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Mounting Nikon lens on Canon EOS?

ppc_michael

ppc_michael

Guest
Original poster
Apr 26, 2005
1,498
2
Los Angeles, CA
There is a product on Adorama for mounting Nikon lenses to a Canon EOS body:
http://www.adorama.com/NVEOSNK.html

Has anyone tried this? Is this safe? Is there another product you can recommend that does the same thing?

I assume I won't have autofocus or auto aperture, but that's okay because I shoot on full manual anyway. I use a Canon EOS Rebel XTi (the one you guys helped me pick out! ;)), if it makes any difference.
 
Oh my, are you in a world of hurt!

My question to you would be: why? Is there a lens that Nikon makes that you simply can't get from Canon? That 200-400 perhaps? Or is there a box full of F-mounts next to you that you simply want to use?

The reason I'm asking this question is that more often than not people think that having the ability to mount their old lenses on their new cameras is as easy as buying an adaptor, and shooting away.

There are several reasons that people get these adaptors. The first are the image purists. They believe full-heartedly that that Zeiss Distagon 21mm is the best there is in terms of optical resolution (which it is), and that they must use it to get the best images, and if that means stop-down metering and manual focusing, along with replacing their focusing screens and shaving their mirrors, then so be it. The other group, which might be your case, is those that have (or inherited) a bunch of lenses from another mount, and simply want to use them, not necessarily understanding what that entails.

Here's the deal- a mount adaptor is OK- i.e. it works. They do not convert one F lens to an EF lens though. You lose the ability to autofocus (more often than not), and you cannot use the metering inside the camera. Unless the Nikon lenses you have are manual (i.e. giving you the ability to change your aperture manually), you might as well not bother. Metering is another problem, and you will have to learn stop-down metering. What that means is you need to manually focus on an object at the lens's largest aperture, meter, then go to the aperture you need and adjust your shutter speed from what you got from your original metering. Last, but not least, there are some lenses that will simply not work on a canon mount (as the mirror will hit their back), and you might need to shave your mirror.

If you have the Nikon glass already, wait and get another hundred dollars or so, and get a D50 (or D40, if your lenses have motors). If you're one of those purists, trust me- today I tested a Contax 28mm f/2.8 (Zeiss) along with my 24-70L on my 5D side by side. There was no discernable image differences. Having the ability to meter properly, and autofocus if I need it, is enough to be satisfied with having that Ferrari over the Bugatti.
 
While this thread is still alive, I'm wondering... do they make Nikon->Pentax adapters? And yes, this is for manual aperture+focus lenses. Friend has a box of 'em and was wondering if it was worth buying an adapter if anybody's bothered with one.
 
Thanks for all that great info!

My scenario is that my university has a plethora of lenses I can check out for free, but they're all Nikon. They do have manual aperture rings.

But yes, thank you, I didn't realize it was as involved as it is. I don't even want to know what mirror shaving is. ;) I guess I won't go for it. It just would have been nice to have such a variety of lenses at my disposal.
 
Mechcozmo said:
While this thread is still alive, I'm wondering... do they make Nikon->Pentax adapters? And yes, this is for manual aperture+focus lenses. Friend has a box of 'em and was wondering if it was worth buying an adapter if anybody's bothered with one.
Click to expand...

The problem with lenses with different mounts is that their contacts (see below, the gold things on the canon lens in this case) are they way they communicate with the camera. That's how the camera pushes the focusing motors, and sets the aperture during exposure. Different manifacturers have different mounts, as well as different contacts. All an adaptor does is allows a lens to be mounted onto another mount, but there are no contact converters. So yes, there are some companies that make any mount- to - any mount adaptors. Manual focusing and stopping down still applies.

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To the OP: check this thread out, as well as the entire "alternate mounts forum" for more info.
http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/537674/0
 

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ppc_michael said:
Thanks for all that great info!

My scenario is that my university has a plethora of lenses I can check out for free, but they're all Nikon. They do have manual aperture rings.

But yes, thank you, I didn't realize it was as involved as it is. I don't even want to know what mirror shaving is. ;) I guess I won't go for it. It just would have been nice to have such a variety of lenses at my disposal.
Click to expand...

Yeah, man. Sorry to burst your bubble.

On the other hand, if you're interested in learning photography more, you can pick up a dirt-cheap Nikon film SLR, and learn to do some film. KEH is awesome for used stuff like this.

B&H also sells the F80 for about $200 (out of stock currently), but you should be able to find it on Adorama or ebay, if you're interested.
 
Lovesong said:
Metering is another problem, and you will have to learn stop-down metering. What that means is you need to manually focus on an object at the lens's largest aperture, meter, then go to the aperture you need and adjust your shutter speed from what you got from your original metering.
Click to expand...

My little brother has some of the symptoms of an "image purist" and shoots Canon (20D and the original 1D, both with split focusing screens). He has adapters for Nikon, M42 (pentax screw mount), Contax/Yashica, Olympus OM and some others I can't think of right now. I've used and loaned some of his stuff quite much, so I know what I'm talking about.

It is not nearly as hard as you say. You have to manually focus, obvious but true, but metering is not nearly as hard as you make it sound. You don't need to learn how to step-down meter. Just put the camera on aperture value and it automatically selects the correct shutter speed for the selected aperture. This is because almost all the adapters keep the aperture closed at all times (it looks like keeping the "DOF preview" button down at all times). The downside of course is that if you have a small aperture selected, the viewfinder is darker and it's harder to focus.

Anyways, here's how you shot with old lenses on Canon with mode set to Aperture Value:

-Set the aperture to max (so it's easier to focus)
-Focus
-Select aperture
-Shoot

Lovesong said:
Last, but not least, there are some lenses that will simply not work on a canon mount (as the mirror will hit their back), and you might need to shave your mirror.
Click to expand...
Those lenses are quite uncommon (I don't think there's a single Nikon lense that requires it) and even rarer if your camera supports EF-S lenses (like XTi)
 
MacAnkka said:
It is not nearly as hard as you say. You have to manually focus, obvious but true, but metering is not nearly as hard as you make it sound. You don't need to learn how to step-down meter. Just put the camera on aperture value and it automatically selects the correct shutter speed for the selected aperture. This is because almost all the adapters keep the aperture closed at all times (it looks like keeping the "DOF preview" button down at all times). The downside of course is that if you have a small aperture selected, the viewfinder is darker and it's harder to focus.

Anyways, here's how you shot with old lenses on Canon with mode set to Aperture Value:

-Set the aperture to max (so it's easier to focus)
-Focus
-Select aperture
-Shoot
Click to expand...

True. But in my experience, at least, this works great for bright daylight, and it's a bit more difficult to do in not so perfect lighting conditions. Add to that a matte focusing screen (really does make a difference, but you lose about a stop to the eyepiece, katzeye is currently charging and arm and a leg for one, haoda's are even more), and the fact that you're using a FOV crop camera (brighter viewfinder on the 5D/1Ds, much darker on the XTi), and you have a fairly dark viewfinder, which is OK, if you're shootting something stationary.

Yes. Mirror clearance would not be as big of a problem with APS-C cameras. I still would be hesitant to thow on a piece of glass without first reading about it, and being 101% sure my mirror wouldn't crash into it. There was a site that had a listing of compatible and incompatible lenses, but for the life of me I can't seem to find it this morning.

Add to it the fact that nice adaptors (such as the Novoflex) cost about $200, and you can get a body for less than that (a bit more difficult argument when talking about Leica and Zeiss glass), and you really start to question why people want to go this route.

Don't get me wrong- I understand the corner to corner sharpness advantages of fine wide glass. I simply don't think that the advantages at f/8 -11 (which is what one would be shooting for landscape) would be worth the investment (and the pain).
 
I'm going to try to bring this thread back to life!

I have a Canon EOS 400D (or Rebel XTI(?) for you Americans) with the kit lens, access to some old Nikon lenses, and not that much cash (like in "I'm a poor student that won't be able to buy any good/expensive lenses in a few years").

Has anyone tried any of the nikon/canon adapters?

If your choice was between a NovoFlex adapter for use with some old Nikon lenses, and a Canon 50mm f1.8 II (at about the same price), what would you recommend?
 
synth3tik said:
My Nikon lens adapter cost $24.95
Click to expand...

I like the sound of that! What brand/type is it? Is it reasonably solid? I've read somewhere that certain lenses with certain adaptors might scratch the mirror, ever had a problem with that?
 
I read that some adapter allows the lens to autofocus, by registering the lens as some Canon lens. The problem with that method is some lens tend to get confused by the camera.
 
wheelhot said:
I read that some adapter allows the lens to autofocus, by registering the lens as some Canon lens. The problem with that method is some lens tend to get confused by the camera.
Click to expand...

Autofocus would be nice, though not a must for me at least. As I've understood, you need to adjust aperture and (for most adapters at least) focus, but the camera is able to measure the light (at the set aperture) and set the shutter time? So you could for example use the Aperture Value setting on an EOS?

Would you trust a "cheap" adapter like

http://cgi.ebay.com/Adapter-For-Nik...14&_trkparms=72:1234|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318

this, or go for a 10 times as expensive quality brand?
 
Dale Cooper said:
I have a Canon EOS 400D (or Rebel XTI(?) for you Americans) with the kit lens, access to some old Nikon lenses, and not that much cash (like in "I'm a poor student that won't be able to buy any good/expensive lenses in a few years").

Has anyone tried any of the nikon/canon adapters?

If your choice was between a NovoFlex adapter for use with some old Nikon lenses, and a Canon 50mm f1.8 II (at about the same price), what would you recommend?
Click to expand...

you can get adapters off ebay. the cheaper ones don't have an AF confirm chip, though, which you might need if your camera doesn't have interchangeable focus screens (and i don't think the 400D does). you also have to hunt around a bit since not all cheap ebay adapters are equal. i get mine from jinfinance. i think fotodiox has af-confirm adapters.

i would just get the 50/1.8. your viewfinder isn't large, bright, or accurate, and the only thing lacking in the 50/1.8 optics is bokeh.

on another note, APS-C camera owners don't have to worry about mirror clearance.
 
ppc_michael said:
Thanks for all that great info!

My scenario is that my university has a plethora of lenses I can check out for free, but they're all Nikon. They do have manual aperture rings.

But yes, thank you, I didn't realize it was as involved as it is. I don't even want to know what mirror shaving is. ;) I guess I won't go for it. It just would have been nice to have such a variety of lenses at my disposal.
Click to expand...

I have an old 55mm f/1.4 Nikkor lens I plan to use on my Canon 40D, but focusing will be manual. There are several Canon EOS mounts that can be used with Nikon, Pentax, Vivitar, and other old manual lenses. However, some of the mounts are designed with the contacts needed for lens/camera communication, although focusing must be done manually. Leitz lenses for Canon EOS have electrical contacts, but the lenses must be focused manually, too.
 
I just got my adapter in today and tried my 35-80 Nikon N70 Kit lens with my 20D. Seems to work fine. Used to manual focusing and A/M modes anyways (old school).

Going to take it out shooting this weekend to see.

Wow, had I known, I would've not traded in all the Nikon glass I had - I had some nice lenses I paid a lot of money for but hardly got anything on trade... :(

Well, at least if I can't afford Canon L lenses, I can get some older Nikon ED glass and use that... ;)

I think I'm also going to the the Leica and Contax adapters as well. I love my 20D and use it for more "serious" shooting (my Olympus E-420 is more for a compact take-along).
 
gkarris said:
I just got my adapter in today and tried my 35-80 Nikon N70 Kit lens with my 20D. Seems to work fine. Used to manual focusing and A/M modes anyways (old school).

Going to take it out shooting this weekend to see.

Wow, had I known, I would've not traded in all the Nikon glass I had - I had some nice lenses I paid a lot of money for but hardly got anything on trade... :(

Well, at least if I can't afford Canon L lenses, I can get some older Nikon ED glass and use that... ;)

I think I'm also going to the the Leica and Contax adapters as well. I love my 20D and use it for more "serious" shooting (my Olympus E-420 is more for a compact take-along).
Click to expand...
Leitz already offers some of their manual lenses with EOS mounts. These old lenses have outstanding glass, and don't cost as much as some L glass. I was looking at a manual Vivitar 400mm f/5.6 this guy bought for $7.00 at a Salvation Army thrift shop, then he replaced the mount with a Canon EOS one, and now is taking moon shots with it.
 
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