Adapters stuck to body, lens stuck to adapter

[Henry Richardson]

In the last 24 hours I have seen a thread where someone had their Nikon lens stuck on an adapter and someone who had a Pentax lens stuck on an adapter. I have also seen comments about horror stories of adapters stuck to bodies. I have a MF Minolta MC lens that I might occasionally use on the E-M5 and G3 so I bought an adapter. Don't have it here where I am now though. I also have a Sony/Minolta A-mount adapter on the way to occasionally use with a macro lens.

I don't want to risk getting lens or body stuck to adapters so I am wondering if there is something I should be very carefully checking on the adapters before attaching anything to them? Anything that might give me a hint that trouble lies ahead? Thanks!

--
Henry Richardson
http://www.bakubo.com

 

[Vasyl Tsvirkunov]

I did not have problems with adapters but I've got cheap rear lens cover stuck on a lens once. Took me about 40 minutes to nudge it off -- and a few shots I could make instead of fighting the stupid thing. So, yes, I can see how it could happen. I would inspect all adapter for loose screws (occasionally there are some small screws around the mount) and cracks first. The adapter should be either metal or hard plastic. No polyethylene of any kind (that's my lesson with that lens cap). Don't force putting it on, should move in smoothly without any clicks or jerks. If there are any springs or mechanisms, inspect them very carefully and make sure you can access them if the external knob fall off.

 

[Boris]

I have used all kinds of lens adapters (have 10) for many years I never had a problem with any of them. I'm careful when mounting them though and have re-marked the line up dot, some of the earlier adapters don't have this dot. The earlier adapters had a loose fit which I don't like when MF. My recent adapters by Fotodiox are a tighter fit and I prefer those.
Boris
--

http://public.fotki.com/borysd/

 

[odl]

Hey Henry,

The adapter I just sent you, forst couple of times I didnt realize you have to keep the release bit pushed down as you remove it from the lens. It comes off smoothly when you do. If you dont keep it down it tends to cause friction.

But I bought two of these adapters, and the one I sent is perfectly reliable.

Ab

--
alatchinphotography.com

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For
knowledge is limited to all we now know and
understand, while imagination embraces the entire
world, and all there ever will be to know and
understand.” - Albert Einstein

 

[Henry Richardson]

Hey Henry,

The adapter I just sent you, forst couple of times I didnt realize you have to keep the release bit pushed down as you remove it from the lens. It comes off smoothly when you do. If you dont keep it down it tends to cause friction.

But I bought two of these adapters, and the one I sent is perfectly reliable.

Ab, I am not worried about your adapter since you have already used it and it works fine. The Minolta adapter though I will have to check very carefully before using it. I got it from China on ebay. If I find that the 2 adapters work okay then there is a chance I might buy another one for a different mount. I just want to find out in general what to watch out for. I have no doubt that the expensive adapters are problem free, but these cheap ones on ebay I want to be a bit cautious with since some people report problems.

By the way, I want to thank you again, publicly, for sending me your unused A-mount adapter. You are a prince! I will be back in the U.S. next week and will try it out with my G3. I am still waiting on an E-M5 to be shipped, but I hope to have one of them within the next week or two.

--
Henry Richardson
http://www.bakubo.com

 

[baxters]

I have a MF Minolta MC lens that I might occasionally use on the E-M5 and G3 so I bought an adapter. Don't have it here where I am now though.

The Minolta mount uses a lever in the body to lock the lens, and it's relatively easy to execute, even with low skilled Chinese machinists. I doubt it would ever lead to a stuck lens, and if it did, you could probably push the release from the back with a small tool. Take a look at yours sometime.

Pentax uses a recessed pin, just like the micro 43 design. It's harder to clone this lever in a adapter cheaply, while keeping it reliable. I could see where some adapters fail with stuck lenses. With mine, there would be no way to remove the lens if the pin failed.

As for adapters getting stuck on the camera, the release pin is in the camera body. As long as the bayonet was the right size, it should twist off.

 

[Richard Biffl]

My advice: Before attaching a lens to the adapter, examine the mechanism that will release the lens. I've read about several people who thought the adapter had a push-button release, when in fact it was a lever with a button-like tip, which the photographer needs to pull toward the camera to release the lens.

 

[Henry Richardson]

The Minolta mount uses a lever in the body to lock the lens, and it's relatively easy to execute, even with low skilled Chinese machinists. I doubt it would ever lead to a stuck lens, and if it did, you could probably push the release from the back with a small tool. Take a look at yours sometime.

As soon as I get to where it is located I will definitely do that.

Pentax uses a recessed pin, just like the micro 43 design. It's harder to clone this lever in a adapter cheaply, while keeping it reliable. I could see where some adapters fail with stuck lenses. With mine, there would be no way to remove the lens if the pin failed.

As for adapters getting stuck on the camera, the release pin is in the camera body. As long as the bayonet was the right size, it should twist off.

Thanks. I will very carefully look over the Minolta MC adapter before attaching it to my camera or attaching a lens.

--
Henry Richardson
http://www.bakubo.com