Ultimate Guide for Adapted lenses (Updated 01/02/18)

[ferrantejohn]

I had the opportunity to visit Fotodiox HQ, and test out a vast number of adapted lenses on the X1D.  I am not affiliated with Fotodiox, we were just collectively curious about how well the new adapters would work.  I made a profile on this forum just to share this with everyone, so I am likely not a familiar face. 

The sweet spot in terms of focal length is 50-90mm.  Long lenses experience abnormal minimum focusing distances all around, and wide ones vignette like crazy  The leica R, and Minolta (MD) lenses tested the best over all (for the 35mm lenses).  The leica R 90mm f2.8 is absolute perfection.  It is as sharp as the HC 80mm, and XCD 90mm lenses.  That lens is truly breathtaking, I can not speak more highly of it.

I tried to get down the lens information the best I could, I am sorry if there are inaccuracies.  Also be aware that some of these require multiple adapters to function.  In addition to this I will try to attach a portrait with the Minolta 50mm 1.7 (if I can figure that out).   

-Hasselblad 80mm f2.8 - Perfectly Sharp, And perfect corners. 
-Hasselblad 50mm f4 - Perfectly Sharp, And perfect corners.

-Leica R 90mm f2.8 - Perfectly Sharp, And perfect corners.
-Leica R 28mm f2.8 - Vignetting makes this unusable even with a square crop.

-Leica M 40mm f2 (sum-c) - Heavy vignetting, must crop square to make usable. Sharp enough in the center.     
-Voigtlander M Nokton 40mm f1.4 - Heavy vignetting, must crop square to make usable. Very sharp in the center. Very contrasty. 
-Leica M 135mm f4 -  Heavy vignetting, must crop square to make usable. Sharp enough in the center.
-Leica M Summilux 28mm f1.4 - Amazing sharpness, and the best wide angle contender.  Has minor, and abrupt vignette.  A 10% crop will likely eliminate any corner issues. 
-MS-Optics Apoqualia-G 28mm f2 - Smooth, and natural looking vignette.  10% crop will fix most issues.  Very sharp and contrasty.   

-Leica Elmar 50mm f3.5 - Slight vignetting, can correct in post.
-Leica Screw Mount 90mm f4 - Heavy vignetting, must crop square to make usable. Sharp enough in the center.

-Nikon G 50mm f1.8 - Heavy vignetting, must crop square to make usable. Sharp in the center.
-Nikon F 55mm f2.8 - Less vignetting than the 50mm, very usable when cropped square.
-Nikon 105mm f2.8 -   Less vignetting than the 50mm, very usable when cropped square.
-Nikon 14-24mm f2.8 - Vignetting makes this unusable even with a square crop.

-Minolta 50mm f2, f1.7, f1.4 - Minor vignetting, can correct vignetting in post. 
-Minolta 35-70mm f3.5 - Minor vignetting, can correct vignetting in post. (Not at wider angles)
-Minotla MD 58mm 1.2- Medium weight vignette. Cropping required to avoid dark edges. 

-Canon FD 50mm f1.8 - Heavy vignetting, must crop square to make usable. Sharp enough in the center.

-Mamiya 645 55mm f2.8 - Nearly Perfect (Incredibly minor vignetting). Very Sharp. 
-Mamiya 645 110mm f2.8 - Perfectly Sharp, And perfect corners. 

-Olympus Zuiko 50mm f1.8 - Heavy vignetting, must crop square to make usable. Sharp enough in the center.

-Pentax SMC 50mm f2 - Vignetting makes this unusable even with a square crop.
-Pentax SMC 28mm f3.5 - Less vignetting than the SMC 50mm, also one of the best wide contenders out of all these lenses.  However, you still are going to see vignetting when cropped square. 

[RLouis]

Is there an adaptor that would allow use of the lenses made for the Mamiya 6 rangefinder medium format camera?

[ferrantejohn]

Is there an adaptor that would allow use of the lenses made for the Mamiya 6 rangefinder medium format camera?

I think you may be able to use a double adapter to get that working.  I will talk to my contact and find out for you. 

[ferrantejohn]

I had the opportunity to visit Fotodiox HQ

Blimey! I wish you'd given us some advanced notice about your visit. I could have asked you to get me a V-X1D adapter!

I'm having problems locating one in the UK and the supply of Kipon adapters on Ebay suddenly seems to have dried up. Wonder why?

Fotodiox (I think) has sellers that would ship to you.  If not try contacting them directly.  I couldn't purchase the new adapters at that time anyways because they weren't officially released yet. 

[hcubell]

Is there an adaptor that would allow use of the lenses made for the Mamiya 6 rangefinder medium format camera?

I think you may be able to use a double adapter to get that working.  I will talk to my contact and find out for you. 

It's surprising that there is no adapter for the Mamiya 7 lenses for either the X1D or the GFX. Excellent optical quality, small and light weight, and designed for the 6x7 format so there  should be no vignetting issues.

[ferrantejohn]

Is there an adaptor that would allow use of the lenses made for the Mamiya 6 rangefinder medium format camera?

I think you may be able to use a double adapter to get that working.  I will talk to my contact and find out for you. 

It's surprising that there is no adapter for the Mamiya 7 lenses for either the X1D or the GFX. Excellent optical quality, small and light weight, and designed for the 6x7 format so there  should be no vignetting issues.

Spoke with my contact over there.  The electronic shutters on the Mamiya 7 lenses mean no dumb adapters will work.  Someone will have to invest the man power into creating the coding, and hardware to get those lenses to function with the X1D.  Maybe another company will be willing. 

[ferrantejohn]

Is there an adaptor that would allow use of the lenses made for the Mamiya 6 rangefinder medium format camera?

The electronic leaf shutters seem to be a difficult one for people to adapt.  It will be unlikely that a company will attempt it.  *Will keep fingers crossed*

[hcubell]

Is there an adaptor that would allow use of the lenses made for the Mamiya 6 rangefinder medium format camera?

I think you may be able to use a double adapter to get that working.  I will talk to my contact and find out for you. 

It's surprising that there is no adapter for the Mamiya 7 lenses for either the X1D or the GFX. Excellent optical quality, small and light weight, and designed for the 6x7 format so there  should be no vignetting issues.

Spoke with my contact over there.  The electronic shutters on the Mamiya 7 lenses mean no dumb adapters will work.  Someone will have to invest the man power into creating the coding, and hardware to get those lenses to function with the X1D.  Maybe another company will be willing. 

Thanks, that explains it. I think H and others are coming out with a V series adapter for V series LS lenses, so it's apparently possible. I wouldn't be surprised to see Phase release a mirrorless body with the full frame 150MP sensor that uses the Mamiya 7 lenses.

[ferrantejohn]

Is there an adaptor that would allow use of the lenses made for the Mamiya 6 rangefinder medium format camera?

I think you may be able to use a double adapter to get that working.  I will talk to my contact and find out for you. 

It's surprising that there is no adapter for the Mamiya 7 lenses for either the X1D or the GFX. Excellent optical quality, small and light weight, and designed for the 6x7 format so there  should be no vignetting issues.

Spoke with my contact over there.  The electronic shutters on the Mamiya 7 lenses mean no dumb adapters will work.  Someone will have to invest the man power into creating the coding, and hardware to get those lenses to function with the X1D.  Maybe another company will be willing. 

Thanks, that explains it. I think H and others are coming out with a V series adapter for V series LS lenses, so it's apparently possible. I wouldn't be surprised to see Phase release a mirrorless body with the full frame 150MP sensor that uses the Mamiya 7 lenses.

Mechanical leaf shutters aren't a problem, It is the electronic leaf shutters that are.  You can use V series lenses with "dumb" adapters with no problem.  From what I have been told (I don't have experience with this) is that the Mamiya 7 lenses have electronic shutters, and will require electronics on the adapter and camera to get them to function.   

This is the same reason why you can not use an H series lens with a "dump" adapter.  It requires electronics to operate it. 

I do not know of an adapter from Phase that gets 3rd party electronic shutters to work with it.  I really don't know if anyone has figured that out.  Would be pretty amazing if they did though.  Those Mamiya 7 lenses would make a great addition to the line up. 

[ferrantejohn]

Fotodiox (I think) has sellers that would ship to you.  If not try contacting them directly.  I couldn't purchase the new adapters at that time anyways because they weren't officially released yet.

Fotodiox told me they have no UK retailers for the adapters I want at the moment but that could change in a few weeks'. However I've decided I'd buy direct from Fotodiox and have today ordered a X1D to V lens adapter and one for Nikon lenses. Might take a few weeks to arrive in the UK but that's ok as it'll take me just over 2 weeks to get back home anyway.

Excellent! I am happy you were able to order directly from them.  The 80mm (C), and 50mm (CF) we tested worked great on the X1D. 

[hcubell]

Fotodiox (I think) has sellers that would ship to you.  If not try contacting them directly.  I couldn't purchase the new adapters at that time anyways because they weren't officially released yet.

Fotodiox told me they have no UK retailers for the adapters I want at the moment but that could change in a few weeks'. However I've decided I'd buy direct from Fotodiox and have today ordered a X1D to V lens adapter and one for Nikon lenses. Might take a few weeks to arrive in the UK but that's ok as it'll take me just over 2 weeks to get back home anyway.

Excellent! I am happy you were able to order directly from them.  The 80mm (C), and 50mm (CF) we tested worked great on the X1D. 

Is there an adaptor that would allow use of the lenses made for the Mamiya 6 rangefinder medium format camera?

I think you may be able to use a double adapter to get that working.  I will talk to my contact and find out for you. 

It's surprising that there is no adapter for the Mamiya 7 lenses for either the X1D or the GFX. Excellent optical quality, small and light weight, and designed for the 6x7 format so there  should be no vignetting issues.

Spoke with my contact over there.  The electronic shutters on the Mamiya 7 lenses mean no dumb adapters will work.  Someone will have to invest the man power into creating the coding, and hardware to get those lenses to function with the X1D.  Maybe another company will be willing. 

Thanks, that explains it. I think H and others are coming out with a V series adapter for V series LS lenses, so it's apparently possible. I wouldn't be surprised to see Phase release a mirrorless body with the full frame 150MP sensor that uses the Mamiya 7 lenses.

Mechanical leaf shutters aren't a problem, It is the electronic leaf shutters that are.  You can use V series lenses with "dumb" adapters with no problem.  From what I have been told (I don't have experience with this) is that the Mamiya 7 lenses have electronic shutters, and will require electronics on the adapter and camera to get them to function.   

This is the same reason why you can not use an H series lens with a "dump" adapter.  It requires electronics to operate it. 

I do not know of an adapter from Phase that gets 3rd party electronic shutters to work with it.  I really don't know if anyone has figured that out.  Would be pretty amazing if they did though.  Those Mamiya 7 lenses would make a great addition to the line up. 

This discussion about the adaptation of the Mamiya 7 lenses to the X1D body has me thinking about whether Hasselblad would consider offering a line of manual focus lenses that would sacrifice AF in order to achieve a smaller, lighter form factor. If Mamiya could produce lenses that were so small and light weight for the 6x7 format, imagine what Hasselblad could produce for a cropped 645 format.

[ferrantejohn]

Fotodiox (I think) has sellers that would ship to you.  If not try contacting them directly.  I couldn't purchase the new adapters at that time anyways because they weren't officially released yet.

Fotodiox told me they have no UK retailers for the adapters I want at the moment but that could change in a few weeks'. However I've decided I'd buy direct from Fotodiox and have today ordered a X1D to V lens adapter and one for Nikon lenses. Might take a few weeks to arrive in the UK but that's ok as it'll take me just over 2 weeks to get back home anyway.

Excellent! I am happy you were able to order directly from them.  The 80mm (C), and 50mm (CF) we tested worked great on the X1D. 

Is there an adaptor that would allow use of the lenses made for the Mamiya 6 rangefinder medium format camera?

I think you may be able to use a double adapter to get that working.  I will talk to my contact and find out for you. 

It's surprising that there is no adapter for the Mamiya 7 lenses for either the X1D or the GFX. Excellent optical quality, small and light weight, and designed for the 6x7 format so there  should be no vignetting issues.

Spoke with my contact over there.  The electronic shutters on the Mamiya 7 lenses mean no dumb adapters will work.  Someone will have to invest the man power into creating the coding, and hardware to get those lenses to function with the X1D.  Maybe another company will be willing. 

Thanks, that explains it. I think H and others are coming out with a V series adapter for V series LS lenses, so it's apparently possible. I wouldn't be surprised to see Phase release a mirrorless body with the full frame 150MP sensor that uses the Mamiya 7 lenses.

Mechanical leaf shutters aren't a problem, It is the electronic leaf shutters that are.  You can use V series lenses with "dumb" adapters with no problem.  From what I have been told (I don't have experience with this) is that the Mamiya 7 lenses have electronic shutters, and will require electronics on the adapter and camera to get them to function.   

This is the same reason why you can not use an H series lens with a "dump" adapter.  It requires electronics to operate it. 

I do not know of an adapter from Phase that gets 3rd party electronic shutters to work with it.  I really don't know if anyone has figured that out.  Would be pretty amazing if they did though.  Those Mamiya 7 lenses would make a great addition to the line up. 

This discussion about the adaptation of the Mamiya 7 lenses to the X1D body has me thinking about whether Hasselblad would consider offering a line of manual focus lenses that would sacrifice AF in order to achieve a smaller, lighter form factor. If Mamiya could produce lenses that were so small and light weight for the 6x7 format, imagine what Hasselblad could produce for a cropped 645 format.

It would likely fall on Hasselblad's current lens designer, and manufacturer Nittoh.  Since they made the Hasselblad/Fuji Xpan lenses some years ago... I would think they have the ability to make small manual focus lenses. 

likely won't happen, if I am being honest with myself.  Hasselblad won't undercut their own series of expensive lenses to give people a more affordable (albeit cool) compact manual focus option.  Especially after they have invested all this money and R&D into their current line up of lenses. 

If they were smart about it, they will advance their line of lens adapters.  less overhead for them, and it gets more people buying into their brand. 

All that being said, I think we all want what you mentioned above... small fast manual lenses. 

[Michael H. Cothran]

I am using my CF 250 lens on my X1D via a Kipon adapter. It works fine. Not nearly as convenient as an XCD lens, but when the longer focal lengths are not even available for the X1D, the older Zeiss lenses represent the only real option in town. I'm sure you'll enjoy yours.

[ferrantejohn]

Excellent! I am happy you were able to order directly from them.  The 80mm (C), and 50mm (CF) we tested worked great on the X1D.

The adapters are on their way. Will arrive in the UK before I do.

I part exchanged my 80mm (C) and 50mm (C) lenses when I bought the X1D thinking they'd be of no further use. But my 150mm C-Sonnar and 250mm C-Sonnar both failed a shutter test and were rejected. That was a lucky break! They are going to be very useful now.

Please make sure to post here with results from your telephoto lenses.  I think we would all love to see the results. 

[ferrantejohn]

It's always a bit mind-boggling comparing focal lengths on different camera systems but by my (simple) reckoning my 250mm lens will produce an image more like a 350mm tele-tessar lens on 6x6 film. Got to be a bonus. Can't wait to try it out. I also have a 2x Vivitar converter.

Btw - as an aside, I tried out the electronic shutter the other day photographing some tree flowers in a strong breeze, so they were moving around a bit. I took some shots, hand held, with both electronic and leaf shutter settings. I was expecting to see a difference. But they looked perfectly identical. No breeze this morning, just clear sunshine, and warming up nicely!

By comparison the movement of a tree is still pretty slow.  When you use it on a fast moving fashion shoot... the images start coming out distorted.  Also, shooting in anything that isn't natural light becomes a headache.  Rolling shutter becomes a big issue with modulating light sources. 

All we can hope is that is may improve a bit in time with firmware updates.