5DmkII manual lens aperture control video
 

I've just posted a video showing how a Nikon lens with a manual iris gives full control of aperture after you lock exposure on the Canon Eos5DmkII.

Eos5DmkII with Nikon Manual lens aperture control test on Vimeo

There is just no way to do this at speed with an EF lens.

Dan

Looks like it works. What type/brand adaptor were you using to mount the Nikon lens.

That was a cheap no name chinese one. I would try ebay. For Nikon G lenses you need the 16:9 | Photographic Resources & Lens Tests adapter.

Dan

I currently own a RedRock Micro M2 system. I purchased a few Nikon lenses for that, so hearing that I can likely use those on the Canon body is exciting.
Are special lenses needed, or will just about any Nikon lens work - they're supposed to have not changed the mount in MANY years, right?

Please pardon the novice questions:

These are older lenses, all with full, real aperture rings. I won't be able to get exposure from the Canon, right? I'll have to either use a light meter, or snap a shot and adjust accordingly?

Same thing with focus, I assume.

And, since these are older lenses I don't need to consider the "G" adapter, I assume.

And, last, another assumption on my part, but since these are all older glass and made for 35mm film, are they good enough for the ultra-high-resolution of the 5DMII? I would think so, but maybe not.

I wanted the PLs or even the Zeiss lenses, but I'm not currently making money on that rig, so I couldn't justify it.

Thank you for all clarifying advice (and if I should have taken this into a new thread, I apologize - please feel free to move it at your discretion).

Novoflex
 

Is anyone using the Novoflex Lens Mount Adapter for Nikon lens to Canon.
Sorry if this is covered in another thread.

Novoflex Nikon Lens to Canon EOS Body Adapter

JOhn. I don't know what Novaflex runs, but I bought five adapter on Ebay for $16 each. (They were actually 8, but they charge a flat $ 8 each for shipping no matter how many you buy. So I just figure $16 each. I went this way because others said you want an adapter on each lens, cause it can be a pain to switch. I have to agree with that assessment.

That Novoflex adapter is apparently $200. It looks nice but not that nice. I too got the $16 Kawa adaptors ($7.99 + $8.01 shipping) which actually cost me $20 ($7.99 + $12.01 shipping to France). I have either saved $100 on 5 adaptors for my 5 Nikon lenses or $900 depending on how you calculate it.

Nigel:

I am ordering four of those today. If you get yours first, let us know how they work and if you like them. Someone over on DVX User said that he had the original adapters that the same vendor was selling from a few months ago and he recently just ordered these new ones, the same ones we did and he said that the aperture reading tab on the AI and AID lenses now hits the ring, so that you have to file away or remove the aperture tab. The tab removes with two small screws so I think I will just be removing mine and saving it, in case I ever want to sell my AI lenses.

Dan

I already have my adaptors. I actually bought adaptors from two separate suppliers, one in the US & the other in China. The adaptors are identical & they work well. I am not sure how the little aluminium tab held on with two screws would foul the adaptor ring (assuming that is the tab that you are referring to). At least not on any of the Nikon lenses that I have.

It's been fun buying these old Nikon manual lenses so cheaply especially when they arrive in a lovely old leather case. The best lens I have bought so far is an unusual 180mm focal length. It's an F2.8 with really big glass that produces great images. It is knocked about as hell & was even listed on eBay as 'shabby' but the optics are perfect.

BTW For those who are unaware there are some Nikon lenses that will not fit on the 5DII with an adaptor as a tongue/flange/tab protrudes too far back into the body of the camera. I nearly damaged my camera as this was the first Nikon lens that I bought & I didn't know any better. Here are photos & more discussion. http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/canon-eos...it-normal.html

Kawa Adapters
 

Any links for the Kawa adapters? I'm coming up empty on ebay.

Nigel,

Enjoy that 180mm f2.8, its one of the sharpest lenses ever made. I think mine still performs as well if not better than any of my 80-200 f2.8 or 70-200 f2.8 Nikon zooms.

Dan

The adaptors come in two flavors....

The cheaper adaptors do not have focus confirm chips installed....

not that that is a bad thing ....

And the other flavor of adaptor is the ones that do have the focus confirm
chips installed.... (of course they cost more)

The only benefit is that the Camera will also confirm that focus has been accomplished
via the camera focus sensor(s) when you achieve focus on your subject...

just an extra indication to you that you are in focus with a nice beep from the camera...

The Novoflex adaptor at $200 doesn't contain any electronics nor would any be useful on manual Nikon lenses.

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.