Avian Gear Review April 2021 - Viltrox Mount Adapter EF-FX2 M2 - Rating 2.5/5 stars

 My fuji XT-2 apparently YL have to send down to Singapore for service. Malaysia no longer have the facility. WTF. Since I cannot wait any longer I bought myself an adapter/converter to use my old faithful EF400mm F4 DO lens on my new Olympus OMD-1 MarkIII. As I cannot justify the crazy price of the Metabones (RM2,500), I opt for the second-best the Viltrox M2 at a price of RM500. 

The focus distance is reduced by a multiple of 0.71 when my lens is mounted so my EF400mm becomes 380mm and enhances to F2.8. So if I need a better distance I have to invest in a teleconverter 1.4 

The Pied Fantail shot at 25-30ft was rather soft and need some post sharpening and enhancement. Even then no clear feathers to see.

So far in the real world bird photography using the Viltrox adapter, my general review of the combination of my above set up is a 2.5/5  stars rating.  I did not expect so poor resolution from the combination. Contrast was not there. Colors was just lame.  Focusing speed was not tact fast enough with plenty of hunting when shooting in low light condition.

Even stepping down to F8 or F9 I still cannot get much resolution out of my OMD-1 mark III. ISO was kept low of Asa800. So my rating is a poor rating for the moment until I do further test with other lenses. 

Meanwhile WK Liew have more success with his EF 500mmf4 on his Fuji X-T4 using a Fringer adapter. Maybe it is Olympus smaller sensor or my DO lens is not sharp enuf ...... I got to try out his lens to make sure I am wrong.

As a comparison my XF100-400 with my XE2 body (16mp sensor) fair even much better as shown below in term of feather details. Jpeg without post processing. 

Fuji XF100-400mm with XE-2 body.

Latest - Apparently the Viltrox is only compatible for certain Ef lenses  and my EF 400mm DO L lens is not one of them. My fault for not bringing along my lens to test but used another lens from YL.  So it is very important to do testing with the actual lens you want to use. I hope Viltrox can come out with the update of the firmware asap if not my $$$ is burned.