Wednesday, December 21, 2011

What Nikon F lenses can be adapted for micro four-thirds cameras and with what limitations?

Question

There seem to be several makes of adapter that allow most Nikon F lenses to be mounted on any Micro four-thirds (M43) camera.

I believe that autofocus is not supported, nor is electronic aperture control.

I have several categories of Nikon F lenses, for example

  • AIS (e.g. micro 55mm f2.8)
  • AF-D (e.g. 50mm f1.8)
  • DX G (e.g. 18-200mm VR)

Which of these lens types can I use on an M43 camera and in which metering modes

  • Aperture priority?
  • Fully manual - no metering at all?
  • Something else?

Answer

You're right, autofocus and aperture control are not supported (at least not in normal adapters like the ones you find on ebay or amazon). That means you'll need a lens with aperture and focus rings. That's the only restriction afaik. Shoot in Aperture mode, select the aperture at the lens and let the camera do the metering.

And find out if your camera has a focus assist function. On my E-PM1 i can reassign the red video button to do that. One push and the center of the image gets magnified, that makes exact focusing much easier.

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