Which adapter is best for Nikon F mount lenses?

David G. Smith said:
That is why I have put together a set of manual Nikon lenses. The Nikon F-mount is the most popular lens mount in history. Any camera designer who is making a new interchangeable camera design, and lens mount, that is not easily adaptable to the Nikon F-mount is crazy. Adapting a Nikon F-mount to a new lens mount configuration, especially one with the short flange to focal distance as the Sony E-mount, ain't rocket science, it is well established mechanical engineering. Sure, you get what you paid for, but sometimes you end up paying for more than you need. I would be willing to bet that the MTF adaptors are outstanding pieces of gear, and will last a life time, but I am just not going to dish out the cash for the top end adaptors until I have tried the lower cost versions first. Especially for a camera system that I know I will be upgrading out of in probably 3 years. I am very, very excited about the FS-100 and can not wait to get my hands on it. However, I know that this is not going to be my last camera, and the less I can spend for camera specific gear, the better off I will be. I will continue to buy manual Nikon F-mount lenses, and, hopefully, start to move up to PL mount glass, all of which will be usable on the FS-100 and dang near any other camera that comes down the pike. If the lower costs F-mount to Sony E mount adaptors work for me, then I am way ahead. If they don't, then I am not out that much and will look for others.

Is that really so hard to understand?
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I'm not fond of wasting money on products that aren't worth it, but sometimes as simple as it might be to design an adapter for a Nikon F mount lens, there are definite differences in quality and although I can't speak for the quality of the cheaper adapters out there, I have read some bad stories already about light leaks, play, etc. I'm not happy about spending hundres on an adapter, but I've also had experience with cheaper adapters for my Canon DSLRs and they have proved to me that cheaper ones are just not worth it and the expensive ones do last longer and serve better

I ordered the Voigtlander from Ebay for just over $200 with tax which was the cheapest I can find anywhere
I'm sure if I ended up needing to sell this adapter, I can fetch at least $150 for it
Can I sell a cheap adapter when I'm done with it? Probably not
 
I think it´s a question of sheer luck.

I got 4 adapters - all cheap $25ish China stuff.

2 are snug and tight, a perfect fit.
1 is a bit loose and number 4 comes of when you focus too fast.

I tried a Voigtländer and it is not any better then my two tight cheap China adapters.

So you ether shell out a lot of money for a simple device or you feel lucky and try 2 or 3 cheap ones.
Chances are, that you are saving a lot of money with the cheap adapters in the end - even when you gonna use the bad ones as door stoppers.

my ct2 - Frank
 
Adaptimax is making an FS100 mount with a baffle/choke. They're a great choice if you don't wanna gamble on getting a cheapo mount from ebay. The build quality is top notch, and they offer a guarantee.
 
just received my Voigtlander
the fit and finish is great and the adapter looks like it's part of the Zeiss lens body, it's almost indistinguishable from each other
There is absolutely no play between the lens and adapter.
I'll have to see how it fits on the FS100 body though. I'm sure there will be no fitment issues there.
I also looked through the adapter and there is no light leak at all.
I'm just waiting for the camera to arrive now..
 

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Can anyone list which nikonF-NEX adapters have that internal baffle/choke that Alister Chapman talks about? Is it just MTF?
 
I bought 2 adapters from ciecio7 on eBay. A pl to e-mount and a nikon to e-mount. Both are extremely well made and work really well. Shipped fast and good communication. Highly recommended.

BTW what the hell is a "baffle"?
 
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its more like a light restrictor, It dosent block the direct light to the sensor.
But usually with lenses made for larger sensors cameras, you get a bit more light spill between the adaptor. The cheaper adaptors are usually just painted black.. and the light can still bounce around a bit. This makes for blurry and soft looking images under bright lights.
The Baffle absorbs the extra light spill...
I've made a "DIY" version with my cheap adaptor, but the high ends ones as well. Shouldn't reduce the light reaching the sensor, so your still maintaing the len's speed.

BTW, the light sanding worked a little. However, I saw some other examples online of what a real "expensive" baffle looks like. So I took some black paper and a circle cutter... "gotter done" for pennies.
 
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speedracerlo said:
baffle is something that stops or slows down whatever is coming through it
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Yes, I was kidding.
I've used nikons on my red for years and never had a problem with internal reflections. The sensor size is similar and the distance to the sensor is the same. Why is this a problem now?
 
Just wanted you all to know that the Rainbow Imaging Nikon G to NEX adapter sold on Amazon.com does not work. It doesn't even fit the NEX-FS100 where all other adapters I have tried so far (Nipon, Bower) do fit.

It felt like I nearly destroyed the lens mount and definitely left a scratch on the fairing directly above the sensor. Be warned!
 
Ok I stand corrected on the baffle issue. I was using my camera today with the ciecio7 adapter and was getting a stripe down the right side of the frame. It took a while to figure it out but basically it was a light leak coming from the left of camera through the nikon lock lever. It's not immediately apparent as a light leak as it is so uniform. It looks like a lighter colored bar on the right side of frame covering about 10 percent of the frame, not like a flare at all. I would assume that it's some kind of reflection off the sensor. A piece of tape over the lever fixed it but it's something to watch out for. The ciecio7 adapter is still very well made and I'll get in touch with him to tell him about this issue.
 
I saw that on someone else's video (though not the adapters I have gotten to work... yet). That's good to know what caused it - I would have had no idea until I fretted over it for a while and eventually figured it out. I haven't seen it yet.
 
It's not rocket science to make a metal tube. No electronics or optics are involved. And the flange distances etc. for all mounts are publicly available. Anyone with a CNC and an engineer can machine adaptors with tolerances within the back-focus tolerances of vintage SLR lenses.

My intuition tells me that super-expensive cinema gear have tighter tolerances, so with high-end PL lenses one would probably wanna go with a high-end PL adaptor. But with old SLR lenses?... I sure wont get an adaptor more expensive than a lens, or even half the price of it.
 
Amos Kim said:
To LowDown and everybody else, is a baffle necessary for nikon lenses onto sony sensor?
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No, I think that what is necessary is to be sure that there's no light leaking into the adapter from the lock button or elsewhere.
 
I would suggest an adapter that has a simple round push button for unlocking the lens
The adapters with the lever type mechanisms seem to have the light leak issues because there is a tiny space for the lever to move
 
Hey NeedCreative, do you have a link to the particular Nikon to NEx adapter that Rainbow Imaging sells that does not work? They have at least three models, one in the low $20s, late $20s-$30s, and one in the $50 range. The last two models apparently included aperture control
 
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