Nikon 35mm still lens and c mount 16mm camera

[Michael Ryan]

Hello All,

 

Has anyone used Nikon or other 35mm still camera lens with a c mount adapter on a 16mm camera?

Are there any issues I need to know about?

 

How much better is a 10 or 20 year old Nikon lens compared to a 50 year old Kodak lens?

 

Mike

[Elliot Rudmann]

I was also wondering about this too - I'm thinking of purchasing a C-mount to FD adapter to mount my 35mm Canon FD primes on my Bolex.

 

Does anyone here know if there are consequences (image quality, focus issues) that come with using these sorts of adapters?

[Clive Tobin]

I was also wondering about this too - I'm thinking of purchasing a C-mount to FD adapter to mount my 35mm Canon FD primes on my Bolex. ...Does anyone here know if there are consequences (image quality, focus issues) that come with using these sorts of adapters?

 

Canon FD lenses are a problem, you need to get a little plastic gizmo, I forget what it is called, to get the lens to actually stop down to your desired aperture. These don't come with the mount adapter.

 

Some of the sharpest footage I have ever seen was filmed using a 50mm lens off a 35mm SLR, in fact it was a Petri FTEE which was not even a well regarded camera.

 

Anyone looking for a new Nikon to C adapter? I have one on Ebay.

[Guest Ian Marks]

Actually, the Canon FD lenses don't have to be such a problem. I have a bunch of them and have used them with a C-mount adapter on my (Tobin-powered) ACL. Look for an adapter which has a diaphragm-actuating ring on it to open and close the lens - some have it, some don't . Mine is simply marked "open" and "close," and it effectively turns the lens into a preset. I set the ring to "open" to compose and focus, and it opens to its maximum aperture regardless of what f-stop is set on the lens. I then twist the ring to the "close" position, and it stops down to the pre-set aperture.

 

Alternatively, there is a diaphragm actuating lever on the back of my FD lenses that if pushed to its furthest position and then a bit further, will lock into position and allow for fully manual operation of the diaphragm. I think this feature was intended to be used when the lens was mounted in reverse, for macro photography. However, I recommend getting the better C-mount adapter.

[Elliot Rudmann]

Hey Ian, thanks for letting me know about that.

 

If you don't mind me asking, where did you purchase your adapter? I've been looking around and so far the only one I've seen is this at B&H http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller...list&sku=116732

 

is this the type of adapter you're referring to? with the Open - Lock diaphragm actuating ring? Please let me know. I appreciate your input!

[Guest Ian Marks]

Yes, that one is very similar to mine. I notice the picture on the BHPhoto site says "for illustrative purposes only" and the item is described without reference to a specific manufacturer, so what you receive might not be exactly what is shown. I bought mine on Ebay.

[Dan Salzmann]

I've used Nikon still lenses on an ACLII with good results using a Nikon made c mount adaptor.

Needed extra long focal lengths.

I try to avoid this because that's alot of weight distributed on a small area of the lens mount.

[seth christian]

what kind of issues would I have using my Canon FD lenses

if I only have the mount that does NOT

have the open/close lever?

[andrewbuchanan]

I shoot Nikons in a Nikon to C-adapter a lot with my NPR as well. I use them to cover Super-telephoto shots that my prime set will not cover. I think they look extremely good for the price. My primes are Zeiss and Optars and the longer telephoto (200mm - 400mm) Nikkors seem to hold up very well, as far as image goes.

 

Be cautioned though, if you plan on using wide or ultra wide lenses in the adapter. It seems (from my experience) that the back focus is much more critical for the wider lenses, and it is easier to get an shot that is too soft or or completely out of focus. Definitely give any lens in an adapter a test before you shoot anything critical with it.

[Guest Ian Marks]

what kind of issues would I have using my Canon FD lenses

if I only have the mount that does NOT

have the open/close lever?

 

In my experience, if you lock the diaphragm actuating lever on the back of the lens in the closed position, your lenses should act just like cine lenses as far as the aperture is concerned except that still lenses tend to have a stiff detent at each setting, so changing f-stops during a shot may be a bit of a problem. Getting the mount adapter that does have the open/close ring is only about a $25 proposition - worth considering.

[Matt Butler]

I have used a Nikon to C mount adapter to mount a 55mm/3.5 micro while shooting flat art for animation.

It gave very sharp results.The lens was set at correct shooting aperture and then was opened up for critical focusing by pushing down on an inbuilt plunger device situated on the external ring.

 

The plastic gizmo for manual operation of later Canon FD lenses is called a *Manual Diaphragm Adapter*.

I have on occasion resorted to inserting a small piece of stiff foam-core in the slot to lock the lens to allow for manual aperture operation.

 

Does any one know where I could obtain some of the official Canon Manual Diaphragm Adapters mentioned in the posts other than eBay?

 

cheers,

matt butler

cinematographer

Sydney, Australia.

[Guest Melissa North]

Hi,

 

Im soon to shoot a short on an Aaton LTR super 16. A lot of scenes are going to be hand held and with a relatively shallow depth of field. We only want a subtle hand held feel so I cant rely on telephoto lens to get the shalllow DOF. I have used the camera we will be using before, and found that the zoom lens that comes with it produces noticeably grainy images when opened up more than 4 - 4/5.6, Im assuming this due to the quality of the lens. I was considering using good quality 35mm still lenses with an adapter, in hope that I could open the apeture wider, get my shallow depth of field, without the graininess.

 

In the above discussion, it seems that it is okay to do this, I was just wondering: can you use 35mm still Nikon lenses with the c-Mount adapter for both 16mm and super 16...? Does it make a difference?

 

Thanks,

Mel.

[Guest Melissa North]

Also, read through previous discussions on this topic, it seems some people have suggested to only use prime still 35mm lenses, whilst other have reccomended specific zoom 35mm still lenses?

 

Id be interested to hear from anyone else who has experience and an opinion about still 35mm prime and zoom lenses, particularly Nikon.

 

Thanks,

Mel.

[Leo Anthony Vale]

Im soon to shoot a short on an Aaton LTR super 16. A lot of scenes are going to be hand held and with a relatively shallow depth of field. We only want a subtle hand held feel so I cant rely on telephoto lens to get the shalllow DOF. I have used the camera we will be using before, and found that the zoom lens that comes with it produces noticeably grainy images when opened up more than 4 - 4/5.6, Im assuming this due to the quality of the lens. I was considering using good quality 35mm still lenses with an adapter, in hope that I could open the apeture wider, get my shallow depth of field, without the graininess.

 

In the above discussion, it seems that it is okay to do this, I was just wondering: can you use 35mm still Nikon lenses with the c-Mount adapter for both 16mm and super 16...? Does it make a difference?

 

---a lens has no direct effect on graininess. Graininess is a function of film stock and exposure.

Though a picture with little detail detail will appear grainier than one with lots of sharp detail.

The eye is searching for some detail to lock onto. If there's noyhing sharp for it to lock onto, it will lock onto the grain. Another plus for a deep depth of field.

 

If you are getting grainy pictures with that lens opened up, chances are there's a problem with setting the exposures.

 

Most wide still camera lens are not particularly fast. If the shallow depth of field is really important, you're better off going with a high speed 16mm format lenses.

 

You can use C-mt adaptor with 16mm, S16, CCTV and S8 Beaulieu, but not an Aaton. It's not C-mt.

Aaton did make Nikon, Leicaflex and Contax adaptors. The trick is finding one.

 

---LV

[Dan Salzmann]

I have never seen an Aaton to Nikon mount adaptor. If you happen to find one I would suggest going with the prime lenses - TEST, TEST, TEST because they are definitely not all the same.

I have a reflexed Eyemo in Nikon mount and tested an average of eight lenses per focal length to find ones that matched.