SOME NEW RIMS FOR THE PLANAR

Earlier this month after ordering the Canon 5D Mark II from B&H Photo, I searched Ebay to see if HappyPageHK had updated his adapters. I still had an earlier HappyPageHK focus confirmation from around May 2008. That adapter worked fine with the Canon 1Ds Mark III, so there really was no reason to replace it. However, it was the silver type and aesthetically silver adapter looked out of place. Searching on HappyPageHK’s user ID yielded his new “Pro” adapter. The Pro version looked nice, so I ordered one for $85 shipped and it arrived in about 7 days. Its ROM was custom coded as “100mm” and “F2” as the aperture.

The new black finish is a pleasing change from usual made-in-China chrome finish. The lens mount rests on a polished brass surface. Overall the adapter reminded me of the Cameraquest / Kindai build quality with a finely knurled edges and a black finish through out. The adapter came with a Canon rear lens cap; not a genuine Canon product, but it looks the part and does the job. HappyPageHK advertises the adapter as being 1.425mm thick. My repeated measurements were in the range of 1.445mm to 1.450mm, so not quite as thin as advertised. I measured the adapter in 5 or 6 different places and 1.45 mm was the average. The adapter’s thickness probably is 1.425 before the black finish is added, so perhaps some better quality control is in order. The last couple HappyPageHK chrome plated adapters ordered in early 2008 ranged from 1.42mm to 1.47mm. Overall I do not think the thickness has been improved - though uniformity appears to be better.

IN USE

The Pro adapter mounted easily on the Contax 100mm F2 Planar AE. As usual there is a spring loaded tab which clicks into place and locks the adapter onto the lens’ Contax mount. The adapter mounted relatively smoothly on the Canon 5D Mark II. Over time some of the adapter edges get slightly worn and then they mount more smoothly. I shot test frames at F2, F4, F5.6 and F8. Both the old silver and the new Pro version metered the same on the Canon 5D Mark II.

Focus confirmation with the center focus point seemed the same with both adapters. Focus accuracy with the focus confirmation adapters is “so-so”. It is a nice back up and can help avoid grievous errors, but when it comes to fine tuning focus - such as distinguishing between a pupil and eyelashes - they do not do that well. I think the Canon 1-series auto-focus does a better job with focus confirmation than the focus engine in the 5D, but I do not have any scientific data to back this up.

The adapter was tested with a Contax 100mm F2 Planar because that is the only Contax lens I have. The 1.445 mm thickness does not affect the Planar’s performance, but it could make a difference with lens such as 21mm Distagon or any other Contax lenses with a floating element design. A floating element design requires the exit pupil of the lens be an exact distance from the film plane. If that distance is too short or too long, it can have adverse effects on the lens’ optical performance. The Canon 5D (and 5D Mark II) do not have as much mirror clearance as the Canon 1-series bodies, so some added adapter thickness can actually be helpful. With the 5D (Mark II) it can be a delicate balance between optical performance and mirror clearance.

CONCLUSION

After taking about 50 images with 5D Mark II, Contax 100mm F2 Planar and both adapters, I did not see any differences in the images. The 100mm Planar is not very demanding when it comes to adapters, so it probably is not the best test lens for this type of analysis. Cosmetically the adapter looks to be well made and it blends in nicely with Canon 5D Mark II. When the Zeiss adds the 100mm F2 Makro-Planar ZE and 50mm F2 Makro-Planar to their ZE line-up, I will be done with Contax lenses. It has been fun, but auto aperture will improve my results because there will not be missed shots due to the time lost in the stop down metering process. I can focus and take a picture faster on the M8 than I can on the 5D Mark II when stop down metering is involved.

Since the HappyPageHK adapter is a stop gap solution until the aforementioned ZE lenses come available, I will use the HappyPageHK adapter and be fine with it. If I had a 21mm Distagon or some other lens that was sensitive to adapter thickness, the HappyPageHK adapter may not be the best adapter option. For more information on adapters, check out the Contax db section.