It looks like RedRock Micro is the first to market with the LiveLens for Canon EOS Lenses. A MFT adapter with built in electronic iris control for Canon EOS lens. This is a big deal! You can’t control the iris with a “dumb” adapter and now you can for around $500. I thought Birger would be the first but it seems they are going bigger in features so its taking longer.
One thing that sticks out is the 9V powered Battery pack that attaches to the lens mount with a cable. You have to use double sided tape or velco and attach it to your camera. More cables/batteries on the camera turns me off a bit but a small price to pay if you have many EOS lenses that you cant use..
Info from RedRock Micro website.
“LiveLens active lens mount for Canon EF lenses is the first lens mount for 35mm adapters that let’s you control the aperture of Canon EF lenses. By simply attaching your Canon EF lens and pushing the open/close buttons, you can set the EF lens’ aperture to any stop in increments of 1/3 stop (depending on lens and aperture range, adjustments may be up to 1/5 stop increments).”
Includes:
- LiveLens active lens mount
- 9V power cable for powering LiveLens
Maybe the MTF EOS adaptor will prove an interesting alternative. I can vouch first hand that it works WITHOUT the adaptor box attached all the time, and that changing lenses sets the same aperture on each lens. Only requires somewhere to ‘park the pig-tail’:
http://www.vimeo.com/29850603
And with 1/8th stop control rather than 1/3rd. Though I’ll be holding onto my Vari-NDs for a bit longer…
Is the MTF adapter available now? Looks good but not a fan of the design with a box attached to a cable to control the iris. It would be great if more companies go the Birger way with chip and bluetooth in the adapter so the camera talks to the adapter like a native lens from Lumix.