CMBravo16

After many yrs of using NIKON. My camera Nikon d7100 wa stolen. They took everything.kit lens wide angle,my bag my sunglasses ,you name it. Any how I was left with a heavy 70-300(the old model)and a Nikkor s auto 1.4 f=50mm.
Would appreciate some feedback on wide angle lenses adapted to FUJIFILM XT2.Native lenses are outside of my budget right now. (200.00 US).I looked at fuji xf 16,xf14 and 10-24..they r all mucho money. So I thought I would reach out to you guys with more experience than me an amateur .I have adapted the 2 nikon lenses using fotasy and K&F adapters for x mount. also have the 18-55 kit lens ,wich is very good in my humble opinion .

rodpark2 Loc: Dallas, Tx

I do a lot of adapting to mirrorless, just remember to have an aperture ring on the lens and you can use really inexpensive adaptors and lenses. I have an AF 18-2.8 D Nikkor and Canon Fd 20-2.8, but they aren't all that wide on APSC cameras. Really wide lenses made for 35 mm just aren't really wide enough on crop sensor cameras. Rokinon makes some, but watch for quality control issues.

Soul Dr. Loc: Beautiful Shenandoah Valley

I got an adapter to use Canon EF lenses on my Fuji X-T cameras. Works pretty well as it supports AF with the Canon lenses.

Will

Ksocha Loc: Bethesda, MD

Who makes the Canon-Fuji adapter? Thanks.

CMBravo16

MANY THANKS,am going to look at the Rokinon ,I imagine would have to check right away and return ig quality is subpar. Im looking at a Nikon AI-S Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 wide angle on ebay. you think it would work?
thanks for your feedback. appreciate it

CMBravo16

Thanks again.
which one has pleased you best the Canon or Nikkor.Heard some good things about Cannon glass.

Soul Dr. Loc: Beautiful Shenandoah Valley

The one I have is a Viltrox EF-FX1. It works pretty well. It comes with a removable tripod mount too.
It also has a micro usb port inside that can be used to install updates if needed.

will

mizzee Loc: Boston,Ma

I have a Robinson for my Oly m5 III. It was very inexpensive, but is solidly built, IMHO, and the quality is very good. That said, it is not a fast lens.

Soul Dr. Loc: Beautiful Shenandoah Valley

I have only adapted Canon lenses to my Fujis.
I'll just use my Nikon lenses on my Nikon DSLR.
The Canon lenses I have work pretty well on My Fuji X-T cameras. Plus I have native Fuji lenses too.

Will

Canisdirus

Rokinon 12mm sounds like a winner for your Fuji ($329)...
Yes, Fuji lenses are WAY overpriced...not a good bang for the buck camera system.
You have already invested in an adapter...and they do work...but never as good as a non-adapter situation.
The only Fuji walk around lens that is reasonably priced is the 27mm f/2.8 at ($449)...
Good luck...

CMBravo16

YES am quickly coming down to earth on the price issue. champagne taste on beer budget!
have you had experience with the Rokinon 12 ?looks like I could get a fuji xf 16 2.8 for 399.00 not sure if used or new. also considering xf 18 f2.
guy who lives across the st (retired photographer)suggested I look at some vintage Cannon or Nikkor+adapters. If I narrow down options it loooks like new Rokinon or a used xf .thanks for the suggestion

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

I just got a Meike 12mm f/2.8 to use on a recently acquired APS-C format mirrorless camera. It was a store's demo unit and cost me all of $125 incl. tax and shipping. Looks like new and came in the original box. I've also gotten a Rokinon 21mm f/1.4, for use on the same camera, used from an eBay auction for $125 including shipping.

Both those are manual focus and manual aperture lenses. I'm just getting started using and experimenting with them, but my initial impressions are that both are surprisingly well built, with metal barrels and optics that appear quite good, high blade-count for very nicely rounded apertures that should make for good background blur transitions and out of focus highlight rendering, as well as very nice feeling controls. The Rokinon (and Samyang) lenses have a pretty solid reputation already. Frankly, I was much more surprised just how good the Meike lens looks and feels. I've been pretty unimpressed with some other products selling under that brand name. I haven't had chance to use the 12mm enough to say if it's going to produce images up to my expectations... but it's going to be pretty fun, and very affordable, to try. The Meike 12mm (and, I think, identical Opteka) sells new for about $199. Some patient shopping might find it for less used, like I did.

With the 12mm lens, in particular, I find manual focus is no problem at all because of the great depth of field that's inherent with such a wide lens. The same would certainly be true of a 10mm, 11mm or... to a lesser degree... 14mm and 16mm. I specifically wanted manual focus lenses, for an "old school/new technology" mix of four fairly compact, manual focus lenses (the other two are short and moderate teles) for use on a more modern mirrorless camera... I'm sort of digitally emulating street shooting rangefinder cameras and lenses I used way back in the Jurassic film era. But for an ultrawide lens, in particular, manual focus should be no problem to use even if the rest of your kit and experience is autofocus.

One of the tele lenses I bought was a Kamlan 50mm f/1.1 "II" (also a used/demo unit). I was really stunned by the quality of this lens at it's price (even the regular list price for new: $250). I'd never heard of the Kamlan brand until recently, but after reading and watching online reviews, jumped on the chance to try the 50mm "II" when I got a great deal on one. Mine isn't a wide angle, but Kamlan does offer a 21mm f/1.8 (and an only slightly wide 28mm). If you're interested in getting a moderately wide lens, as opposed to the ultrawides above, the Kamlan 21mm seems an even better deal at a list price of $180 (possibly less if you are lucky or patiently await getting a used one somewhere). I have to note, it seems more challenging to get sharp and accurate manually focused shots with a moderately wide 21mm, especially at larger aperture settings such as f/1.4 through f/2.8. Though, I'm still learning manual focusing (well, actually, "re-learning")! Unfortunately, Kamlan doesn't appear to yet make a lens wider than 21mm (except for a fisheye... 7.5mm for M4/3 and 8mm for APS-C.... I didn't want a fisheye. At least, not yet.)

When it comes to the manual aperture... I don't know about Fuji, but on the Canon mirrorless camera I'm using there are still a couple auto exposure options: Aperture Priority AE and Manual w/Auto ISO AE both work fine, including "tweaking" with Exposure Compensation. Of course, fully Manual (w/o Auto ISO), also works fine and the camera's internal metering system can be used (as well as a separate handheld incident/flash meter I carry). Program AE and Shutter Priority AE aren't possible, due to the manual aperture control of the lens. None of the "Scene Modes" and full "Auto" will work, either (not that I ever use any of them).

I also had to set my camera to "shoot without lens", since when these non-electronic lenses are installed, the camera doesn't communicate with them in any way, so it doesn't "know" there's a lens attached. There's no lens-related EXIF data being recorded, either (I'll have to keep manual or audio notes about aperture, focus distance and such, if needed... much like back in the days of film).

These third party, manual focus (and manual aperture) lenses appear to offer some really good value. Depending upon how wide you want, I'd recommend them more or less. The ultrawides... focal lengths in, perhaps, the 10mm to 14mm range... are pretty easy to manually focus. Less wide lenses are more challenging, particularly at some of the larger apertures and shallower depth of field that they can offer. Rokinon/Samyang are possibly the most widely recognized brands among all these types of lenses. However, there are some others, including some really impressive and "up and coming" new brands like Kamlan, as well as some other that may surprise, such as Meike/Opteka. But there are also some that appear to be rather junky. Just be sure to do thorough searches for user reviews and more detailed professional reviews of any you consider, to reduce risk of getting something that's less than satisfactory.

Here's a link to a fairly complete list of moderate wide to ultrawide at Adorama (they sell Kamlan, including the 21mm mentioned, as well as a slightly wide 28mm... see the second link):

https://www.adorama.com/l/Photography/Lenses/Mirrorless-Lenses?sf=Price&perPage=30&sel=Focus-Type_Manual-Focus%7cLens-Mount_Fujifilm-X-Mount%7cLens-Format_APS-hyphen-C%7cFixed-Mirrorless-FL_10mm_11mm_12mm_14mm_16mm_20mm_21mm_24mm

https://www.adorama.com/l/?searchinfo=kamlan+lenses

Here's a similar search for moderate wide to ultrawide at B&H (who don't seem to sell Kamlan... Also, all these links are to new lenses. Be sure to check the used dept. at these and other online sellers.):

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/products/Mirrorless-Camera-Lenses/ci/17912/N/4196380428?sort=PRICE_LOW_TO_HIGH&filters=fct_a_focus-type_5738%3Amanual-focus-only%2Cfct_fixed-focal-lengths_2207%3A10mm%7C12mm%7C14mm%7C16mm%7C18mm%7C20mm%7C21mm%7C23mm%7C24mm%2Cfct_lens-mount_3442%3Afujifilm-x-mount%2Cfct_lens-type_3446%3Awide%2Cfct_zooms-primes_5903%3Aprime-lenses

MPB, Amazon, KEH, Roberts Camera, Camera Exchange and some more are other possible sources of used or new examples of many of these.

I hope this helps. Have fun shopping!

EDIT: The only minor glitch with the lenses I bought... all of them used or demos... was the plastic, bayonet-mount hood for the Rokinon 21mm is very loose fitting. The hood itself isn't the problem. It's the little "nub" down in the bayonet track on the lens that's missing. As a result, the hood doesn't "click" lock into place. Doesn't matter to me, though, because I had planned on buying and recently got a metal, 58mm screw-in hood, because I will sometimes be using a polarizer with this lens and the screw-in hood is much more convenient when wanting to rotate the filter. (The hood for the 12mm lens is so shallow, a filter can easily be rotated without need to remove the hood, which is also a plastic, bayonet mount, but with a more secure mechanism to lock it in place. The Meike 12mm f/2.8 uses a 72mm filter. The Kamlan 50mm lens uses fairly deep metal, screw-on hood to shade and protect it's rather huge front element. That lens uses 62mm filters, but it's hood is also threaded to use 72mm filters.)

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

Don’t shy away from used. You can get great lenses and save a nice chunk. My last three lens purchases were all used and I’m very happy with all of them. I now look for used first.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

The problem with vintage lenses is that they are all "full frame" (film) designs. As a result, there aren't many that are particularly wide on an APS-C camera. About the widest lenses made "back in the day" were 17mm, with only a few 16, 15 or 14mm (equiv. to only approx. 25mm to, at best, 21mm "equivalent", on an APS-C camera). There were no 12mm or 10mm (18mm and 15mm "equivalent"). And, even today, usable copies of vintage 14mm to 17mm lenses are typically pretty pricey. A rather extreme example, there are a couple nice Canon FD mount 14mm f/2.8L lenses on eBay right now.... take your pick for$2999.99 (plus $40 shipping). That's actually a "bargain"... recently some a "top mint" copy of that lens have sold for $3900! Their widest non-fisheye at the time, Nikon made manual focus, AI and AI-S 15mm f/3.5 and 18mm f/3.5 lenses, too, back in the 1970s and 1980s. I haven't checked prices of them. But, being highly collectible, I bet they sell for prices similar to the Canon 14mm lens above.

An alternative would be the adapters that allow modern, electronically controlled lenses to be used on your Fuji.... such as the Canon EF to X-mount adapter. Unfortunately, the cheaper of those lack any electronic contacts... so lenses would be manual focus only. That's not too big a deal, however some Canon lenses are "fly by wire" and require power to the lens even to manually focus them.... and another big problem is that all modern Canon lens apertures are electronically controlled. So with those cheaper adapters you wouldn't be able to stop the lens down at all. You'd have to shoot with it wide open, all the time!

There are EF/EF-S lens to X-mount camera adapters available, but they're rather pricey.... starting around $170 and to over $200. So you will have blown your budget just getting the adapter. You'd still need a lens! Canon does offer a very affordable ultrawide... their EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM sells for under $300 (and might be found for less used or refurbished). However, you'll end up spending a pretty good sum just to get an adapted lens. I've got no experience with modern Canon lenses adapted for use on Fuji cameras... so can't say anything about performance (but I hear a lot of less than ideal reports from folks adapting Canon lenses to Sony cameras in a similar way... that AF is slower and hunts more).

CMBravo16

many thanks for your generous explanation. I will be patient and see what comes along. those links are super!