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Adapter suggestions for Nikon DSLR lenses without aperture ring

Equipment DSLR
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1200mcc avatar
1200mcc avatar
Hi, all.  First time posting in the forums here

I'm looking for a Nikon DSLR lens (F mount) adapter that would work for G lenses (the somewhat newer lenses that don't have a mechanical aperture control ring and don't control the aperture electronically).  For the moment, I want to find a way to attach an eyepiece to it (for my own curiosity) but have no immediate plans to attach a dedicated astrophotography camera to it yet.  Since it's a G lens, there's no way to set the aperture outside of the camera body.  I think the adapters I've been able to find for this such as https://agenaastro.com/zwo-nikon-lens-adapter-for-2-electronic-filter-wheel-efw2-nikon.html assume the lens is non-G type and may not keep the lens aperture wide open for G lenses or not say anything about this at all.

I wonder if anyone has suggestions for such adapters that let you control the aperture or will hold it wide open automatically without having to hack around it?

Thanks

(aside: E lenses like the 500mm pf appear to be ok despite lacking an aperture control ring since they appear to internally keep the last used aperture when you remove them from the camera but I do have some G lenses I'd like to try)
andrea tasselli avatar
andrea tasselli avatar
In short, there is no such a thing. Nikon, once upon a time, made an adapter for use with their own eyepiece but I assume it was for the original D lenses. There are few adapters for mirrorless cameras that have provision for manual aperture control on G lenses (or any bar the E series) but I doubt this to be a viable option.
Michael Ring avatar
Michael Ring avatar
What you can do, and what works well for my 85mm F1.4 Nikon lens, is to adjust aperture as you want it when connected to the camera, then push the lens release button of the camera and remove the lens from the camera.
This way (at least for my lens) the aperture stays open. Do not turn off the camera in the process, if you do this the aperture will close.
Same thing also works well for my Sigma 40mm Art lens.

Michael
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BryanHudson avatar
BryanHudson avatar
Not a direct answer to your question:
I switched from using Nikon to Canon EF primes for Astro photography. The default aperture without power is wide open. For L series lenses such as the Canon 300mm f/4 this is okay as there is no distortion or CA.
Also use a Canon mount Samyang 135mm f/2 that has an aperture ring.
There are many more adapters available than with Nikon lenses.
1200mcc avatar
1200mcc avatar
Thanks everyone.  Doesn't look like there's a direct solution so far at least for G lenses but combining some ideas
andrea tasselli:
In short, there is no such a thing. Nikon, once upon a time, made an adapter for use with their own eyepiece but I assume it was for the original D lenses. There are few adapters for mirrorless cameras that have provision for manual aperture control on G lenses (or any bar the E series) but I doubt this to be a viable option.

BryanHudson:
Not a direct answer to your question:
I switched from using Nikon to Canon EF primes for Astro photography. The default aperture without power is wide open. For L series lenses such as the Canon 300mm f/4 this is okay as there is no distortion or CA.
Also use a Canon mount Samyang 135mm f/2 that has an aperture ring.
There are many more adapters available than with Nikon lenses.

Looks like adding an intermediate adapter like F mount to Canon EF mountthen to threaded then to eyepiececould work but there is (a bit more) risk of losing infinity focus.  I'll think about it
andrea tasselli avatar
andrea tasselli avatar
Looks like adding an intermediate adapter like F mount to Canon EF mount then to threaded then to eyepiece could work but there is (a bit more) risk of losing infinity focus. I'll think about it


You'll be better served with a Nikon to M42 adapter and then an M42 to 1.25" adapter. You'll need to use short focal length EPs for this to work, though.

An example here below (although unlikely to work at infinity focus with a number of EPs, you'll need the m42 to 1.25" adapter to be far shorter):

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324704288348?hash=item4b99e23e5c:g:EEoAAOSwpSpg5NcW&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4FPaEHTSAjvnWDYKY%2BjQRPRmpHVG2x2gsOBpwV%2BvNYTyPS7wSYzdjKF5prQEptnB6kPpxcYWsyZ0Nr2%2FLVDdRQEdx0uwsqHvh7hPf9Mb%2BhmXHkIr%2FP2XNBF8pldmuLMOR6ETgrMRwj9ownBGuxgpnkIrocpDkzFCEtzHPe%2BGu0NRLA%2B%2BQGbT3MkgHD0MviuTy%2B%2FaKEa7GGmoWJsvqBQNqdgE0DsUwakkOeHQz3XO99%2FgFimsE1%2BCJ0mWjIA%2FVDOEwLamwGUeAzvhdZ42jXLOJEyTY2SoXHCS%2BOpJSQeUx1kp%7Ctkp%3ABFBMzomwmatj