Mount adaptors - which ones?

[Martin Weiss]

So... with IMS currently not being an option, the only other way to get a variety of still lenses on one's beloved One, is to get a Birger Canon mount (next week is supposed to see a huge bunch of them leaving Birger HQ) and then a third-party adapter.

Now, rummaging through eBay, I see that there is quite a range of adapters offered (in my case Contax/Yashica to EON, but there are Plenty Of Other Choices, too). And the prices vary greatly - basically all from under 10 USD to almost 200 USD.

Doing some further research, some say that only the expensive ones are good enough; Cameraquest seems to be getting good marks. But then others say (including here on Reduser) that the cheap ones work just as fine.

So... who is right?

Or rather: anyone here has experience with either one; good, mediocre or bad?

Should I get one Cameraquest adaptor and change it along with every lens change, or should I get a couple of those cheapos and install them on each lens, thus speeding up the lens changes - and saving some money, too. (And no, those expensive adapters on each of my 9 Zeiss Contax is not currently an option.)

I'll obviously spend some time testing the lenses, and thus the mounts, and could live with having to chuck some of the cheapos, as long as most of them do a fine job.

And which of the cheap ones are good ones? Big-is on eBay seems to be getting good feed-back on the mounts, and they are $9.99 plus shipping.

 

[chuck colburn]

I would say if the adapter seating surfaces are parallel to each other and the unit fits snugly on the lens and camera so that the lens does not sag when mounted you should be ok. I've seen one of the cameraquest adapters and it is very nicely made.

A couple of other thoughts are, if the materials used in the less expensive adapters are not of sufficent quality the unit might not hold up to repeated mount and dismounts. I don't know if the adapter you pictured requires the use of a set screw to hold the unit on the lens, but the cameraquest model does not. This is a plus so far as I am concerned.

 

[Dominique Grenier]

I bought one last year for like $20 which kind of fall in the cheap category. That was a Nikon to Canon adaptor.

I didn't test it a lot since finally the Nikon zoom was having problems. However, there's two things I found.

First the unit wasn't the simpliest thing to assemble. It is really slim and when you screw it to your lens it is kind of hard to assemble. So in a situation where you have to change it quickly and often, one per lens might be the best solution.

Second, even thought it was supposed to be able to allow focussing to infinity, I wasn't sure that it was possible. But like I said, since my zoom was having problem I can't say for sure.

In the end, if you're not sure, you might take the plunge and order a cheap one and test it. You can always sell it back.

Like I said, I don't know for the more expensive one, but with the one I had, one per lens might be the better option. Those units are made to be first mounted on the lens and the screwed to the body, like a normal lens. This is why you have to remove it every time you want to change a lens.