Tilta Nucleus Auto Focus Adapter Dual Nano II Motor Kit

This kit gives you autofocus with manual PL cinema lenses on Sony E-mount cameras such as the FX3, FX30 or FX6. The Tilta Nucleus Auto Focus Adapter connects the PL lens to the camera and passes the camera’s autofocus on to two Nucleus Nano II motors. Face and eye detection keep working, even with rehoused vintage glass or high-end cinema primes.

How it works

Unlike LiDAR systems such as the DJI Focus Pro, the adapter doesn’t measure distance itself. It takes the same phase-detection AF data that the camera would send to a native Sony autofocus lens: you pick the subject on the camera’s touchscreen, and the motor follows. This also means that where the camera’s AF struggles, for example in strong backlight with the lens wide open, the adapter does too. Focus transitions are not quite as fast and smooth as with a native E-mount AF lens.

Lens library and calibration

For supported lenses, you load a profile from the built-in library by brand and focal length. Other lenses are set up on the adapter’s own display: quickly with basic data (focal length, widest aperture, squeeze factor) or more precisely by mapping focus and iris marks. Lens Speed from -20 to +20 sets how gently or snappily focus moves. There’s no app. Everything is set on the adapter itself.

Two motors: focus and iris

One Nano II motor pulls focus and the other drives the iris, which you then set from the camera’s own aperture control. The Nano II motors mount on 15mm rods and aren’t height-adjustable, so on some lenses a motor may not reach the gear. On small cameras like the FX3, the included 15mm rod adapter helps with positioning.

Power

The camera doesn’t power the adapter. Instead, the adapter and motors run on USB-C power, for example from the included Tilta NP-F battery plate (USB-C and USB-A outputs) or from any battery with a D-Tap output via the D-Tap to USB-C cable. Use Tilta’s own USB-C cables. Only they carry the control signals the system needs.

Good to know

The adapter weighs about 550 g and has a built-in lens support foot. Heavy PL lenses still need extra support. On the FX6, the top handle covers the adapter’s display and buttons, and some cages do too. Without the motors, it also works as a plain PL to E-mount adapter. Not compatible with the Sony BURANO or FX9.

In the Case

• Auto focus adapter with lens & rear cap
• 15mm rod adapter with knurled screw & 2x thumb screw
• 2x Nucleus Nano II motor
• 2x 15mm rod 100mm
• Dual USB-C control cable 45cm
• USB-C power cable 30cm
• D-Tap > USB-C power cable 50cm
• NP-F battery plate with 1/4″ scew
• Manual
• Original soft bag