Viltrox has been known for its budget lenses, which many young photographers depend on. However, while the company is creating more optics, according to a new report, it is also working on a unique lens adapter: the NexusFocus F1. The latter is designed to give cinema creators an easy way to work with vintage lenses. What it entails, and whether it is considered a breakthrough, let us get into that in a bit.
What is the Adapter About?
Viltrox announced the campaign on Kickstarter, with the NexusFocus F1 being pitched as the first PL-E autofocus control system that lets one easily use a manual focus lens and a Sony E-mount camera — while giving it autofocus and scene detection. The adapter is designed for solo operation, smaller crews, and it addresses the challenges of cinema lenses: manual focus. With vintage cine lenses, one gets the character, mechanical precision, and quality, but they also demand a skilled focus puller to work the scene. This is where Viltrox steps in, with NexusFocus promising to allow Sony users to use the latter’s advanced AF system to handle autofocus.
LiDAR-based autofocus can struggle with parallax errors or require extra rigging. However, NenusFocus has a more camera-driven approach, and it uses Sony’s native subject recognition to drive precise FIZ motors. The latter is important for documentary shooters and gimbal work, helping cut down the focusing process. Viltrox says the setup is quick, it has lens calibration profiles, and one gets Bluetooth control via mobile devices. And with this, one can revive Vintage PL lenses to make them practical for modern use all over again.
Where the Concerns Begin
Something similar has been produced by Techart adapters, which add autofocus to lenses that never had an autofocus motor. The adapter would physically drive the lens (which is typically focused to infinity) using its motor. Megadap also uses a comparable technology, where they move the lens by driving the mount distance using the camera’s Phase detection autofocus system.
However, while there are options out there, NexusFocus offers true motorized control for lenses built without electronics (especially cine lenses. The latter is more ambitious as a project, and that’s where things get interesting. Manual cinema lenses have been used for many for a reason — with one of the biggest being that autofocus can undermine intentional focus decisions in shooting video. The focus pull can be deliberately slow or fast, based on the narrative. If you add autofocus, then it does take away from the liberty of storytelling by removing intentionality. However, many content creators today are not shooting like Alfred Hitchcock or Francis Ford Coppola; the little addition can be helpful. Especially for wedding filmmakers or commercial creators. Most cinematographers and big production sets still do things manually.
Then there is also the question of reliability. Kickstarter-backed hardware, especially complex motor-driven systems, often faces suspicion and distrust. There are other challenges, such as firmware dependencies and compatibility issues. However, Viltrox is a very trustworthy company with a growing reputation.
Overall, Viltrox is trying to do something different for solo creators, and that is truly liberating in today’s time. The price could be a pinch ($1,099 for a dual motor kit and $1,299 for a triple motor kit), but if it makes one’s workflow easy, then why not?
More importantly, it makes us wonder how they will eventually make this work for photography.
For more information, head to Viltrox’s Kickstarter page.