why wouldn't the electronics be useful when using a Nikon lens... works the same as
if you had a Canon lens mounted....

My manual Nikon lenses don't have any electronics to interface to the Canon camera electronics so whether the adaptor has electronics or not is immaterial.

Nikon AF-S VR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF DX
 

Does this lens work with the 5D MK II. I am still a little confused with all those lenses.

Nigel.... a smart adapter ( one with electronics) tells the camera to use the focus sensors
and relay to the user when the lens is in focus or not....

It works fine with lenses that don't have contacts or smarts... that includes Nikon lenses...

at least my Nikon lenses report that they are in focus or not using a smart adapter...

otherwise why would they take the trouble and put the electronics on a Nikon adapter ??

That's correct. The Canon AF system turns itself off if it does not detect an AF lens attached, therefore, no AF confirmation.

The electronics is only to fool the AF system to stay on, has nothing to do with whether the lens is capable of communicating.

You can even buy just the AF confirm chip itself and glue it on to whatever adapter/lens.

OK, I understand. The electronics in the adaptor make the camera think that it actually has an EF lens attached. I though that you were describing the camera 'talking' to the lens via the chip.

Nikon AI'd MF lens to Canon 5D2 & 1D3
 

I have a 135mm f2.8 AI'd MF lens - can this lens be use on the 5D2 & 1D3, what adaptor is required? Appreciate the info!

cheers
sheewai

Ger:

The 18-200 lens you describe would not be good on the 5D. It is a DX lens that doesn't cover the entire sensor FOV on the 5D MKII. It's also really slow, I own it and it is not the best Nikon I have by any means, it's kind of a mediocre compromise of a lens.

The best Nikon lenses for the 5D MKII will be pre AI, AI, AIS and D lenses. Forget G lenses, no aperture ring and a lot of the G lenses are DX only. Even the Ds are not built nearly as well as the AI and AIS lenses. The Ds are autofocus lenses that can manually focus but the AI and AIS lenses were made before AF became popular so their focusing mechanisms are silky smooth and more precise than the D lenses.

Dan

35mm film = around 4,000 lines of resolution
HD = the raster is a maximum of 1920 x 1080 with a line resolution of perhaps close to 800 lines on really good quality cameras.

More like HD is so low resolution compared to film, will the film lenses be too good and too fine of an image to support the relatively crude and low resolution of HD.

Now if you are talking about stills on the 5D MKII, that is a whole other story. The 21.1MP imager of the 5D MKII does push existing 35mm lenses to their limit and many reviewers have said that nothing but the finest Canon L glass is somewhat of an image compromise. I don't use my 5D MKII for stills, I have a Nikon D300 for that so I don't sweat it, but I will be shooting stills in Europe as I also shoot a doc and the stills will be shot through Nikon AI glass so I will let you know what I observe about that when I return at the end of June. Mostly shooting video but I am shooting a lot of stills as well and I don't feel like lugging two cameras so the 5D MKII will be pulling double duty with the Nikons. I don't own any Canon EOS lenses.

Dan

Of course, this only applies if you are doing large format prints, or if you need the largest available aperture for low light and/or fast shutter speeds.

That said, I'm a believer in fast lenses for video. And I like that Canon provides falloff correction for their lenses in-camera. Hopefully, a firmware update will make mylar and untwisting unnecessary soon, since falloff correction only works with EF lenses properly mounted.

As of today, I've got my hands on the fastest non-L Canon EF lenses available from 28mm through 85mm. (Unfortunately, I don't have an L-lens budget. That's what rental shops are for!):
* 28mm f/1.8 ($377 ebay)
* 35mm f/2.0 ($120! craigslist - clearly the weakest of the four, but okay for video.)
* 50mm f/1.4 ($349 new, local)
* 85mm f/1.8 ($300 craigslist)

[Quick advertisement: If anybody is interested in my like-new EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS, contact me. It's a nice full frame lens for photos, and the Image Stabilization rocks, but it's too slow for all but daylight/well-lit video.]

I plan to do a review of each of the prime lenses above in the next few weeks, including an analysis of the shutter speed and falloff correction.

Doing mostly video, but enjoying photography as well, the right balance might be to buy EF lenses for 85mm and above, and Nikons for your macro and wide (35mm and below) lenses. If you shoot photos with a 50mm, lean toward the Canon. The reason is that telephoto lenses can be tough to focus quickly. Telephotos are often used to shoot moving subjects, so being able to turn on the camera, put it in auto and shoot NOW is important.

Macro photos often take time to compose and are of static subjects. You can easily go to Live View, zoom in, set focus, take test shots, set exposure, and get your final photo. Full manual is just fine for that.

Wide shots are often of landscapes, so we don't need to nail the focus on a single subject. Sometimes we push in close for a perspective shot, but only with static or slow moving subjects. You don't take photos of birds or rabbits up close with a wide. There's generally time to set up your photo manually with wide lenses.

I have a friend's 85mm f/1.8 Nikon AF. It's nice for shooting video, but just try to photograph an active child or pet with it! Either get some EF lenses for the job, or wait until your subject falls asleep. :)

I don't know Jon, it's the same as ACs on feature films shoots. One can become very accomplished at tracking focus, especially with a smoothly focusing manual lens like a Nikon 85mm 1.8 pre AI. It is not easy but it is possible. Just in the short time I have been shooting with this lens and the 5D MKII, I have actually accomplished some pretty good focus following and that is without a follow focus mechanism, just doing it manually.

I have also noticed that it is close to impossible to do the same with a Nikon D lens, the focus mechanism is too gritty and non-linear. I have the 105 2.8 Micro D and a 50mm 1.8 D as well as the 50mm 1.4 AI and the 85mm 1.8 pre AI. The Pre AI and AI have focus mechanisms that are so much smoother and higher quality than the D lenses. Makes sense, the D lenses are auto focus lenses, the AI and pre AI were designed well before auto focus was popular. Much better build and craftsmanship.

Dan

I'm in the same boat. I built myself a shoulder rig and am using it without a follow focus. I'm no pro, but I'm getting better at it. I can do okay when I can predict what will happen, but it takes time to deal with the unpredictable and get the initial lock - especially, when you have a large aperture and need to nail the eyes.

But it's not just focus. It's also exposure. The 5D2 doesn't know the aperture of a manual lens. I can adjust things in Live View, but I find that it takes a few tries to get it just right. When it's not in Live View, I've had the experience of the shutter opening and sitting there, overexposing for multiple seconds in various auto modes. Oops. Shot wasted. When the wife says, "look, the cat has it's claws in the ceiling", there's just enough time to turn on the camera, take off the lens cap, put it in full auto and pull the trigger, before the moment is lost.

It really depends on what you shoot. If you photograph children and/or animals, getting the shot quickly and accurately is precious. On the other hand, if you have time to set things up, going manual is fine. You can get as great a shot with a manual lens as with an auto.