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Do not buy the Novoflex EF-SL Adapter!!


dasjak

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I am thinking of getting the adapter just to use with an 11-24 Canon, which suits my wide zoom requirements better than Leica's SL 16-35. They are also both available now rather than end 2017 (realistically 1st quarter 2018). 

 

Wilson

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I have sold my 24/70 2.8  II USM together with my 5 D III when I bought the SL together with the Leica SL 24/90. And I have bought the Novoflex adapter mainly for use with some lenses, Leica will never have - at least not for very, very long time. These are the MP-E 65 (has no AF) and the 11/24 (with AF). In both cases the combination works very fine - in case of the 11/24 the AF is quick. Beside these lenses I use occassionally the Canon Macro 100 mm  (not the L), in this case the AF does not work very good in macro distances but this was the same thing with my 5 D III - maybe often because of unsufficient contrast/structures in this distances. The Canon Macro 180 mm works fine - but this never had a very quick AF -  and for real macros it was always better not to use the AF.

Last Canon lens I own is the 70/200 2,8 IS II USM. The AF works good, but not as quick as with the 5 D III - no question the Leica 90/280 would be better regarding AF. So it dies allways depend on what lenses will be used, and for what purpose. Do not forget, if you adapt an M or R lens you have no AF at all, not even an imperfect one. What I really would be interested in is, how a 50/1,2 Canon lens would behave. Once I had one and it was very similiar to the Noctilux 1:1 which I used on a M 6 some decades ago. But  I would not buy one just for testing of course. The coming Leica 50 1,4 seems to be a monster and the 35 2.0 is far away in term of time ...

Edited by HeinzX
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I just tried it at the local Leica Store because I was considering the SL, but only if I could use my Canon lenses.

I cannot understand how they can sell this thing, nothing worked!! The AF speed is very slow, if it works at all. Most of the times it just stopped working. Very annoying. I also tried it with my Sigma Art 35/1.4 and that was even worse...

 

Total rip off, don´t buy it!

 

To clarify, using MF of course it works, but where is the point in that and not for this money...

 

Best,

Andreas

 

 

Interesting, this is not exactly my perspective on the adapter, but perhaps it's a measure of expectations.  So far I've used it with the the Canon 17 TSE, 50/1.2, 85/1.2, the 24-70/2.8 Mk2, 70-200/2.8 Mk2. AF speed is mediocre, obviously nowhere as good as on the native SL lenses. Obviously IS doesn't work. Frustratingly, manual focus override requires you to switch to MF mode on the lens. MF focus by wire on the 50 and 80 primes is mediocre as well.

 

Where the adapter really shines for me is in the use of the Zeiss ZE lenses; these are almost useless on the current Canon bodies because the focusing screens perform so badly for manual focus. The Zeiss 35/1.4, 50/2, 100/2, 135/2 perform perfectly and are fun to use again. The 21/2.8 performs well enough I suppose, but the Leica 21 SE is probably better, at 1/4 the size and weight.

 

I've not experienced the problem with the adapter stopping working.

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In case anyone is interesting I posted a portrait with the Canon 50/f1.2 here:

 

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/265347-street-portrait/

 

AF is slow, it may take from 0.5 to 1 sec, but it depends on the subject. Sometimes if the subject has strong contrast lines it is faster. For me it is good enough for portraits and static subjects.

 

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You are correct. They operate like AF lenses, so you need to use the bottom left button to magnify. Even if the lens is manual focus like the TSE lenses or the MPE65.

 

And yes, I did spend a few seconds jabbing the joystick like a trained monkey (complete with confused monkey expression), the first time I mounted my 17TSE to the SL. :)

 

Gordon

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Too bad, this is a bad experience for this kind of lens

 

 

Honestly, it's a minor inconvenience. I've gotten used to it. Would I prefer the option of the joystick? Absolutely. But I don't worry. On a tripod, where I do 90% of my work with TSE lenses the BL button is actually easier than the joystick in use. Handheld, I just swing my thumb under that camera to reach the BL button, which is easy to find.

 

Gordon

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I finally received my novoflex adaptor. And the result is that you can configure it to use the joystick zoom with a manual ef lens without contacts. I do not have one with contacts any more...

Edited by kikouyou
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Just for general information, I tested this adapter with 4 EOS lenses and the results were mixed. On the 28-300mm lens, the lens profile was correct. But for both the 16-35mm f4 and 400mm f4 DO lenses, the adapter could not identify the lenses correctly. I think I had 70-200mm f2.8 listed as the lens used when clearly it should have been the 16-35mm f4 lens. The EOS 100mm f2.8 IS Macro was correctly identified. AF performance was noticeably slower and not 100% reliable. Naturally, manual focus was not a problem. Aperture could be set electronically on the SL for these lenses.

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The thing that pissed me off was that this adapter does not come with a rear cap. Only a front cap is provided. For such a price, you would have expected it to come with a rear cap.

 

Not only do I agree whole heartedly but it seems bizarre that it comes with a front cap. If they only wanted to supply a single cap then a rear cap would have been a far more sensible choice. I picked up a couple of caps from B&H. But it was an annoyance for such a pricey bit of kit.

 

Gordon

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Just for general information, I tested this adapter with 4 EOS lenses and the results were mixed. On the 28-300mm lens, the lens profile was correct. But for both the 16-35mm f4 and 400mm f4 DO lenses, the adapter could not identify the lenses correctly. I think I had 70-200mm f2.8 listed as the lens used when clearly it should have been the 16-35mm f4 lens. The EOS 100mm f2.8 IS Macro was correctly identified. AF performance was noticeably slower and not 100% reliable. Naturally, manual focus was not a problem. Aperture could be set electronically on the SL for these lenses.

 

Longer lenses do appear to be an issue, at this stage. There's a few mentions of telephotos and longer zooms not focusing and giving incorrect EXIF data. Apparently firmware updates might come to improve things, although I wouldn't say that's 100% as we haven't seen one yet.

 

The best appear to be the wide zooms and wide/mid primes, plus of course the MF lenses (T/S, MPE, Otus) which all work great.

 

Gordon

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The thing that pissed me off was that this adapter does not come with a rear cap. Only a front cap is provided. For such a price, you would have expected it to come with a rear cap.

AFAIK nobody else than Leica is making or selling SL rear caps.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Is it really that hard to grasp that a lens adaptor has almost no hope of autofocusing Canon lenses on a different brand body that will ever come close to the speed of native camera? Is it really that hard to grasp that Canon mount lenses with PDAF autofocus are going to focus slower on a CDAF focus system? Is it surprising that a lens (Sigma 35) that isn't listed as compatible by Novoflex might not be compatible? Does anyone really expect this thing to offer AF that's comparable to what these lenses do on a Canon? People need to go in with realistic expectations rather than the hope of a technological unicorn.

 

The problem isn't the adaptor. It's the expectations people have that can't possible be lived up to.

 

Try putting any of the Canon bodies (except the 5D4 and 1DX2) into live view and see how they do in CDAF mode. The Novoflex adaptor is a revelation compared to that. there are very few Canon lenses adapted for fast CDAF. The rest will focus slower on a CDAF system than a PDAF one.

 

Also the *point* of manual focus is that some of the best 35mm tilt shift lenses are the Canon ones and they are only manual focus. As is the 65mm MPE, the Otus lenses, Samyangs excellent primes and the spectacular Milvus primes. All of these are world class and the adaptor allows these lenses to operate natively on the SL, which is a better body for these lenses than any Canon.

 

As someone who makes his living off the back of Canon's tilt shift lenses, I think this thing is with every last penny.

 

I have the 24-70 f4LIS and while it's definitely slower to focus than on a native body it's better than I expected. It's also not in the same class as the SL24-90.

 

Gordon

This is spot on. With my EF-mount TS/E, MP-E, and Otus lenses, the fact that this adapter can control aperture is what makes the SL a viable option. That being said, I don't have one, as the SL fills a need I don't have, but I can see how it would work with these lenses, and the Novaflex adapter is worth its cost for this alone. For AF performance on Canon lenses, I don't know why one wouldn't continue with the native cameras. I use a EF 300 f/2.8 MkII on a 1DX for sports, and it is rocket fast, just as it is meant to be.

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In manual mode with a manual lens (no contacts) it is possible to assign the name of a leica M or R lens in the menu of the SL. However, this lens name is not visible in Lightroom. Any solution for this?

 

The lens name appears in the EXIF-data in Lightroom. At least for me and with FW 2.1 it works.

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