TTJ, thanks... hope you heard me honk about 10 days ago when I drove by on I-680....:-)

Thanks, TTJ. I had missed those references. I PM'ed one of the members.

msmoto said:
OK, how does a Novoflex adapter work with a Zeiss - Distagon T* 28mm f/2.0 Lens with ZF.2 Mount for Nikon F Mount SLRs, onto a Fuji X Pro-1 or Fuji X-E1? Any thoughts?

You might look around at Steve Huff's site and m4/3s, mirrorless sites. The overall opinion from most I read is that the Fuji glass is first rate and using 3rd party lenses with adapters don't work well unless on a tripod. Evidently the manual focus zoom isn't great and there isn't any confirmation. With the new firmware I'm not sure if that has improved.

@corbrax - there are a few threads on using TS adapters. Most everyone who commented on those are still active here. You might find some helpful info.
http://nikonrumors.com/forum/topic.php?id=5723
http://nikonrumors.com/forum/topic.php?id=145
http://nikonrumors.com/forum/topic.php?id=4197

I have been considering a tilt/shift adapter ( Perhaps Kipon Hasselblad V mount CF lens to Nikon F Tilt & Shift Adapter found on ebay) to get a cheap (??) tilt/shift set up for D800. I have the lenses so the only expense would be the adapter. Anyone tried this? Results? Any concerns to be aware of? Other tilt/shift adapters using Hasselblad lenses? thanks for any feedback.

I reopened the thread to get some idea if folks are using F mount lenses on the new mirrorless APS-C cameras with an adapter. The new Fujifilm X-E1 looks like a nice body, and I would like to get a Zeiss, F mount lens for not only my D4, but also if I decide to get the X-E1, for it as well.

jonathennn said:
Will Konica lenses?

I moved from Konica film SLRs to Nikon DSLR three years ago, and I can state for a fact that you cannot get Konica lenses onto the F-mount for one simple reason: The distance from the focal plane to the lens flange on a Konica is shorter than on the F-mount. Even if the adapter were paper-thin, the Konica lens would be too far away from the Nikon DSLR's focal plane to produce focus at infinity. It's a shame, because I have the wonderful Konica 57mm f/1.2 that is really a great lens.
If you are interested in the geometry of the F-mount, you will find the actual data on Pierre Toscani's website. If I link to it, it may be erased, but Pierre Toscani is easy to find on the web.

EDIT: I just realized that the thread is a year old, so this may no longer interest anyone . . . sorry.

OK, how does a Novoflex adapter work with a Zeiss - Distagon T* 28mm f/2.0 Lens with ZF.2 Mount for Nikon F Mount SLRs, onto a Fuji X Pro-1 or Fuji X-E1? Any thoughts?

You can control the aperture by using tape to fix the aperture pin (don't put tape on the ring, but on the lens mount to prevent the aperture from stopping all the way down). This is a DIY solution I occasionally use to do things like mount my 11-16 on my FM2 (it works surprisingly well, certainly much cheaper than buying a used 14mm or 15mm).

If you do this, use a good tape that is removable (professional framing tape works, if it's for VERY short term use you could use masking tape or painter's tape too), and that you only need a little bit (on the order of a few square mm). Also you need to meter, since the FM2 doesn't do stop down metering- the easiest way is to stick it on a dslr in manual mode and lower the aperture in 1/3 stops- when the image doesn't change anymore, you have found the aperture that you fixed the lens at.

As with any DIY solutions, you do this at your own risk etc..

>> have a two G lenses that are buggers \,,

Are those lense DX lenses by any chance.. ? , then you'll have havy vignetting as well on you FM2 at 35mm film ( = "Full Format" or "FX format"....).

Which is a long thread to say 'no'. Bugger. If one existed, I'd buy it. It is a LOT cheaper to get one adapter than suffer through Sigma and buy older lenses. I don't live in a house. Currently, I am living in a few places till next year and cannot afford both the money for lenses (that I want to check myself are good and usable) and to transport them around. No room. Anyway, thanks for all the responses.

Tao...

I am astounded by your comment of "any lens will do".

Maybe if you are into lomo stuff, but there is just as much of a difference in lens quality on film as there is in digital, if not more, due to the fact that there is no automatic correction of abberations.

Also, such adapters would only work for any given model of lens, all G lenses have different aperture ranges, which means that no single adapter could be used for the AI-pin placement. It would be cheaper to get a few good old Nikkors and go nuts.

A "Fools errand" if you ask me. Just buy some used MF lenses.

If one did exist, cheap crappy adapters usually run close to $100. Good ones - $350.
A 50mm 1.8 E-series lens runs about $50 on ebay.
A Sigma 24mm 2.8 MF runs for $18.

When it comes to film these days, as long as you are not doing commercial/ paid work, any lens will do. I personally like the crappy Sears lenses for their "artistic" touch to an image.

I haven't heard of such an adapter. Changing the flange distance would mean that you cannot focus to infinity anymore (like using an extension ring). To compensate that you would need to add some optics to the adapter. Basically you need a 1x Teleconverter with the ability to "translate" from electronic aperture setting (camera communication to G-lens) to mechanical.

I don't think that someone would bother to produce something like this - unfortunately. But if you find one, let us know!

Even if such an adapter were available it would be very expensive. At least a couple of hundred dollars or around the same price as getting another lens.

The price of Nikon's older lenses has shot up in recent months. Even before the earthquake. I blame the D7000 and it's ability to shoot older lenses. I also blame mirrorless cameras from Panasonic and Olympus. Older lenses that nobody wanted are now popular again. Lenses for those systems use to sell for 10 or 20 dollars. Now they fetch hundreds. Luckily i can still buy Canon's FD lenses for under $100.

I don't mind losing the G stuff. I have the lenses and cannot afford more, manual AF-D, or not. Actually, my favourite: a 50 1,2 from the first batch is having major troubles and Nikon don't reckon they can fix is as the parts here are no longer available. The part in question is the aperture ring.

I am currently unemployed and will probably not be employed for more than 1 month in the next 6, so buying lenses (even if employed as I have a wife...) is sadly out of the question. I'm all for concessions right now, but it looks like I have none availabe.

FM2 is manual, why go through the trouble when you can get great manual focus lenses for very small money compared to the cost of G lenses.

then you loose all the advantages the G lenses have over the older lenses, as Niko said "That's why you are better off just getting used AF-D and older lenses"

and they will no longer be G and maybe loose the electrical contacts.

not worth the trouble, sell them and get D lenses, still work with your D200 and the Fm.

I have 3 G lenses, but have a different set of manual focus lenses for my F3.

That's why you are better off just getting used AF-D and older lenses.

By the way I just spent this weekend burning some Pro 800Z film with my FM2 while waiting for the world to end.

Yes, I realise that, but an altered flange distance would still be better than not using the lens at all. I have extension tubes, etc., that also alter the distance, but they don't allow me to change the aperture of my lens.

Such an adapter would alter the flange focal distance.

I have an FM2 that I quite love and a D200. I also have a two G lenses that are buggers because of the lack of aperture ring. Does anyone know of an aperture ring that will convert (with, I assume, some loss) a G lens to an AI-S lens?

I have canon fd and minolta Fd to nikon body and they work... I particularly like the minolta one as I can use my 50mm macro in addition to my micro nikkors with a different result...

@jonathennn

For the main mounts (Nikon, Canon, Sony, Sigma, 4/3rds) the "3rd party lens makers" (Sigma, Tamron, Tokina) make lenses that fit and provide AF and other functionality provided you buy a lens that built for your camera. No Adapter needed.

In your first post it sounds like you have older lenses that you may want to use that are not Nikon?

All Nikon from the last 50 years lenses will mount. How they work, depends on your camera. If they are not Nikon and you are thinking of using an adapter, simply stated - forget it and go buy a new lens. :)

One exception: If you have great Leica or Zeiss glass, or are attaching Cine lenses for video, then spend the money for a good adapter.

Real good adapters from Novoflex run around $250 give or take the given mount. These are probably the best engineered pieces that are tested and matched to a lens and body for optimal usage. There are others that range from $15 to $200 and work ok, but have various drawbacks (like the lens will not close focus or focus to infinity, etc).

Generally unless you are just playing, or trying for a particular "look" like an old Diana or Lomo lens, I would stay away from them.

The problem with adapters is that they are like toys from a Crackerjack's box - you never know what you will get. I have used great $20 ones and really bad $150 ones. There is really no way to know until you try them or do allot of research.

Sigma and Tamaron modify each of their lenses to work with Canon or Nikon respectively. They don't take an adapter, you purchase the type of lens you need for the camera you have. This allows the lens to work with the camera as the electrical connections match up and the lens action is reverse engineered to work the same as a Nikon lens.

I have never used either, only Nikkors, so not sure to what extent all functions still work. Checking out their websites would probably give you all the information you could ever hope for.

Thanks for your feedback, guys. I really appreciate it.

But to better clarify things, I'll explain the situation for which I asked:

Some "third party lens venders," as Correlli stated, make lenses that are cheaper than others, obviously. However, I'm not sure if the lens(es) will fit on my Nikon. Since I didn't know enough about adapters and such, I tried to do research but still came up short.

I guess to even further clarify things, I'll ask this:
Are adapters made for most/all lenses that would fit any/all cameras? Would Sigma make a lens and then make an adapter for said lens to fit Canon and an adapter for said lens to fit Nikon and so on and so forth for other cameras?

There are actually three things to consider: optics, electronics and mechanics:

Optics: as you might know there are different size sensors on the market. Nikon has the DX and FX systems. If the lens you want to use is made for a smaller sensor you will get a more or less decreasing image quality at the edge of the image.

Electronics: different camera makers use different contacts and communication ways to control the lens (like aperture and focus). If a Nikon would tell a Canon lens to move the focus motor the Canon lens would not know what to do.

Mechanics: there is a property called "flange focal distance" that basically describes the distance from the mount to the sensor/film. Nikon uses a rather large one with 46.5 mm. Canon for example only has 44 mm. If you want to mount a Nikon lens on a Canon camera you have got 2.5 mm for the mechanical adaptor. The Canon lens on the other hand would have to be mounted inside the Nikon camera body.

Third party lens vendors like Sigma or Tokina usually make lenses for different camera systems, but once you bought a Canon one you will not be able to fit it onto a Nikon (because of the different mount and communication build into the lens). In manual focus days I once had a Tamron zoom where you could exchange the adaptor from Nikon to other systems, but these lenses did not need any electronics.

To make a long story short: if you plan to move from one camera maker to another you will need to buy new lenses as well.

Hope this helps