nikon/Zeiss OR Canon glass for Af-100?

Kindredmachine

Kindredmachine

Well-known member
I sort of have a tough choice to make and any input would be much appreciated. As someone who just switched over to using lenses I’m debating which brand path to go down for not only the short-term but also the long-term.

I currently have two adapters for F-Mount to M43 (Novoflex and Voigtlander) and was just figuring I would get older Nikon lenses and some newer Zeiss prime lenses with the F-mount for around $1k-$1.5k each but everywhere I look people keep talking about how great the Canon L glass is. When it comes to the Canon L series I do love the fact that these lenses are internal zooming and focusing making it great for matte boxes and right now there is a $125 Kipon adapter on the market with iris control but of course my overall concern is going to be produced image resolution (I like sharp), color and quality.

So what would YOU do? Go with a set of Zeiss primes with the Nikon F-mount or go with a set of Canon L-series lenses with the Kipon adapter? Would the Zeiss primes result in a sharper image over the zoom L-series lenses?

One final thing to consider is that Zeiss is said to begin producing native M43 lenses which I suppose would be the ideal solution but I’m not sure I can wait until they come out and who knows what lenses they’re going to offer yet. I’m going to be out of town shooting all the way from March through May so I really need to make up my mind on this.
Thanks !!
 
Well, consider a few things...

1) M43 mount cameras can take either M43 glass, or Nikon, or Canon. Or, well, practically anything else too.

2) Older Nikon and Canon FD lenses and the new Zeiss ZF series, are fully manual, so the iris and focus rings are on the lens and they'll work with a simple mechanical adapter on an M43 camera.

3) Newer Nikon and Canon EOS lenses are more electronically controlled, many (most?) don't have aperture rings at all, and until there's an electronic adapter for the m43 mount (which should be sometime in April), those lenses won't be able to have their iris adjusted, nor will you be able to use their OIS, nor will you be able to use autofocus.

4) In April Birger should come out with their electronic-translating adapter that will allow Canon lenses to be used fully with any m43 camera, so iris, autofocus, and OIS should all be enabled. However, the adapter's introduction date has been delayed, and it's never really all that wise to make a buying decision based on what some future product may or may not do for you.

5) Nikon lenses can be adapted to use on Canon bodies, but Canon lenses cannot be used on Nikon bodies.

6) Nikon lenses (including the ZFs) focus "backwards" from any other stills, ENG, or cinema lens. Not necessarily a problem if you're a solo operator, but if you're used to working between multiple formats, it might be quite annoying.

7) The Kipon adapter has quite mixed reviews. Some say it works, some say it vignettes...

So really, since glass can be expensive, you have to determine just how forward-thinking and future-proof you want to be. Nikon lenses are the most adaptable. When I was facing this choice, I had a 7D and a GH1 and knew that eventually there would be an m43 AF100 type camera coming, so I went with the ZFs. They could be used on any of the cameras, and I didn't care about whether they were electronic or not.

IF the Birger adapter was on the market now, and IF it was demonstrated to work perfectly with Canon L lenses, those would be something to consider, especially for longer telephoto lengths. But if you're buying today, to use today, I think buying new Canon glass would be frustrating.
 
Thank you much for the input. Finding out there are mixed reviews on the Kipon adapter does detract my interest in the L-series lenses right now. For the short run, it does seem to make the most sense to go with a set of ZFs then. Hopefully later this year, Zeiss will release a nice series of M43 lenses which would solve all of my problems. :-)

As ususal, thanks Barry!!
 
As Barry points out, there is a lot of glass out there both new and used. And to be honest you will get good results with just about any direction you decide to go. I know that does not help much, but it is the truth.

The majority of my lens collection are older Zeiss C/Y mount lenses, which are manual, focus cinewise, less expensive than the newer Zeiss ZF mount lenses, but still provide that classic Zeiss look.

Good Luck with your search!

Dave
 
Yep, checking out the Zeiss glass right now online but I'm curious, what's the difference between ZF and ZF.2? Is it just the adidtion of electornic control such as aperture priority, shutter priority, program AE?
 
Yes.

Another thing to consider is when you're going with Nikon or Canon mount, there's a massive used market and always will be. So if you go with any decent glass in either of those mounts, you're not truly "locked in", you could always re-sell on ebay for probably not much less than you paid for it.
 
May I add that nikon/3rd party nikon electronic lenses all have a hardware aperture control lever. So novoflex and a few other adapters out there can control iris on new nikon glass. Canon requires an electronic adapter. So as was stated above, the nikon mount glass is the most versatile for current and future platform use. Remember that 4/3 and m4/3 can only be used on that platform. While birger is working on canon electronic mount, nikon electronic mount will probably follow, but even if it doesn't it's no big deal since most glass that needs ois would be just fine on a good tripod anyway.
 
Kipon adapter = awful!

A word of warning: I have the Kipon Nikon to M43 adapter, and it is Terrible (with a capital T). So much play, at both the lens-to-adapter and adapter-to-camera body. Really, really awful. I bought it far in advance of receipt of my AF100, and now, I hope I can still return it. The Novoflex is looking very good...

Jeff
 
I just ordered the novoflex mft to nikon myself. I know others with it have said its top notch. One gentleman said he shot a high end commercial with it and nikon glass and they were very pleased. The only limitation is you don't specifically know what the iris setting is. You just have to get the look you want and leave it at that. Plus it does have a very short throw between open and closed.
 
I have a crappy, or rather cheap adapter for m4/3 to minolta A mount, so I can use my old Minolta 80-200mm f/2.8 G, and it has a loose fit between lens and adapter but fine between camera and adapter. I'm trying to decide if I should just sell off all of my Sony a700 and minolta glass and move to nikon. Its not always easy being in a niche camera brand.

But there is some very nice new Sony glass that is designed by Zeiss that works on the old minolta a-mount. Its just a much smaller presence, so the platform's future isn't clear so even though the lenses rock and are better than the other brand's versions, it may not be the best path for the future. But Novoflex does make an m4/3 to A-mount adapter with iris control, but very unlikely that a company like birger would ever make an electronic mount for the now Sony platform.
 
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