to open and it will function properly. Maybe this is the issue?
 
Sorry that's not right... what I should have said is that the adapter has to be set to open before the lens is put on or else the aperture ring won't work.
 
FD lenses are some of the very best camera lenses ever made, "skate thrasher". The reason you didn't get good results on your T2i is because every FD-EOS adapter I've seen has a glass or plastic lens inside to adapt the older lenses to Canons modern cameras. This extra lens ruins the IQ.

Sadly in your case, ironically in mine, the great old Canon lenses don't work well at all in modern Canons like yours, while they work astonishingly well adapted to modern m43 cameras.

You've got plenty of good EF glass to go with your T2i. Use lenses appropriate to your camera, refrain from slagging off lenses you don't know enough about to summarily dismiss, and always wear a helmet. Head injuries are no fun.

skatethrasher said:
I made the mistake of getting an FD to EOS adapter for my T2i. FD lenses are scrap now and should rarely be used on modern cameras unless you already have an extensive amount of lenses.

You need to find a proper way, through trial and error to get the lens's aperture to change. It seems like every lens has a "sweet spot" where you mount it correctly and THEN the aperture will change. This should be relatively easy, most of my lenses I mount on the adapter, screw on all the way, then mount the adapter to the camera and when it locks, the aperture should change. You can see this by just looking into the front of the lens.

When that works out, it should be sharp(er) at around 5.6 or 4, and higher. At 1.4 or a little above, you ill get halos/dreamlike looks no matter what.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top