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While DSLR lenses can be adapted to mirrorless bodies, lenses designed for mirrorless systems cannot be adapted to DSLRs. 

You would be able to put your Canon EF/EFS lenses on your CL/TL but you can't put your TL lenses on your EF camera bodies... sorry

 

bruce

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15 minutes ago, BLeventhal said:

While DSLR lenses can be adapted to mirrorless bodies, lenses designed for mirrorless systems cannot be adapted to DSLRs. 

You would be able to put your Canon EF/EFS lenses on your CL/TL but you can't put your TL lenses on your EF camera bodies... sorry

 

bruce

Thank you for your info. Much appreciated. 🍷

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6 hours ago, BLeventhal said:

While DSLR lenses can be adapted to mirrorless bodies, lenses designed for mirrorless systems cannot be adapted to DSLRs. 

You would be able to put your Canon EF/EFS lenses on your CL/TL but you can't put your TL lenses on your EF camera bodies... sorry

 

bruce

Would this also be true for lenses made for mirrorless full frame bodies?

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2 hours ago, RM8 said:

Would this also be true for lenses made for mirrorless full frame bodies?

Yes... the issue is the design of a mirrorless lens. All of this applies to M-mount Leica glass as well. The rear element of a mirrorless lens is designed to be close to the film/sensor plane. In contrast, an SLR lens is designed with a mirror-box between the rear element and the sensor/film plane. Back in the day (applies to the present), would could technically put a Leica R-Mount lens on a M-camera w and adapter (though focusing would be a challenge), but one could never put an M lens on an R-mount camera. 

A full frame mirrorless L-mount lens, like those made for the SL system, still has a rear element designed to disperse light where mm's separate the rear element from the sensor. This type of lens would never produce a reliably sharp image on a DSLR body where there are cm's between the rear element and sensor/film plane. 

The design parameters for spreading light are one of the primary reasons why DSLR lenses are bigger than mirrorless lenses.

cheers bruce.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 9/15/2023 at 2:43 PM, BLeventhal said:

A full frame mirrorless L-mount lens, like those made for the SL system, still has a rear element designed to disperse light where mm's separate the rear element from the sensor. This type of lens would never produce a reliably sharp image on a DSLR body where there are cm's between the rear element and sensor/film plane.

You are partly right. The lens interchangability depends on the flange distance the lens is designed for. Any lens will only work on the exact (up to fractions of a mm) distance that it is designed for. If the lens is designed for R bodies that is 47,0mm. For M that is 27,8mm. For L systems that is 20,0 mm. So L<M<R which means that you can adapt R lenses on M or L but not the other way around. A Canon DSLR was 44,0mm so you could mount R lenses with a simple adapter on the Canon DSLR bodies. Nikon F is 46,5mm so an adapter can only be 0,5 mm. That is not possible, you can change the complete mount of the R lens however to make it compatible with Nikon F. If you need to know what could be mounted, this list should show all current and past mounts:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flange_focal_distance

On 9/15/2023 at 2:43 PM, BLeventhal said:

The design parameters for spreading light are one of the primary reasons why DSLR lenses are bigger than mirrorless lenses.

DSLR lenses are mostly smaller than SL lenses, so in some cases designers choose to enlarge the glass to increase performance. M lenses are designed for a small flange distance and even smaller distance of the rear element to the sensor/film plane. That allows for small designs which is needed for the RF system. Larger and longer lenses would  block part of the view finder.

I think most mirrorless lenses are designed too big and heavy out of convenience. Re-use of parts, compatibility with DSLR lens designs, quality of glass available.... All this is harder when you try too shrink the design. M lenses show what could be possible if they would try really hard. A lens like the Summicron 1:2.0/23mm  TL shows that at TL lenses can be made much smaller.  The 23mm is for cropped sensors only. That helps too. In theory, I think a MF L mount lens could be smaller than the M lenses, but because of the AF and IS features it is much bigger.

Edited by dpitt
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