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.
