Easily build a tilt lens for Sony mirrorless system for less than $65

December 17, 2016 by Uldis Plinte 18 Comments

Nowadays mirrorless cameras are becoming more and more popular. One thing people adore is its compact size and weight, other, the ability to adapt other system lenses via special adapters.

on the technical side, though, 18 mm flange focal distance allows Sony mirrorless system to adopt practically any other system lenses, like Canon EF, EF-S, Nikon S, F, M42 etc.

Looking native lens lineup at the moment, we see that there are no tilt-shift lenses for Sony. You can adapt other system tilt-shift lenses, but they are pricey, large and heavy. Another option is to thing is to look for workaround. That’s what I did.

I found a tilt M42 to Sony E mount adapter. Price wise it was ~30$, weights 130 grams, provide maximum 8 degree tilt – exactly thing I wanted, the ability to play with focal plane and bokeh. Though it does not have the shift part of a tilt-shift lens, it is good enough for what I need.

From M42 lenses range, I already had a Helios 77m-5 (50mm f/1.8) which I bought for its swirl bokeh and quite acceptable sharpness when used wide open. It would be a nice fit for the adapter (not ot mention that this lens is also around $35-$70)

The left image shows how the combo looks like on a Sony A7II tilted to it’s maximum 8 degrees right. The right image: maximum 8 degrees down.

While this combo will only provide manual focusing, I found it to not be an issue. Sonys have focus peeking and magnification (and the second generation of Sony A7 bodies – also has image stabilization).

Here are some sample images at maximum 8 degree tilt and open wide at f/1.8

About the Author

Uldis Plinte is a photographer from Latvia. You can follow him on Facebook here, and on Instagram here.

« Find My Phone: A student created a short film after tracking the thief who’d stolen his phone

How to protect your strobes when going on a snow shoot »

20two19 Photography

that’s awesome thanks for sharing. I found one for the old Minolta lenses I already have.
Chris Cameron

Its not a tilt / shift lens if all it does is tilt.
LensLord

Ok, then it is a cool <65$ Not-so-Lens-Baby.
Cesar Sales

There are tilt shift adapters for this – they cost $300 but it’s cheaper than a full-on ts lens. Google Kipon tilt shift.
- Raf
  
  Yes, Kipon adapter is a quality solution with shift. The sample shots here are really horrible…
- pincherio
  
  But what type of lenses does the Kipon take?
  - Cesar Sales
    
    Google it and see.
Alexander

Has anyone else noticed that there is no “build” involved in any of this? Nice clickbait though…
catlett

I would just prefer to buy a Kipon or similar adapter but the weird thing is they don’t seem to make one that adapts a manufacturer’s lens to the same manufacturer’s camera. e.g. They have a bevy of adapters for Nikon lenses Sony, Canon, Fuji, etc. but no Nikon to Nikon. Not understanding that thinking. I do have Nikon lenses, Sony lenses, Nikon bodies and a Sony body but why wouldn’t I want to shift my Nikon lenses on my Nikon bodies?
- Cesar Sales
  
  Because it adds to the flange distance and you lose infinity focus.
  - catlett
    
    You are missing my point entirely. It adds to flange on all of the others I mentioned as well. Let me try again. Why would I want to have a tilt / shift to use my Nikon lenses on my Sony body but not have a tilt / shift to use my Nikon lenses on my Nikon body.
    - UP
      
      Nikon has FFD of 46.50 mm so do the Nikon lenses. Sony E mount has FFD of 18mm, 46.50-18=28.5m of space between lens an body to meke them work. Nikon and Canon have their own tilt-shift lenses
      - catlett
        
        Again, missing my point. I know they have their own tilt / shift lenses. It would be nice to be able to use, say a Rokinon 35 with a Nikon mount with a tilt shift adapter on my Nikon camera. I don’t want to just be able to use it with my Sony.
        
        I give up. I get it. It isn’t there except for this company that has a text only sales site that looks like the first blog ever created on the internet.
      - UP
        
        its physics, not missing your point – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flange_focal_distance. the same would be if I said, It would be nice if iPhone 7 have 6″ screen within the same phone size
    - Cesar Sales
      
      Except the flange distance of the sony is shorter and can afford the extra spacer, indeed NEEDS the extra spacer, in order to achieve infinity focus with a Nikon lens. Stick a Nikon lens with spacer in between on a Nikon body and bye-bye infinity. That’s why it’s not really a market item.
- Cesar Sales
  
  Google is your friend:
  http://araxfoto.com/accessories/nikon-tilt-nikon/
  - catlett
    
    Thanks. It may be amazing but this looks super shady.
james digiorgio

I know I’m late to the game for this article but I have a problem using tilt adapters on my Sony A7II. I have three, different, M42-NEX tilt adapters. They all claim they’re compatible with my Sony A7II. None of them are. Not fully compatible. They work fine on my Sony NEX-6 but they won’t fully screw-on to my A7II, that is, they won’t fully reach that point where the adapter “clicks” into place. Someone told me that Sony changed the thread pitch or possibly something else from their NEX cameras to their A7 line. Do you know of any tilt adapter that is truly 100% compatible with my Sony A7II? I love using tilt adapters but if they won’t fully ‘seat’ onto my A7II, they risk falling off the camera while I’m using it… which has already happened.