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Viltrox lens adapters: budget friendly E-mount and MFT Metabones alternatives

viltrox adapters x3

Viltrox lens adapters could be the answer for anyone looking for an affordable way to use Nikon or Canon lenses on your Sony E-mount or Micro Four Thirds cameras.

Metabones: you get what you pay for

Let’s not beat about the bush: Metabones make a great range of adapters but they aren’t what you’d call cheap. Viltrox, who already produce a range of budget lens adapters (and look to be available via Amazon and eBay in the UK), are producing three new options to compete with the industry standard. Viltrox are a new name to me, but could be worth a punt if you’re on a budget.

Nikon to Sony, Canon to MFT

Viltrox lens adapters - NF-E1
Viltrox NF-E1 Nikon to Sony E-mount lens adapter.

The first new Viltrox adapter is the NF-E1 which allows you to use Nikon F-mount lenses on Sony E-mount cameras. The EF-M1 and EF-M2 will let you use Canon EF and EF-S lenses on Micro Four Thirds cameras. The Canon adapters are electronic, so should pass through AF and aperture information.

Viltrox lens adapters
The Viltrox EF-M2 has optical elements to increase the effective aperture and widen the field of view of attached lenses.

In addition, the EF-M2 functions like a Metabones speedbooster – it has four optical elements in four groups which increase the lens aperture by one stop and reduce focal length by 0.71x.

Upgradeability. Yes that’s a word.

All three adapters also feature a USB port to allow for firmware upgrades. This is a feature that means my Metabones (them again) EF to E-mount adapter now works brilliantly after a rocky start – and also meant I had to return a cheaper EF to MFT adapter when it didn’t work on the GH5 but didn’t have the ability to upgrade the firmware.

Viltrox lens adapters - EF-M1
the Viltrox EF-M1 has contacts for passing through electronic information to the camera.

Viltrox lens adapters: Pricing and availability

No price or release date is available just yet, but if Viltrox can crack reliability and upgradeability as well they could have a winner on their hands. We’ll keep an eye out and try to get hold of a test sample to play with. Have you had any joy with cheaper branded lens adapters or do you stick to the tried and tested manufacturers? Let us know below…

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