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Possible to use Modern Nikon F Lenses on Aaton LTR?


Laurie Valori

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Hi Everyone, I am looking to mount some affordable sharp primes onto an Aaton LTR. 

The Aaton mount seems to have a limited selection of lenses and I would like to avoid machining in a permanent Arri PL mount.

Nikon F adapters sound like a good alternative, and I was thinking of using Rokinon/Samyang cine lenses. Have used them with a sony a7s and thought they were great for their price.

 

Will a Nikon F mount adapter such as the one below allow a modern Nikon F mount lens to be mounted on an Aaton LTR?

Adapter example  :  https://www.ebay.com/itm/STAINLESS-STEEL-NIKON-MOUNT-TO-AATON-ADAPTER-PRECISION-HEAVY/283845304312?hash=item42167f9ff8:g:Cz4AAOSwyIlek1L4

Lenses:    https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1107510-REG/rokinon_cine_ds_lens_for.html

 

Is there an issue with the distance of the film plane to the back element of the glass? Will using full frame 35mm lenses for super 16 cause any problems?

This thread is related and has been very helpful:

 

 

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You can use lenses with Nikon F mount with that adapter without problems, meaning original Nikkor lenses, Samyang or Rokinon. The focal flange distance shouldn't be a problem, meaning the lenses should work just fine including focusing to infinity if the adapter is at the exact distance from the film plane, which is not going to be the case for sure unless you ask a camera technician to do it for you and you don't remove the adapter.

Lenses designed to work with 35mm still photography cameras work fine in my opinion, as other pointed in your other post you are using the best part of the lens, but since you have a lens that projects a bigger image there is always the possibility of getting internal reflections, so it's a good idea to use a lens hood or a matte box. I got great results with a similar camera lens combo, but yes,  I have gotten some "gosths" caused by internal reflections.

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5 hours ago, Laurie Valori said:

 

Thanks very much for this advice Ruben, really appreciate it, sounds like good news to me! Great tips, will prioritize getting an adapter made by a technician and a lens hood/matte box.

 

No problem Laurie.

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5 hours ago, Cale Boys said:

 

So Rokinon Cine Xeen's would work on a Aaton LTR-7 with what adaptor? I currently have the Aaton mount

 

 Rokinon Xeen lenses have a PL mount, so they would work on a LTR-7 if it has a PL mount. I was talking about lenses like the Rokinon DS with a Nikon or Canon FD mount and an adapter on a camera with an Aaton mount. 

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I had a Nikon lens mount adapter I used on my LTR years ago,

IIRC, it was quite similar to the one in the picture. 

it worked great. I don't know how precise the backfocus was,  I used it for long telephotos, and those tend to be pretty forgiving of perfect backfocus requirements, I never tried it with say, a wide zoom.*

You will, however, have to use the older lenses, with the manual aperture ring. Many of the new Nikkor series and almost all of the new aftermarket vendors have eliminated the manual ring, so there's no way to adjust aperture in a manual mount.

On the plus side, if you're looking for good, cheap long lenses, this is a great way to do it. There's a bunch of lightly used AI-s glass out there that at fire-sale prices because it's been orphaned as Nikon has moved away from mechanical linkages on all but their high-end cameras . 

 

* Long lenses have shallow depth of *field* but wide depth of *focus*, they are less sensitive to exact backfocus.  Wide lenses have deep depth of *field* but shallow depth of *focus*, they are more sensitive to exact backfocus. 

 

 

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Hi Steve, amazing thank you, useful to know that the precision of the backfocus varies with focal length. Yeah manual aperture is perfect for me would not want it automatic personally!

Have checked out some AI-s lenses on ebay, they are looking pretty nice, what are your thoughts on using a range of photography glass on a film project? I would be concerned about the color differences between lenses, which I have read that cines lenses reduce, however I have never actually done my own tests, so unsure of the problem?

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  • 2 months later...
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I use Nikon F-mount and M-42 mount on my Aaton XTR XC. I think the one Aaton made for Nikon is really crap though as mine slides off too easily unlocking the lens...hack is to tape it to the metal.

I had an M-42 to Aaton mount adapter beautifully made by Les Boscher in UK for £200. He also did an Arri B mount to Aaron mount for me.

Les is a lovely man and makes great adapters. He is highly regarded.

les@lesbosher.co.uk

les_bosher.jpg

Edited by Stephen Perera
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  • 3 weeks later...

I use Nikkor AI-S lenses all the time via an Nikon F to Aaton adapter. All the lenses work flawlessly with no issues. I have never noticed any "ghosting", but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. With some modern Nikon lenses, the fit is very tight. 

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