Can You Use Any Lens On Any Camera

It depends on the camera brand. Many companies have recently inverse the style their lenses and cameras fit together, so older lenses won't fit or won't do everything they should. The list below tells the story for each brand. Please be conscientious and check your camera and lens manual kickoff, though - yous can impairment your photographic camera or lens by plumbing fixtures the wrong ones together.

Onetime pic SLR lenses change a little when y'all put them on most digital SLRs. They actually zoom in a bit farther, equally digital SLRs only run across the middle half of the picture. This is rarely a problem for long zoom lenses, every bit they will zoom fifty-fifty further on a digital SLR. But information technology is a problem for mural photographers and real-estate agents who need wide-angle lenses, as the lenses won't encounter every bit broad equally they did before. Most companies now make a new serial of lenses specifically for digital SLRs to prepare this.

If you lot have old lenses that you demand to focus by hand and they fit on a new autofocus SLR, you'll still have to focus past hand.

Are old manual-focus lenses any good on a modern digital SLR or mirrorless camera?

It depends what you shoot.

If you lot shoot things that don't move - landscapes or withal-life scenes - they're very practiced, and an absolute bargain to boot. You can get first-class old $500 lenses for $20 at the local pawn shop. If you lot shoot moving things, like children playing, information technology's a different story. At starting time I took the macho approach, thinking that I'd been focusing by hand for years, then information technology won't exist a problem to acquit on. I was wrong. Most non-professional digital SLRs accept pocket-sized, dim viewfinders (to keep the cost of the camera down), making manual focusing much harder than information technology ever was with pic cameras. Autofocus is more than only a convenience these days.

There's another minor claiming to using sometime film lenses on a mod digital photographic camera: the sensors in digital cameras accept glass in front end of them, but film didn't. The glass changes the path of the light just a tiny bit, and means that lenses designed for film can't give their best on digital cameras. It's a very small consequence, and almost people would never notice. It degrades the edges of the picture much more than the middle, and the size of the problem depends on two things: the thickness of the glass in front of the sensor of your camera (called the "sensor stack" - the thinner the better), and how parrallel the light rays are coming from the lens (measured by the lens' "exit pupil distance" the longer the better). Dissimilar photographic camera brands take different thicknesses of sensor stack, then lenses for one make may not give their all-time if used on another brand with an adaptor. If y'all want the geeky details, this page is the authority.

What's the best digital camera for my quondam lenses?

Currently, the Sony a7 MkII is the champion for animate life into old lenses. It makes focusing old lenses easier than it was on their original film cameras due to its bright, stabilised, enlargeable viewfinder. Yous tin zoom into the viewfinder alive to get perfect focus - and still come across what you're doing because the image is stabilised. The moving picture quality is excellent, the stabiliser counteracts your wobble, and equally a full-frame photographic camera yous get the full view of the lens. It'south relatively affordable at present the A7 MkIII is out (and few of the advantages of the MkIII version apply to old lenses). Adaptors are bachelor for just almost every brand and fit of lens. This page gives all the details of Sony lens adaptors. Choose an adaptor that lets you command the aperture of your lens if one is available, or it will be a pain to employ. If you lot take Nikon-fit, or Pentax-fit lenses, consider instead getting a Nikon or Pentax camera. Just if they're manual focus lenses, the Sony might be just as good. The only real downside is that you lot'll presently desire to get mod lenses for it, as information technology will evidence up how comparatively archaic older lenses were.

Canon

Whatever Canon "EF" lens made subsequently 1987 will fit any Canon digital SLR, only none of the sometime "FD" mount lenses made earlier 1987 will fit. The "EF" lenses take electric contacts at the back where they bring together the photographic camera. Take intendance to keep these contacts clean, or y'all can become odd behaviour from the camera. Canon too brand a series of smaller "EF-Due south" lenses that are designed just for their digital SLRs, and they fit on the EOS models 100D, 200D, 250D, 300D, 350D, 400D, 450D, 500D, 550D, 600D, 650D, 700D, 750D, 760D, 800D, 1000D, 1100D, 1200D, 1300D, 1500D, 2000D, 3000D, 4000D, 20D, 30D, 40D, 50D, 60D, 70D, 77D, 80D, 90D, 7D and 7DMkII  (but not on the older D30, D60 or 10D). Don't put these newer "EF-South" lenses on an sometime film camera or a 1D series, 5D series or 6D series - if it fits, it volition break the photographic camera's mirror.

Canon has two separate mirrorless lens mounts: EOS-G for the smaller, cheaper one-half-frame mirrorless cameras, and RF for the bigger, amend full-frame mirrorless cameras. Whatsoever Canon EF DSLR lens will piece of work perfectly with either system with the right Canon adaptor, while the smaller EF-S lenses can only fit EOS-M cameras through the "Mountain adaptor EF-EOS Grand". EF-South lenses can't piece of work on RF cameras. Catechism'southward M and RF lenses are orphans, only fitting on mirrorless cameras with M and RF mounts respectively. If you have an RF mirrorless camera, you can choose the newer RF lenses or older EF lenses with an adaptor. Both lens ranges are excellent.

Nikon

Nikon take kept the same "F mount" coupling for near 60 years, so just almost all lenses volition fit (although they may not exercise everything), only introducing a new, bigger "Z mount" for Nikon mirrorless cameras in 2018. With an adaptor, F mountain lenses will fit on Z mount cameras, but it might be more problem than it's worth - see below. Today, I'm happily using a 40-year-old lens on my professional person Nikon digital SLR... but I have to focus it myself. Except for the five new "AF-P" lenses, whatever Nikon autofocus lens will focus automatically on any Nikon digital SLR except on the Nikon D40, D40x, D60, D3000, D3100, D3200, D3300, D3400, D3500, D5000, D5100, D5200, D5300, D5500, D5600. These 14 SLRs volition but autofocus with newer lenses chosen "AF-S" lenses. The budget range of "AF-P" lenses have a new type of focus motor and they won't focus at all (even in manual focus) with pre-2013 Nikons. The AF-P lenses only piece of work perfectly with D500, D3300, D3400, D3500, D5300, D5400, D5500, D5600, D7500 and newer cameras. The AF-P lenses piece of work with "limited role" with the following cameras (and we're trying to detect out from Nikon exactly what "limited function" means - then far information technology seems that autofocus is OK, but manual focus doesn't work): D5, D810, Df, D750, D5200, D7100, D7200. To confuse the issue further, not all lenses permit all functions on all cameras. This table gives the details. Nikon instruction manuals normally accept huge tables explaining what will and won't work together. If you accept older equipment, make sure you lot read them.

The new Nikon Z mount takes all old Nikon lenses using the FTZ ("F to Z") adaptor. It works perfectly with AF-S, AF-I and AF-P lenses. Just with AF-D and AF lenses you lose autofocus, plus (like with Nikon manual focus lenses such as AI, AI-S and AI-D and AE lenses), you have to open and close the aperture manually. Only manual focus is easier through the Z cameras' stabilised, enlargeable electronic viewfinder than information technology ever was on film cameras.

Pentax and Samsung

Lenses from 1975 will fit. Autofocus lenses from 1987 will also focus automatically, lenses from 2004 volition offer all features. This page gives all the gory detais. The Pentax K-01 is an oddity: a mirrorless camera that works well with all Pentax lenses. It's a bargain way to get great-quality landscapes at a tiny price with second-hand Pentax lenses, but older lenses won't autofocus, so I wouldn't recommend this approach for shooting fast moving things. Samsung recently discontinued their excellent NX serial.

Olympus

No... Olympus changed everything in 2003 with their "Iv Thirds" organization. Old Olympus SLR lenses won't fit. You can go an adaptor to use them, merely you'll lose most features. To confuse matters farther, Olympus also make cameras that have the new "Micro 4 Thirds" system...

Micro Four Thirds cameras (e.g. Panasonic Lumix Grand-series, and Olympus Due east-series)

Introduced in 2008 to finally shrink the SLR, Micro 4 Thirds lenses are smaller than traditional SLR lenses because they don't take to exit room behind them for a mirror. Original "4 Thirds" lenses will fit (with an adaptor), just not all of them focus properly with micro-four-thirds cameras. Cheque the private manuals to see. Panasonic and Olympus lenses are interchangeable between the 2 brands with but pocket-size changes. Olympus lenses stabilise meliorate on Olympus cameras, and Panasonic cameras focus and stabilise ameliorate with Panasonic lenses.

Other "Mirrorless SLR" cameras (e.g. Sony alpha, Samsung NX, Nikon J and V, Fuji X)

Sony E mountain, Fuji X mountain, and Samsung NX mount (now discontinued) are new systems each with their own new lenses that are not compatible with anything else. Why have they done this? The cameras and lenses are small... very pocket-sized. But there are plenty of adaptors that will let yous apply older lenses manually. Metabones adaptors are great; FotodioX are cheaper, and accept a fun "tilt" adaptor, that lets you clumsily change the aeroplane of focus for a different await. The Metabones "Speed Booster" adaptors are a novelty: they make the lenses give the same view that they did on film cameras, with an added bonues that they permit more lite in. Once there are cameras that tin can focus them speedily, they could requite new life to proficient old lenses.

Sony/Minolta/Konica-Minolta DSLRs

Any autofocus Minolta lens fabricated subsequently 1985 volition fit and should give total (or well-nigh full) functionality on any Sony or Minolta SLR. Konica-Minolta's photographic camera business was bought by Sony in 2006.

Sony a7, a7R, a7S, a7II, a7III, a7RII, a7RIII, a7RIV, a9

These full-frame mirrorless cameras become a special mention, as they are particularly compatible with other brands of lens - indeed Sony seems to be marketing them to tempt users of other lenses to defect to Sony (they're oft sold with a gratuitous Metabones adaptor). The latest a7RIII and a7RIV give good autofocus with Canon lenses, with adaptors for other brands on the way. We've tested them with Canon lenses and establish them to be excellent for stationary subjects, but non quite good enough for moving subjects. It'southward but just behind focus on Canon cameras for Canon lenses. Hopefully, ane more generation of camera and information technology will be 100% pct competitive. It'due south a big deal for united states of america. Because we teach all camera brands on our photography courses, we have all brands of lens. The a7RV might allow all our photographers use their favourite brand lenses on i type of camera. The a9 is Sony's sports-oriented camera, so while information technology has breathtaking focus speed, it probably doesn't make sense to spend and so much on a camera and and then slow it down by using lenses through an adaptor. This page is a good starting point to using other lenses on Sony cameras.

Sigma, Tamron, Tokina, Vivitar

These independent brands of lens are made to mountain on cameras from but 1 manufacturer. In theory, they should be as uniform equally the lenses of the camera manufacturer of the same vintage. Only in practice, it's not always true. I've seen several cases of old independent lenses not focusing accurately on new digital cameras, in ways that can't be corrected easily in a service centre. Or just not working at all. New independent lenses won't take whatsoever such bug... if they do, the manufacturer volition fix them.

This information is for guidance just, and applies to nigh consumer lenses. You tin can impairment your camera by plumbing fixtures the wrong type of lens to it. Some lenses will break the camera's mirror; others may damage the electrical contacts. So please be careful and check your photographic camera or lens manual first. Some advanced functions take only recently been invented (such as the lens telling the photographic camera where it is focused), so older lenses seem to work perfectly, but might not be making full utilise of the latest features on an SLR. Links to other sites are provided in good faith, but nosotros can't have responsibleness for their accuracy.

Source: https://www.takebetterphotos.com.au/articles-SLR-lenses.html

Posted by: lincolnancestrand.blogspot.com

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