Best F-mount to L-mount adapter?

[Tacitvs]

Hi all

I'm thinking of having a go of an S1/S1R and as part of that I'm looking for a decent F-mount to L-mount adapter in order to use my Zeiss 18mm Milvus lens.

As this is a manual focus lens with an aperture ring, all I need is a good secure fit and no vignetting caused by the adapter. Are any of the adapters weather sealed? I'm in Scotland where the weather changes frequently and quickly!

Thanks all

Chris

 

[pdk42]

I’ve no experience with adapting F mount, but I recently bought an OM to L adapter and bought the Urth one. It’s nicely made - a definite cut above the eBay Chinese things, but still reasonably priced (about £30).

 

[mcantsin]

If you want a real quality adapter with perfect fit, minimum tolerances and perfectly calibrated infinity focus, buy the Novoflex LET/NIK ($170-239):

https://www.novoflex.de/en/products-637/lens-adapters//adapterfinder-products/leica-sl-t-tl-tl2-cl-mirrorless/adapter-nikon-objektive-an-leica-t-sl-gehaeuse.3642.html?rgerg=38

If this is above your budget, then Urth is indeed a solid recommendation.

 

[Tom Caldwell]

Hi all

I'm thinking of having a go of an S1/S1R and as part of that I'm looking for a decent F-mount to L-mount adapter in order to use my Zeiss 18mm Milvus lens.

As this is a manual focus lens with an aperture ring, all I need is a good secure fit and no vignetting caused by the adapter. Are any of the adapters weather sealed? I'm in Scotland where the weather changes frequently and quickly!

Thanks all

Chris

Unfortunately Chris, this sort of question usually provides less than satisfactory answers.

For a start, even if a willing responder advises what they know it is very unusual for anyone to have more than one version of a single adapter type. Of course they can only comment on what they know.

Novoflex can always be safely recommended on the same basis as "nobody got fired for recommending IBM" but I have had good experience with cheap Chinese adapters in general even though I have not had experience with F to L.

Don't go for the very cheapest but set yourself for something that might still be economical and looks well enough made - they usually are.

"Urth" - I have never heard of them, but I have been buying "RJ" adapters ex-China for years and probably few have ever heard of them as they are a big company and they are usually sold unbranded.

[Edit] A little anecdote. Some years ago I decided to convert all my LTM mount lenses semi-permanantly directly to M4/3 mount. Obviously I wanted correct perfect registration distance. My first attempt to buy 20* Fotga adapters resulted in them all being exactly 1.0 mm out in flange focal length. As this is the difference between the Leica M flange and LTM I figured that it was a machinist mistake in setting up a CNC machine. In any case if i was going to dedicate an adapter to multiple LTM lenses I wanted infinity focus to be correct. They had to be returned as useless.

I decided to buy one of each type of seven other adapters - except for one unbranded one via Aliexpress which priced them at AUD$3.40 each for a 20 item bulk lot (delivered). I could hardly go wrong at that price. Might be close to GBP1.50.

In any case only one of these additional test adapters was not perfect in its registration. It was not the cheapest either. The "3.40" adapters were fine - came in a box in little plastic bags in a single box from Laos. The only difference was an aluminium build whilst the most expensive (AUD$80) was a magnificent jewel-like build with mixed steel/brass construction (fit for a prince? .... or your Leica?). At '20-of' there was a significant difference in potential overall cost. But to buy one for a treasured lens then the extra expense for its luxury-look might have been worth it.

Six successes out of eight seemed fair enough and it was the middle priced ones that were at issue. 20 Fotga (known brand) and single K&F Concepts purchase where they refunded my purchase price no questions asked when I complained.

* I had a few LTM lenses mainly from the FSU and these direct LTM-M4/3 adapters were cheaper than LTM-LM adapters which then needed another LM-M4/3 adapter to be used. I also bought some of them as 'spares' so that I would not need to buy single copies every time I thought to buy another LTM lens. LTM-M4/3 adapters can be orientation-tuned and as the final resolution were perfect FFL they all had perfect infinity - surprisingly perhaps there were none with imperfect infinity focus.

--
Tom Caldwell

 

[MattStahley]

I have a few URTH adapters. Well made and they have great customer service. Much better than the fotodiox etc.

 

[Tacitvs]

Thank you all for your suggestions.

Shame I'd be losing out on the weather sealing but perhaps not a deal breaker so long as I'm careful. With that said, might be best just sticking with Nikon.

 

[Jonathan Mac]

K&F Concept are my go-to makers of adapters as they're reasonably priced and very well made. The F to L adapter is on it's way but I haven't received it yet. I have an Urth adapter for the K-mount and really it's just as good, just not as nice looking.

 

[Tom Caldwell]

I have a few URTH adapters. Well made and they have great customer service. Much better than the fotodiox etc.

Good to know - are they a rebrander?

 

[MattStahley]

I have a few URTH adapters. Well made and they have great customer service. Much better than the fotodiox etc.

Good to know - are they a rebrander?

I don't think so.

 

[Sheeno]

I have a few URTH adapters. Well made and they have great customer service. Much better than the fotodiox etc.

Good to know - are they a rebrander?

I don't think so.

I agree about Urth - I've got several of their L mount adapters, including F, EF, and M42. All work excellently for me and are definitely better quality than some of the ones available from China - I tend to buy direct from their website which has free delivery.

I believe I read somewhere that they are a rebrand of Gobe, although I never bought any Gobe products so cannot attest if the quality changed through the rebrand.

 

[Roger]

Greeting Tacitvs

Hi all

Hi

I'm thinking of having a go of an S1/S1R and as part of that I'm looking for a decent F-mount to L-mount adapter in order to use my Zeiss 18mm Milvus lens.

As this is a manual focus lens with an aperture ring, all I need is a good secure fit and no vignetting caused by the adapter. Are any of the adapters weather sealed? I'm in Scotland where the weather changes frequently and quickly!

I have 3 adapters one from Urth, one form Fotasy, and one from K&F Concepts. The K&F I use with my Nikon G lenses as you can change the amount of light you let in, like an aperture setting because the G lenses have no F stop ring.

The Urth and Fotasy are just an extension tube to fit mirrorless. If I didn't know better I'd swear they were made by the same company. The Urth comes in a nice box and they plant trees when you buy one. The Fotsy comes in a cardboard box.

The Urth cost $28 USD the Fotsy cost $12 USD and the K&F Concepts cost $30 USD

As for weather sealing not that I know of, although mine fix very very snug on my Sigma FP's and when I owned a Panasonic they fit very snug. They also work excellent on my Leica's. They are so snug I doubt water could get in.

I use the F to L mount and they work fine even in wet weather, and I live in Oregon USA on the coast.

Thanks all

Chris

Good luck

Roger J.

 

[Roger]

Thank you all for your suggestions.

Shame I'd be losing out on the weather sealing but perhaps not a deal breaker so long as I'm careful. With that said, might be best just sticking with Nikon.

I have the Nikon F to Z adapter and it is plastic, as an ok fit but for $139 USD I was hoping for better.

Roger J.

 

[Photo_AK]

After Panasonic joining the PDAF crowd I expect some new adapters showing up, among them a new F-mount G- and E-type lenses to L-mount. Basically an adapter like Nikon's own FTZ, just for L-mount instead of Z.

 

[pdk42]

After Panasonic joining the PDAF crowd I expect some new adapters showing up, among them a new F-mount G- and E-type lenses to L-mount. Basically an adapter like Nikon's own FTZ, just for L-mount instead of Z.

The problem is that to do an AF-coupled adapter, you need to know the mount data protocols. To do that properly you need the documentation and tooling which will only come with membership of the Alliance. Reverse engineering is possible of course, but as Tamron found with their Canon R initiatives that's fraught with both technical and legal implications.

So, unless someone sees a market in joining the Alliance to make adapters for lenses made by others, this won't happen. Will any of the current members do it? Sigma is the only real option, but I'd be surprised if they did such a thing (but then again, they did the MC21 in EF!).

 

[mcantsin]

After Panasonic joining the PDAF crowd I expect some new adapters showing up, among them a new F-mount G- and E-type lenses to L-mount. Basically an adapter like Nikon's own FTZ, just for L-mount instead of Z.

I think this is rather unlikely, since such adapters don't even exist for Sony E-Mount.

The only working AF (and electronic aperture) adapter for Nikon lenses that I'm aware of is the (Chinese) Fringer adapter for Fujifilm X cameras,

 

[Photo_AK]

After Panasonic joining the PDAF crowd I expect some new adapters showing up, among them a new F-mount G- and E-type lenses to L-mount. Basically an adapter like Nikon's own FTZ, just for L-mount instead of Z.

The problem is that to do an AF-coupled adapter, you need to know the mount data protocols. To do that properly you need the documentation and tooling which will only come with membership of the Alliance. Reverse engineering is possible of course, but as Tamron found with their Canon R initiatives that's fraught with both technical and legal implications.

So, unless someone sees a market in joining the Alliance to make adapters for lenses made by others, this won't happen. Will any of the current members do it? Sigma is the only real option, but I'd be surprised if they did such a thing (but then again, they did the MC21 in EF!).

Can you explain a bit further ... why is a Techart TZC-01 possible with autofocusing Canon EF lenses on Nikon Z mount, Metabones Canon EF Lens to Sony E Mount T Smart Adapter (Mark V) doing the same on Sony's E mount, but Canon EF or Nikon F lenses on L mount "won't happen"?
And you do realize there is a Novoflex SL/NIK adapter, which I own and am using it for Nikon's 28/1.4E and 105/1.4E lenses on my SL2 - and works great in AF-S mode?

On Sony E system you can use Canon and Nikon lenses in AF-S and AF-C modes + Eye-AF

On Nikon Z system you can also use Canon and Nikon lenses in AF-S and AF-C modes + Eye-AF, and even E-mount lenses fit Z-mount nicely with fully functional AF [via a Techart adapter].

On Fujifilm's GFX system you can use Canon and Nikon lenses in AF-S mode as well.
But the L-mount ... won't happen? Can you please elaborate on this?

--
Robert Capa said 'You can never get close enough'. Well, he did ...

 

[Photo_AK]

After Panasonic joining the PDAF crowd I expect some new adapters showing up, among them a new F-mount G- and E-type lenses to L-mount. Basically an adapter like Nikon's own FTZ, just for L-mount instead of Z.

I think this is rather unlikely, since such adapters don't even exist for Sony E-Mount.

Yes they do; you can use Canon EF and NIkon F lenses in fully functional manner on Sony E-mount cameras. Yopu can as well use Canon EF lenses on Nikon Z cameras, and you can even use E-mount lenses on Nikon Z system.

Wake up!

The only working AF (and electronic aperture) adapter for Nikon lenses that I'm aware of is the (Chinese) Fringer adapter for Fujifilm X cameras,

Nope, I'm using the Novoflex SL/NIK adapter on my Leica SL2 with my 2 NIKKOR F-mount lenses 28/1.4E and 105/1.4E in AF-S mode with some great results.

 

[pdk42]

After Panasonic joining the PDAF crowd I expect some new adapters showing up, among them a new F-mount G- and E-type lenses to L-mount. Basically an adapter like Nikon's own FTZ, just for L-mount instead of Z.

The problem is that to do an AF-coupled adapter, you need to know the mount data protocols. To do that properly you need the documentation and tooling which will only come with membership of the Alliance. Reverse engineering is possible of course, but as Tamron found with their Canon R initiatives that's fraught with both technical and legal implications.

So, unless someone sees a market in joining the Alliance to make adapters for lenses made by others, this won't happen. Will any of the current members do it? Sigma is the only real option, but I'd be surprised if they did such a thing (but then again, they did the MC21 in EF!).

Can you explain a bit further ... why is a Techart TZC-01 possible with autofocusing Canon EF lenses on Nikon Z mount, Metabones Canon EF Lens to Sony E Mount T Smart Adapter (Mark V) doing the same on Sony's E mount, but Canon EF or Nikon F lenses on L mount "won't happen"?
And you do realize there is a Novoflex SL/NIK adapter, which I own and am using it for Nikon's 28/1.4E and 105/1.4E lenses on my SL2 - and works great in AF-S mode?

On Sony E system you can use Canon and Nikon lenses in AF-S and AF-C modes + Eye-AF

On Nikon Z system you can also use Canon and Nikon lenses in AF-S and AF-C modes + Eye-AF, and even E-mount lenses fit Z-mount nicely with fully functional AF [via a Techart adapter].

On Fujifilm's GFX system you can use Canon and Nikon lenses in AF-S mode as well.
But the L-mount ... won't happen? Can you please elaborate on this?

I was unaware that those adapters existed. I stand corrected. Maybe one of the manufacturers you mention will see opportunity in L mount and release some for it.

--
Paul
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/paul_kaye

 

[Jonathan Mac]

There is also a Monster adapter to use Pentax AF (using screw-drive) lenses on Sony E mount. Firmware is an ongoing project as it works on creating profiles for specific lenses - if your lens isn't on the list then it almost certainly won't work.

But regarding the creation of additional adapters, no company that makes lenses has much of an interest in providing adapters because they take away from the profits made by selling those lenses. To a limited degree , especially in the last few years, there has been more of a benefit in order to pull DSLR-users into the new mirrorless mount by allowing at least some of their existing lenses to work on the new mount. That is disappearing though as many people have already switched and those who have decided on a mirrorless mount and invested their money are no longer the target customer for an adapter - they're now a target customer for new native lenses.

So the solution would be to have a manufacturer with no lenses - a company whose remit is to make adapters only - and unless the mount is an open one, which is just Sony E, it's not in the interests of the existing manufacturers of cameras and lenses to allow that company to get a piece of the pie.

 

[D Cox]

The one I have is labelled NEWYI. It seems to be fine.

Don