Metabones is on a Fujifilm GFX binge lately. After releasing a Nikon F-mount expander for the GFX cameras, they have followed up with two new adapters for Canon EF lenses.
The EF-GFX Smart Expander and the optics-free EF-GFX Smart Adapter both allow you to mount Canon EF glass to the GFX series, which includes the GFX100.
EF-GFX Smart ExpanderCredit: Metabones
Metabones points out that when using the expander, a 24-70mm F2.8 lens becomes a 30-88mm F3.5, and a 70-200mm F2.8 lens becomes an 88-252mm F3.5, for example.
The EF-GFX Smart Expander features compatibility with phase-detection autofocus (PDAF), in-body image stabilization (IBIS), optical image stabilization, and smooth iris control.
There are some caveats to know about the expander, however. One of them is that EF-S lenses are not supported. Additionally, you might not get the best autofocus performance with some lenses, and when shooting video, it's recommended to use aperture priority or manual exposure is recommended to avoid exposure flickering.
EF-GFX Smart AdapterCredit: Metabones
As you might expect, Metabones says there will be vignetting, and images won't be as sharp in the corners. This is because of the difference in image circles. However, tilt-shift lenses should work perfectly from edge-to-edge. The company has also added a feature that allows the adapter to remember which lenses need to be in 35mm crop mode and which ones cover medium format.
There are a number of limitations to know about both adapters:
- In some rare cases, lens hoods designed for 3:2 may need to be removed for 4:3 use with Smart Expander.
- Each lens needs to go through a calibration procedure when first used. Refer to the online user manual on Metabones' web site for instructions.
- Autofocus may have unsatisfactory performance and may not work at all with some lenses
- For video autofocus, increasing FOCUS SENSITIVITY and decreasing AF SPEED are required under the AF-C CUSTOM SETTING (MOVIE) menu.
- For video, aperture priority or manual exposure is recommended to avoid exposure flickering. EF lenses are not capable of fine-grained control of the aperture required by Fujifilm cameras.
- AF+MF and lens aberration correction are not supported.
- Some film-era lenses may not be able to achieve the sufficient AF accuracy required for digital cameras. Worn lenses with faulty sensors may lead to AF problems on a mirrorless camera even though the lens may appear to function normally on a DSLR.
- Aperture diaphragm makes frequent noises with older lenses. Use aperture priority and manual exposure modes, or use a lens that supports smooth iris.
- With IS/OS/VC lenses the IS MODE setting is ignored and both SHOOTING ONLY and CONTINUOUS modes behave in the same way, which is similar to a Canon camera but different from what Fujifilm OIS lenses do. This is done to maximize IS effectiveness. A negative consequence of this is that there may be no OIS during focus check.
- MF Distance Display does not work. (Although, AF Distance Display does if the lens transmits distance information.) Since Metabones has a track record of releasing new firmware updates that significantly improve the features, performance, compatibility, and reliability of existing products, these limitations are subject to change in the future. Please refer to the product pages on Metabones' web site for the most up-to-date disclosure.
Both EF adapters can be updated with future firmware updates via the Metabones app available for Windows or macOS.
The EF-GFX Smart Expander 1.26x is available now for $729. The EF-GFX Smart Adapter is priced at $439.
