d1rockwild
Well-known member
So I recently ordered a Canon FD to m43 adapter from Cieco7 on ebay. It's the one with the tripod mount. Super stoked about it, got it, super well made, not like the cheaper ones on ebay with the tripod mount which comes loose VERY easily. This, as most know, is Cieco7 and are great.
It fit super snug on my GH2, to the point of being, a tight fit. You also have to press the gh2 lens release button in, otherwise, the adapter will smack into it roughly. Unlike most native lenses and adapters, you just slide it right in.
Would change the subject of this post to Panasonic/Cieco Customer Service. But oh well. Anyway, the thing about this, is putting on your FD lenses is a bit different than most other adapters. Cieco explains this in the ebay posting but does not include instructions with the adapter. Took me awhile to figure that out as it isn't exactly intuitive.
Anway, lens fit well, also on the tight side. Which is great because you can a great sense of security once everything is on, but if you're used to changing lenses quickly, the tightness of the adapter will slow you down, and for me required two hands: one hand to brace the gh2, the other to twist on and off the adapter and/or lens.
So here comes the problem. I try out different lenses with the adapter, basically just fiddling with my new adapter, again I slide the adapter into the GH2 and it over-turns, slipping past the point it is supposed to. Okay, no problem, think I might've done this in the past with previous lenses, just fiddle with it some more, and it should find it's way out. It doesn't. I fiddle more, it won't come out. It just won't come out. so it's sitting in the camera, loose, able to move left and right a 1/4 inch or so, not in it's proper place...It crosses my mind this may have instantly become a Canon FD Lens-only GH2. Not cool. I've heard horror stories of Panasonic's customer service, and Cieco7 is in Poland...
I fiddle more as I can't help but think, this must be my fault, and it's a simple problem and I should be able to figure it out. But it just won't come off. I end up turning it more in the direction it isn't supposed to as it seems to begrudgingly can continue to move in that direction. Maybe it'll come out. Since this is the adapter with the tripod mount, that trupid mount starts digging into the rubber grip. There was no way to get the tripod mount off at any point after it got stuck.
So now it is super stuck. I just made it worse. Apparently, I torqued it so much, my GH2 is now not powering up. Yikes.
I ship it to Panasonic with crossed fingers, thinking, it will probably cost as much as a brand new gh2, but maybe I'll get lucky and it won't. I tell Cieco about the problem, how tight the adapter was from the get, and he is very responsive. He states he's sold over 200 of these without any problems. He is even willing to to give it a shot himself if I ship it to him. But at this point, the camera was already on it's way to Panasonic in Texas.
My camera was bought only 4-5 months ago and is still under warranty, however, I thought "stuck 3rd party adapters" would not fall under the warranty. Apparently, it does! They say they've received the camera, it's under warranty, and once it's looked and repaired, they'll ship it back. Fingers crossed.
I get a call from panasonic a few days later saying they cannot remove the adapter. They're able to power it up again, luckily, but cannot remove the adapter without breaking the mount and voiding the warranty. Asking me, what I want to do. Which is funny, cause they've basically just told me there's nothing they can do. So, I say, fine, ship it back...
I contact Cieco7 updating him. He gives instructions on how to get it to him once I get the camera back. I have a gig this coming Tuesday where I've promised 2-3 m43 cameras. I have two GH1's also. Telling myself, a GH1 is gonna have to do...The clients says they need all 3 of my cameras rolling, as they have a list of my gear, but of course, don't know about my broken GH2....
I end up buying a brand new gh2 the other day with rush delivery.
Today, I receive my camera back from Panasonic. I sadly open it up...Only to find the adapter separated and repackaged...I pull out the GH2 all by itself in disbelief. The adapter is NOT connected to the camera. They got it off!!!! Someone at Panasonic must've given it another shot! Amazing...Brilliant. Everything works, albeit, a slight looseness around the rubber grip. Can't complain at this point, as buying a brand new GH2 when the GH3 is around the corner, was not something I wanted to do, knowing how quickly the GH2 prices will drop.
So now I just need to return the brand new gh2 once it's received.
conclusion: Panasonic must've been aware of the horror stories because they were very quick with every aspect of the repair. Communication was excellent. The pre-mature notification that they couldn't get it off was annoying, but, beggers can't be choosers. Just glad I got my camera back. Cieco was also pretty good, although there was a slight doubt that he could have possibly made a faulty adapter. You can have problems with mass products way exceeding 200 units from any company.
adapter: $80
shipping broken cam to Panasonic: $26
ordering brand new gh2: $750 (tax and shipping)
returning gh2: -$750 + $10 + possible restocking fee.
total: $116 loss (sucks but could've been way worse)
At this point, I'm not really sure what I want from Cieco7. I really want to love and use these adapters. They just feel so damn good, and are well made. There's just a decent chance something was wrong with mine. Like I said, I've had other lenses and adapters slip inside the camera mount and still I was able to get it out.
I kind of want a brand new adapter, double inspected from Cieco7 or a full refund. I sent pictures of the adapter to Cieco7 with marks and stripped paint from the whole ordeal, probably coming from the tightness of the adapter. I really don't want to send this back to Poland as I just don't want to put anymore time or money into this situation. Anyway, that's my story, hope you found it of interest.
It fit super snug on my GH2, to the point of being, a tight fit. You also have to press the gh2 lens release button in, otherwise, the adapter will smack into it roughly. Unlike most native lenses and adapters, you just slide it right in.
Would change the subject of this post to Panasonic/Cieco Customer Service. But oh well. Anyway, the thing about this, is putting on your FD lenses is a bit different than most other adapters. Cieco explains this in the ebay posting but does not include instructions with the adapter. Took me awhile to figure that out as it isn't exactly intuitive.
Anway, lens fit well, also on the tight side. Which is great because you can a great sense of security once everything is on, but if you're used to changing lenses quickly, the tightness of the adapter will slow you down, and for me required two hands: one hand to brace the gh2, the other to twist on and off the adapter and/or lens.
So here comes the problem. I try out different lenses with the adapter, basically just fiddling with my new adapter, again I slide the adapter into the GH2 and it over-turns, slipping past the point it is supposed to. Okay, no problem, think I might've done this in the past with previous lenses, just fiddle with it some more, and it should find it's way out. It doesn't. I fiddle more, it won't come out. It just won't come out. so it's sitting in the camera, loose, able to move left and right a 1/4 inch or so, not in it's proper place...It crosses my mind this may have instantly become a Canon FD Lens-only GH2. Not cool. I've heard horror stories of Panasonic's customer service, and Cieco7 is in Poland...
I fiddle more as I can't help but think, this must be my fault, and it's a simple problem and I should be able to figure it out. But it just won't come off. I end up turning it more in the direction it isn't supposed to as it seems to begrudgingly can continue to move in that direction. Maybe it'll come out. Since this is the adapter with the tripod mount, that trupid mount starts digging into the rubber grip. There was no way to get the tripod mount off at any point after it got stuck.
So now it is super stuck. I just made it worse. Apparently, I torqued it so much, my GH2 is now not powering up. Yikes.
I ship it to Panasonic with crossed fingers, thinking, it will probably cost as much as a brand new gh2, but maybe I'll get lucky and it won't. I tell Cieco about the problem, how tight the adapter was from the get, and he is very responsive. He states he's sold over 200 of these without any problems. He is even willing to to give it a shot himself if I ship it to him. But at this point, the camera was already on it's way to Panasonic in Texas.
My camera was bought only 4-5 months ago and is still under warranty, however, I thought "stuck 3rd party adapters" would not fall under the warranty. Apparently, it does! They say they've received the camera, it's under warranty, and once it's looked and repaired, they'll ship it back. Fingers crossed.
I get a call from panasonic a few days later saying they cannot remove the adapter. They're able to power it up again, luckily, but cannot remove the adapter without breaking the mount and voiding the warranty. Asking me, what I want to do. Which is funny, cause they've basically just told me there's nothing they can do. So, I say, fine, ship it back...
I contact Cieco7 updating him. He gives instructions on how to get it to him once I get the camera back. I have a gig this coming Tuesday where I've promised 2-3 m43 cameras. I have two GH1's also. Telling myself, a GH1 is gonna have to do...The clients says they need all 3 of my cameras rolling, as they have a list of my gear, but of course, don't know about my broken GH2....
I end up buying a brand new gh2 the other day with rush delivery.
Today, I receive my camera back from Panasonic. I sadly open it up...Only to find the adapter separated and repackaged...I pull out the GH2 all by itself in disbelief. The adapter is NOT connected to the camera. They got it off!!!! Someone at Panasonic must've given it another shot! Amazing...Brilliant. Everything works, albeit, a slight looseness around the rubber grip. Can't complain at this point, as buying a brand new GH2 when the GH3 is around the corner, was not something I wanted to do, knowing how quickly the GH2 prices will drop.
So now I just need to return the brand new gh2 once it's received.
conclusion: Panasonic must've been aware of the horror stories because they were very quick with every aspect of the repair. Communication was excellent. The pre-mature notification that they couldn't get it off was annoying, but, beggers can't be choosers. Just glad I got my camera back. Cieco was also pretty good, although there was a slight doubt that he could have possibly made a faulty adapter. You can have problems with mass products way exceeding 200 units from any company.
adapter: $80
shipping broken cam to Panasonic: $26
ordering brand new gh2: $750 (tax and shipping)
returning gh2: -$750 + $10 + possible restocking fee.
total: $116 loss (sucks but could've been way worse)
At this point, I'm not really sure what I want from Cieco7. I really want to love and use these adapters. They just feel so damn good, and are well made. There's just a decent chance something was wrong with mine. Like I said, I've had other lenses and adapters slip inside the camera mount and still I was able to get it out.
I kind of want a brand new adapter, double inspected from Cieco7 or a full refund. I sent pictures of the adapter to Cieco7 with marks and stripped paint from the whole ordeal, probably coming from the tightness of the adapter. I really don't want to send this back to Poland as I just don't want to put anymore time or money into this situation. Anyway, that's my story, hope you found it of interest.
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