How to setup my 35mm adapter?

M

myCharlie

Well-known member
I just got my Letus35 mm adapter today. The GG don't seem to center in the frame. It's slightly turned clockwise. How do I adjust so that the GG is center?


My second question. Once the GG fills the camera frame and focused, I no longer needs to adjust anything on my camera, correct? All the zoom, focus, and aperture settings are done on the 35mm lens, right?


Third, I got an old Nikkor 55mm f2.8 lens but it doesn't seem to have a focus ring. It seems to have a zoom and aperture ring but not focus ring. This type of lens will not work with the 35mm adapter, correct? How do I know if it has three rings by looking at a picture?
 
1) Don't have a letus, so I can't help you there. Maybe try emailing them and asking them how to correct the problem.

2) Yes once you have the camera zoomed in and focused on the ground glass, then you'll just be doing adjustments through the SLR lens.

3) Are you positive that there is no way to adjust the focus on the lens? That doesn't seem to make any sense. I have autofocus Canon lenses and even those can be focused manually. Is the lens really a zoom lens? What's the zoom range because if it just lists 55mm as the FL then it's not a zoom lens at all.
 
I just checked out the link you posted to ebay. Is that the exact lens you have? If so there are focus marks across the barrel of the lens. Where it says "ft" and "m". That's not a zoom lens.
 
Many thanks for the quick response. I believed that is the exact lens that I got. The serial number is 368548. It does have the "ft" on top and "m" on the bottom. However, when I tried to turn, it acts as it is a zoom lens. The lengths of the barrel changes in size as I turn clockwise or counter-clock. I couldn't use the follow focus because the adapter gear I put on is not always at the same place.
 
That ring in the middle (knurled) is the focus ring. It is normal for 35mm SLR lenses to "breath" during focussing. For this reason, your follow focus and gears should be a bit wider so that they don't disengage during focus racks. Many cinema lenses (PL, OCT19 etc.) project lens elements rearwards during focus racks so the focus ring stays put.

Cheers,
 
Thanks for the input but I'm not still confused. Here's what I see. The bottom most ring is the aperture ring then comes the white metal ring and then the top most ring which looks more like black rubber/plastic. However, only the aperture ring and the black rubber ring is capable of being turned. The white metal ring looks like it fixed and cannot be turned so I'm not sure which ring you're referring to. This is the lens that I have. When I turned the black rubber ring, it moves outward in about an inch from its location. Is this normal for a focus ring?
 
I think you have a 2 touch lens, which is usable without a mattebox. At that focal length, you are way better off with the 50mm f1.8 or f1.4, which are very affordable.
 
Okay, so that means the lens I have is incapable of using follow focus, correct? Since I can't focus, this lens seems to be useless for what I'm intending to do.
 
myCharlie said:
Thanks for the input but I'm not still confused. Here's what I see. The bottom most ring is the aperture ring then comes the white metal ring and then the top most ring which looks more like black rubber/plastic. However, only the aperture ring and the black rubber ring is capable of being turned. The white metal ring looks like it fixed and cannot be turned so I'm not sure which ring you're referring to. This is the lens that I have. When I turned the black rubber ring, it moves outward in about an inch from its location. Is this normal for a focus ring?
Click to expand...

The black rubber ring is how you focus the lens. Yes alot of slr lenses with move in and out when you focus them. If you're turning it there and it's moving, then the lens should be focusing fine.
 
myCharlie said:
Okay, so that means the lens I have is incapable of using follow focus, correct? Since I can't focus, this lens seems to be useless for what I'm intending to do.
Click to expand...

Do you already have a follow focus? You can always focus the lens without a follow focus, it just makes it easier to do with one. There are alot of people who don't even own one, so you should still be able to use the lens.
 
Yes, I already have a follow focus. However, the problem is, how do I focus on this lens? It seems that whenever I turn the ring, it zooms instead of focus. Am I missing something here?
 
You are not zooming, because it is not a zoom lens.
It appears to be a lens with macro focus capability, and the large movement you are seeing is due to adjusting the focus while in the macro mode.
 
myCharlie said:
Yes, I already have a follow focus. However, the problem is, how do I focus on this lens? It seems that whenever I turn the ring, it zooms instead of focus. Am I missing something here?
Click to expand...

Okay I looked up some info on the lens. It appears that it has a built in macro for macro photography. What you're calling "zoom" is actually adjusting the magnification of the macro I believe. You may or may not be able to use this for an adapter. Look at this link below and scan to the bottom of the page for examples of what people use those lenses for...

http://www.momentcorp.com/review/nikmicro55.html
 
Thanks for shedding some light on this. So since it's not focus but instead magnifies, the focus must be done on the still camera, I assumed. I might not be able to use this lens after all. I'll do some test tomorrow when I have some time by trying to shoot small objects and see if the lens focuses. If not, it's useless in my case.
 
I have used this lens and own a lens similar. as everyone has suggested because it is a macro lens the focus is able to be right up on the lens. Put your finger right in front of the lens and try to focus and see if you can get it clear. The lens serves a big benefit for me when trying to have selective focus on objects because I can put them close to the lens and not have to worry.
 
SilverWolf, thanks! I tried your suggestion and it works! As many have suggested, it is a macro lens (although I can't use the follow focus), I can find use for it now. The subject has to be pretty close for the lens to work properly else it just won't focus at all.

That brings me to my next question, how do I avoid Nikon lenses that when turning the focus ring, it moves back and forth making the follow focus un-useable?
 
And yes, another question. This is just to make sure I understand it correctly. I'm using the Cavision mattebox. Since the adapter from the mattebox to the lens is much bigger, do I need to buy a step down adapter so that it fits all my Nikon lenses? If not, do I just leave it loose inside of the matte box?
 
As another member said pretty much all still lenses will move forward and backward because they are designed for photography cameras and not movie cameras. However most of the other lenses won't move as much as the macro and you should still be able to use a follow focus
 
So if I'm going to buy a zoom lens, it's best to buy a two-touch lens with an aperture ring separate, correct? So will this lens work?
 
I'm not sure what you mean by two touch but if you are referring to manual aperture control then the answer is yes. The other lens that you showed me however is not a zoom lens. It's a prime lens but it just breathes which is the focal length changing when you shift focus but it's not intended to zoom in that type of capacity
 
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