A Practical Review of the Fringer Pro EF-FX adapter

October 26, 2021 • Leave a Comment

I have been using Canon gears for more than 12 years and needless to say that I have collected a good number of quality EF lenses to date. My first Fujifilm mirrorless camera body was not acquired by choice but rather by luck or maybe a blessing in disguise?! Yes, I received a Fujifilm X-T2 and an XF80mm f/2.8 macro lens back in 2018 as a winning prize from Australian Photography Awards photo competition (wildlife category). I already own an equivalent macro lens in my canon system so the 80mm Fuji lens was sold within a few days after receiving it. I wanted to convert the X-T2 to cash and I already found a buyer but I pulled it out last minute as I was curious to try it.

At first, I bought a 'dumb' EF-FX adapter for $20 off ebay just to test the quality of images that can be produced using my Canon lenses on the Fuji body and I was happy with the results. The big issue with using a dumb adapter for adapting Canon EF glass is the lack of lens external aperture control. I had to use a separate Canon DSLR to change the aperture then unmount the lens while pressing the DOF preview button then mounting it on the Fuji camera. It's a tedious process so I started looking for an alternative adapter with electronics.

I came across the Fringer Pro EF-FX mount adapter. There's some great reviews at that time from Canon users and so I ended up ordering one to give a try.

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I did not want to go out shopping for Fuji lenses so I thought the adapter would help me test the Fuji camera while using the existing lenses that I already own. I did purchase the XF 18-55mm though when it was on sale so I would have at least one native lens to play around with.

There are 2 versions of this adapter. The one that I bought was the version with external aperture control ring though it's slightly more expensive but I thought it's worth the extra dough.

All my canon lenses worked flawlessly with the adapter including the lens IS (Image Stabilisation) function. The EF 100mm 2.8 L IS is one of my most used lens on my X-T2 specially at home in the backyard where most of my macro images are created.

Fujifilm X-T2 | Canon EF 100mm 2.8L IS | ISO 400 | f/14 | 1/125 sec | Manual Focus | Handheld

Fujifilm X-T2 | Canon EF 100mm 2.8L IS | ISO 200| f/8 | 1/8 sec | Manual Focus | Handheld

Fujifilm X-T2 | Canon EF 100mm 2.8L IS | ISO 200| f/5.6 | 1/250 sec | Manually Focused | Handheld

One of the features of the Fuji mirrorless cameras that I really like is the Focus peaking. It does help with the manual focus and it makes shooting in manual focus fun and way less painful when compared to adapting lenses on DSLR!

Fujifilm X-T2 | Canon EF 100mm 2.8L IS | ISO 200| f/2.8 | 1/900 sec | Manual Focus | Handheld

Fujifilm X-T2 | Canon EF 100mm 2.8L IS | ISO 800 | f/2.8 | 1/210 sec | Manual Focus | Handheld

The other favourite canon lens that I like using on my X-T2 and now on X-S10 is the EF 24-70 mm f/2.8 L. It's my walk around lens in my canon System and it's also a fantastic performer for Infrared imagery (zero hotspot). I brought it with me when I went to New Zealand back in 2019 and it did help me create some of my favourite landscape images from the trip.

The other favourite wide angle lens that I like adapting on Fuji camera bodies is the EF 16-35mm F4 IS L. The IS also works seamlessly using the Fringer Pro and also it can focus really quick although I don't use AF when shooting landscape 99.9% of the time anyway.

Fujifilm X-T2 | Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM | ISO 400| f/10 | 1/300 sec | 22mm | Manual Focus | Handheld

Fujifilm X-T2 | Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM | ISO 500 | f/13 | 1/280 sec | 24mm | Manual Focus | Handheld

I am getting a lot of questions regarding the AF performance when using this adapter. On my X-T2, the AF works but not great on longer lenses like my EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS L MK2, EF 100mm 2.8 IS L and also with my EF 70-200mm 2.8 IS L MK 2. I realised that it's also because of the slower AF in X-T2. In Fringer's website I believe they also mentioned this one.

Earlier this year I acquired an X-S10 and this time it's by choice! I did some tests using AF and found out that it's better than X-T2 in terms of accuracy. I am still getting a few out of focus shots though specially for fast moving subjects. But I am getting so used to using Manual Focus that it's my default mode even for birds in flight these days!

My hit rate is getting better and better each time - I like to work around the limitation of my gears. In this case, I challenged myself to develop my reflexes and relying on the Focus Peaking to nail focus. I can only imagine how challenging it was to shoot sports back then!

Fujifilm X-T2 | Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS mk 2 | ISO 500 | f/5.6 | 1/220 sec | 400mm | Manual Focus | Handheld

Fujifilm X-T2 | Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS mk 2 | ISO 400 | f/5.6 | 1/4400 sec | 278mm | Manual Focus | Tripod Mounted

Fujifilm X-T2 | Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM | ISO 800 | f/4 | 1/450 sec | 290mm | Manual Focus | Handheld

My Kenko 1.4 extender also works and I like using it when shooting macro or when I needed the extra reach.

Fujifilm X-T2 | Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS mk 2 | ISO 1600 | f/7.1 | 1/240 sec | 400mm | Kenko 1.4 Extender | Manual Focus | Handheld

Fujifilm X-T2 | Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS mk 2 | ISO 200 | f/5.6 | 1/480 sec | 400mm | Kenko 1.4 Extender | Manual Focus | Handheld

Fujifilm X-T2 | Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS mk 2 | ISO 400 | f/6.3 | 1/950 sec | 400mm | Kenko 1.4 Extender | Manual Focus | Handheld

I have been using the Fringer Pro for almost 2 years now and it never ever failed me. I believe I have enough experience to share my view and answer the most common questions I always get around the AF and reliability.

So is it worth it??

I don't use AF when I am adapting my canon lenses on my Fuji Cameras. That's mainly because I liked the focus peaking so much that I feel like I trust it more than the camera's AF. Even when using XF native lenses (YES! I own a few now), I still use Manual Focus. So that said, in my own testing, the AF works more reliably and quicker on my wider lenses than the longer lenses. But it's also worth noting that I am comparing it against my canon cameras which is an unfair comparison to start with - comparing a native lens against an adapted lens performance.

I have not tried any other brand of EF-FX adapters so I can't really compare. But I have no regrets getting it and if you are like me who owns and shoot using both Canon and Fujifilm, I believe it's the cheaper way to enjoy both worlds! I only wish that is has a weather sealing considering that all my Canon lenses are weather sealed as well as the X-T2. But still, for me it's worth it.

If AF performance is very important for you then there's no better way than shooting using native glass.

All images in this blog and in the Gallery are copyright protected. Please feel fee to contact me if you want to purchase or license my images.

Keywords: Adapting Canon Lenses, Australia, Birds, Canon, Fringer, Fringer Pro, Fujifilm, Fujifilm X-T2 + EF 100-400mm Lens, Fujifilm X-T2 + EF 100mm Lens, Fujifilm X-T2 + EF 16-35mm Lens, Lanscape, Macro, Nature, Wildlife, X-T2

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