Whether you want to try glass from another manufacturer or want put your antiques to good use, lens adapters come to the rescue
Adapted Lenses Hall of Fame
If you're looking for some lenses that are good candidates for adaptation, here's a list of five to get you started. All are known performers when it comes to playing nice with other camera bodies.
1. Zeiss Distagon 21mm f/2.8: Zeiss lenses for Contax/Yashica are of exceptional quality; this one is tops. (Note that Zeiss now makes it in Canon and Nikon mounts.)
2. Olympus Zuiko 21mm f/2: This tiny gem of a lens is a less-expensive, high-performance alternative to the Distagon 21mm. And it’s fast, too, at f/2.
3. Nikon 14–24mm AFS f/2.8G ED: With corner-to-corner sharpness (even wide open), it trounces other lenses in its focal range—even primes.
4. Contax N Vario-sonnar T* 17–35mm f/2.8: Many convert this legendary Zeiss lens permanently to a Canon EOS mount.
5. Leica Vario-Elmar-R 21–35mm f/3.5–4: Made for the discontinued Leica R SLRs, fans say it’s one of the sharpest wide-angle zooms available.
Contributing Editor Ian Plant is a photographer, writer, and adventurer. His work has appeared in books and calendars, and he is the author of ebooks and digital-processing video tutorials. See his images at www.ianplant.com.
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