I am a big fan of using old manual focus vintages lenses on my mirrorless cameras. It is a great way to gain access to quality glass inexpensively. I currently own two EOS-M bodies, and am very happy with my Fotasy OM and FD lens adapters. Fotodiox recently sent me their premium lens adapters to take a look at, so today, I am going to compare my budget $12 Fotasy adapters against those premium Fotodiox adapters.
Fotodiox Pro Lens Adapters
I currently use old Olympus Zuiko and FD manual focus lenses as my primary glass for my little EOS-M bodies. Fotodiox was kind enough to send me their OM-EOS M and FD-EOS M adapters to take a look at. It is worth noting, that these adapters are available for virtually every lens mount, so while I am writing from the perspective of the EF-M mount, this will also apply to other mounts (like Sony, Fuji, and Panasonic).
First off, let’s start with the good. These adapters are of a very high build quality, and I have no doubt that they would outlast both the lens and camera I have been using them with. The builds of the two adapters are all metal, with a nice black finish that matches my EOS M bodies well. The FD adapter has a bright blue ring, which I am not too fond of, but that is more of a style preference.
The OM adapter works flawlessly. The lens attaches to the adapter easily and the adapter to my camera body with no issues. The resulting images were of good quality and I could see no issues that could be attributed to the adapter. Unfortunately, the FD adapter did not perform nearly as well.
Now, part of this could be because the FD mounting system is much more complicated than the OM mounting system, but I had big issues trying to get my FD 50mm F/1.4 lens on and off of the adapter. The adapter itself attached to and from the camera easily enough, but the connection from the lens to the adapter was loose. If you touched the lens, there was wiggling. The image quality from the pictures taken didn’t seem to be affected, but I am not comfortable with an adapter that doesn’t have a tight connection to my lens.
That was really disappointing considering the Fotasy FD adapter I currently use (and have had no issues with) cost me $12, while the Fotodiox adapter costs a bit more at $50. In the case of the FD-EOS M adapter, I can say unequivocally that the $12 adapter is not only the better deal for your wallet, but is in every way the better adapter. The only a ‘advantage’ that the Fotodiox adapter has over the Fotasy is a tripod collar, but with such a small camera and only using primes, it’s a small advantage for me.
The OM adapter, while a very well built and good performing adapter, still seems really expensive when compared to the Fotasy unit that I currently own and am very happy with. Again, the Fotasy runs about $13, while the Fotodiox adapter (with its tripod collar) runs for $40.
The build quality between the Fotasy and Fotodiox adapters are negligible, and while the tripod attachments on the Fotodiox units are nice, they are not so nice as to make the added premium worth it in my eyes.
In Conclusion
So, to answer the question in my title, Fotodiox Pro Lens Adapters are they worth the premium? The answer is no. Fotodiox Pro lens adapters are not worth the premium that you pay over other budget adapters.
Unless you need that tripod collar or prefer the design of the Fotodiox units, I say go with the $12 Fotasy units and get both adapters for half the price of one Fotodiox unit. But that is just my .02 cents.
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Greetings, I’m on my second adapter for Canon FD/FL to EOS M (Fotasy and the Fotodiox) and neither one will let me snap a photo… Focus is good, Stopping down is good, but when I push the shutter button on my M5, nothing. I’ve looked through all the camera settings and one would think in Manual mode I can set the shutter and ISO on the camera and the aperture on the lens and I should be able to snap a photo, but nothing. Any ideas?
Thanks,
Sean
Sean, on my M6 you need to set the mode to P, Tv, Av, M, C1, or C2. Push the MENU button and select the orange icon. Highlight [C.FnII; Others] and press the SET button. Select [3], [Release Shutter w/o lens]. Press the SET button.
I suspect this procedure would be the same on your M5?
Anthony. I am from India. Just bought this through one of my frnd of US. My one have a glass element which I tried on my NIKON 7000 body. But I failed even in manual focusing.. The focusing is not working. Can u show me some light, what could be the reason. I have tried with attached lenses.
https://www.adorama.com/fdhassyvnkp.html
My friend was cleaning out a house and found this. I was wondering if you could explain this one to me
Ok, I have a Sony A5000 can you suggest a adapter that won’t break the bank, that I can buy Nikon or Canon lens?
I’d love to see a comparison between Metabones and it’s cheap competitors for Canon to E mount lenses. Please.
Wondering how those adapters affect the focal length?
e.g. on my 6D with OM adapter the 50mm stays 50mm.
Great article Anthony! 2 things make me hesitate on a lens adaptor:
1) I’m afraid the quality would decrease using an adaptor (I don’t know this for a fact – just paranoid – please correct me if I’m wrong).
2) I would find it really weird to put a Canon lens on a Sony camera (just seems wrong LOL) – that’s mainly a weird foible of mine.
However, for cameras such as mine with limited lens offerings I’m starting to think twice about lens adaptors and how it could really open the door to a variety of options for lenses.
Hey Greg, the quality of the lens is only diminished if the adapter you are using has a glass element. In my case, both from OM to EFM and FD to EFM a glass element is not required to adapt the lenses. So for my purposes, I get the best quality out of these lenses, as if I was using them on their native Olympus or Canon bodies.
Thanks, Great to know.