Nex adapters - a short review

[hoanpham]

I have now several Nex adapters and can share some of my experience.

Fotodiox consumer grade adapter(s): PK-NEX, OM-NEX, FD-NEX
Fotodiox pro grade adapter(s): F-NEX
EzFoto tilt adapter(s): F-NEX, PK-NEX
Kipon adapter(s): PK/DA-NEX

Bad thing first. The Kipon PK/DA-NEX is one of the most expensive, fits perfectly, but the lens cannot change the aperture. The lens' aperture must be in A-position, otherwise it cannot mount. Using force will bend the aperture pin. Practically the adapter is useless - the nex body can by no mean adjust the aperture from the body. So I have to return it.

Fotodiox consumer grade adapters have ok build quality. I don't have Rainbow or Studio Cowboy adapters to compare, but Fotodiox costs more, and I think these might have a bit better quality than the cheaper ones. They turn out that two of the adapters are too tight to fit the lens. The mounts need to sand down a bit. Metal edges are very sharp, possible rest metal from a cutting/manufacturer process were left and make it too tight. How tight? tight enough that may destroy a costly lens when you want to remove it.

What I did is to use a JIS screwdriver and remove the metal mount, sand it down gently, and also sand the edges so I don't worry to cut myself. After a few retry, the lenses fit nicely.

The Fotodiox pro adapter has a metal spring on each bayonet flags, similar design as camera mount. This adapter fits perfectly.

The tilt adapters also fit fine. The degree scale is made by a sticker, that felt off easily, which make me think about build quality. They fit the lenses nicely. There are two rotation: complete circle rotation and rotation to adjust the tilt. The circle rotation is a bit hard, but after several turns, it feels correct. The tilt rotation is well damped and usable with heavier lenses, except that when using force to turn, the sticker scale may fall off and leave a hole/slot expose the mechanism.

So what is good about them? The best things for me are (1) to use all my lenses - OM, F, PK, FD, (2) with tilt.
I have both nex5 and nex5n+evf. The nex5n+evf is superior for use with MF lenses compared with the nex5.
I am ok using MF with LCD on both with focus peak on, but nex5n+evf allows me to control the focus without pushing zoom button.
I tested with OM55/1.2, FD 85/1.2, K50/1.2. Using these lenses around MFD is very easy to get correct focus, and the evf is far better than LCD.

Regarding the focus peak when using with tilt adapters,
Nex is far more practical than dslr with split screen. Here I can control the whole frame where is in focus.
Parameters needed for a tilt photo are: tilt direction (circular rotation), tilt angle, camera angle, focus, and aperture.
Reframe a tilt photo on dslr with split screen had always been difficult, but with the nex focus peak, it had become very easy to get it right.

My recommendation?
- if you have different mounts, get the nex5n+evf or nex7. It is worth the upgrade.
- if possible get the pro grade adapters. Currently only 2 types from fotodiox available.
- get the tilt adapter for use with focus peak (nex5, nex5n, nex7, not sure nex3)

Sell your dslr? nop. Keep it. Nex is fragile and wont survive long.

[my_photography]

Thanks for the info. Most useful for me since I am in the market of looking for Nex adapters.

[Feldin]

Did you find anything else for pentax DA?