Has anyone used the NX20 with manual lenses?

viking79 wrote:

Tom Caldwell wrote:

The NX10 was/is quite usable with manual lenses via an adapter. Has anyone tried the NX20 this way?

Has Samsung made any moves to help the use of manual lenses. eg: better image magnification (contrast detect focus assist would be too much to ask).

I imagine that now Samsung is rolling out a good number of oem lenses they are becoming even less interested in providing any particular assitance for the use of third party manual lenses.

Yes, the 5x or 8x is extremely helpful, unfortunately manual is center only still and no focus peaking.

However I generally find the viewfinder on the NX20 capable of achieving focus with most lenses with no magnification, but if you want more critical focus I just press the center button and it goes to 5x or whatever.

Unfortunately no electronic first shutter curtain with manual lenses so you are limited to 1/4000.

Eric

Thanks Eric

I agree that none or even 2x still made accurate focus possible on the NX10. More magnification can only help. After using the GXR A12 mount for manual lenses for a while I find that their 4x magnification is "about right" and only need to step up to 8x for something complex where point of focus is critical.

Focus peaking is very quick - especially Ricoh's "mode2" where the subject is made into grey-scale highlighted outlines. Very odd at first but easily warmed to when you realise that you can still see your subject framed and just concerntrate on the sharpest outlined "pattern" when it "pops" you know that you are right and "click". Once learned it makes manual focus very fast. Or you can take your time of course (grin). Strangely it is exactly the opposite of the Leica rangefinder window that Fuji is so desperately trying to modernise with its X-Pro1 in a very complex manner. On the Ricoh the pretty viewfinder image can be seen at soft press and a toggle between soft-press and release can cycle between magnified or otherwise grey scale outlines and the "real" correctly framed image to be captured. Ricoh also has a "click" noise from the mechanical focal plane shutter (that defaults shut for lens changing!) or it can be switched off for a "less accurate" electronic shutter in situations where shutter noise is not welcome.

Focus peaking requires a new skill, that might even be useful with auto focus on any camera. Sometimes in poor-light situations it is hard to see and detect the sharp outlines as contrast is poor. By turning up the EV the contrast is enhanced and the focus peaking works better. Turning the EV down again of course before the image is captured. With auto focus sometimes hard in poor light and using the same method, but automatically via the camera, it should be possible to do much the same thing, just locking focus at high evf setting. Similar idea but conceptionally different to "opening up" a slr lens to allow focus and stopping down again automatically when the shutter was pressed.

However I am on here to investigate the NX20. I miss my NX10 since I loaned it to my daughter and the main question is on whether I get another NX10 or a NX20 seeing that she loves the NX10 so much.

I have never had a big issue with the NX10 other than that silly "lens installed" mechanical switch that often plays up. It is a comfortable to use robust, simple camera that is quite addictive and a pleasure to own one.

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