Adapter Freindly Mounts

[VidThreeNorth]

This is an issue that recently occurred to me, and I have not found any mention of it so far:

There are four mounts that I have little knowledge about. So far, the "common" mirror-less mounts (M4:3, Sony E, Pentax Q) will freely take "foreign" lenses. That is to say if you use even a cheap adapter, you can mount a Nikon or Canon lens and the camera does not do anything that I would not expect. I can use Auto Shutter Speed and Auto ISO to get reasonable auto-exposure. In some cases, I can even go further and adapt auto-focus and auto-aperture, but that gets pricey and sometimes pretty slow. But it can be done.

So, what about Nikon Z, Canon R and Canon M mounts? We know that a Nikon F lens can be stuck on a Nikon Z with their special adapter and except for "screwdriver focus" the camera will make good use of it. What happens if I get a cheap Pentax SLR adapter for it (if there aren't any yet, there will be)? Will it all be similar or does the camera become crippled? What about one of the two Canon mirror-less mounts? I expect the Canons to be crippled because the EF mount did something like that. This is why you need adapters with special "chips" to get the Canons to accept the off-brand lenses.

The same question goes for the Leica mount, though it has been around longer. I don't know anything about that mount, except that Leica cameras have been using it for a long time now.

 

[Derrel]

Maybe a bit of info can be found here:Adapters: One Lens to Another Body

I have no info on "new"mounts,like Nikon Z, etc/..

 

[ac12]

Someone will eventually make adapters for many of the popular dSLR to mirrorless cameras, just like they have for the current mirrorless cameras like m4/3.
But like today there will be dumb adapters (NO communications between the lens and camera) and smart adapters (communication, to various degrees between the lens and camera).
And there is no guarantee of anyone making a smart adapter, ever.

Example, there is NO smart adapter (that I know of) for Nikon F to micro 4/3, ALL the adapters are dumb. This means the lens is FULL MANUAL, AUTO NOTHING (NO autofocus, NO aperture control from the camera, NO lens VR/IS).
​

Your "cheap" Pentax SLR to mirrorless adapter is likely to be a dumb adapter. Smart adapters cost money to make, so will not be cheap. So yes, without lens to camera communication, it will be crippled.

 

[petrochemist]

I wouldn't say Pentax Q is a common mirrorless mount, but there are a particularly large range of adapters for it.
There are also (generally a good range of) adapters for Fuji X, NX, NXmini, Canon M, LTM, Nikon 1 ...

AFAIK adapters for the latest mounts are not yet plentiful but both Z & EF-R mounts have adapters to EF available, and many other mounts can be adapted to that.

Not fully up to date but a summary table of mount adaptability is attached (it ignores issues with some lenses needing electronic aperture or focus control):

 

[VidThreeNorth]

Maybe a bit of info can be found here:Adapters: One Lens to Another Body
. . .

I took some time to look at what they had to say about the Canon EF mount since that was what triggered this set of questions in the first place. They noted that there were limits to adapting to the Canon EF mount because some bodies limited metering modes (to "Center Weighted") and referred one back to checking ones body manual under the limits to using a bellows. That was fair enough since the manual should cover the problems.

Back a few years ago, as I noted, there was at least one chip available that basically faked the signal back to the Canon body that there was a Canon lens attached, and "unlocked" functionality. The chip I knew was called the "Dandelion Chip". Apparently the chip to look for these days is called the "Generation v10 Focus Confirmation Chip". Apparently it unlocks "focus confirmation" (and I suppose metering modes in the proper case). Focus confirmation is serious on a DSLR because "aerial focus" type screens are used, which are very hard to use with bare eyeballs. Ironically, I can do it, but I'd hate trying to teach anyone else to do it. But the point is, that Canon deliberately crippled the operation of some bodies just to "encourage" people to use Canon lenses on those bodies.

Now that I think about it, Nikon did something similar on the "1 series" bodies, or at least some of them. They disallowed using "auto exposure". One had to set the ISO and shutter speed manually when using "foreign" adapted lenses. The only work around was to buy the (expensive) FT1 adapter and then stacking another adapter in front of it. So if you want auto-exposure, then one is limited to using only those "foreign" lenses and accessories that would be adaptable to the "F-Mount". And again, these is no mechanical reason for this limit. It is simply a "business decision."
[2019-03-21 15:07 re-worded for clarity]

So that is why I am specifically looking at these newer mounts, particularly from Canon and Nikon -- because they have a history of doing this sort of thing.

 

[VidThreeNorth]

I wouldn't say Pentax Q is a common mirrorless mount, but there are a particularly large range of adapters for it. . . .

Actually, in Japan, they did sell fairly well. You'd be surprised at the difference between what sold well in Japan and what sold well in the rest of the world. The Canon M series was a pretty big success in Japan, even when it only had 3 lenses. Likewise Olympus 4:3 and M4:3 cameras sold well.

Now that I think of it, the Canon M series should be well known enough by now that any problems like I have mentioned above should be well known. We'll see. . . .

 

[Dave442]

With the Nikon Z adapter not compatible for autofocus of their screw-drive lenses I have recently picked up a few "D" lenses at good prices from people that have jumped over to the Z line.

I should have kept some of my old Minolta and Pentax lenses from film days - it would have been fun to pick up a new Olympus body just to play with those lenses again - although the fun factor may have worn off rather quickly.

 

[Derrel]

As I recall, Canon EF is adaptable to seven different legacy 35 mm system lens mounts, with full Infinity focus.​

 

[VidThreeNorth]

With the Nikon Z adapter not compatible for autofocus of their screw-drive lenses I have recently picked up a few "D" lenses at good prices from people that have jumped over to the Z line.

After I read this it occurred to me that I haven't been watching the market lately, and there have been a lot of "trade-up" deals, especially from Nikon and Sony. There are a couple of lenses I've seen that are interesting. I might pick something up. I really don't have much money, but I do have holes in my kit to fill.

I should have kept some of my old Minolta and Pentax lenses from film days - it would have been fun to pick up a new Olympus body just to play with those lenses again - although the fun factor may have worn off rather quickly.

On the one hand, I think the best "fit" are some of the older Sony E-Mount APS-C bodies -- like my a5000. The sensor size makes good use of the lenses. On the other hand, most or all of the Olympus M4:3 bodies have IBIS. Yes, the newer bodies often have better IBIS, but even the oldest 3-Axis like my first series E-M10 helps a lot.