Anyone using a good Nikon-Canon adapter?

I tried a Novoflex one a while ago, but thought it was very expensive and a bit of a pain to use.

Adorama has one for about $40 (USD), free shipping; Cinevate has one for $30 (but shipping makes it more than Adodrama). There are lots of eBay really cheap but I'm wary of those. I'm going to order the one from Adorama and try out some of my old pre-AI Nikkors. If things work out, I'll probably get an adapter for each lens so I don't have to take one on and off all the time.

I got one that was like 40 bucks from the store where I bought my 7D. There was so much slop that I returned it. I ended up buying the Cameraquest one and it's very nice. It was expensive but it works and save me LOTS of money on having to replace all my Nikon lenses.

I got one for 10$ shipped from eBay and I have experienced no problem with a Nikkor pre-AI 50mm 1.4

Jean-Phillipe, can you still maintain infinity focus with your cheapo one?

One of the problems I had with the adapter I tried was removing it from the lens, I guess at $10 a pop you just buy one for each lens:)

In fact, no, I didn't tried infinity. I will try to verify it tomorow and let you know. I don't find it too difficult to remove from the lens, but yeah, you sould by one for each lens.

Get the $8 ones from KAWA on eBay. They aren't all uniform but if they are loose (I had 2 out of 3 kind of loose) they are really good about exchanging them at their expense. Now I have 3 very tight adapters for my old Nikon AIs. These Nikons are really some of the best primes to put on the 7D cause of the nice focus rings and aperture and glass.

I got mine from ebay also.. $12. it works really well. I'm ordering 5 more for my other lenses this week.

Another vote for Cameraquest. I have 4 of them. Not cheap! But, they do work. Excellent fit, finish, and focus.

I have one from Cinevate.
I think I will buy more of them for each lens.
but the problem that I'm having then is that my Nikon lens caps won't fit the lens anymore, so I think I have to buy some Canon caps.
Can someone tell me what that problem with focus to infinity is ?
When I turn the lens to one side, it focuses to the shortest, but when I turn it almost all the way to the other side if focuses to infinity, but when I turn a little more to the full end, it loses the focus to infinity.
Is that the focus to infinity problem or is it something else and what can I do about it ?

Yes Bart, that is the infinity focus problem. It's caused by increasing the flange distance due to the adapter. Best thing you can do is put a mark on the focus ring where infinity actually is when you have the adapter connected.

Is it the same problem with all the adapters ?
The problem is that when I put a mark on the focus ring, I won't see it with my eye on the Zacuto Viewfinder. :D

Can someone supply me with a link to those KAWA adapters? I've been searching high and low on ebay ... but don't find the company :S

Ok, always wait one hour before posting something :)

I found the link: eBay My World - kawaphoto (http://myworld.ebay.com/kawaphoto/)

Hey everyone,

Sorry for the noob question, but would this ( Mount adapter for Nikon F AIS Ai Canon EF EOS New USA - eBay (item 290368251236 end time Dec-08-09 17:03:00 PST) (http://cgi.ebay.com/Mount-adapter-for-Nikon-F-AIS-Ai-Canon-EF-EOS-New-USA_W0QQitemZ290368251236QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCamera_Lenses?hash=item439b4be564#ht_2950wt_1054) ) let me mount my Nikon Nikkor AI-s lenses on the 7D? Thanks very much!

Yes, that will do the trick:)

Adorama has one for about $40 (USD), free shipping; Cinevate has one for $30 (but shipping makes it more than Adodrama). There are lots of eBay really cheap but I'm wary of those. I'm going to order the one from Adorama and try out some of my old pre-AI Nikkors. If things work out, I'll probably get an adapter for each lens so I don't have to take one on and off all the time.

Be sure to post back about that! I've heard that older glass requires an additional adapter to use even on the newer Nikon dSLR's (any) and haven't tried it yet. Haven't found too much info to go on, so I think I'll give a cheap eBay adapter a try just to see...

Yes, that will do the trick:)

Thanks Liam! Just bought two.

David, I just ordered a couple last night, should have them by Friday. You mentioned using the old pre-AI Nikkors on new Nikons. That's trickier than using them on a Canon. There are, however, a few people who will modify the lenses for a reasonable price. Fortunately to use them on a Canon all you have to do is buy an adapter.

Nikon Lens to Canon EOS Adapter 300D 350D 400D 20D 30D - eBay (item 380208604991 end time Mar-22-10 02:04:17 PDT) (http://cgi.ebay.com/Nikon-Lens-to-Canon-EOS-Adapter-300D-350D-400D-20D-30D_W0QQitemZ380208604991QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLens_Accessories?hash=item588632e73f)

Is this the Kawa adapter that you guys are talking about?

Yes Rob I use the Kawa adapter for my Nikkor AI lenses. A quick tip if you get this adapter, the tiny screws on the Kawa adapter were loose, I didn't realize this until one fell out, luckily I saw it. All the screws were loose, so just make sure when you get one that you check the screws are tight.

OK, thanks a lot.

I use the KAWA brand from eBay as well. I've been able to successfully mount a Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 ED with it. The only issue is a very slight amount of torque play, which is less than 1mm or so. Even so, the mount is tight and flush against the EOS body. I'm sure there are better adapters for telephoto lenses such as this, but I would certainly recommend it for smaller primes.

Here's a silly question...got the adapter, put the lens on, what setting do I need to use on the T2i to access the basic controls (iris/aperture) I know the lens info and auto stuff isn't going to be there but the camera defaulted to a very extreme setting that I can't seem to change. I have the Cinevate adapter.

I set it to Manual. Adjust the iris using the ring on the lens, Set the shutter to 1/50 or so, then adjust the ISO until you get a proper exposure.

Some like using Av mode which automatically changes the shutter to compensate for exposures. This is fine for video "snapshots", but you'll find that a changing shutter speed will be very noticeable from shot to shot.

These adapters for serious video work need lenses with aperture rings, the body won't speak to your lens through these cheaper adapters. So it's full manual control, aperture, focusing, shutter speeds and iso.

I know that but how do you set the camera up to deal with a full manual lens?

Does anyone know the difference between these lens mounts?

Mount adapter for Nikon F AIS Ai Canon EF EOS New USA - eBay (item 290411915579 end time Apr-09-10 01:58:29 PDT) (http://cgi.ebay.com/Mount-adapter-for-Nikon-F-AIS-Ai-Canon-EF-EOS-New-USA_W0QQitemZ290411915579QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCamera_Lenses?hash=item439de6293b#ht_3551wt_1201)

and this one:

Nikon Lens to Canon EOS Adapter 300D 350D 400D 20D 30D - eBay (item 380208604991 end time Mar-22-10 02:04:17 PDT) (http://cgi.ebay.com/Nikon-Lens-to-Canon-EOS-Adapter-300D-350D-400D-20D-30D_W0QQitemZ380208604991QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLens_Accessories?hash=item588632e73f#ht_3551wt_1201)

There's a 2 dollar price difference, but I don't really get the difference between the two.

I know that but how do you set the camera up to deal with a full manual lens?

You put the adapter on the lens first, attach to the camera and the only odd thing is you get a message on the lcd telling you to attach a lens to the camera and press the video start button. Go ahead and press the button, the mirror flips up and the lcd then shows the image. Nothing else to set up, just select the shutter speed focus and adjust the aperture until the indicator shows the exposure where you want it for the scene.

Try and focus at full aperture, if you don't you are focusing with a stopped down lens, so the depth of field that the aperture is creating can be inaccurate for true focus, also the lcd becomes darker as you stop down.

When I started photography way back all my slr and lenses were not automatic aperture, so you had to focus at full aperture and then manually stop down the lens. Were just going back in time with this technique for HD-DSLR and manual lenses.

Thanks! I will give that a shot!

I had good conversation with a guy at Fotodiox last week. They sell a cheap one and a "pro" for about $90- ($150 with a chip for focus confirmation) .

He said the cheap one was made in an ordinary machine shop where the tolerances were just not as accurate. He also said the pro used a spring to hold it on instead of a some kind of split metal thing - too be honest I haven't looked at them so i didn't understand that yet . He also said you didn't buy anything by spending $300 for a novaflex.

Anyway the Pro is made at a place that makes photo gear to serious tolerances and the metal is better. He said those would be more accurate and would last longer. The cheap ones would wear faster over time and the tolerances would get worse.

His pitch to me about going with fotodiox is that those kinds of adapters for many lens types is their primary business, its what they do.

I had previously tried the cheap fotodiox and the back focus was wrong. I tried the pro yesterday and so far it looks good though I haven't looked on a monitor yet. My test is a Nikon 80 - 200 2.8 zoom that I know should track focus from CU to wide. Any deviation in backfocus will screw that up.

So far I'm not impressed by the focus confirmation chip and the salesman warned me I wouldn't be. Its not active in Live view on the 5D and only works through optical viewfinder. Even then perhaps I don't have the hang of it yet, but seemed like it would only function kind of intermittently and was no better than my eye. If someone has better ideas about that let me know.

The other hassle is the metal piece that protrudes from some of my older Nikon wide lenses (my 24, 28, 35 & 50) . They make it hard to get the adapter on the lens and supposedly will interfere with or damage the mirror. I need to learn more about that and maybe I'll break them off as J Davis suggests on another thread her. Don't want to hobble them on a Nikon though. Any more info there is also welcome.

I need an adapter to use my Nikon lenses on my 7D. I was thinking of buying it from CameraQuest for $179. Has anyone here had some experience with this company? I was also wondering do you need an adapter to use Canon lenses on a Nikon body aswell? I couldn't find it on their site, so I was wondering.

I have the old (pre-AI) Nikkor 24mm as well. I think it's an f2.8. It has a flange that sticks out more than any of my other Nikkors, all pre-AI. I've read a post from one person who says he uses the 24 with no problem, and others who say it might hit the mirror. So I haven't tried it, although I've used the 25, 105, and 200. If anybody could confirm whether that 24 is OK or not, I'd sure like to know.

I was also wondering do you need an adapter to use Canon lenses on a Nikon body aswell? I couldn't find it on their site, so I was wondering.

The distance between lens and sensor is bigger for nikon than it is for canon cameras (46.5mm vs. 44mm). So nikon lenses on canon cameras is no problem, the adapter puts the lens a bit further from the body. The other way around is a problem, because it would mean the canon lens has to get further into the nikon body.
There are some adapters that have an extra lens to compensate for this, but the resulting image is far from perfect.