SL2 and Nikon Adapted Lenses

[Oxfordian]

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After some information/help/guidance from users of the SL2 (or other SL cameras if this question applies) and 3rd party glass via mount adapters.

I have a good few old Nikon lenses that are used on my FM2n when I fancy some film photography, I decided to dip my toes into the adaptive waters by using these Nikon MF lenses on the SL2 via an inexpensive K&F Nikon F to L mount adapter.

So far my testing has been positive, the image quality results have been more than acceptable for glass that is around 40 years old but I have noticed a couple of anomalies;

1. The lenses have to be backed off infinity to get sharp images of distant subjects

2. Whilst I might set an aperture of F2.8 on the lens the data that is displayed on the camera when the image is reviewed is different - f5.6 or f4.5, using the Nikkor 55mm Macro lens I set f8 to shoot some flower images but the camera showed f14, all very odd but the images were exposed correctly.

I have set each camera to the correct focal length in the camera settings / lens profiles menu.

Is there anything else that I need to set to get the aperture to display correctly or is this just a quirk of using adapted lenses on the SL2?

Is the issue of being able to focus beyond infinity usual when using adapted lenses or is this because I have a cheap and cheerful 'F' to 'L' adapter and need to invest in something better?

If anyone has knowledge to impart on this subject it would be very welcome and gratefully received as I like the idea of using MF glass on the SL2 and would like to expand this further to M mount glass but I need to get my head around these issues first.

Thanks in advance, Martin.

[padam]

https://phillipreeve.net/blog/tuning-adapters-infinity-focus-reflections/
Without electronic contacts, the SL2 has to guess the aperture (other mirrorless cameras simply don't display any aperture value), so it's never going to accurate. Maybe if you manually choose a lens coding that is somewhat more similar the lens you're using, the estimation will be a bit better.

[BernardC]

Cheaper adapters are built deliberately short. That means you need to extend them a bit (by focusing closer) to reach infinity. It's not a big deal in most cases, because you are focusing via the EVF instead of using the scale on the lens. That's one of the reasons why those adapters are so cheap: they don't need to shim them to reach micron tolerances.

It's only really an issue with ultra-wide lenses. I have an 18mm lens that is only really usable with a relatively expensive Novoflex adapter. Infinity is near the 3m mark with cheap K&F adapters. Those same cheap adapters work fine with longer lenses.

[Oxfordian]

Thanks to @padam and @BernardC, I am now a wiser person and also relieved that I can try a few other lens combinations without worry.

Cheers.

[leica_kh]

Good to see others trying this out, too. I have an SL2-S and had some older Nikkor lenses notably a 20mm f2.8 AI lens and picked up an inexpensive Pholsy Nikon to L mount adapter. Exposures seem to work fine and after a few tries I started to get a good sense of manual focusing again. 

 

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[Photoworks]

10 hours ago, Oxfordian said:

1. The lenses have to be backed off infinity to get sharp images of distant subjects

The adapter will perform differently from manufacturer to manufacturer.
In general, the past infinity focus is intentional, even the Leica adapter does that. It is to get infinity focus at different temperatures. the material expands at high temperatures making it impossible to reach infinity without this correction.

10 hours ago, Oxfordian said:

2. Whilst I might set an aperture of F2.8 on the lens the data that is displayed on the camera when the image is reviewed is different - f5.6 or f4.5, using the Nikkor 55mm Macro lens I set f8 to shoot some flower images but the camera showed f14, all very odd but the images were exposed correctly.

You attach a lens to the camera that does not communicate anything to the camera. In the same way, your lens did not record to f-stop to the Film.
Modern lenses use electronic contact to change f-stop and record it in metadata.

the camera just estimated the f-stop by the light intensity, this is not to be taken as a reference.

The old technique of carrying a notebook is your solution.

Setting the correct lens in the SL2 will reactive the IBIS on the camera.

[Oxfordian]

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8 minutes ago, Photoworks said:

The adapter will perform differently from manufacturer to manufacturer.
In general, the past infinity focus is intentional, even the Leica adapter does that. It is to get infinity focus at different temperatures. the material expands at high temperatures making it impossible to reach infinity without this correction.

You attach a lens to the camera that does not communicate anything to the camera. In the same way, your lens did not record to f-stop to the Film.
Modern lenses use electronic contact to change f-stop and record it in metadata.

the camera just estimated the f-stop by the light intensity, this is not to be taken as a reference.

The old technique of carrying a notebook is your solution.

Setting the correct lens in the SL2 will reactive the IBIS on the camera.

Thanks for the feedback, greatly appreciated. 

[jaapv]

I don’t really buy into this temperature expansion thing. These adapters are too short to make much of a difference. I think it is more because of manufacturing tolerance. The manufacturers make sure that they  will never produce an adapter that is too long. 

[Stuart Richardson]

1 hour ago, jaapv said:

I don’t really buy into this temperature expansion thing. These adapters are too short to make much of a difference. I think it is more because of manufacturing tolerance. The manufacturers make sure that they  will never produce an adapter that is too long. 

It is a thing, but mostly with high resolution telephotos and/or extreme temperature ranges. R lenses 180mm and longer tended to focus past infinity (while the 100mm Macro did not, for example). The shallower the DOF and higher the resolution, the more noticeable it is, particularly for things like astrophotography.

[jaapv]

That is quite true and a reason that long lenses are painted white by some brands. I’m not denying but still think that some cheap adapters suffer from tolerance laziness. 

[Photoworks]

3 hours ago, jaapv said:

I don’t really buy into this temperature expansion thing. These adapters are too short to make much of a difference. I think it is more because of manufacturing tolerance. The manufacturers make sure that they  will never produce an adapter that is too long. 

that is Leica's reasoning, it is in the documentation. I would think they could produce an adapter to infinity if they want to.

all the other companies, they all have different standards and variations in their products.

I never looked into adapting Nikon Lenses, so I have no experience with that.

off topic, but for fun! If you have a summicron-R 50 you can adapted to M with a perfect rangefinder focusing.

Shoten 50 LR-LM R50

 

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