Step Down Adapter For The Meike Lens

Order yours here.

More Ancient Stuff: I appears that I have the urge to "trick out" my equipment, as I frequently buy a variety of accessories just to make my cameras look or handle exactly the way I want them to. In the photo community such additions are often called "kluges", the photographer's version of pulling a MacGyver. This linking of disparate parts to improve appearance and performance isn't unique to photographers. For example, consider the heavily modified Mini Coopers and Hondas. Hey, if that trunk-mounted spoiler helps you make tighter high-speed turns even when you're waiting for the light to change, who am I to judge?

Here's where we left off. Notice that the Fuji 27mm lens with its new OEM hood (#LH-XF27, left) is far more compact than the Meike 28mm lens with its attached JJC lens hood (order yours here), which was designed for use on the fixed lens Fuji X-70.  I described the required Male-Male Threaded Adapter (MMTA) in this post. For the record, I already had the hood, so adapting it was, at the time, an economical solution. It has served well, and because the hood is so deep, I never bothered to install a protective filter.

From the get-go it was obvious that the hood on the left is much more compact than the hood on the right. After checking e-Bay, I found the adapter I was looking for: a 49-39mm Stepdown Adapter. Conventional wisdom suggests that the such a reduction in diameter could result in some serious vignetting, but I'm thinking that it just might work because the Fuji lens and the Meike have a similar form factor. 

Hard Dates: This post has been delayed by the unusually long time between my placing the order (Saturday, June 18) and the adapter's actual arrival date (Thursday, June 30 ). I find it interesting that the only vendor for this unusual adapter in the entire eBay world is located in the U.K., or Wales to be precise.  Funny to see that my $10.00 purchase required a Customs Declaration, but after all, it did travel over 5,000 miles, or over 8,000 kilometers. 

I must acknowledge that few situations calling for such a odd paring of threads, but I'm still surprised that getting was so difficult. Perhaps it's because that a stepdown ring this extreme will almost certain cause severe vignetting.

It is apparent that the adapted Fuji hood mounted on the slightly taller Meike lens (right) closely matches the size of the original 27mm F 2.8 Fuji lens (left). I ran an informal vignetting test and found no noticeable change with the new installation.

For the cost of that adapter I have achieved a level of bliss similar to the time I adapted the big hood to the lens using the MMTA, only better. I am happy enough with this kluge to call it "over and out".