Author Topic: Poorly made M42 adapter (Read 2532 times)

brachiopod · « **on:** September 02, 2009, 07:00:49 AM »

I bought an M42/micro 4/3 adapter from one of the big sellers on ebay in Hong Kong. The adapter is quite poorly made for the $50 that I paid, and did not fit on the camera. I had to take an ignition file (small file) to the mounting tabs and make them thinner before it would fit. The problem appears to be that the adapter may be "cast" rather than machined and they did not account for the roughness of the surface and the thickness of the coating. It looks like the mold for the adapter may have been made on one of those prototyping machines that builds up out of plastic. Looks like they have different ring inserts for the lens mount, so you might have the same problem with one of the others.

Thomas Crown · « **Reply #1 on:** September 02, 2009, 03:15:41 PM »

A picture of the adaptor and the name of the seller might help a lot future buyers, thanks.

brachiopod · « **Reply #2 on:** September 02, 2009, 04:16:36 PM »

Well, I don't know if I want to wreck someone's business over just one possible exception, I thought that I'd see if anyone else had had a problem before I posted the name.

Jman · « **Reply #3 on:** September 05, 2009, 03:40:36 AM »

In my mind, if they don't want business to decline due to inferior products, they should stop making inferior products. If business drops and they say "hey, it's because the adapter is made poorly...look at the complaints", they'll either have to fix the problems or deal with the loss in business. That's how the business world works. This forum does not get enough traffic to ruin someone's business, though.

chopsticksmc · « **Reply #4 on:** September 06, 2009, 05:26:06 PM »

Hi mate, I had the same problem before, I bought my M42 adapter off Ebay, the seller was from Canada, and the adapter was poorly made couldn't fit my E-P1, so I sent it back and got a full refund.

AND I bought a second M42 adapter off another Hongkong seller (EBAY) again, and I am still waiting for it, hopefully we are not from the same seller. BUT I did tell the Hongkong seller my first adapter story before I paid, he said his adapters got tested before he listed them.

:'(

brachiopod · « **Reply #5 on:** September 07, 2009, 05:40:37 AM »

OK, this one was from "camplus" on ebay. It is fixable if you know where to take material off, I looked it under a binocular microscope to figure out where it was binding. If you take an ignition file (a sharp small fine file with a sharp edge) and work it on the underside of the mounting tabs and just take a little off, maybe a couple thousanths, it will fit. Use a sharpie to color it black again, but the fix isn't really visible. After the fix it fits OK. You should not have to do this for $50 of course, but since it took so long to arrive I just wanted to fix it and try my lenses.

If you do this, rub it and clean it off really well before you get it back on the camera, you won't want any little metal flakes around. I washed and dried it; you can put it in the dishwasher.

whatkatiedoes · « **Reply #6 on:** September 22, 2009, 09:35:30 AM »

FYI anyone else who's buying one, i got mine from 'roxsen' on ebay and the quality is fine - it feels well made and fits perfectly.

karlstorck · « **Reply #7 on:** October 01, 2009, 02:49:39 AM »

I'm looking for a M42 adapter. Novoflex has one, expensive. And Roxsen sounds fine, judging frpm above. Anyone else want to share a positive experience?

brachiopod · « **Reply #8 on:** October 23, 2009, 07:39:54 AM »

I've gotten a second adapter of a different make, and this one has a different problem. The fit to the camera is fine, but the inner rotating ring that allows you to rotate the M42 lens to have the markings "up" did not work. First of all there was only one set screw for this ring instead of the usual three. Second, the ring was frozen and did not move when the screw was loosened. I worked on it for quite a while, and finally got the ring out. It looks like superglue was used to hold the ring in place. I cleaned it all out, and now the ring can be rotated as designed, but it is very slightly loose... which is probably why they superglued it. When I get time I'll drill and tap two more set screws to fix that. Here is a picture of the adapter so you can avoid it... from ebay of course.

karlstorck · « **Reply #9 on:** November 01, 2009, 11:34:19 AM »

I'm actually considering getting the Novoflex adapter, despite the price!

Poorly made M42 adapter