Nikon F-Mount to Sony Alpha DSLR Adapter at DVinfo.net

Wacharapong Chiowanich · October 12th, 2010, 03:43 AM

I am looking at getting a Sony A33/A55 mainly to shoot product demo and educational video and want to make use of my cabinet full of old manual Nikon F mount lenses. Is there any good adapter for this? And if there is, will the camera's sensor-based stabilization work with a Nikon lens on?

The autofocus system in these two Sonys seemed to be very good with quick locking on the subjects and not much hunting but overall still not as good as the system in my late-model Sony and Canon compact camcorders. For critical work I just have to use manual focus but the manual focusing mechanism on the lens that comes with the A33/A55 is very pathetic, to put it mildly!

Dave Blackhurst · October 12th, 2010, 01:26 PM

Keep in mind if you're using an adapted lens you will BE manually focusing... while there may be a "physical" mount adapter, it's unlikely that the focus and aperature settings (electronic) will pass through.

I would think the in body stabilization should work, but be aware the shot/clip times are going to be shortened if you're using super steady shot - the sensors run hot (a33 is better than the a55, but BOTH run hot), and apparently with SSS on, it gets toasty quickly... VERY quickly.

I'm hoping to get an a55 after I sell a couple other pieces of less used equipment, but it's going to be a "special use" camera for those DoF shots - already concluded that the record times are too short and the audio is too low quality (at least the internal mics... maybe an add on would be better?) to be of much use as a "video camera" per se, but it STILL looks sweet as a still camera, and the video capabilty will be useful for what it does do, IMO. Plus with Alpha lenses it does seem to have good AF!

Wacharapong Chiowanich · October 12th, 2010, 07:28 PM

Thanks Dave, the camera will be used only for set-up shots where the scenes can be arranged before shooting. If the IS doesn't work the camera may not be worth it as it will have to sit on a tripod or steadycam all the time. Just want to have shallow DoF looks on some occasions when none of my 1/3" real video cams are capable of. The prices of the Sonys seem reasonable for "occasional" use.

Dave Blackhurst · October 12th, 2010, 09:27 PM

Considering the still capabilities alone, the new SLT's look like a bargain, I've been waiting for a while for a compelling upgrade to my aging a350's...

I don't know why the image stabilization, since it's in the body, wouldn't work if you can adapt the mount - it should be along the lines of the sort of stabilization you see from Sony Handycams, which is pretty good. If you're setting a static shot, you'd probably turn off the SSS if you're on tripod anyway, extending the useabie time.

The chart I've seen listing how long you can expect to record at various ambient temperatures with and without SSS was a tad discouraging, as the times were fairly short, IMO. BUT they'd be long enough for the sort of set up shots where you want that DoF. For that, these cameras should be brilliant.

October 12th, 2010, 03:43 AM	#1
Wacharapong Chiowanich Major Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Bangkok, Thailand Posts: 400	Nikon F-Mount to Sony Alpha DSLR Adapter I am looking at getting a Sony A33/A55 mainly to shoot product demo and educational video and want to make use of my cabinet full of old manual Nikon F mount lenses. Is there any good adapter for this? And if there is, will the camera's sensor-based stabilization work with a Nikon lens on? The autofocus system in these two Sonys seemed to be very good with quick locking on the subjects and not much hunting but overall still not as good as the system in my late-model Sony and Canon compact camcorders. For critical work I just have to use manual focus but the manual focusing mechanism on the lens that comes with the A33/A55 is very pathetic, to put it mildly!

October 12th, 2010, 01:26 PM	#2
Dave Blackhurst Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Apple Valley CA Posts: 4,874	Keep in mind if you're using an adapted lens you will BE manually focusing... while there may be a "physical" mount adapter, it's unlikely that the focus and aperature settings (electronic) will pass through. I would think the in body stabilization should work, but be aware the shot/clip times are going to be shortened if you're using super steady shot - the sensors run hot (a33 is better than the a55, but BOTH run hot), and apparently with SSS on, it gets toasty quickly... VERY quickly. I'm hoping to get an a55 after I sell a couple other pieces of less used equipment, but it's going to be a "special use" camera for those DoF shots - already concluded that the record times are too short and the audio is too low quality (at least the internal mics... maybe an add on would be better?) to be of much use as a "video camera" per se, but it STILL looks sweet as a still camera, and the video capabilty will be useful for what it does do, IMO. Plus with Alpha lenses it does seem to have good AF!

October 12th, 2010, 07:28 PM	#3
Wacharapong Chiowanich Major Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Bangkok, Thailand Posts: 400	Thanks Dave, the camera will be used only for set-up shots where the scenes can be arranged before shooting. If the IS doesn't work the camera may not be worth it as it will have to sit on a tripod or steadycam all the time. Just want to have shallow DoF looks on some occasions when none of my 1/3" real video cams are capable of. The prices of the Sonys seem reasonable for "occasional" use.

October 12th, 2010, 09:27 PM	#4
Dave Blackhurst Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Apple Valley CA Posts: 4,874	Considering the still capabilities alone, the new SLT's look like a bargain, I've been waiting for a while for a compelling upgrade to my aging a350's... I don't know why the image stabilization, since it's in the body, wouldn't work if you can adapt the mount - it should be along the lines of the sort of stabilization you see from Sony Handycams, which is pretty good. If you're setting a static shot, you'd probably turn off the SSS if you're on tripod anyway, extending the useabie time. The chart I've seen listing how long you can expect to record at various ambient temperatures with and without SSS was a tad discouraging, as the times were fairly short, IMO. BUT they'd be long enough for the sort of set up shots where you want that DoF. For that, these cameras should be brilliant.