Part of the charm of many vintage lenses today is that you can still use them on DSLR or mirrorless cameras. They are known to add a retro or film look to digital photos, making them interesting tools for creative photography and video work. If you’re curious about adapting vintage lenses to Fujifilm cameras like the Fujifilm GFX 100S, the video above has some answers for you.
Canadian film photographer Kyle McDougall compares the Fujifilm GF 32-64mm f/4 lens with the Pentax SMC 45mm f/2.8 and the SMC 75mm f/2.8 vintage lenses. His goal was to see if these older glass could still keep up with the latest Fujifilm optics when paired with a high-resolution sensor. Also, he wanted to find out if the vintage lenses do lend a “less clinical” or even film-like look to the photos.
For this, he did a side-by-side comparison of photos taken with Fujifilm and Pentax lenses, paying attention to as much detail as possible. In a nutshell, he found that the vintage lenses produced great results, contrary to what he heard from other photographers. In fact, he noted that the results were very similar. However, he did observe some minor differences and parts where the Pentax glass starts to fall apart. So, you might want to keep those in mind when pairing old glass with your digital medium format camera!
Have you ever adapted a vintage lens with the Fujifilm GFX 100S and loved the results? Share your experience with us in the comments below, or in our group discussion if you’re already part of the Photofocus Community!
I shoot all my portraits with an 85mm Canon FD 1.2 L lens on a GFX 50sii. I also use the 55mm SSC Canon FD and have just bought the 135mm Canon NFD and a tilt shift adapter for the Mamiya Sekor lens I have on my Mamiya 645. I love my 85mm and 55mm lenses and don’t think I need the newer, native lenses for my work. For me, it’s not about the proximity of the performance of the lens to it’s native counterpart, but the character the lens itself brings to the images. The 55mm in particular has… Read more »