EF Lenes for SL?

[dkCambridgeshire]

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Personally, I see absolutely no point putting an EF lens on an SL. You lose the two things that are useful, AF and IS. There are plenty of cheap, wonderful lenses that will allow full functionality on a SL. Anything with an aperture ring and decent manual focus.

 

When I want to use an EF lens I put it on a body that gets the best from it and can utilise all its functionality. A Sony.

 

Gordon

 

 

 

The 'point' for some is that it is possible to use e.g. any of the superb Canon tilt and shift lenses by pre-setting the lens aperture via an EOS camera, then removing the lens from the EOS camera and attaching it to the SL camera via the adapter. The procedure might appear tedious but the results would justify the means. 

 

dunk

Edited May 16, 2016 by dkCambridgeshire

[FlashGordonPhotography]

The 'point' for some is that it is possible to use e.g. any of the superb Canon tilt and shift lenses by pre-setting the lens aperture via an EOS camera, then removing the lens from the EOS camera and attaching it to the SL camera via the adapter. The procedure might appear tedious but the results would justify the means. 

 

dunk

 

Better would be to have an A7, which are a few hundred dollars used, with a Metabones adaptor and have FULL functionality at your fingertips. I have some Canon T/S lenses as well as a few other speciality lenses but I don't own a single Canon body. I accept that a Sony A series camera is the way to use them without a Canon camera. That way you'd no longer need to own a Canon body to pre set the aperture and you'd have full lens functionality. The newer series also adds IBIS and AF functionality.

 

I understand that it'd be nice just to have one camera body or one camera system. And God knows I've tried myself to achieve that. I've got a bunch of adaptors myself. In the end I had to come to the conclusion it wasn't just tedious, it was limiting, frustrating and pig headed on my part. Eventually, after much frustration and expense, I realised it just doesn't work, in the real world and I should accept that my Leicas aren't suited for everything and I'd need to fill the gaps with something else.

 

I have nothing against adapting lenses. I use R lenses on M bodies. I use ZF Zeiss lenses on my SL, M and Sony bodies. I use Canon lenses on Sony bodies. I've tried (really tried) to get stuff to work together that probably shouldn't. I've tried the EF stop down thing and it's a total PITA. It just doesn't work in the real world. Either you carry a Canon body all the time (you may as well just use it in that case) or you limit yourself to a single aperture for a session, an aperture you'll need to also use for critical focusing. IMHO this is not a solution. It's desperation and I wholeheartedly recommend against it.

 

If you want to adapt M lenses then the SL is a great platform. If you want to adapt almost any manual focus SLR lens with a mechanical aperture, the SL is a great platform. It's not a great platform for modern AF electronic aperture lenses. And there are better ways to adapt an EF lens to mirrorless than the SL. I love my SL. But if I were forced to use Canon lenses on it I think I wouldn't love it for very long. It'd drive me nuts, especially when a viable solution is available.

 

Now if someone comes up with a proper pass through adaptor for the SL (like the Metabones for Sony) then the game changes totally. If I were Leica I'd be looking at developing them or at least talking about giving the protocols to Metabones. (When Sony first came out with the A7 they gave away a Metabones adaptor with each camera to get people into the system.) With a proper adaptor that allows aperture control we have something that's usable.

 

 

Gordon

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[dkCambridgeshire]

The additional 'point' for some of us is that we wish to Leica cameras; I also have a Sony A7R but if I want to submit images for Leica Society exhibitions or circle entries I use a Leica camera - similarly for Leica Forum posts. Furthermore there are no Leica tilt and shift lenses - and the Schneider-Leica R shift lenses are rather old hat and not up to the quality of the later Canon TS lenses.  And working at the taking aperture on an ICL mirrorless camera is fine.

 

dunk 

[FlashGordonPhotography]

Don't get me wrong. I too would love to use my Leica cameras for everything. And when they make one that can replace the cameras I have I will be all over it. If you want to go the DOF preview route with Canon lenses, all power to you. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that choice. I'm responding based on the OP's query as it sounds like he has a bunch of Canon lenses he'd like to keep using. I don't think an SL is the best way to do that. I think it's a huge PITA and you'd really need a specific need not to go the easier route (A7+Metabones) instead. I think it's fair to let the OP know there are better and easier solutions available than carrying a Canon body to do stop down locks just so he can use his new pride and joy. At least then he has the whole story and can make his own decision.

 

For me, I have made the decision that for some things the hassle just isn't worth cludging a shot on a Leica. If I were adamant that i wanted to do T/S on an SL I'd be looking at Nikon, Samyang or Schneider solutions rather than Canon (even though optically I *want* to use Canon lenses) or I'd accept that I need to look for other subjects when i shoot Leica. Same for underwater and surf photography. I *could* put my 18K of SL gear in an Aquapac. But I wouldn't.

 

My favourite car is my Mini. Last week I bought a new mattress. Could I have got it home on the roof of the Mini? Probably. But it was less hassle just to go home and get my other large car which made the job quick and painless. But I'm weird like that.

 

Gordon

[steppenw0lf]

I love my SL. But if I were forced to use Canon lenses on it I think I wouldn't love it for very long. It'd drive me nuts, especially when a viable solution is available.

 

Now if someone comes up with a proper pass through adaptor for the SL 

 

Gordon

 

 

Gordon,

 

I agree that it is not necessary to do everything with a single camera system. Since 2000 I made 98 percent of all digital pictures with Nikon, and added last year Canon with some tele lenses for special tasks. I think for this a "real" Canon camera is crucial, because the original camera will always offer optimized AF control and IS. So a Sony with metabone is not as good in this erea and is not a viable option. Also because of the "different" color rendition (after 15 years of Canikon you would notice quite soon) - but this could be corrected in SW.

 

For the remaining 98 percent I prefer not to use AF. And in this area, the SL is becoming my "one for all". And at least now/currently I enjoy the restrictions of the missing AF and use "AF for the poor" (focus peaking) if needed. And besides Leica I still use a lot of Nikon and some Contax lenses, that work nicely as you also noted.

I have also tried some EOS lenses on the SL but had no need for them. But actually using a good tele wide-open is not such a bad restriction. I also tried the 5DS for macro with all types of lenses, but clearly prefer the SL (EVF).

 

I am quite sure, that there will come an adapter for SL to control the "iris" of EOS lenses. And maybe later also a "AF" adapter. But I am quite sure that this will never be as good as a "real" Canon camera. So in my eyes a (future FF) Canon M is the only possible option.

But even then AF speed and IS are maybe limited. Using the 90-280 on the T shows how cumbersome this can be.

Probably the adapter will not come from well known sources, but rather from a new/small player situated in China (e.g. Kipon, Commlite, or some others). And it will have problems at the beginning and some will again say this is not worthy of a Leica, and what else can be said when thinking is in standby. Even Metabones has needed several tries - I think now it is number 4 - but this is no problem.

 

Yes, I agree: No need for a single camera system and I even think no need to do everything with mirrorless. But if someone prefers the EOS lenses and is willing to do the extra step needed, I agree it is easily possible to do it. (If Sony ever brought out a bigger a7R III, (with a clearer menu maybe, and better color correction), then I would be tempted ... )

[ramarren]

Using Canon lenses given the incompatibility of the aperture control would be too inconvenient for me, with the possible exception that if I had the tilt-shift Canon lenses and was counting on them for the rather specialist, infrequent use that such lenses are best at, then sure: I'd just adapt them any way I had to and use them. 

 

But I thought the question was about general purpose use of Canon lenses. Until there is an adapter which supports aperture control without having to carry another camera around to set an aperture value, then using them would be way too much trouble and you're best off using them with the Canon bodies they were designed for. I see no advantage to buying a Sony A7xxx plus adapter just to use the lenses, personally. That's what I did with the R lenses and found that they didn't perform as well as they perform on the SL. I nearly sold the R lenses (as well as the A7, which I did sell) and gave up trying to adapt them. 

 

Some folks have more tolerance for the inconveniences of doing lens adaptations like this than I do, I'm sure. I just want my gear to work for me. 

[Sandokan]

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I have several Nikon AI, or AIS or AF-D lenses which have an aperture ring and so have Nikon to Leica M (and then to the M to SL/T adaptor) and now a Nikon to SL/T Novoflex adaptor. However the one Nikon G lens I have (my favourite 58/1.4) stops down to f22 as soon as I mount it on one of these adaptors. Anybody have a solution?

 

As for Canon - I think they all have no aperture control on the lens so having a lens always set to whatever I set when I left home is not useful. Plus, I have far more interesting glass in R or FD than my two good EOS lenses (40mm pancake and 70-210/4L).

[steppenw0lf]

There are adaptors for Nikon G to Leica M. Look in the typical places. (ebay, amazon etc.)

They have an additional ring to enable the opening and closing of the aperture mechanism.

They work with G but not with E lenses, as these have no mechanical part.

Some are without "clicks" and if you use them with an ordinary Nikon lens, you can this way get a smooth opening and closing of aperture, which is sometimes useful for filming.

I first wanted to add a link, but there are so many in ebay and I cannot decide which I should choose. You can't miss it.

 

If you prefer high class, there is also a Novoflex adaptor for Nikon G (and ordinary Nikkors):

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/869958-REG/Novoflex_LEM_NIK_NT_Lens_Adapter_for_Nikon.html

 

Stephan

Edited May 17, 2016 by steppenw0lf

[FlashGordonPhotography]

 I see no advantage to buying a Sony A7xxx plus adapter just to use the lenses, personally. 

 

 

 

 

I agree that in most cases keeping a Canon body is the best choice. If I were keeping my EOS lenses I'd also keep a Canon body to use with them unless it was just a single lens i wanted for very occasional use or maybe I wanted image stabilisation with one of the fast primes. 99% of Canons lenses will AF best on a Canon body. The T/S lenses are the obvious exception. They're better on an A72 or A7R2 than on any Canon body (although care is needed with the 24mm which has some issues on the R2). Because they're already manual focus there's no advantage to using a Canon body. On the other hand the Sonys add live view focusing in the viewfinder, much wider dynamic range, inbuilt spirit levels, live exposure preview, image stabilisation and larger files if needed. I know several home and architecture shooters and all the ones I know shoot Canon T/S lenses on a Sony body, while they all use a Canon body for their other lenses. When I bought my T/S lenses I never even considered using them on a Canon body.

 

The only other reason might be that the A7 is an extremely small 35mm camera. Much smaller than any 35mm Canon body.

 

If you're interested in adapting some modern manual lenses to the SL the ZF range of Ziess lenses are absolutely superb on the SL. They operate just like an M lens does on the SL.

 

Gordon

[Sandokan]

There are adaptors for Nikon G to Leica M. Look in the typical places. (ebay, amazon etc.)

...

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/869958-REG/Novoflex_LEM_NIK_NT_Lens_Adapter_for_Nikon.html

 

Stephan

 

 

Thanks Stephan. 

 

I found this too: 

http://aboutphotography-tomgrill.blogspot.ch/2013/04/nikon-g-lens-to-leica-m-240-adapter.html 

[steppenw0lf]

Thanks Stephan. 

http://aboutphotography-tomgrill.blogspot.ch/2013/04/nikon-g-lens-to-leica-m-240-adapter.html 

 

Hi Sandokan.

The link does not work for me. But no problem.

Here is a swiss/german page about adapters for SL, but I think the list is international, so I add it anyway.

http://www.fotointern.ch/archiv/2016/01/08/novoflex-hat-12-objektiv-adapter-zur-leica-sl/

This is from January, so the list is maybe even longer in the meantime.

 

Stephan

Edited May 18, 2016 by steppenw0lf

[ramarren]

I agree that in most cases keeping a Canon body is the best choice. If I were keeping my EOS lenses I'd also keep a Canon body to use with them unless it was just a single lens i wanted for very occasional use or maybe I wanted image stabilisation with one of the fast primes. 99% of Canons lenses will AF best on a Canon body. The T/S lenses are the obvious exception. They're better on an A72 or A7R2 than on any Canon body (although care is needed with the 24mm which has some issues on the R2). Because they're already manual focus there's no advantage to using a Canon body. On the other hand the Sonys add live view focusing in the viewfinder, much wider dynamic range, inbuilt spirit levels, live exposure preview, image stabilisation and larger files if needed. I know several home and architecture shooters and all the ones I know shoot Canon T/S lenses on a Sony body, while they all use a Canon body for their other lenses. When I bought my T/S lenses I never even considered using them on a Canon body.

 

The only other reason might be that the A7 is an extremely small 35mm camera. Much smaller than any 35mm Canon body.

 

If you're interested in adapting some modern manual lenses to the SL the ZF range of Ziess lenses are absolutely superb on the SL. They operate just like an M lens does on the SL.

 

 

I'm sure they would be, and I have Nikon adapters to M already. But I have all the R, M, and Nikon lenses I want already. :-)

[Sandokan]

http://aboutphotography-tomgrill.blogspot.com/2013/04/nikon-g-lens-to-leica-m-240-adapter.html

Maybe the problem is *.blogspot.com is automatically changed to .ch instead of .com for me.

 

Thanks Stephan for your link. I see the problem - They have the Nikon F adaptor for SL but they have a Nikon G adaptor available for the M. I will order that.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Edited May 18, 2016 by Sandokan

[steppenw0lf]

Thanks Stephan for your link. I see the problem - They have the Nikon F adaptor for SL but they have a Nikon G adaptor available for the M. I will order that.

 

Hello,

With Novoflex, if you choose the xxx/Nik NT model, it is always with "iris-control" (Abblendfunktion). It is available for Leica M but should also be available for Leica SL/T. Write a mail to Novoflex and ask about the exact details and why you cannot find it in the adaptorfinder.. The products are expensive, so they will certainly tell exactly what they offer (even if the website seems not to contain this option, but maybe it is not up to date).

Stephan

Edited May 18, 2016 by steppenw0lf

[steppenw0lf]

For Sandokan.

The description is what you want, but currently it is not available.

http://www.adorama.com/NVLETNIK.html

[profus]

Much cheaper here:

 

http://www.amazon.de/Novoflex-Objektivadapter-Adapterring-Blendenring-Objektiv/dp/B00QA40NZM

 

Price @ official Novoflex site is 169 € ( LET/NIK adapter )

Edited May 23, 2016 by profus

[Leicaiste]

The AF adapter is here :

 

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/260878-autofocus-adapter-canon-ef-to-leica-sl-by-novoflex/

[FlashGordonPhotography]

Yep. Everything I said is now void. Can't wait to try my Canon T/S lenses on the SL now aperture is adjustable.

 

Will need to see how the AF is.

 

Gordon

[steppenw0lf]

Yep. Everything I said is now void. Can't wait to try my Canon T/S lenses on the SL now aperture is adjustable.

 

Will need to see how the AF is.

 

Gordon

 

Hi Gordon,

the Leica SL seems to generate "unexpected" offerings. I hope that Novoflex goes even further and also offers a Nikon AF adapter - the bulk of my AF lenses is Nikon or Nikon-mount.

Stephan

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[LocalHero1953]

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