Lens adapter

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Two passive adapters to mount lenses to Sony E-mount cameras - for Exakta (left) and for Minolta SR/MD lenses (right). Lens adapters Exakta to Sony E-mount and Minolta MD to Sony E-mount.jpg
Two passive adapters to mount lenses to Sony E-mount cameras – for Exakta (left) and for Minolta SR/MD lenses (right).
This lens adapter is a passive adapter designed for mounting a Nikon F-mount lens to a Micro Four Thirds camera. Lens Adapter.jpg
This lens adapter is a passive adapter designed for mounting a Nikon F-mount lens to a Micro Four Thirds camera.

In photography and videography, a lens adapter is a device that enables the use of camera and lens combinations from otherwise incompatible systems. The most simple lens adapter designs, passive lens adapters provide a secure physical connection between the camera and the lens. Some passive adapters may include a mechanism for manual iris control. So called, active lens adapters will include electronic connections, enabling communication between the lens and the camera. [1]

Contents

Some lens adapters include a special optical element called a telecompressor, focal reducer, or more recently a "speed booster", a genericised trademark that refers to the Metabones Speed Booster line of lens adapters. [2] This type of adapter is designed to reduce focal length, increase lens speed, and in some instances improve MTF performance. Since 2004, Fotodiox has been one of the leading manufacturers in lens mount adapters and has over 700 different lens/camera combinations as of early 2019. [3] Another innovator in the field is KIPON, a German/Chinese co-operation between Kipon and IB/E Optics. [4] Another branch of lens adapters include an ND-filter to simplify changing lenses, which HolyManta introduced in 2013. [5]

The depth-of-field adapter (also called a DOF adapter or 35 mm adapter) is a largely obsolete device that uses a ground glass focusing screen to enable the use of interchangeable lenses on a fixed lens camcorder. [6] There are also lens adapters made for other optical systems, including microscopes and telescopes.

Basic design

Most lens adapters feature a male fitting and a female fitting. The male fitting attaches to the camera, and the female fitting attaches to the lens. There is also an opening in the center to allow the light to pass through. Lens adapters can be shorter or longer, based on the respective flange focal distance of the lens and camera being adapted. Flange focal distance is the key specification in determining whether or not a particular type of lens can be adapted to any given camera. Generally speaking, cameras with a shorter flange focal distance can be adapted to a greater diversity of lenses. This is because there must be enough room to fit an adapter between the lens and the camera.

It is possible to physically mount a lens with a short flange focal distance on a camera with a long flange focal distance, but this will make it impossible to achieve infinity focus. The effect will be similar to that of an extension tube, because the lens will be mounted further from the image plane than intended. Some lens adapters utilize an optical element to compensate for this, effectively acting as a teleconverter. This introduces the typical side effects of a teleconverter, namely decreasing the amount of light that reaches the sensor, and adding a crop factor to the lens.

Additionally, there are several secondary factors to consider. Lenses designed for a smaller image sensor may not be adaptable to camera bodies with larger sensors as the image circle may not be large enough to cover the entire sensor, and will therefore exhibit vignetting. The age of the camera body may limit the availability of adapters; as camera bodies typically reach obsolescence before lenses. Finally, some adapters may include electronic or mechanical provisions in order to control the lens aperture and autofocus, to record the correct Exif data, or to report focus confirmation.

The following table shows commonly available adapters that don't require an optical element. [7]

Lens Mount
E MFT NX LM M39 FD EF A PK M42 F LR
Camera Body Mount
E YesYes†Yes‡YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
MFT NoYesYes‡YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
NX NoNoYesYes‡Yes [8] Yes [9] Yes [10] Yes‡Yes‡Yes [11] Yes [12] Yes‡
LM NoNoNoYesYes [13] Yes [14] Yes [15] Yes‡Yes [16] Yes [17] Yes [18] Yes [19]
FD NoNoNoNoNoYesNo* [20] Yes [21] Yes [22] Yes
EF NoNoNoNoNoNoYesNo∗YesYesYesYes
A NoNoNoNoNoNoNoYesNo∗YesNo∗Yes
PK NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoYesYesNo∗Yes
F NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoYesYes
LR NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoYes

†Image may exhibit vignetting due to sensor size.

‡Theoretically possible, but may be difficult to find.

∗Although the camera's flange distance is shorter than the lens', there is not enough distance between the flange and the lens to integrate the bayonet.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Four Thirds system</span> Digital camera design standard

The Four Thirds System is a standard created by Olympus and Eastman Kodak for digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) and mirrorless camera design and development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canon EF lens mount</span> Standard lens mount on the Canon EOS family

The EF lens mount is the standard lens mount on the Canon EOS family of SLR film and digital cameras. EF stands for "Electro-Focus": automatic focusing on EF lenses is handled by a dedicated electric motor built into the lens. Mechanically, it is a bayonet-style mount, and all communication between camera and lens takes place through electrical contacts; there are no mechanical levers or plungers. The mount was first introduced in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Autofocus</span> Optical system to focus on an automatically or manually selected point or area

An autofocus optical system uses a sensor, a control system and a motor to focus on an automatically or manually selected point or area. An electronic rangefinder has a display instead of the motor; the adjustment of the optical system has to be done manually until indication. Autofocus methods are distinguished as active, passive or hybrid types.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital single-lens reflex camera</span> Digital cameras combining the parts of a single-lens reflex camera and a digital camera back

A digital single-lens reflex camera is a digital camera that combines the optics and the mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a digital imaging sensor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lens mount</span> Interface between a camera body and lens

A lens mount is an interface – mechanical and often also electrical – between a photographic camera body and a lens. It is a feature of camera systems where the body allows interchangeable lenses, most usually the rangefinder camera, single lens reflex type, single lens mirrorless type or any movie camera of 16 mm or higher gauge. Lens mounts are also used to connect optical components in instrumentation that may not involve a camera, such as the modular components used in optical laboratory prototyping which join via C-mount or T-mount elements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canon FD lens mount</span> Standard lens mount on the Canon

The Canon FD lens mount is a physical standard for connecting a photographic lens to a 35mm single-lens reflex camera body. The standard was developed by Canon of Japan and was introduced in March 1971 with the Canon F-1 camera. It served as the Canon SLR interchangeable lens mounting system until the 1987 introduction of the Canon EOS series cameras, which use the newer EF lens mount. The FD mount lingered through the release of the 1990 Canon T60, the last camera introduced in the FD system, and the end of the Canon New F-1 product cycle in 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">APS-C</span> Image sensor format

Advanced Photo System type-C (APS-C) is an image sensor format approximately equivalent in size to the Advanced Photo System film negative in its C ("Classic") format, of 25.1×16.7 mm, an aspect ratio of 3:2 and Ø 31.15 mm field diameter. It is therefore also equivalent in size to the Super 35 motion picture film format, which has the dimensions of 24.89 mm × 18.66 mm and Ø 31.11 mm field diameter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M42 lens mount</span> Screw thread mounting standard for attaching lenses to 35 mm cameras

The M42 lens mount is a screw thread mounting standard for attaching lenses to 35 mm cameras, primarily single-lens reflex models. It is more accurately known as the M42 × 1 mm standard, which means that it is a metric screw thread of 42 mm diameter and 1 mm thread pitch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M39 lens mount</span>

The M39 lens mount is a screw thread mounting system for attaching lenses to 35 mm cameras, primarily rangefinder (RF) Leicas. It is also the most common mount for Photographic enlarger lenses.

The Sigma SA-mount is a lens mount by the Sigma Corporation of Japan for use on their autofocus single-lens reflex and mirrorless cameras. It was introduced with the SA-300 in 1992. Originally, the SA-mount was a dual-bayonet mount with inner (SA-IB) and outer (SA-OB) bayonets, the latter being a feature intended to mount heavy telephoto lenses, but never utilized by Sigma and consequently dropped with the release of the SD14 in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lens speed</span>

Lens speed refers to the maximum aperture diameter, or minimum f-number, of a photographic lens. A lens with a larger than average maximum aperture is called a "fast lens" because it can achieve the same exposure as an average lens with a faster shutter speed. Conversely, a smaller maximum aperture is "slow" because it delivers less light intensity and requires a slower (longer) shutter speed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lenses for SLR and DSLR cameras</span>

This article is about photographic lenses for single-lens reflex film cameras (SLRs) and digital single-lens reflex cameras (DSLRs). Emphasis is on modern lenses for 35 mm film SLRs and for DSLRs with sensor sizes less than or equal to 35 mm ("full-frame").

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telecompressor</span>

A telecompressor or focal reducer is an optical element used to reduce focal length, increase lens speed, and in some instances improve optical transfer function (OTF) performance. It is also widely known under the name “Speed Booster”, which is the commercial name of a line of telecompressors by the manufacturer Metabones. Popular applications include photography, videography, and astrophotography. In astrophotography, these qualities are most desirable when taking pictures of nearby large objects, such as nebulae. The effects and uses of the telecompressor are largely opposite to those of the teleconverter or Barlow lens. A combined system of a lens and a focal reducer has smaller back focus than the lens alone; this places restrictions on lenses and cameras that focal reducer might be used with.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1</span>

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 was the first digital mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera (MILC) adhering to the Micro Four Thirds system design standard. The G1 camera is similar to the larger Four Thirds system format DSLR cameras, but replaces the complex optical path needed for the optical viewfinder with an electronic viewfinder EVF displaying a live view image directly from the sensor. Eliminating the mirror box and optical viewfinder allows for smaller and lighter camera bodies, while the less complex optical path also allows for smaller, lighter lens designs.

The Samsung NX-mount is the lens mount used on NX series mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras by Samsung. The mount was first implemented in the Samsung NX10, and Samsung initially referred to the NX line as 'hybrid digital cameras', citing their combination of attributes of both DSLR and compact cameras.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mirrorless camera</span> Compact camera with a user-removable and replaceable lens

A mirrorless camera is a photo camera featuring a single, removable lens and a digital display. The camera does not have a reflex mirror or optical viewfinder like a digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera, but may have an electronic viewfinder. Many mirrorless cameras retain a mechanical shutter. Like a DSLR, a mirrorless camera accepts any of a series of interchangeable lenses compatible with its lens mount.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sony E-mount</span>

The E-mount is a lens mount designed by Sony for their NEX and ILCE series of camcorders and mirrorless cameras. The E-mount supplements Sony's α mount, allowing the company to develop more compact imaging devices while maintaining compatibility with 35mm sensors. E-mount achieves this by:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sony NEX-5</span>

The Sony α NEX-5 is a digital camera launched on 11 May 2010. It is a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera with the body size of a larger model fairly compact point-and-shoot camera with a larger sensor size (APS-C) comparable to that of some digital single-lens reflex cameras. Its major competitors in the market are the cameras based on the micro 4/3 standard created by Panasonic and Olympus, and a few low end Canon, Nikon, and even Sony α DSLRs. The NEX-5 shoots 14.2 megapixel stills and has a 7 frame/s continuous shotmode. It has the capability to shoot 1920×1080i at 60 frame/s in AVCHD or 1440×1080p at 30 frame/s in MPEG4. The NEX-5 was replaced by the 16 megapixel NEX-5N in August 2011.

The Pentax Q series is a series of mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras made by Pentax and introduced in 2011 with the initial model Pentax Q. As of September 2012, it was the world's smallest, lightest interchangeable lens digital camera. The first models used a 1/2.3" back-illuminated sensor CMOS image sensor. The Q7, introduced in June 2013, uses a larger 1/1.7" type sensor. The Q system is now discontinued.

The Samsung NX series was a series of APS-C mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras with Samsung NX lens mounts from Samsung Electronics, introduced in 2010.

References

  1. Plant, Ian. "Lens Adapters: An Introductory Guide", 11 February 2013.
  2. Metabones Speedbooster Tele-Compressor Speeds Up Mirrorless Cameras
  3. "Lens Mount Adapters". Fotodiox, Inc. USA. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  4. "Kipon Adapter Finder".
  5. http://holymanta.com/
  6. Bloom, Philip. "35mm Adapters" Archived 2014-12-31 at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Lens mount compatibility chart" . Retrieved 2016-11-29.
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  9. "Fotodiox Pro Lens Mount Adapter - Canon FD & FL 35mm SLR lens to Samsung NX Mount Mirrorless Camera Body".
  10. "Fotodiox Lens Mount Adapter - Canon EOS (EF / EF-S) D/SLR Lens to Samsung NX Mount Mirrorless Camera Body".
  11. "Fotodiox Lens Mount Adapter - M42 Type 2 (42mm x1 Screw Mount) Lens to Samsung NX Mount Mirrorless Camera Body".
  12. "Fotodiox Lens Mount Adapter - Nikon F Mount D/SLR Lens to Samsung NX Mount Mirrorless Camera Body".
  13. "Fotodiox Lens Mount Adapter - M39/L39 Screw Mount SLR Lens to Leica M Mount Rangefinder Camera Body with 29mm/90mm Frame Line".
  14. "Fotodiox Lens Mount Adapter - Canon FD & FL 35mm SLR lens to Leica M Mount Rangefinder Camera Body".
  15. "Fotodiox Lens Mount Adapter - Canon EOS (EF / EF-S) D/SLR Lens to Leica M Mount Rangefinder Camera Body".
  16. "Fotodiox Lens Mount Adapter - Pentax K Mount (PK) SLR Lens to Leica M Mount Rangefinder Camera Body".
  17. "Fotodiox Lens Mount Adapter - M42 Type 2 (42mm x1 Screw Mount) Lens to Leica M Mount Rangefinder Camera Body".
  18. "Fotodiox Lens Mount Adapter - Nikon Nikkor F-mount D/SLR Lens to Leica M-mount Rangefinder Camera Body".
  19. "Fotodiox Lens Mount Adapter - Leica R SLR Lens to Leica M Mount Rangefinder Camera Body".
  20. "Not the typical adapter: Is there a Canon EF lens to FD body adapter?".
  21. "Minolta SR/MC/MD Lens To Canon FL/FD/FDn Body Adapter".
  22. "Fotodiox Lens Mount Adapter - M42 Screw Mount SLR Lens to Canon FD & FL 35mm SLR Camera Body".