Electronic Iris Control (Smart adapters?)

[perfect]

I'm interested in one of these upcoming adapters that are coming out, but I'm not sure if I understand correctly how they work.

Right now, I have a cheap ebay adapter for my Nikons, which is a "dumb adapter" (right?)...and the only way to control exposure (besides shutter) is by the aperture on the lens.

So if I get one of these electronic adapters, does that mean I can keep my lens wide open and still control iris electronically in the camera how you normally would with the dial?

 

[conurus]

Correct me if I am wrong, but as of the day of writing, no smart (electronic) adapter is ready to ship in Sony E-mount. As of today, you can only buy dumb adapters.

Certain lenses such as the Canon EF 85/1.2L have to use a smart adapter because they are focus-by-wire and require power just to manual focus even if you shoot only wide open. Of course for every Canon lens the aperture diaphragm is electronically actuated.

We are in fact going to launch a smart adapter. Our approach is to properly communicate with both the Canon lens and the NEX camera body, have the camera body directly power the lens, and have the aperture directly controlled by the camera body. Other companies may take a different approach. Our focus is on small size and we are confident we will be the most compact of its kind.

However, the spotlight has always been on Canon. For Nikon, adapter smartness is not all that important, as there is always some way to mechanically close down the aperture diaphragm, with the only exception of PC-E Nikkors. Likewise, Nikon has never used focus-by-wire on any Nikkor lens.

 

[perfect]

But is my general understanding correct? Forget about AF, could you leave a lens open and control iris inside camera?

 

[stevedocmaker]

We are in fact going to launch a smart adapter. Our approach is to properly communicate with both the Canon lens and the NEX camera body, have the camera body directly power the lens, and have the aperture directly controlled by the camera body. Other companies may take a different approach. Our focus is on small size and we are confident we will be the most compact of its kind.

Let's all hope you are a bit more serious about this than Birger. I'd buy one today if it allows for iris control and IS (AF & auto iris would be nice too, but not essential).

 

[morgan_moore]

But is my general understanding correct? Forget about AF, could you leave a lens open and control iris inside camera?

The FS100 does not have an iris

The iris is in the lens

The iris can be controlled..

Using the camera (E mount lenses)

Using the aperture ring .. old manual lenses nikon, contax Canon FD

Not at all yet Canon EF

Canon EF must be controlled by a smart adapter that sends a signal to the lens

S

 

[morgan_moore]

Let's all hope you are a bit more serious about this than Birger. I'd buy one today if it allows for iris control and IS (AF & auto iris would be nice too, but not essential).

Conurus have a track record in the stills world of doing some pretty funky adapters, including a mod where they take a contax AF lens, pull the rear mount off and add a new mount that is both eos mount and talks (inlcuding AF) to eos cameras

This adaption enabled Eos stills shooters to use fully controllable AF Zeiss glass from contax

They specialise in getting different sets of electronics to talk to each other

Conurus modded lenses are pretty rare!

S

 

[conurus]

We are serious about this adapter and we will get it shipped to your hands as soon as we can. Obviously we cannot speak for Birger but I personally believe they are every bit just as serious as we are. I don't think there is any question of will on either companies to deliver. The question of ability is mostly a problem with lack of personnel possessing the right expertise. The best engineers don't work for small companies and big companies don't work on products which sell only a few hundred units a year, so in the end, it is mostly through a lot of personal sacrifices on the part of these small companies' founders that any of these products may become a reality.

Case in point - we have always had a long line-up waiting for the aforementioned Contax autofocus lenses to be modified to Canon mount. We have always had a shortage of skilled, responsible technicians who deliver quality workmanship despite our best effort to hire with lucrative offers. I have to personally do all of the more difficult modifications. To sum up, demand of this modification service has always far exceeded supply of skilled labour. However, we would rather have people wait than to slip on quality. To do otherwise is a sin to me. (Our Canon EF lens to Sony NEX adapter is a result of our new strategy to rely less on servicing individual lenses and turn to standalone, off-the-shelf products which can be semi-mass produced.)

Just imagine how much more difficult to have engineers with experience and skills with electronics, lens communication, mechanical design and computer software? And qualified to deliver a product at the professional level? The industry is seriously short on manpower, in my opinion.