How I Adapt Old Lenses (to Micro Four Thirds)

 INTRO:

The first thing to ask yourself is "Do I really need autofocus?" If you don't or you don't mind just experimenting with manual focus, read on. The good thing is, SOME old lenses can not only be very affordable, but very good...even better than some of the newer options, especially with newer (and sharper) camera sensors. So, lets get into exactly HOW I adapt old lenses (to Micro Four Thirds) and if you're wondering "Isn't adapting lenses as simple as buying an adapter, and putting it on the camera?" Well, it kind of is, but what I'll be talking about is the decision-making process that led me to coming up with the information you'll see in my notes below. It's about how I keep the image quality high, even when using smaller sensor (Micro Four Thirds) budget filmmaking cameras.

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 WARNING: I no longer recommend focal reducers/speed boosters FOR CAMERAS WITH I.B.I.S. (In-Body Image Stabilization). The reason is, I dropped my camera (with a Viltrox NF-M43x on it) and the sensor got scratched (I'm pretty sure it was because the optic of the speed booster sticks into the lens mount more than an OEM Panasonic lens).

There are a ton of options when it comes to adapting lenses to Micro Four Thirds, as you can adapt almost ANY lens mount (because of the small sensor size).

WHY ADAPT OLD LENSES?

Adapting vintage lenses can be a cost-effective way to enhance your image, especially if you're working with budget cameras (around $600 or less). I’ve found that many vintage lenses have characteristics that can help you produce great images (when paired with the right camera and CUSTOM, LENS-SENSOR SETTINGS). Adapting vintage lenses is one of the most rewarding things about using Micro Four Thirds, as you can unlock new looks with the unique image qualities of vintage lenses. Oh, and when I say "vintage" I include the late 80's and early 90's AF (autofocus) lenses, so keep that in mind. I’ve tested a variety of lens mounts, but I only want to discuss those I’ve personally used. I believe in sharing experiences rather than speculating about products I haven’t tried. This post will not cover every vintage lens mount but will focus on the ones I’ve tested and found noteworthy.

Why Some People Go Vintage:

• Character: Vintage lenses often have distinctive color profiles modern glass can’t replicate.

• Manual Control: Enjoy tactile, hands-on shooting with manual focus and aperture rings.

• Affordability: Many high-quality vintage lenses are available for a fraction of the price of new lenses.

• Build Quality: All-metal construction and robust mechanics are common in older lenses.

• Flexibility: Adapted lenses can give you access to focal lengths and apertures not available natively for MFT.

  
  

I actually consider AF lenses from the late 80s and early 90s to be "vintage". The Minolta AF mount is (now called Sony A) has a number of super good lenses...and they're affordable too!

SO, WHAT LENS MOUNTS DO I PREFER?

Nikon F mount is my top recommendation for adapting vintage lenses. The clickable aperture feature on Nikon EF lenses makes them easy to adapt to other systems, including Canon EF. I particularly recommend the early autofocus generation lenses, like the Nikon 50mm f/1.8, which is a fantastic bargain at around $50 to $60. The build quality of these lenses is generally excellent, and they offer great optics. One thing to note is that Nikon lenses focus in the opposite direction compared to other brands, which may be a consideration for filmmakers used to a specific focus-pulling technique. However, the quality and versatility of Nikon F mount lenses make them a solid choice for manual focusing.

Also, Minolta lenses, especially the manual focus MD series, are worth considering. The Minolta 50mm f/1.7 is a standout lens, and the build quality is generally good. The autofocus Minolta lenses (now called Sony A mount) are also really good, and you can get Micro Four Thirds adapters that give you a de-clicked/stepless aperture control (this is especially good for video production).

Olympus OM lenses, particularly the 50mm f/1.8, are another excellent option. This lens was my first experience with Micro 4/3, and it performed beautifully. Olympus lenses are known for their quality, and they can be adapted to Micro 4/3 cameras with ease.

HOW I ADAPT LENSES: INDOOR VS. OUTDOOR

When adapting old lenses to Micro Four Thirds, the first thing I think about is what environment I'll be shooting in. I start by separating INDOOR vs. OUTDOOR situations, then I categorize the choices into my "3 Simple Shots" which are based on my Top 3 (Budget) Lenses for Filmmaking (WIDE, TIGHT and TELE).

HOW I ADAPT TO M4/3 (INDOORS)

• WIDE = "BOOST" (unless "SHIFT" or AF follow)

• TIGHT = "BOOST" (almost always)

• TELE = "BOOST" (almost always)

HOW I ADAPT TO M4/3 (OUTDOORS)

• WIDE = "SHIFT" (unless AF follow)

• TIGHT = "HELICOID" (macro adapter)

• TELE = "HELICOID" (or "BOOST"*)

ABOVE: My most important tip regarding adapting lenses to Micro Four Thirds INDOORS is "Boost whenever you can". However, there are a few exceptions to this rule (see below).

INDOORS WIDE = BOOST

Indoors (or in low light situations) Micro Four Thirds sensors often need a +BOOST (i.e. a focal reducer). There are two reasons they need this: 1.) They need a wider max. aperture to expose the sensor to more light, and 2.) They may need a wider angle (a shorter focal length) to get everything in the shot. However, if there is enough light indoors, I would always prefer to use a SHIFT adapter  #ad (for correcting architectural distortion) but that can only work if your lens is both wide enough, and it has a decent maximum aperture. (This is why I love using the Tokina AT-X 11-16 2.8  #ad  ). The other reason I wouldn't use a +BOOST would be if I needed to "follow" using touchscreen AF (autofocus).

ABOVE: When using Micro Four Thirds INDOORS I like using a speed booster, but not because of low light (you can add light indoors) but to create a background blur in smaller spaces. Bad news is, now I DO NOT RECOMMEND USING SPEED BOOSTERS WITH IBIS, so I only do it with my GH4, G7.

INDOORS TIGHT = BOOST

The first reason I use a +BOOST indoors is simply to increase the amount of light being sent to the sensor. This allows me to use a lower ISO (which is really important for Micro Four Thirds cameras). Also, the indoor "TIGHT" shot is usually used for a "talking head" people shot, so the speed booster helps to create shallower depth of field (i.e. more background blur).

INDOORS TELE = BOOST

Since there really isn't any (affordable) telephoto lens that is as fast as F/1.4, I almost always add a speed booster for telephoto shots (INDOORS). There aren't many BUDGET options for low-light telephoto lenses either, so that makes this situation even worse. There are expensive F/2.8 options (and even a 50-100 1.8 from Sigma) but I often need something in the range of 70-300 for telephoto, especially after applying the 0.71x focal reduction of the speed booster. So, in many cases, the 200mm at the long end of a 70/80-200 2.8 isn't enough, even on Micro Four Thirds with a 2x crop factor. So, what do I do? Well, this is one of those rare times when I push my ISO up (to 800 max.) and add a +BOOST (speed booster). With a BOOST, even an F/4.5-5.6 70-300 zoom can (often) work in low light. I rarely push my ISO up to 800 when using Micro Four Thirds (and never higher) because the smaller sensor and the higher ISO will create a grainy image and/or overly noise-reduced image.

ABOVE: My When adapting lenses to Micro Four Thirds OUTDOORS, the first thing I do is add a "SHIFT" adapter to the WIDE shot, and then macro "HELICOID" adapters to the rest.

OUTDOORS "WIDE" = SHIFT

I love "SHIFT" adapters so much that I try to use them whenever possible (for "WIDE" shots). Also known as "perspective control" adapters (taken from "perspective control lenses") they can keep architectural lines of buildings straight, which ends up adding realism to the shot (in my opinion). There's more detail in my book on Amazon  #ad  (has a special section about using shift lenses for Micro Four Thirds) but I can quickly say that once you use a shift adapter or lens, you'll never want to go back. (You'll probably be able to see why I even try to use them in low-light situations where I would normally use a speed booster, etc.)

Now about why I say not to use the shift adapter if you're doing a "follow" is that I "Always Shoot With 2 Cameras" and when doing so, I find it's much easier to control 2 cameras when 1 of the 2 is using touchscreen autofocus (because you're manually focus-pulling on the other shot). This even works on my Panasonic M43 cameras, if using Single Shot AF.

ABOVE: I can't tell you how much I love using an inexpensive ($123 US) tilt/shift adapter  #ad  on Micro Four Thirds. What this means, is you can turn almost any (Nikon F/G mount) lens into a TILT/SHIFT lens, including variable focal length (zoom) lenses!

OUTDOORS "TIGHT" = HELICOID (MACRO)

If you haven't noticed from my lens test videos (on YouTube) I like to be able to shoot macro anytime I'm outdoors. There's a number of ways to do this, but the way I like to do it is to use a macro helicoid adapter  #ad . The reason I like this approach (instead of buying a macro lens) is that it allows me to test almost ANY lens at a macro distance, even though they weren't designed for this. It also means I can use more low-light capable lenses, such as a 50mm 1.4, and be ready for both INDOOR and OUTDOOR situations (compared to most macro lenses being an F/2.8, F/3.5 or even an F/4.0).

OUTDOORS "TELE" = HELICOID (MACRO)

The reason I add a "BOOST" to a telephoto lens OUTDOORS, is that sometimes these tele lenses can be heavy, and my focal reducer ("speed booster") has a tripod mount on the adapter which bears the weight of the lens, instead of the camera's mount. Lighter lenses such as the 70/75-300 4.5-5.6 variety (from the early AF era in the 90's) don't need this special mount, so I use a macro "HELICOID". (If someone would design a macro helicoid adapter WITH an integrated tripod mount, THAT would be great!)

ABOVE: When shooting OUTDOORS, there are so many moments you can miss if you don't have a MACRO lens! To be prepared for this, I like to always have a macro helicoid adapter  #ad  on hand. These are golden as they pretty much turn ANY lens into a MACRO!

More Things to Consider:

• Compatibility: Not all lenses can be adapted to MFT. Check flange distances and available adapters.

• Functionality: Some features (autofocus, electronic aperture) may not work when adapting.

• Image Circle: Full-frame lenses will cover the MFT sensor, but crop factors apply.

• Budget: Factor in the cost of adapters and possible speed boosters.

• Camera Features: In-body image stabilization (IBIS) and sensor type can affect results.

  
  

WARNING: VINTAGE LENSES, CAN BE DANGEROUS

So, buying (and hunting for) vintage lenses can be a lot of fun, but before you get too addicted, there are a few things to keep in mind. The first is that there was a time when vintage lenses weren't very good (when they didn't have multicoatings) and as interesting as they may look, those have rarely (pun not intended) been worth my time. So, the general rule I follow (to stay within the multicoated era) is to not buy lenses from before WW2 (World War 2). In fact, if you don't mind stretching the definition of "old" (or "vintage") I think the very best lenses were actually from the early AF era (when AF/autofocus was in the 1st generation). That means the lenses will be from the 1980s, and that's when Nikon and Canon produced some of their best BUDGET stuff. I think Nikon AF and AF-D are probably the most color-accurate and REAL looking lenses I have ever used (and the Nikon AF-D 50 1.8 might be my favorite lens ever). The second thing to be aware of is that some of the OLDER vintage lenses might have problems with fungus...and fungus is no fun (I almost lost a lens to it).

ABOVE: There are some really great old lenses out there, but before you get too excited, smell it (like Jared @Fro Knows Photo does) and inspect it for fungus. You don't want it spreading to other lenses.

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