Adapters for M43 BMCC

[Andrew Akada]

To Peter & Matt,

So, for instance, when the Zeiss 50mm 1.4 ZF2 is listed as having,

“…support for all-important operations such as the automatic exposure for shutter priority, aperture priority and program modes…”

Does this mean that the passive will not work on it? The spec details go on to state that “…the CPU also supports manual exposure settings, including those for camera casings that are not AI-compatible…”

I just wanted to clarify…

https://www.adorama.com/ZI5014PTZF2.html

[Deleted User]

It’s not that complicated. It’s really quite simple!

A passive lens mount has absolutely no (zero, zip, nada, zilch) electrical contacts in/on it.

A camera with a passive lens mount has absolutely no (zero, zip, nada, zilch) way to communicate with or control a lens, because the camera’s lens mount has no (zero, zip, nada, zilch) electrical contacts in/on it.

The BMCC-MFT model camera has a passive lens mount. So, the BMCC-MFT camera has absolutely no (zero, zip, nada, zilch) way to communicate with or control a lens. Period.

All other cameras made or announced by Blackmagic Design have active lens mounts (active EF or active MFT), so these cameras can communicate with and/or control lenses that have electrical contacts & internal electronics/features (with certain limitations).

The end.

I hope that makes things clearer!

—

https://www.peterdv.com
Blog: https://herefortheweather.wordpress.com

[Matthew Sonnenfeld]

Peter, what you’re saying implies that the ZF series will not work on a camera without Nikon communication. It will work, but without the electronic features. As a cinema lens it will perform no differently when it comes to control of manual focus and aperture.

The ZF lenses are manual lenses with electronic features. Not electronic lenses with manual features. This is a crucial difference. In the case of the passive mount, any functionally manual lens, meaning manual focus (not focus-by-wire) and manual aperture, will function as normal. Any feature having to do with electronics will not work but that will have absolutely no effect on normal lens function and usage.

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[Matthew Sonnenfeld]

Andrew, if the Zeiss ZF 50mm is the lens you want, it will be fine on the MFT BMCC.

Blackmagic Cinema Camera, RED Scarlet-X, Panasonic HPX170, Canon 7D
2011 Macbook Pro 17″, 2.3 Ghz Quad Core, 16GB RAM
AJA IoXT
Adobe Production Premium CS6, Avid Symphony 6, Final Cut Pro Studio 3
The College of William and Mary

[Andrew Akada]

Thanks for the advice, Matt! I still feel a bit lost when it comes to figuring out what’s what but still, I appreciate your patience and clarification!

[Andrew Akada]

Matt,

I was on another forum and another use posted the following response to a threat I began as per our “adapter” inquiry:

QUOTE — “…the full size BlackMagic Cinema [passive MFT] camera (sic) will not be able to use any of the Olympus or Panasonic m4/3 lenses{except for the Olympus 15mm bodycap lens}. They designed it so you can use all the various full frame and APS photo lenses plus 35mm cine lenses via adaptors. I think you may have misunderstood what BM meant by ‘passive m4/3 mount’…”

Is this correct? Even if said Panasonic/Olympus lenses are manual?

[Matthew Sonnenfeld]

The thing about the Panasonic and the Olymous MFT lenses is that they are all electronic, without exception, so in that sense yes, the quote is correct.

What you were told is not entirely true either however. The MFT mount is not simply to mount adapters to full frame, APS and Super35 lenses. There are many fully manual MFT mount lenses that will work brilliantly on the MFT BMCC. Look to the Voigtlander Nokton series. These include 17.5mm, 25mm, and soon to be a 42.5mm. They are all fully manual lenses, all the f0.95 (SUPER FAST) and all designed specifically for the MFT mount. There are also some great offerings from SLR Magic such as the 12mm Hyperprime.

Blackmagic Cinema Camera, RED Scarlet-X, Panasonic HPX170, Canon 7D
2011 Macbook Pro 17″, 2.3 Ghz Quad Core, 16GB RAM
AJA IoXT
Adobe Production Premium CS6, Avid Symphony 6, Final Cut Pro Studio 3
The College of William and Mary

[Andrew Akada]

Thanks for bearing with!

I have the Voigtlander on my wishlist already and there are a couple of others as well. Good to know about the Olympus & Panasonic lenses too.

Just to flesh out a decent kit, I was hoping I could also look for some cheaper glass to supplement the “flagship” brands. Any good places to start looking for those, if not Panasonic & Olympus?

[Matthew Sonnenfeld]

This will probably be a strong lens to have in the arsenal once it hits: https://www.43rumors.com/samyang-16mm-f2-0-for-mft-priced-ay-449-shipping-in-july/

I’d really take a hard look at vintage glass and adapters. You will find a ton of old manual Canon FD, Nikon F, Minolta, Pentax, Zeiss, and Leica, for some really great prices. Then all you need are the proper adapters. None of these adapters would require the electronic communication for any of the aforementioned lenses and therefore they will be pretty cheap. As per the manual MFT glass, take a good look at the SLR Magic glass. It is available at Adorama and really there are some very nice offerings. Don’t let the name of the company fool you. They are not just “toy” lenses anymore.

Blackmagic Cinema Camera, RED Scarlet-X, Panasonic HPX170, Canon 7D
2011 Macbook Pro 17″, 2.3 Ghz Quad Core, 16GB RAM
AJA IoXT
Adobe Production Premium CS6, Avid Symphony 6, Final Cut Pro Studio 3
The College of William and Mary

[Andrew Akada]

Thanks again, Matt! I’m taking a look and drafting a wish-list! Sorry for the late response. I was working logistics all weekend for a shoot so I wasn’t really able to sit down and have a good look at your post until now! 🙂

I also have a couple of old Soligor manual lenses (100 and 150mm, respectively). They were for an old Nikon FE series SLR.

https://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonfeseries/fe/index.htm

After doing a little bit of searching I came to the conclusion that these were essentially wedded to the F mount, same as the Zeiss 50 I was looking at. Would I be able to use a single adapter to suit all of these to the passive MFT?