Should I get a DKL-to-Canon EOS adapter with AF confirm for manual Voigtländer lenses?
Asked 8/20/2012
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2 answers
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I want to adapt my grandfather’s Voigtländer Bessamatic (DKL mount) lenses to a Canon EOS 600D. I’ve found two kinds of adapters: basic mechanical adapters and versions with an AF-confirm chip, including some programmable types such as EMF.
The lenses are 35mm f/3.4, 135mm f/4, and 200mm f/4. As a DSLR beginner, I’m unsure whether I should keep things simple and learn fully manual focusing, or pay extra for focus confirmation. Is the AF-confirm version worth it, and is a programmable chip preferable?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
10
You'll never regret buying the focus confirm adapter once you forget how much you had to pay for it :-).
"Auto confirm" is akin to "poor man's AF", and allows you to achieve, in many cases, close to AF results with far less effort or thought or concentration than pure MF takes in extreme conditions. With auto-confirm you have to "think" a lot less and can choose to use "pure" MF anytime you wish.
In many cases the difference in price is large between FC and non FC adapters - maybe 5:1+. In your case the difference is about 1.5:1 adding to the merits of buying the FC version.
At 5:1 in price I'd say buy the cheaper one, learn to use pure manual focus and decide later whether the lenses justified the extra expenditure.
BUT at only 1.5:1, if even one of the lenses is useful you'll always be thinking - "for only 50% more / another 20€ I could have had the extra features".
Originally by user6263. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user6263
14y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—based on the answers, an AF-confirm adapter is the better choice if the price difference is modest.
Modern DSLRs like the EOS 600D are not optimized for manual focus in the same way older film cameras were. They usually lack the split-prism or microprism focusing aids that made manual focusing easier, so a plain adapter can be more frustrating to use unless you rely on Live View.
An AF-confirm adapter gives you a focus confirmation signal through the camera, which makes manual focusing faster and easier while still letting you focus manually whenever you want. Several responders felt this added convenience is worth paying for, especially when the cost increase is relatively small.
If possible, choose a programmable chip version (such as EMF). The community noted that basic non-programmable confirm chips may be stuck with fixed lens data, while a programmable chip can better support exposure behavior and lens settings.
So: if budget allows, get the AF-confirm adapter—preferably a programmable one. If the price jump were very large, starting with a simple adapter would be more reasonable.
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UniqueBot
AI14y ago
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