Lens Adapter Reviews for My Canon 7D
I recently sold my Canon XH-A1 and purchased a Canon 7D with the money (as well as several lenses, and accessories). While looking into Canon lenses I realized I didn't have nearly enough money to purchase nice Canon primes. A friend of mine has been purchasing Pentax lenses for his Canon 1D and recommended them to me.
So i went out on a search, I found a Pentax 30mm lens that can open up to a 2.0. It basically comes to a 50mm lens with the cropped sensor. I also purchased a 135mm 3.5 (because it was extremely cheap), and I had an Olympus 50mm 1.8 lens laying around.
So my adventure with finding lens adapters started. I decided to order several of them from random eBay dealers and see which ones worked the best. It would seem like they all would be exactly the same (all they do is let you put a lens on the camera), but it turned out they were a lot different.
Price: $6.99
Type: M42 Mount Lens to Canon EOS
Hi-Etech
The first adapter I ordered was thecheapest one I could find. It was $6.99 with free shipping. The adapter was shipped extremely fast and I received it in the mail within a couple of days. The adapter itself was a nice heavy metal. Out of the 5 lens adapters I ordered this was the only one that would not lock into place on my camera.
Price: $14.50
Type: M42 Mount Lens to Canon EOS
Digibatterycity
The next Adapter I ordered, I ordered because it was black and more expensive (more money means better quality, right?). The adapter was a little slow in shipping, but not bad for free shipping. It is made from aluminum, so it feels a little cheap. When I first attached it to the camera it felt like it ground a little bit, but after attaching it and taking it off a few times it smoothed out. My other complaint is that the red dot that shows you where to screw the lens in, is nearly invisible against the black, and positioned in a weird place. Other than that it works fine, but it is more expensive than the rest.
Price: $12.49 + 2 dollars shipping
Type: M42 Mount Lens to Canon EOS
Treasuresale
I seem to remember this adapter taking a long time to ship. It is made out of a nice heavy metal just like the first adapter I purchased, but this one locks to the camera. It is extremely smooth attaching it to the camera and has proper markings to indicate where to attach the lens. Overall a very solid adapter.
Price: $12.29
Type: Type: M42 Mount Lens to Canon EOS
c.kee
This was the last of the M42 adapters I purchased and by far my favorite. The company that makes them is located in China so expect the shipping to take around 2 weeks! It also came with a EOS lens back cap, so you can leave the adapter attached to the lens.
What really separates this adapter from the one made by Treasuresale, is the AF-Assist microchip attached to it. What this chip does is it tells the camera that their is a lens attached and allows the camera to try and Auto Focus. It does not control the lens, but when you get the lens in focus your camera will beep at you (if your pressing the AF button or holding the shutter release half way down).
I have only played with this feature a little bit and I was not impressed with it at all, I am also unsure of how accurate it is. The reason I DO like the microchip is because while working in video mode, the camera doesn't know there is a lens (when using adapter without the chip). This isn't exactly a problem since the camera will still work, but the reason it can be a problem is during lens changes. While in live view mode the shutter is lifted leaving the sensor exposed. When you pull off a lens that uses an adapter the camera wont know it is being taken off, thus leaving the shutter up, making it easier for the sensor to get dirty or damaged.Having the AF-Assist chip on the adapter will tell the camera that the lens is being taken off and drop the shutter.
Conclusion:
Overall I'd say buy the adapter from China. Even if you never use the AF-Assist (I'm sure you wont). It tells the camera there is actually a lens there which from what I can tell, is nice. Your also not paying anymore money for it and it comes with a Canon back cap so you wont have to purchase caps from somewhere else, which i had to do. If you arn't comfortable ordering from China then go for the adapter made by Treasuresale.
Other Adapter(s):
I also purchased a OM(Olympus) mount to EOS from cirrusadapter for $24 dollars.
The adapter is made from brass. I was let down by this adapter the most and i paid the most for it. some of the things I hated were: You have to attached the lens to the adapter first, and the adapter jiggles while attached to the camera.
This is the first thing I shot on the 7D. We were out into the woods to film ANYTHING, and we ended up making a mockumentary. Kinda weird overall haha.
Hardwood from michael robertson on Vimeo.
May 1st, 2010 - 07:33
dang sweet stuff dude.
April 18th, 2010 - 01:11
Yes, not having a full frame sensor can be a little annoying at times. Thanks for all the info on the wide lenses, I’ll definitely be looking into those Vivitar lenses. I’m interested, and would love for you to send me the serial numbers. You can email me a list at
April 17th, 2010 - 15:13
Ah I’m sorry when I said built in I was referring to the H4n’s built in microphones, as apposed to using a mic with the h4n’s XLR inputs. The sound on the Canon is really only good as reference audio.
yes 1700 is a lot for me as well, you should browse around eBay a little more, I purchased my camera brand new for $1450. Watch out for scams!
I really love the 35mm 2.0, that’s my primary lens right now. I’m looking for some good wide lenses at an affordable price. Also make sure the lenses say SMC before you purchase them, otherwise they will end up with a yellow tent to the lens. Although I’ve been told you can fix this by either laying them out in the sun or setting them up under a UV light for a week or so.
April 17th, 2010 - 14:55
Mike, thanks again for the reply…very helpful stuff! I have been doing a ton of research on the 7D because $1700 is a lot of money for a guy w/ no money! I have also looked at the Zoom H4n as an option for a mic, but its good to know that the Canon has a good built in. I have been purchasing some similar lenses on ebay. I hear the 35mm 2.0 Tak is very sharp…I have the 35mm 3.5 SMC Tak and like you the 135mm 3.5 Tak.
April 16th, 2010 - 05:59
Hey Bill, I appriciate the comment,
When I went out to film this, I really wanted to try out all of my recent lens purchases(since I hadn’t used them). The lenses I used were; Pentax 35mm 2.0, Pentax 135mm 3.5, Olympus 50mm 1.8, Olympus 65mm – 200mm Zoom, and for the really close up Macro shots of the bugs I used a friends cheapo Sigma lens.
MOST of the short film was shot on the 35mm. The interview at the end was shot on the 135mm, and the slow motion fight training was on the 135mm. Nothing in the final edit was from the Olympus 65 – 200.
As far as the audio I used the Zoom H4n. It has two XLR inputs which would allow me to use shotgun mic, but honestly the built in microphones worked perfect for the run and gun type scenario. That was my first time using the Zoom and I was very impressed. We would lay it on the ground or tree stump and hit record.
April 16th, 2010 - 00:04
Not bad for just goofing around…and the video looks great! What lenses did you end up using on this shoot? What are you using for a mic? (Thanks for taking the time to tell us about the adapters!)