Contax G adapters, cheap $40 adapters vs expensive adapters?

I've been shopping for Contax G adapters lately, and I've found some on ebay that are rather cheap, around $40 to $50 compared to the $125 Metabones and Kipon adapters. I understand the Metabones adapter may have some advantages and disadvantages compared to Kipon, but there seems to be a glut of cheaper adapters available that look the same as the Kipon. Maybe they even come from the same factory, but just with different markings?

The cheaper adapters have CTX G-NEX or CONTAX(G)-NEX stamped on them according to the photos, but they otherwise look the same as the more expensive Kipon which is stamped KIPON CONTAX/G-NEX.

Has anyone compared these cheap adapters to the more expensive ones? I'm wondering which adapter is the best choice and whether the expensive ones give you any advantage for 3 times the price.

examples of cheap adapters:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Contax-G-Lens-Sony-mount-Adapter-NEX5-5-NEX3-NEX-3-/170578235635?pt=Lens_Accessories&hash=item27b74150f3

http://cgi.ebay.com/Quality-adapter-Contax-G-lens-Sony-Nex-E-mount-/260701415602?pt=Lens_Accessories&hash=item3cb303e8b2

examples of expensive adapters:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Kipon-Adapter-Contax-G-G2-G1-Sony-E-mount-NEX-3-5-/310231128297?pt=Digital_Cameras&hash=item483b3758e9

http://cgi.ebay.com/Metabones-Contax-G-Sony-NEX-E-mount-Adapter-Japan-5-/220691809376?pt=Lens_Accessories&hash=item336241c460

I know this doesn't answer your question, but there were at least some good opinions on the difference in design (Kipon vs Metabones) in this thread.. headofdestiny hit it on the head...

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1042&message=36930141

I recently bought a Metabones, after also being tempted by the $50 ones (I think the pick may be Roxsen, I've seen favourable opinions on this seller).

But as for the Metabones, lasjas will take $105-110 on ebay + shipping, the larger focus ring was what sold me. The first thing you notice is.. its HEAVY.. 135gms, and although I have small fingers and thought I could get away with it, the ring does rub my fingers sometimes - 12mm clearance from Nex5 handgrip. Very smooth once it's aligned though, and very well made. Huge ring takes less than half turn from infinity to mfd on the 45.

However, the weight makes this adapter + 45/2 combo pretty much the same as the adaptor + nikkor 50/1.8 combo I was previously using (granted, with much better results). The locking mechanism also means switching is a pain, so you'd rather leave it on the lens..

I may end up getting a cheapo after my fingers fall off.

hth

actually that second cheap one you posted looks not bad... time to dig through feedback!

I have a $60 Kipon look-alike and it sometimes "catches" or gets "gritty" at certain focal lengths with my 28 f2.8 and 90 f2.8. I bought the Metabones adapter as I was not happy with the feel of the "cheap" one.

Guess what? - The Metabones is exactly the same - it still catches and feels grityy at certain points!
I don't think there is a decent Contax-NEX adapter :-(
--

Judge: ' This image may be better in black and white - perhaps even just black! '

PhillipA said:

Guess what? - The Metabones is exactly the same - it still catches and feels grityy at certain points!

Click to expand...

Mine does this too, but if you align it right, it improves immensly. Gripping the lock ring on the lens, focused at either extremity, flip it over, and twist to get the locking tab perfectly centre in the notch (neither side touching the mount); or, line up the aperture line dead on with the selected aperture. Very fine movements will give you very different results, so trial and error I suppose...

You still hear/feel the gear work, but there shouldn't be any catches or notchiness/gritty feel. This may even work with the cheap one too??

meanwhile, can I ask how heavy your kipon-alike adaptor is?

What makes the second cheap one, the $50 one by mybestbuy2007 more appealing than the $40 one by xiwow? Here are the minor differences I could find:

The photos aren't very detailed, but I can see that the $40 one by Xiwow uses a brownish wire inside the adapter instead of a silver colored one. Or maybe it's the light.

-The $40 one claims compatibility with the 28mm, 35mm, 45mm and 90mm.
-The $50 one also claims to work with the 21mm, or "(G28 G21 G35 G45 G90...)".

-The $40 seems to have a better warranty, "14 days return and money back guarantee." and "All of our products come with 1 year warranty." ebay tab says only 7 days.

-Item description for the $50 one says there is a 7 day return policy, but ebay returns tab says it's only 3 days which is confusing.

Both sellers require you pay for the return shipping to China (how much does that cost anyway?)

I think xiwow has slightly better feedback, but not much of it is related to adapters as both sellers sell a lot of other things. Do share any other details you can dig up though!

pptn said:

actually that second cheap one you posted looks not bad... time to dig through feedback!

Click to expand...

PhillipA said:

I have a $60 Kipon look-alike and it sometimes "catches" or gets "gritty" at certain focal lengths with my 28 f2.8 and 90 f2.8. I bought the Metabones adapter as I was not happy with the feel of the "cheap" one.

Guess what? - The Metabones is exactly the same - it still catches and feels grityy at certain points!

Click to expand...

Have you compared your Kipon look-alike to a real Kipon?

PhillipA said:

I don't think there is a decent Contax-NEX adapter :-(

Click to expand...

Yeah, this is the general impression I've gotten from reading the threads. All the adapters seem to have some issues or quirks you have to get used to. Metabones seems to be difficult to mount, but tighter and the Kipon is easier to use, but looser sometimes. Maybe there is sample variation with the Kipons and some are better...

I did find this one seller called shamino123 who advertises his m43 adapters as improved second generation adapters. "It is the second generation version, this adapter comes with a bigger 360 degree rotation focusing ring which turn the focusing screw to focus. It is now much easier then first version adapter."

However his adapters only fit the 35, 45 and 90mm. "For other G lenses such as G16, G21, G28 and G35-70 CANNOT be used, or you should cut off the rear plastic lens protector ring. After cutting off the plastic ring, your lens can still be connected to Contax G1/G2 film camera but you should take extreme carefulness to your lens then." His adapter looks like every other Kipon knockoff. The lettering is exactly the same as mybestbuy2007's adapter, they both have CONTAX(G)-NEX stamped on the side, but mybestbuy2007 claims to support 5 prime lenses instead of only 3. Confused yet?

Also, did you have to do any cutting to your 28mm lens to get it to fit on either adapter?

Links:
http://shop.ebay.com/shamino123/m.html?_nkw=contax

2 different pages for contax g to m43 adapers:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Contax-G-mount-Lens-M43-New-360-Version-GF-1-EP1-EP2-/200488045378

http://cgi.ebay.com/Contax-G-mount-Micro-M43-360-Gold-GF-1-EP1-EP2-GH2-/150540355247/

3. shamino123's contax g to nex adapter:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Contax-G-Lenses-Sony-NEX-3-NEX-5-E-mount-Adapter-/150517820656

camera2 said:

Also, did you have to do any cutting to your 28mm lens to get it to fit on either adapter?

Click to expand...

There's no need to do any cutting with the Kipon adapter, and probably it's the case with the other adapters too.

--
A rose by any other name is still a chicken.

was just going of the cosmetic look, more pleasing shape and font. more importantly, second one also has grip all the way round the focus ring, and of the clones of this one I've seen (same lettering) the close ups look like good quality (such as the shimano one you found).

indeed, the xiwow may be a better seller given return policy though, and being HK will arrive on average a week quicker than mainland china.

meanwhile fwiw, forgot to mention mine focuses past infinity.

good luck!

camera2 said:

What makes the second cheap one, the $50 one by mybestbuy2007 more appealing than the $40 one by xiwow? Here are the minor differences I could find:

Click to expand...

pptn said:

was just going of the cosmetic look, more pleasing shape and font. more importantly, second one also has grip all the way round the focus ring, and of the clones of this one I've seen (same lettering) the close ups look like good quality (such as the shimano one you found).

Click to expand...

Nice catch. The photos are both rather low res, but I did look more closely at the xiwow version and see that the focus ring isn't textured all the way around like the $50 mybestbuy2007 one is.

pptn said:

indeed, the xiwow may be a better seller given return policy though, and being HK will arrive on average a week quicker than mainland china.

Click to expand...

FWIW, i've seen version sold by mybestbuy2007 at several other ebay stores for slightly more money. So if you look for a label that says CONTAX(G)-NEX instead of CTX G-NEX you will probably get the one with a more textured focus ring.

If the focus ring is the only difference though, it shouldn't be too difficult to fix in some DIY fashion.

pptn said:

meanwhile fwiw, forgot to mention mine focuses past infinity.

Click to expand...

Do they all focus past infinity? This is probably a little annoying but something you can work around.

Could this damage the lens though? I imagine there is enough mechanical feedback that you will know when you have tried to focus too far.

pptn said:

good luck!

camera2 said:

What makes the second cheap one, the $50 one by mybestbuy2007 more appealing than the $40 one by xiwow? Here are the minor differences I could find:

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Yep... no cutting required for the 28 with the Kipon adapter .... I have been using it since July that way. The 21mm will not work uncut on any of the adapters to date and I am not cutting mine because the overall IQ with the 21 on the NEX IMO sucks too bad to worry about it. The 21mm on the Contax G2 is IMO the best lens in the series for color positive work.

Thanks, I'm most interested in the 28, 35 and 90, so it's good to know the 28 will work without modification to the lens. according to shamino123, you can still use a lens on a Contax camera, after cutting off the plastic tab, but I'd rather not damage such a nice lens.

By the way, why is the IQ with the 21mm so poor on the NEX, but so good with slide film? Ken Rockwell's evaluation of the 21mm is a glowing review, but I usually take him with a grain of salt.

Jim Funston said:

Yep... no cutting required for the 28 with the Kipon adapter .... I have been using it since July that way. The 21mm will not work uncut on any of the adapters to date and I am not cutting mine because the overall IQ with the 21 on the NEX IMO sucks too bad to worry about it. The 21mm on the Contax G2 is IMO the best lens in the series for color positive work.

Click to expand...

oops, here's the link. darn edit limit.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/contax/g-system.htm#21

I was going to post exactly the same thing regarding the different adapters on eBay. I purchased a second hand Kipon from Australia about a month ago but it still hasn't turned up and I'm desperate to try my new 28mm and 45mm.

Last night I stumbled upon an adapter which looks like the larger C/Y version yet the description says it's for the G lenses. I emailed the seller and he assured me that the description is definitely correct and he would check the photos. He has since removed the photo which showed the text on the adapter (C/Y - NEX).

If it is some new type of adapter it looks quite a bit thicker than the others so I wonder if it would work better with the 21mm and 28mm due to the extra distance it would create between the lens and sensor.

Interesting, maybe one of you guys in the USA can try it as it's pretty cheap too:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180611770159

I've been lurking in these forums for years - first post at long last!

1aTa said:

If it is some new type of adapter it looks quite a bit thicker than the others so I wonder if it would work better with the 21mm and 28mm due to the extra distance it would create between the lens and sensor.

Click to expand...

If this adapter looks significantly "thicker" than the others, then it is almost certainly for the C/Y lenses, not the G series. The thickness of the adapter is set by the flange - film/sensor distance of the original system. If an adapter puts the lens at a significantly different distance fron the fillm/sensor, then it simply won't focus.

The reason there are issues with wide-angle rangefinder lenses (not just Contax) on digital bodies, is that the design of the lenses puts the rear element so close to the sensor that the light rays strike the corner sensor elements at a very acute angle - especially as most of these lenses have a very small diameter rear element as well.

With film it doesn't have a large effect as the light sensitive grains of emulsion are almost right on the top of the film, but with digital the light sensitive elements are at the bottom of (albeit small) "wells".

This means that the intensity of the light is reduced at the edges and in the corners by a greater extent on a digital sensor than on a piece of film - if that makes sense ?

BTW - the pieces of plastic on the back of the lens that you need to cut off on the 21mm Contax are only there to protect the lens element in case you but it down "back-first" without the rear lens cap on. They serve no optical or mechanical function other than this.

--

Judge: ' This image may be better in black and white - perhaps even just black! '

Phillip I agree they serve no optical importance but I would not cut them and net the poor results I have seen on the web from the 21 on the NeX. Nor if I needed a 21 for my Contax G would I pay market value for a cut one. Fortunately I have owned my G's since they came out and have all the lenses I wanted. No 16 and no 35-70.

PhillipA said:

1aTa said:

If it is some new type of adapter it looks quite a bit thicker than the others so I wonder if it would work better with the 21mm and 28mm due to the extra distance it would create between the lens and sensor.

Click to expand...

If this adapter looks significantly "thicker" than the others, then it is almost certainly for the C/Y lenses, not the G series. The thickness of the adapter is set by the flange - film/sensor distance of the original system. If an adapter puts the lens at a significantly different distance fron the fillm/sensor, then it simply won't focus.

Click to expand...

There must be a mistake either in the photo or the description. There's no way the adapter should be that long. If it truely is for Contax G and not Contax C/Y, the photo must be wrong.

However the price is very good if the only problem is that someone posted the wrong JPEG. Any idea how ebay handles such problems if it turns out the adapter does not work?

Well, I have tried the Kipon lookalike, with the large wheel, and the Metabones. I returned the Kipon lookalike after I tested it on two G lenses. The focusing action was awful. The gears were slipping or sticking accompanied by a grinding noice. The seller at eBay told me to return it so he could try it with his own G lens. I got a refund without discussion...

Then I bought a Metabones off eBay and I have definitely found what I was looking for. Initially I was a litte bit worried because it is a really big and heavy piece of work and it wasn't at all smooth -at first. But after a couple of days use, it became better and better. Not at all as good as a native focusing ring, but definitely good enough for precision shooting.

camera2 said:

However his adapters only fit the 35, 45 and 90mm. "For other G lenses such as G16, G21, G28 and G35-70 CANNOT be used, or you should cut off the rear plastic lens protector ring. After cutting off the plastic ring, your lens can still be connected to Contax G1/G2 film camera but you should take extreme carefulness to your lens then." His adapter looks like every other Kipon knockoff. The lettering is exactly the same as mybestbuy2007's adapter, they both have CONTAX(G)-NEX stamped on the side, but mybestbuy2007 claims to support 5 prime lenses instead of only 3. Confused yet?

Also, did you have to do any cutting to your 28mm lens to get it to fit on either adapter?

Click to expand...

Sorry, but most sellers simply write the same text for all Contax G adapters, but any cutting is only required for these for Micro Four Thirds. And it's not a problem with the adapter, it's simply the small room in the Micro Four Thirds cameras which need a cutting of these lense parts.
Contax G lenses need no cutting when using a NEX.

Regards,
Karsten