Metabones adapter problems
 

Hi all,

I received my Metabones Smart Adapter (NEX to EF) in the mail today and I'm having a few issues with it. Does anyone own this product? I have a few questions...

- Putting my Tokina 11-16 and Sigma 18-35 F1.8 lenses on the adapter is extremely difficult, and requires a lot of force. It doesn't feel right at all. Is this normal?

- How do I get auto aperture to work? The Metabones website says it should, but I get the error "Cannot execute function because of the condition of the lens"
Edit: never mind, it was a matter of changing the adapter mode from "Green" to "Advanced"!

Thanks for any info.. I'm new to interchangeable lens cameras!

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

I had that problem the first time I put it on, then I I just took my time and put it on and it went on smooth and gave me iris control. It didnt come with a manual but as someone said on this forum it has different modes so the mode its in maybe depend on how you put it on.

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

Thanks Randy.

I've been doing some reading and it seems the adapter has 2 modes, Green and Advanced. Advanced mode is the one to use for auto iris.

However to activate the mode, you need to turn the camera on and attach the lens while pressing a button. When the camera is turned off, the mode is reset.

This is annoying. Does anyone know if it's possible to set Advanced mode as default?

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

Hi Jody,

I purchased the Nikon G – BMPCC speed booster version and as it did not have any instructions I contacted Metabones support. My problem was that it was not a parfocal combination with my Sigma 18-18 and BMPCC. Support gave me a link so that I could adjust it and the adjustment worked. However I thought the adjustment mechanism was rather sloppy for a precision optical product and I have sent it back so that something can be done about it. I have read about some of their products being too tight a fit. My advice would be to contact Metabones.

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

Hi Jody

Steve here has a LOT of experience and contacts with Metabones so I'm sure he will chip in pretty soon. His advice will set you on the right track.

I considered Metabones but my Novoflex dumb adapters work great (manual iris is so easy to use anyway) but after buying a Chinese adapter that wouldn't even fit on the EA-50 I was suitably impressed with the tolerances and finish of the German made Novoflex ...it fits both the camera and my Nikon lenses and when you change a lens it's silky smooth and a satisfying click at the end. The only adapter so far that really has impressed me.

It was either Craig or Chris Young here who told me to buy it and their comment was "it fits like original equipment"

Keep an eye on this thread ..Steven will make a comment with helpful advice for you.

Chris

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

Thanks Chris. The Metabones adapter definitely doesn't fit like original equipment, which for $399 US I'm disappointed about. It is extremely hard to get on, to the point where I worry about damaging the lens.

Interestingly the adapter fits the EA50 fine. It's only the lens side that has the issue.

Also I have auto iris working with the Tokina but not the Sigma.. but this presents another issue. When changing the aperture, the LCD flashes white and the lens clicks very loudly. This would make any aperture change while filming impossible. The stock lens definitely doesn't do this.

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

Hi Jody

I'm pretty sure that someone said here that the Tamron 17-59 and some Sigma lens are not compatible with the adapter but I could be wrong as the 18-35 is a new one. I have no issue using the Sigma manually especially at 18mm even at F1.8 you have plenty of DOF to stay in focus. The only time where I had to be careful is when I do bridal entry. Does the Sigma work in dumb mode

Chris

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

I found a thread that Steven started a while back explaining how to set the adapter to default to Advanced mode. So I now have auto-iris working on both the Sigma 18-35 and the Tokina 11-16.

The issue with the very loud and sudden iris changes is still present. Maybe this is normal for lenses that were made primarily for photography?

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

Good point Jody!

I guess with stills a sudden iris change from say F1.8 to F22 as you walk into bright sun is normal. I never thought of that at all! I wonder if the EA-50 does a "dampened" iris change. With a jump in the aperture setting I am now assuming that if the iris needs to change with the adapter in place and does so abruptly does it show up as a glitch on the footage ?? If you are doing a shot from indoors to outdoors you might need to stop the footage as you hit the bright light.

It would be interesting to know what the end footage looks like when it changes ? Let us know if you do a test shot?

Chris

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

I've just been out shooting some test footage down by the river. I'll go through it and upload anything of interest.

A couple of other issues I came across:

- Occasionally auto-iris will stop working and the camera will present an error message "Cannot execute function because of the condition of the lens". Zooming in or out seems to fix the problem! Strange!

- When the camera is set to auto iris, my Sigma lens will frequently start clicking rapidly between two apertures.. I haven't seen the Tokina lens do this yet.

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

Thanks Jody

That will be interesting to see. After Steve had initial issues I was put off the adapter but he did resolve them. On a static shoot the odd errors can be overcome but I wouldn't want that going on at the wedding!
Does the camera still record footage if you get that error message or is the footage screwed??

I'm still staying with my Novoflex .. it cannot create any errors!!

Chris

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

Yes, the camera does keep recording if the error message pops up. It just doesn't stay in auto iris mode.
One-push auto iris is also affected by the error.

It definitely puts me off ever using auto iris in a live event situation. But the Sigma 18-35 isn't on the "compatibility" list for the adapter, so it's possibly to do with the lens itself.

To be honest I'm regretting the purchase when I could have bought a Novaflex adapter for less money. But I'll wait for Steven's input before I contact Metabones.

Maybe it's time I get used to adjusting the aperture manually anyway!

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

Hi Jody

I actually use my Novoflex in full auto mode with my cameras! The camera recognises the amount of light coming in based on where you have set the iris and automatically adjusts both shutter and gain/iso to expose perfectly ... obviously if you don't like the fact that you might have the lens wide open in bright light and the camera will therefore push the shutter up to say 1/600th at F2.8, then all I do is manually close the iris until the camera brings the shutter down to whatever I'm looking for ..it works perfectly, is seamless and you are basically working like a still camera in aperture priority mode ...want a shallow DOF? just open up the iris and the exposure is perfect ..want lots of DOF, close the iris and the camera will reset the shutter/iso to whatever you want. It's really easy to use as you are only adjusting one thing, the iris via the Novoflex aperture ring. For Realty shoots it also works really well and inside I use my Tamron 10-24 and open it to F3.5 and the camera does all the work.

Chris

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

Thanks for the tips, Chris!

Slightly off topic, but I decided to do a quick comparison of my 3 lenses (mainly for my own curiosity). The camera wasn't moved during the test so it gives a good idea of the different angles too.

Interesting that even though the gain was the same throughout, the stock lens show a lot more noise.

Scene lit with 1x 100w bulb.

High quality version:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8y5ph6qmo0...LensesComp.png

http://i57.tinypic.com/23vb0pc.jpg

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

Hi Jody

I guess that was thru the adapter?? Something looks wrong there! I wonder if the adapter is giving/sending wrong info to the camera?? If I go to a wedding and have the stock lens on it will immediately default to F3.5 1/50th and 24db and the image still looks like crud!! (cos I limit my gain to 24db)

With the Sigma the scene is like daylight!!! at F1.8 and 1/50th and 18db set manually that shot should be way overexposed!!

As an example with my stock lens a shot from my office into the kitchen will be F3.5 and 1/50th and at least 21db and a reasonable image (it does have a flouro light over on the ceiling) With the Sigma the camera at F1.8 and 1/50th is between 3db and 6db only ! That Sigma is 2 stops faster so I cannot see why the camera would allow a gain of 18db ....Also at 18db the EA-50 is noise free (to the human eye at least) so you shouldn't have any visible noise on that scene if the gain is only 18db

Chris

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

Thanks Chris.

That's interesting. Yes, those shots were using the adapter. I manually set the iris to f1.8 on the Sigma. It is a VERY dimly lit room so I was personally impressed with the low light performance.. but if you think it should be better, I wonder what the problem could be?

I read on the Metabones website that there is a process you need to follow to "teach" the adapter what the open/closed limits of each 3rd party lens is. I went through the process this morning, but I will try it again in case I messed it up.

As for the noise, I just checked the video files again and it seems to be clean - it must just be the JPEG compression.

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

Hey Jody

Just my results using a much faster lens surely would mean the gain needed should be much less.

What happens if you leave the lenses in full auto?? That might be worth a try ... the Sigma should need a LOT less gain to achieve correct exposure than the Sony lens

When I walk into a wedding reception shucks it's like someone has turned all the lights on! and with the stock lens I get a dirty brown image!

Chris

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

Right, so I just got back from my first proper shoot using the Metabones adapter and my new lenses.

I can now confirm that both the Sigma 18-35 and Tokina 11-16 lenses quite frequently get the "Cannot execute function because of the condition of the lens" error. This is interesting because the Tokina lens is on the Metabones website as being "compatible" with the adapter.

Edit:
I've just noticed the back of the adapter has come loose! Wow. I'm not impressed with this so far. Tightening up the screws fixed it, but I wish I'd noticed earlier, as the lens was moving slightly forward causing all sorts of focusing problems during my shoot.

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

Hi Jody

Before my camera bag got nicked I had a Tokina 11-16 F2.8 and if definitely had no focus issues. For Realty shoots I could in fact set it at 0.7 metres and it was in focus from 2' right to infinity ... Unless you are on top of a subject at infinity and let's say at least 6' away the lens will be sharp from just in front of you all the way out to infinity regardless of the focus ring setting as long as it's past the 3' mark. Your DOF at 11mm even at F2.8 is massive so you should be able to simply zone focus if stuff is a long way out! I'm assuming the adapter is running "dumb" ?? and not trying to auto focus the lens? It has been said that the AF via the adapter is very un-reliable!! Pity you don't have a dumb adapter to make sure you can figure where the fault is.

Yours are Canon mount right?? Why not find someone with a Canon still camera and test it on stills...you could even go into a camera shop and show interest in a Canon body and ask to test it with your Tokina lens ...that way you know for sure whether the lens is good or not?

Chris

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

Hi Chris,

Sorry, I edited my post about the focus issues, as I realised that the adapter mount had actually come loose. It was causing the lens to "lean" slightly forward from the mount, which was messing up the focus. It's fixed now.. but not impressed with the build quality of the adapter!

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

Sadly the "Made in China" label often means a terrible build quality and poor tolerances too. My Stedicam from India had the same issues and I had to almost rebuild it but it still was a more economical alternative to buying the genuine thing from the USA at 10 times the price.

So apart from having exposure control what actual advantage does the Metabones adapter have over a dumb adapter? It's known that auto focus doesn't work very well and is not to be trusted and your model isn't a speed booster is it??

I think I'll stick with the German engineering of my Novoflex even if it was a little over-priced!!

Did you figure out why the lenses on the adapter didn't give you a huge difference in exposure? The Sigma should be massively different from the stock lens .. At weddings I often need to stop down a bit sometimes otherwise the image is just too bright!

Chris

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

Aside from automatic exposure, this adapter offers no benefits that I can tell.

If I can't sort out the automatic exposure, I might send it back to B&H and get myself a Novoflex adapter as you recommended.

I'm still hoping Steven might pop in and offer his 2 cents worth :)

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

I appreciate the feedback Jody

I have been tempted/not tempted to get a Metabones for a few years now but after advice decided on the Novoflex ... I got a dumb adapter on eBay first for $39.95 and of course got what I paid for ... it didn't even fit on the camera and put heavy scrape marks on my Nikon lenses cos the other end was so tight! That went straight to the bin!! The Novflex is almost an extension of the camera and lenses go on silky smooth and the adapter is the same on the camera side too. I'm not sure if Canon mount lenses have an aperture ring (Nikons don't have one!) and if that's so you just need the normal adapter without the built-in aperture ring on the adapter body which should also be cheaper.

I have Nikon lenses so it was sensible for me to buy Nikon mount lenses so I can use them on both still and video!

Let us know if you fix the exposure side ...maybe because the fit is so bad, sometimes the adapter is not contacting the camera contacts correctly ??

This is why I use the adapters and I see they make a point about infinity focus too!!

All Novoflex Lens Mount Adapters are superior to the competition because:


* Guaranteed infinity focus – without relying on depth of field to reach infinity!

* Proper fit – lens to adapter to camera – without the looseness or play in other adapters!

* Elimination of flare thanks to matte black internal paint + ribbed inside baffles!

* Stronger locks to make sure the lens stays mounted to the adapter!

* Thicker flanges for a more secure mount to the body with less play between the adapter and the camera!

* No thin "leaf" type springs to keep the lens properly fitted to the adapter –

* Novoflex uses the same tension technique as the camera manufacturers!

* Aperture controller for those camera lenses without an aperture ring!


Chris

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

Hi Jody,

First, build quality, you are the very first person I know of to report issues with the fit. I am hard core about not using cheap machine work on my cameras. The Metabones adapters are generally not considered to be in the "cheaply made category". And you pay for them not to be. Do you have a Canon lens you can put on to see if it is equally as tight? If something feels to me like I am forcing a mount together forget it! I am done with it. The camera body is machined to spec and NO adapter or lens is worth compromising that. You might have an adapter that got by QC.

Second, loose screws, you are the second person to report this. Keep an eye on that situation.

Third, mode, glad you found the thread on how to set the default mode to advanced. I was going to dig it up for you as that information is not easy to find at all. The quickest way to make sure the adapter is in advanced mode is to look in the viewfinder. You should see zoom range and focus distance indicators. If you don't it is green mode. Green mode has no use on the EA50.

Fourth, aperture, even with my Canon lenses (I am all Canon) auto aperture does not work well. My issue is not as extreme as your though. Under certain conditions my auto aperture will flicker rapidly about a half stop as though it can not decide where to stop. And yes of course this is on the footage. I rarely use auto anything so this is not a big deal for me but I still wish it worked better.

Fifth, after market lenses have known issues with this adapter. And it is not just about the compatibly list. It seems to work for a lot of guys and then someone with the same lens will have problems. I don't recommend this adapter for non Canon glass.

So....I suspect you got a substandard adapter. I also don't think this is the right adapter for you because you run Sigma and Tokina glass.

As Chris says, he has had great success with his Novaflex. That may be a better option. I like my Metabones. It works for me, it is not for everyone.

Kind Regards,

Steve

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

I have two Metabones smart adapters, one on my Sony FS100 and the full frame version on my A7R. All my lenses are Zeiss ZE (EOS mount) except for two Canon L zooms. I was impressed with the build quality of the adapters, and they fit the camera like a Zeiss lens, and the Zeiss and Canon lenses work perfectly and fit solid and tight. So I haven't had any of the problems discussed here. I have one lens with IOS, the Canon 24-105, and IOS works great with the adapters. I've never used auto iris so I don't know if that works or not.

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

Bill,

Your experience and mine are common. There is lots of us out there that are perfectly happy with our adapter. That is the most common story and why I have been a Metabones supporter.

But then there are also what seems to be the rare cases of guys that just can't get things to work well for them. Usually it is with third party lenses. But even then they work for some guys. So I don't know if it is even fair of me to say they have "known issues" with third party glass.

I chalk it up to this: It is an electronic adapter. The possible combinations of lenses and camera bodies that just the EF to NEX adapter is supposed to work with is almost countless. We are talking about the entire NEX line of cameras times every EF mount lens ever made by a multitude of manufactures. That is a pretty lofty goal. I think that is why they DO work for the vast majority of users but the occasional incompatibility occurs. I can not explain why it is inconsistent.

They are very well made and they do not claim to be a bargain type of investment. They are not in the same league as cheap knock offs. In fact, they are the high quality innovator when it comes to the Speedbooster (I have the Smart Adapter). They are the ones that the counterfeit cheepo imitaters are counterfeiting.

I think Jody just happened to get a bad one with a tight fit.

Steve

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

Hi Steve

I'm sure Jody will appreciate your advice and I think I will stay where I am at this stage! Is there any other reason why you guys use the expensive Smart Adapter as opposed to a simple dumb one? AF seems to be frowned upon and you also seem to use manual exposure by choice. Am I missing something or is all this complex setup with Green and Advanced Modes necessary if you are manual OR is it because the adapter does allow the IS function of the lens to work?

Chris

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

Thanks Steven, I appreciate the information.

I am probably going to return the Metabones adapter in favour of a Novoflex adapter. The only reason I went with the Metabones is automatic iris control. And as that doesn't work properly, I may as well get a cheaper dumb adapter that (hopefully) has a better fit.

Unfortunately I don't have a Canon lens or camera to test if it is the adapter at fault or my third party lenses, so I may take it into my local photography shop first to test it out.

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

Hey Chris,

Novaflex does not make a Sony NEX E-mount to Canon EF adapter. None of my Canon lenses have an aperture ring. The Metabones is the best option, I can set aperture and everything else using all standard controls on the camera. And I have all of my viewfinder data. Basically everything works except AF. Even the aperture flicker I mentioned is not common.

I don't think there is any dumb adapter that would work well. Some guys set the aperture with a still body and then move the lens to the video cam. To me, that is..........DUMB.

Steve

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

Thanks Steve

No issues for me as I have Nikon lenses and my Novoflex has an aperture control on it and all works perfectly ... Jody then does have an issue as he has Canon mount 3rd Party lenses. I wonder if one could have a Canon to Nikon and then onto the Novoflex?? I guess that would mess up the focal plane??

On the Novoflex site they do make a Canon FD to Nex but NOT an EF at all ..no idea why ...What mount do 3rd party lenses use when they say "Canon Mount"

Chris

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

I forgot Novoflex does not make one when I recommended it for Jody.

Saying some is for a Canon mount without being specific is bad type. There are three mounts:

FD - very old mount from film days

EF - most common modern mount

EFs - limited use, for crop sensor bodys

Steve

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

My apologies for being dumb here but surely one could use the Metabones adapter purely as a mechanical interface between the Canon lens and the Sony body? Just like a dumb adapter? or do the Canon EF lenses not have an aperture ring?

If you have a Metabones do you have to physically power it up in either mode or can you simply turn it off? The EA-50 doesn't have any firmware that will not allow you to use the camera if it hasn't "detected" a lens. Even in full auto if the camera doesn't "see" a lens it simply assumes one it on and works with shutter/iso depending on the amount of light coming in from a manually controlled iris. With all dumb adapters of course, you lose any stabilisation if the lens has it built-in but I have never found that an issue.

Chris

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

None of my Canon EF lenses (and none that I've ever seen) have an aperture ring. So the adapter itself would need some way of controlling the aperture I'm guessing?

Re: Metabones adapter problems
 

Hi Jody

That's a bummer ..My Novoflex for Nikon (which also have no iris ring) has a aperture control ring on the adapter which is perfect. I wonder why Novoflex don't make an EF adapter? I have a feeling it's something to do with the flange distance on the lens which doesn't allow you to focus to infinity so if you find another EF to NEX dumb adapter make 100% sure it doesn't have flange issues!

It looks like you are well and truly stuck with the Metabones ..a few others make similar adapters but they all seem to be inferior to the Smart Adapter. Since you already have all these Canon lens you have little option but to stick with them and get the Smart Adapter to work correctly .... maybe talk to the Metabones guys here and see if there is a firmware up date that might help??

Good luck and let us know what happens

Chris