Coming from Canon, I’ve a dilemma. I don’t particularly have a use for the remaining EOS fit lenses I own. I only have them because no one bought them and then I gave up trying to sell them. I’ve the original T-SE 24mm, the 28mm f1.8 and the Sigma 105mm EX Macro. I recently dropped my XF 60mm macro though. This was my main lens for product and still life, so I’m at a bit of a loose end until I send it for repair. Adapting those lenses I already own seems like one option in the meantime. Fuji also don’t do any Tilt-Shift lenses, so the prospect of using the T-SE 24 is appealing for architectural work.

Options

I do have a few manual converters for Canon, but I’ve always been looking at the possibility of having autofocus and aperture control. There’s not much out there right now though. There’s the Fringer Pro II, which gives full auto and saves Exif information, but it still crops the focal length. Metabones have their speed booster, but it’s a whopping $699. Cue giving the Viltrox version a try.

Speed Boosting

What is a speed booster? A speed booster is an adapting lens that gives a 0.71 zoom. This allows full frame lenses to be used as their original focal length on crop bodies. My T-SE 24mm acts as a 24mm with a speed booster on Fuji. Which is great because 36mm is a useless focal length for architecture! It’s not quite 24mm, but close enough. A longer macro (160mm or so) can be useful, but I’m used to the 90mm equivalent of the Fujinon XF60mm.

I got the Viltrox from Amazon for £154*. Compared to the Metabones, it’s a bargain - assuming it’s any good. As a rule, I do try to get the best I can for things I know I’ll use forever. Other stuff not so much. This is in the not so much category, so the price is fine.

It came is a nice box, with the lens in a sealed plastic bag. The box itself had sealing stickers on either side, so you’d know if it had been opened. My initial view on opening was that it was well machined, and the caps were firm. Samyang lenses tend to have loose caps on Fuji by comparison.

To get use out of the lens fully, you need to match it to supported lenses. The T-SE and the Sigma EX aren’t EF lenses, so they’re not actually supported in the way the EF28mm is. The T-SE is also a manual focus lens.

Setting Aperture

By default the aperture is set to Auto. It changes with shutter speed and exposure compensation. I have to confess I didn’t go to my usual Canon default and play with the front and rear command dials. My bad. The rear dial does control aperture and switches from auto as soon as you turn it. Shutter is controlled from the front, but you can swap these in the Button/Dial settings for the camera. Some of the images below were shot with Auto aperture/exposure compensation for the record.

Updating Firmware

One great thing about the Viltrox is that you can update the firmware via a Micro-B USB socket on the inside of the front mount.

Firmware ensures that ongoing compatibility and future feature additions are possible. That said I couldn’t get either my iMac or my Macbook Air to mount the adaptor. My Lenovo netbook mounted it as a D: drive though. You can grab the latest firmware by looking at the firmware numbers here.

They’re not in release order, so be sure to check. At the time of writing, it was 2.29. Drag the .vtx file into the drive. Internally the file will load, and the drive will reload, with no files present. Yes, this means it has installed correctly.

Testing One, Two

Armed with my three lenses, I set about shooting various items, trying to work out the limitations of the adaptor.

T-SE 24mm f3.5

For the T-SE 24mm, I popped over to the local college to shoot some buildings. As the sunset actually happened (it had been raining), it limited me to one location as I knew I’d need to blend images for the sky and for the lights when they came on.

This is only a quick edit. As it’s not an official shot, there’s no way to have windows closed or lights on in said windows.

What does the T-SE do for buildings? Well when you set your camera level and without pointing up or down, it’s basically pointed at the horizon. You cut off the top of any building and include far too much foreground.

By using the Shift function of the T-SE, you can move the front of the lens up without moving the camera. This allows you to keep all the vertical lines straight. Fujifilm don’t have any of these lenses in the X-Mount lineup, so the only way to have them is via adaptors.

The T-SE mounted and gave aperture control with no issues. People have reported vignette issues with the adaptor, but I don’t have a problem with it on this lens when stopped down. There is vignetting at the top of the main image above, but this is due to the degree of shift being used in the lens. Being a manual focus lens, there’s no way to test focus compatibility obviously. However focus peaking in manual doesn’t operate as expected, an obvious failing.

As for EXIF information, Lightroom does show this lens being reported as an EF 24mm f2.5 incorrectly.

Sigma 105mm EX Macro

The Sigma is a different beast though. It’s the original version of this lens, so it pretty old now. It’s not particularly fast to operate, but it’s sharp. There are hoops to jump through for autofocus on this lens though. As well as the AF/M switch, the focus ring needs to be disengaged or you can potentially damage the motors. The range of focus is large and the lens can double in length. This is tackled with a Limit/Full button to reduce hunting.

When I eventually remembered how all this works (I’ve been Fuji only for 4+ years now), it was obvious that this lens isn’t supported properly. Yes, the lens moves to focus, but once it’s gives the green focus indicator, it’s pretty clear the shot is out of focus. No matter. I rarely use macro lenses with autofocus anyway because it only takes a hairs breath of movement to negate focus.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve started a new hobby. I call it watering flowers. I buy them in the spring and water them until the summer end. It’s not gardening. A few planters on my doorstep. As such they’re perfect subjects for a macro lens.

I’m happy to use the lens with manual focus. I did love this lens back in my Canon days, and I’m happy to be able to use it again. That said I’m sure the Fujifilm XF 80mm will probably be a future purchase. Obviously if I depended on autofocus, this would be a clear fail.

Canon EOS EF28mm f1.8

Truthfully, this is last because I probably won’t use it. I have the Fuji XF18 f2, and the 23mm f2. As a native EF lens, focus on this was fast and accurate. Except with Face Detection. Then it was fast and out of focus. Every time. Disappointing.

For the images with normal focusing it was all fine. I’d like to try this in a concert situation, but that’s a long time away yet.

Final Thoughts

The Viltrox EF-FX2 is well made, upgradeable and performs well on EF lenses. On marginal lenses like I’m using, it’s not as good. I’m not really seeing any excessive vignetting that others have shown on lenses like the 70-200mm. For me the device works well enough that I’ll keep it. Having access to a tilt shift lens for architecture is a boon. As for the Sigma macro, I can cope with using it in manual focus.

Taking my findings into account, I have to give this a 3.5/5. The focus issues are clearly a deficit in a lens that supposed to give autofocus. These adaptors are always going to be a compromise. Nevertheless this is a useful tool to have in the bag until I get replacement lenses (and Fuji bring out a tilt shift lens-not currently on their roadmap). If you’re coming from Canon to Fuji and have only a basic complement of lenses, this adaptor will allow you to use your old lenses until you can make the switch. Simply put, native lenses will perform better.

*Affiliate link. You don’t get charged any extra, but I do get a small percentage for promoting the product.