Adapting Lenses to Micro Four Thirds - Optics, Adapters and IBIS Calibration

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

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[@roybertalotto6355]

You are easily the best presenter of difficult info on KZbin! Most talk WAY to fast or skip over very much needed information to complete the picture. I just bought a very inexpensive 400mm mirror lens with a Minolta MD to MFT adapter for well under $100 just to play with and see what this MFT adapter party is all about. Thanks again!

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Thanks a lot. I very much appreciate your positive, elaborate feedback. It is great to read that you are adapting a lens now and try that yourself. I think you'll like the results and the experience. It is fun, inexpensive and can give you unique photos! Best wishes, Thomas

[@Democratiser]

I hadn’t heard the term ‘telecompressor’ before; only teleconverter, focal reducer and speed booster. I think telecompressor is a better term. Many thanks - I learned something today.

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Thank you very much for the kind feedback!

[@roybertalotto6355]

AND...It looks like you actually reply to most if not all comments! "Sinä teit fantastista työtä."

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Thank you, I'll try haha, but I'm playing catch up.

[@luzr6613]

Phew! That's a lot of data-entry. Tomorrow i'll take my 2003 original 4/3 pre-IBIS E-1 out with my 1971 Soviet 550mm f8.5 mirror lens and shoot donuts. It'll help clear my head. Thanks for a great video.

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

True! Hope you liked the results! Many thanks for the kind feedback!

[@palmerino1965]

Poter usare questi adattatori, è divertente. Il mio obiettivo a specchio giapponese Tamron 350mm f:5,6 diventa un versatile 224mm f:3,6 che posso anche stabilizzare sulla Panasonic G9 grazie al Metabones 0,64x studiato proprio per sfruttare al meglio le ottiche 35mm sul micro 4/3. Non male, la resa. Lo Zuiko Om 55mm f:1,2 diventa un medio tele corto 35mm f:0,8... 😯 In pratica posso ottenere quasi la stessa focale e minore profondità di campo, anche nel micro 4/3. Peccato che l'adattatore Metabones abbia una lente posteriore sporgente e non si possa montare sulle Olympus professionali. Buone foto con la E1: ci fotografavo i matrimoni nel 2004, quando ho definitivamente pensionato la pellicola grazie al sistema 4/3. 🙂

[@chrisbrown6432]

Thank you for the best information on adapting lenses to Olympus cameras.

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Thank you very much for the kind feedback!

[@sourcebased]

Thank you for this great introduction to this complex but fun theme! The first results of adapting my Zuiko lenses of old have been very rewarding and promising already. Found out that even the 2xTC works with the Urth adapter I use, turning the small 135mm into a 540mm equivalent lens. Setting the IBIS correctly helps especially in such a scenario. Great fun indeed!

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Many thanks for sharing! Having seen your photos with adapted lenses, I thought this might be a topic for a wider audience. M43 is a great format for adapting lenses ☺️

[@sourcebased]

I feel very honoured that my photos inspired you. We need to thank OM Doktor too for telling me that adapting is a good idea. I already knew it is possible but had no idea how good it really is, until I tried.

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

@sourcebased Yes, I was also hesitant to adapt lenses, but when you look at the optics, it becomes very obvious that it is a great idea!

[@andyng6344]

Hi Thomas, thanks for your explanation, i will try a vintage len shortly.

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Cool! Hope you like the results!

[@Lordvader330]

I do this all the time. I love old OM vintage lenses

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Great optics indeed!

[@markwhitesell4491]

Thank you, Thomas, for the good information... you answered the many questions I had about this topic.

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Great to hear!

[@sergiodonadeo2810]

My personal opinion: this video is quite a theoretical incentive as a real need but, as all the Thomas' lessons, force us to think and know. One after another, during a long period of time, I bought 10 Olympus lenses; I still have to explore the potentiality of them. When I'll do it, it could be funny to explore functionality of historical 35 mm lenses under a new point of view. Sergio from Milano Italy

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Many thanks for the feedback - it is indeed a theoretical exploration why adapting lenses to MFT works so well - definitely worth trying!

[@thedarkslide]

Very comprehensive, great information.

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Glad you think so!

[@tordandreasson]

Thanks for the informative video. I have used E-M1.1/E-M1.2 with adapted Canon EF telephoto lenses with Metabones adapter and got excellent results, although the AF speed was not that great. That was before Olympus launched the M.Zuiko 300 F/4. Even before that I used adapted refractor telescopes as telephoto lenses. The longer the focal length, the less chromatic aberration. From a practical standpoint, ~600 mm is about the longest focal length that is manageable due to the form factor.

[@josgeusens4637]

I did several shots with a Sigma 150-600 mm and 1.4x ( = 840 mm focal length; FOV like 1680 mm on full frame) for moon and sun (with Baader filter!) with great results. But: also a sturdy, heavy tripod and a Manfrotto Junior 410 head. Because of the extreme magnification a ball head is a nightmare, even for shots of steady objects on earth.

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Many thanks for sharing your experiences and the kind feedback! Completely agree - adapted lenses are also a great way to cover rarely used focal lengths with lenses already "in the inventory".

[@Martin_Siegel]

Thanks Thomas, this was more up my lane. I'm lousy at editing and the latest videos were out of my comfort zone (euphemism for I did not get half of it). I bought my first MFT camera to use with the various vintage lenses I had at the time and love the results. Pen F lenses are fun to use, even if I have only one (25mm). Thanks and take care!

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Thanks for sharing that and I'm glad that this was more to your liking! Yes, MFT is really good for adapting lenses, especially pen half frame lenses 🙂

[@Martin_Siegel]

@@ThomasEisl.Photography Thanks for the reply, Thomas. It's not that the previous were not my liking but were above my capabilities. 🙃

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Ah, you are too humble, Martin

[@frankenguson6164]

I just bought some manual lenses and you publish this video. Hehe 😃

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Haha 😆 inception

[@dustinhecker3986]

Thanks. I love to take pictures with my old lenses. The results are often times not great but many of them are good and it is a lot of fun.

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Yes, agreed!

[@DI-cm5xc]

Thanks Thomas. Been using Nikkor Ai, Ais lenses on micro 4/3 for years with great success.

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

With a telecompressor?

[@AVICK_22]

Hi Thomas, I found and old Nikkon 70-300 ED AF-S. Should I use an adapter or an speedbooster? I saw the Viltrox NF-M1, is that one any good? Thanks! Great Video!

[@sierragold]

Hello Thomas, I was wondering if you could answer a question? I have several vintage Nikon MF lenses that I wanted to adapt to my OM-1. I am using a "dumb" adapter in which no information is sent to the camera from the lens. Oddly, focus peaking isn't working with these MF lenses. I have double checked my settings and I do have focus peaking set to "on" and I'm in MF mode. Is there something I'm missing in the menu, or does the OM-1 not allow for focus peaking with old manual focus lenses? I could deal with this if the OM-1 offered a way to momentarily magnify the view of the AF point in the viewfinder to aid in focusing, but sadly it appears that it does not with MF lenses-- at least I do not find anything in the menu. Thank you kindly in advance! UPDATE: I figured it all out. Focus peaking must be assigned to a button to work with MF lenses-- and I configured the touch screen to enable zoom on focus point. That was tricky LOL!

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Yes, that is correct. Apart from using the touch screen, you can assign the "magnify" function to a button. It can be more convenient when using the EVF. Best, Thomas

[@henkpeter1755]

I have been using (and still do) my vintage Olympus OM Zuiko lenses on several micro4/3 and Fujifilm bodies. I love the way they render an image, they do not have the clinical sharpnes of the modern lenses. You can also enter the Lens type, focal length and Diaphragm in the OM-5 Lens Info Settings. Thank for the IS-calibration part.

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Yes agreed - the old Zuiko lenses are fantastic! Thanks for the kind feedback, I very much appreciate it!

[@petepictures]

Cool, I have a ton of lenses, I adapt to MFT, and they work very fine. The smallest ones it worked were from old Meopta D8mm film camera, although they vignette heavily.

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Very nice!

[@ravebrave8866]

doctor thank you for the video..

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Haha thank you very much! 🙂

Thanks for the video!

[@hansemannluchter643]

Thanks.. I have a nice collection of OM lenses that I used with my OM-1 and Om-2n back in the film-days. Picking up a lightly used original MF-2 adaptor today, can't wait to see the results of the 50mm Macro, 55mm 1.2 and 100mm 2.8... It'll be a busy weekend 😊 (I have the original PEN E-P1, and OM-D E-M5, with the original kit-lenses, plus the 17mm and 45mm, and all though a bit dated specs-wise, they are still great cameras..)

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Sounds like it! Have fun, excellent collection 📸

[@mxyptlk]

Interesting.....🙏🏻

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

🙂 thank you!

[@ArndvonRuden-jy7jv]

Hello, great video as always. I have some good experience with using Canon EF lenses via a Metabones speedbooster, autofocus is not brilliant but at least for stills quite usable. One type, although a rare one, is missing from your overview: Shift and Tilt Shift adapters. I got a T/S Nikon F to m43 adapter which is a bit fiddly but very useful. One problem here are of course wide lenses for m43 due to the crop factor. Bought a Voigtländer SL 15mm f4.5 for Nikon F and will update on the results. The SL 12mm f5.6 is sadly unobtainable and if, I assume, astronomically expensive. Last but not least there are also adapters for Olympus Pen F lenses to m43, which are interesting due to the small size of the lenses.

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Many thanks for the kind words, I very much appreciate that! Thanks for sharing your experiences regarding the AF with an adapter, they are in line with what I encountered. You are right - the shift & tilt adapters! I missed those. I agree with the downsides you mentioned, especially the crop. That is why I tend to use the native lenses and adjust it digitally, although from an optical standpoint, a true shift/tilt is of course preferable (and allows for effects which cannot be recreated in practice). Again, great contribution. Thanks!

[@TylerHealy-u6r]

I’ve often wondered how the look and performance of canons ef 24mm ts-e would be adapted to the on system micro four thirds cameras.

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Give it a try!

[@richardfink7666]

Hallo, sehr hilfreiches Video! Ich hab tatsächlich schon überlegt mir ein 300/2.8 (VF) für meine Tierfotografie zu kaufen, aber auch auf Grund deines Videos schnell wieder verworfen. Es gibt doch am Ende zu viele Einschränkungen.

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Yes, for wildlife I would also get a modern AF lens instead. They are usually also significantly better from an optical standpoint.

[@Renegade1127]

I have 25 vintage lenses (and 8 adapters including a Pixco telecompressor) all of which are used on an E-M1 mark 2. IBIS, focus peaking and EVF magnification make those lenses easy to use. As for image quality, just use quality lenses and there is very little, if any, CA or distortion. Vintage lenses are from the film era. No in-body lens correction or post processing in those days, so lenses had to be made correctly in order to sell.

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Well said!

[@rodneytillmon9616]

When entering focal lengths for lenses using a focal reducer (speedbooster), don't forget to account for that change.

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Yes, very true!

[@howardrollinson3819]

Thank you very much Thomas for a very informative Ps I was thinking of purchasing an old Carl Zeiss Jena DDR Tessar f2.8 50mm and going from there please keep it up kind regards Howard Rollinson

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

What a coincidence - thanks for the feedback!

[@qtnbd]

Hello i need to use an EF full frame 85mm on a camera with a 4/3 sensor, could you help me please ? Thank you sm

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Of course. How can I help?

[@josgeusens4637]

I have adapted an old Jupiter-8 50 mm f/2 lens for my OM-D. The lens has a 39 mm thread and is by no means as sharp as the Zuiko's, but for filming it is wonderful because of the step-less diaphragm with 9 rounded blades. I have the type 3, which is from the 1970's. It's razor sharp from f/4 all through f/11 (viewed at 14x magnification), but wide open it has a very soft character, which I actually like because I can control it. Also the ghosting and flare are unique. I use it for filming and seldom for photo's, but its a dream for portraits as well. The price was 22 euro's - shipment included... what's not to dream about then? Also: it looks great on my OM-D! I also have a Viltrox 0.71x adapter for my Nikon lenses and when mounting the 28 mm f/2.8 on this camera, it works as a 20 mm f/2 with razor sharpness even wide open up to the very edges. Compared to the m.Zuiko 12-40 mm f/2.8, it has very comparable contrast and flare levels, although the Zuiko reveals only one blue flare at very bright lights in the frame, whereas the Nikkor shows several green and red colored reflections (what makes it more interesting under certain film situations). Being able to use my Nikkor lenses (as well as my Sigma 150-600mm and the magnificent 180 mm f/2.8 AI) on this wonderful camera is nothing less than an extra treat. Therefore I also bought an adapter without optics and can now have a stunning 1200 mm lens. The drawback is of course, that none of these adapters provide AF possibilities and manual focus is the trick, but the Olympus gives me focus-peaking for that.

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Many thanks for sharing that - although you might have triggered some "GAS". The lack of AF is really a downside, but as you've said - manual focusing with an OM-D is a breeze, I love that as well. Sometimes it is faster than moving an AF point around.

[@josgeusens4637]

@@ThomasEisl.Photography In my case the only GAS are the adapters because I have a load of lenses from my analogue era (Zuiko's, Yashinon and other M42 lenses) already. I still have the 50-200 SWD, so it would be a shame not to use it on the OM-D.

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

@josgeusens4637 true! The 50-200 is outstanding

[@tobiasdavid3096]

I love using my mothers Nikkor 50mm f1.8 from the early 80‘s. I didn‘t like a M42 adapted 135mm 2.8 as much as I thought I would.

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Older telephoto lenses often exhibit signification longitudinal chromatic aberrations which can limit their performance especially at higher enlargements/small sensors. I also prefer shorter focal lengths and apochromats in general.

[@jaysun070476]

Any adapters for sony lens to panasonic micro 4/3. Already have canon ef adapter but want my sonys lenes e mount cant find any info anywere. Thank you

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

There is none, and there won't be in the future, unfortunately. MFT has a longer flange distance that Sony E. Lenses cannot be adapted from E to MFT.

[@jaysun070476]

@ThomasEisl.Photography thank you . I can finally stop looking now lol.

[@peregrineclarke]

Hello Thomas. This isn’t a question related to lens conversion but one that refers to the Olympus ORF file format. Although I mainly use the OM Workspace app now thanks to your interesting and concise tutorials, I do occasionally use Lightroom Classic. When I import the Olympus files into this app I convert them to DNG format, however, I have found that they are not as ‘flexible’ in editing. Do you think this would be due to the app itself if that I have converted the files from ORF to DNG? I would love to hear your opinion! Thanks again Thomas, your channel is superb.

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

From what my understanding is of how the DNG converter works, it should not reduce the image data in the actual file. What you are experiencing has probably more to do with Lightroom Classic.

[@gerhardwiesinger]

AFAIK, you can't get e.g. the swirly Bokeh of e.g. a Helios 44 with adapting to MFT due to that the outside (where it swirls) is not (fully) captured, right?

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

I thought so as well, but it is actually not the case - at least not to the extent one would expect. Why? Because you change your position to maintain the same perspective with the 43 sensor camera. You do get a bit less swirls, but really not much less. I recommend watching this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iqXZlXSAZrKEf8k&feature=share7

[@housemusic325]

What M mount to M4/3 are you recommending ? i have one which is not so good..

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

I would definitely recommend the Novoflex adapter - it is outstandingly well made.

[@makerflow]

I had a problem trying yo adapt my ef lenses with the viltrox ef adapter for m3/4 (the old speedboster version) it just doesn't work (the screen is all black), and i don't know how to make it work... But well, other lenses i have adapted are just ok with non electronic adapters

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

That is very strange - maybe there is an incompatibility of the communications protocol - it is an AF adapter, I suppose.

[@makerflow]

@@ThomasEisl.Photography yes, it is a speeedboostper+autofocus adapter, the thing is that it works with an em10 mark ii, and with a blackmagic pocket 4k, but not with the om1, It's pretty weird but there's no info about that problem anywhere, i just hope i get a way to solve it

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

@makerflow then it is definitely a communications protocol issue

[@makerflow]

Then lets hope that the way to solve it is an easy one in the manufacturer's hands. Thank you for the insight! Your technical knowledge is being a great help for a creator of my profile.

[@mmadmic]

I use all the possible vintage lenses (PK, M42, OM, MD, M39, L39, Adaptall...) on MFT for the fun to have the vintage look, picture quality is often very good. Canon lenses works very well with an AF adapter, I see a big difference compared to a FF camera (less than pp crop or X2 adapter but still visible), and therefore, only "L" or premium provide a similar quality, but when compared to APS-C sensor, there is no real difference with MFT, even with old or kit lenses.

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Thanks for the comment. A Four Thirds sensor can be quite demanding compared to a 35mm sensor, as viewing an image with the same picture height requires a higher magnification factor.

[@mmadmic]

@@ThomasEisl.PhotographyTotally agree, it's why FF premium or pro lenses are the only option to keep the image quality, as those lenses are made to last and often have a resolution far above the current sensor. Imagine the reaction of a guy buying a Canon 600mm F4L, and obliged to bin it a few months later when the latest new camera is released ...

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

@mmadmic true

[@j-yjyh8521]

Thanks you for a very nice overview. I hope I am not saying that just because you are confirming my own observations and advice to friends, 🙂 Could you please consider adding a video to your "OLM Workspace" series, discussing the initial selection of images out of an SD card? So far I find the OMD software most deficient compared to the Canon equivalent in this very specific regard. And I am not 100% sure whether it's I being an idiot or the OMD software lacking proper "preview, select, and eliminate" features. PS. Oh, and please make sure to properly center/align your tie before shooting a video. I actually found that distracting. 🙂.

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

I will follow up with videos on Workspace later this year, where I will cover that. The import dialog has various powerful options and I am pretty sure it will do what you want it to do and possibly even more. Stay tuned. Regarding the tie - the knot is a "4 in hand" which is always asymmetric. Thanks for watching & the kind feedback!

[@Swaggerlot]

Just to let you know Thomas that I won't be dealing with KZbin again, more to do with the rubbish they send our way with impunity and nothing to do with your channel content. I have deleted all of my subscriptions. I love your content !

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Ah, I'm sorry to hear that - but will you still be around on this channel or are you leaving the platform altogether?

[@Swaggerlot]

@@ThomasEisl.Photography I will be leaving the platform Thomas. Your great content is worth more than this awful provider.

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

@@Swaggerlot Many thanks for the kind remark. We can still stay in touch - every video is accompanied by an article on my website.

[@jochanan777]

I heard rumors omd is working on a 40 mp censor..

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Could be - technically possible. For me personally, I'm totally fine with 20 MP.

[@andreasrochow5170]

But AF Assist doesn't work with adapted lenses and manual only lenses for mft with modern Olympus and OM cameras: No focus peaking, no magnifier! This issue does't exist with Panasonic Lumix cameras. Here focus peaking and magnivier is independent from moving the focus ring of the lens - that simple!

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

That is completely incorrect, as I've illustrated in the video and as you can read in the manual. Consider rewatching the video and reading up on the topic so you can utilize your equipment to its fullest extent.

[@andreasrochow5170]

In decades of amateur photography, I have had countless cameras in my hands. Fate led me to the Lumix GX8, GX9, G9 and G91. In my opinion, there is no other mirrorless camera that is so ergonomic, offers such image quality and such a variety of options. Everything else, the sensor, size, the noise behavior in low light conditions, and the wide angle abilities are philosophical prejudices. MFT plays out its advantages in the telephoto range, is small, lightweight and unproblematic in terms of depth of field. Since the launch of the Leica Summilux 9 mm f1.7, the last disadvantage of the mft format has been eliminated. Panasonic Lumix offers the smallest and highest-end mft cameras. It will be years before they catch up. Then the models will be called GX10 or G10.

[@jos_t_band3912]

Adapters are fun. But not for pro work. You want good AF. All the exif. Lens profile etc.

[@ThomasEisl.Photography]

Well, as a pro, I do not agree a 100% hehe but of course, native lenses are a more convenient option.