Having used some cheap ebay Nikon F to Canon EF mount adapters in 2010, I can say they all were focusing past infinity, and the minimum focus was reduced. One could cut shims from aluminum foil and try to get the inf. point to match, or one could buy the MTF version which should be near perfect for focus (as I have heard). YMMV

There seems like much more future convergence around the canon EF mount.

May be invest in E mount in such case? :-) Even more future.

I've gone with Nikon F mount, that way no matter what happens in the future I can feel confident I'll be able to easily keep on using them :-)

http://ironfilm.co.nz/rokinon-cine-lenses/

Regarding the choice between Nikkor F mount and Canon EF mount for your manual lenses, I am with Vitaliy_Kiselev, IronFilm and PierreB -- get the Nikkor F mount.

I have a set of Nikkors that I have used on various film, video and still cameras since the mid 1970s. Most of those cameras have come and gone, but the Nikkors are still going strong due to their future-proof mount with the long flange focal distance.

I also have a couple of the Photodiox Nikkor-F-to-Canon-EF adapters. I think Photodiox has three versions of these adapters, and I got the cheapest one. There is no problem with infinity focus, and there is a slight amount of play. The play has never been a problem. If the slight play bothers you, get one of the higher-quality more expensive versions of the adapter, or use rails and a lens support (with a cable tie, if you are really particular).

In some cases, the Nikkor F mount is also "present-proof" compared to the Canon EF mount, due to the electronic dependency of Canon EF lenses. For example, there exist tilt/shift, tilt/swing adapters for the Canon EOSM camera, and there is also a focal reducer for the EOSM (that essentially makes it a full frame camera!). However, all of these adapters only have Nikkor F mounts, and these adapters have been available for about a year and a half. Evidently, the manufacturers of these adapters are afraid or unwilling to commit to tooling-up for non-electronic versions with a Canon EF mount.

By the way, your short list of mounts under the heading "Cinema industry usage" excludes every cinema industry mount that appeared in the nine decades before the Arri PL mount (1982), two of which are still in active use/manufacture.

In addition to the two mounts that you list under "Cinema industry usage," I can think of six more mounts that are currently in active manufacture/use for cinematography:

1. The Panavision PV mount;
2. The B4 mount;
3. The Sony FZ-mount (included on some of the Sony Cine Alta line);
4. The C-mount (currently the default on Digital Bolex);
5. The Sony E-mount (Sony FS7, FS700);
6. Micro 4/3s (Blackmagic, JVC).

Great write up @ironfilm!!

Most F-mount lenses focus in the wrong direction. That would be reason enough for me to choose Canon.

The Samyangs in F-Mount do turn in the Nikon direction. (at least the few I checked do)

Sure, there's no right or wrong way. There's the Nikon & Asahi way, and then there's the way practically everyone else does it, including all TV & cine lenses. Rack focusing is one thing. Run & gun is another. You develop muscle memory that can't be easily retrained. So anyone who has experience with one direction is going to have a lot of frustration and false starts if they ever switch.

We're talking about all-manual lenses, so an argument about the electronic iris control doesn't apply. And sure, F-mount lenses are more adaptable. But what camera are you going to adapt them to? There's virtually no mount in between Nikon and Canon that has any significance for video, and there's not likely to be in the future. The trend is for shorter flange focal distances. There hasn't been a new mount in that range in more than 20 years.

The Samyangs in F-Mount do turn in the Nikon direction. (at least the few I checked do)

Really? It's difficult to believe that a lens manufacturer would spend the money for the extra tooling and inventory requried merely to provide a choice of focus ring directions, depending on the lens mount chosen.

Furthermore, I just did a quick web search and found this article and this thread, and both claim that Samyang lenses with Nikkor F mounts focus in the opposite direction from Nikon, with no exceptions mentioned.

There's the Nikon & Asahi way, and then there's the way practically everyone else does it, including all TV & cine lenses.

I agree that there is one prevalent way, but I am not sure how long it has been so prevalent -- film and video lens manufacture goes back for many decades.

Rack focusing is one thing. Run & gun is another. You develop muscle memory that can't be easily retrained. So anyone who has experience with one direction is going to have a lot of frustration and false starts if they ever switch.

I have done my share of "run & gun," and I admit that I am not the greatest at pulling focus in those situations, but I have never had a huge problem switching between focusing directions as I never seemed to get fully "conditioned" to one way or the other.

Furthermore, as I mentioned, I always try rehearse racks (racking) with a lens if I have to shoot "run & gun." After about 15 to 20 practice racks, you get a feel for the focus direction.

We're talking about all-manual lenses, so an argument about the electronic iris control doesn't apply.

Actually, the Canon EF dependency on electronic iris control is extremely relevant to which mount one chooses for manual lenses.

I explained in my earlier posts why having manual lenses with EF mounts limits the cameras/adapters that one can use. I even gave a current, real life example of two special adapters that might never accept EF lenses (but that do accept Nikkor F). Manufacturers avoid creating passive EF adapters, as they would have to deal with complaints from Canon EF lens owners.

And sure, F-mount lenses are more adaptable.

Agreed. And there are two important reasons why manual Nikkor F mount lenses are more adaptable than manual lenses with Canon EF mounts:

1. The Nikkor F mount involves absolutely no dependency on electronic aperture control (inexpensive, passive adapters abound);
2. The Nikkor F mount has a longer flange-focal distance.

There's virtually no mount in between Nikon and Canon that has any significance for video, and there's not likely to be in the future.

Huh? Are you kidding? Go here and look at how many lens mounts have flange focal distances between Canon EF and Nikkor F -- I count 12 different "base" mounts which doesn't include more recent revisions!

There are a lot of these "in between" lenses that are used for video. Most have experienced a recent upswing in demand. A few brands (Contax, Olympus, Minolta) have such excellent optics that they get "rehoused" in cinema barrels.

In addition, the current Sony A mount and the current Pentax K mount fall within this range of flange-focal distances.

The trend is for shorter flange focal distances.

One would certainly hope so. It would be great if the camera manufacturers could agree on a wide-throated, non-proprietary mount with a flange-focal distance of about 18mm.

With such a mount as a standard, almost any lens could be mounted to any future camera with a full-frame sensor (or smaller).

There hasn't been a new mount in that range in more than 20 years.

Ahem... Sony A mount (2006) and Pentax K-AF2 mount (2007?).

"The Sony FZ-mount (included on some of the Sony Cine Alta line)"

Yup, I've got a Sony FZ mount camera as it is a fantastic camera for your buck. Truly amazing.

But if I'd gone with a Canon EF collection I'd be screwed and unable to leap for this bargain, because while a Nikon F to FZ mount is cheap (hundred bucks), an active Canon EF to FZ mount will be a thousands bucks or even much more!

you said you didn't understand why anyone would care about the focus direction, so I explained it to you. That article of Alister's explains it too.

Thank you for your explanation. However, neither you nor the article that I cited gave an explanation that I haven't heard before. As I mentioned, I have seen the sentiment many times in the past -- I just don't understand how folks get so conditioned to a focus direction, as I have been racking focus for a while without getting conditioned. Plus, a lot of racking is merely from one mark to another, so conditioning has no bearing in many cases.

You don't need to try so hard to discredit what I say.

I am sorry if I came across as trying to discredit you, but it is very difficult to believe that a manufacturer would change the tooling for a focus ring on a manual lens merely for a different choice of lens mount. However, I admit that you are right and I am wrong regarding Samyang offering the two focus ring versions.

That article of Alister's that you linked doesn't say Samyangs focus the right way. He specifically said he sold a reverse-focusing Nikon-mount Samyang 14/2.8 and replaced it with a Canon-mount Samyang.

Again, you are correct in that regard. I misread the article that I linked.

Just to make sure of the facts, I checked photos of the Samyang 14mm f2.8, and it appears the Nikon version indeed has a different focus direction than the Canon version, the Sony E version and the micro 4/3s version (look at one of the alternate photos).

I checked the F-mount VDSLR Samyang 85/T1.5, the 50/T1.5 and the 35/T1.5, and they all focus in the Nikon direction.

I wouldn't doubt it, now that I have seen it with my own eyes on the 14mm, 2.8.

It's not a question of whether the lenses in that range can be used for video. It's a question of whether any cameras in that range are used for video.

You said "There's virtually no mount in between Nikon and Canon that has any significance for video, and there's not likely to be in the future."

I simply replied that a lot of people are using the lenses in that range for video (which is why such lenses are selling so high on Ebay), and I pointed out two mounts that are used in current, active manufactured camera lines.

Additionally, there are many adapters that accept the lenses in this range.

Between Canon EF mount and Nikon F-mount, you've got a bunch of old SLR mounts, Sigma SA mount, Pentax K mount, Sony A-mount and the Nikon mount itself. I've barely heard of anyone using Sigma, Pentax, Sony A-mount, or Nikon cameras to shoot video. Sure, it's possible, but not so common.

It's a lot more common than you probably think. You also left out Contax, Minolta and Olympus, which are additionally getting rehoused in cinema barrels.

What you might be missing is that these "old" lenses are (were) an incredible value that cover full frame sensors. A lot of them are sharp as a tack, while some of the really old ones are sought after for their vintage character.

Such "old" lenses started to increase in popularity after 35mm DOF adapters came into vogue. Unfortunately, that demand boosted their prices.

I would also like to also point out that new cameras that shoot full HD video have been announced as recently as 3 weeks ago featuring the A-mount and as recently as 7 months ago featuring the K-mount.

And it's not hard at all to find all-mechanical adapters for Canon EF lenses to lots of different camera mounts, so I don't know what you're talking about. If you actually wanted Canon lenses with their electronic iris control, then you are more constrained about which adapters you can use. But that's not what we're talking about here. The Samyangs are all mechanical.

Actually, in quite a few instances, it is difficult, expensive or impossible to find certain adapters that accept lenses with Canon EF mounts (manual or passive). Both I and @IronFilm have given two real life examples.

Sony A-mount is the same as Minolta A-mount, from 1985. Bit of a stretch to call K-AF2 a new mount, since it's an evolution of K-mount with no mechanical differences.

You are correct. The Sony A-mount is derived from the Minolta A-mount. Nevertheless it is a current, very active mount (a camera using it was announced just three weeks ago) -- you can't dismiss it as "old."

Furthermore, there is no stretch in calling the K-AF2 a new mount, as it is actually different mechanically -- there are two new, physical (mechanical) electronic contacts in the mount's spec. And again, a camera shooting full HD was released with this mount earlier this year, so please don't try to portray the mount as inactive nor "old."

In addition, there are many adapters (with an optical element or for macro) available to attach Nikkor F lenses to Sony A-mount cameras and to Pentax K-mount cameras. Try to find one adapter that attaches a lens with a Canon EF mount to those two types of current cameras.

@Vitaliy_Kiselev

Thank you for your suggestion about checking the topic title.

As you seem to notice, I tend to cite a point made by someone else and then respond directly to that point (made by someone else). So, perhaps checking the topic title should also be suggested to someone else (as I merely respond directly to their points). :-)

(Ps: for landscape photography- not sport)

Maybe if anyone has a vdslr nikon mount they can let me know if it has an aperture connection ring.