A camera lens converter, often more precisely referred to as a lens adapter, is a device that allows you to attach lenses with one type of mount to a camera body with a different type of mount. Its primary purpose is to enable compatibility between otherwise incompatible camera bodies and lenses.
Lens adapters are crucial for photographers who want to use lenses from different camera systems, whether it's connecting an older lens to a new digital body or using a lens designed for one brand on a camera of another.
How Camera Lens Converters (Adapters) Function
The basic function of a lens adapter is mechanical – it bridges the physical and optical distance between the lens mount and the camera body mount. However, their complexity varies:
- Basic Mechanical Adapters: These simply provide the physical connection, allowing the lens to mount onto the camera. With older manual lenses, this might mean you lose electronic communication between the lens and camera, requiring manual control of focus and aperture. As mentioned in the reference, when using older glass that's manual anyway, this loss of electronic control is "not really an issue."
- Electronic Adapters ('Smart Adapters'): More advanced adapters include electronic contacts or built-in processors. These adapters, such as the Metabones smart adapter highlighted in the reference, allow electronic communication between the lens and the camera body. This can enable features like:
- Autofocus
- Electronic aperture control
- Image stabilization (if supported by the lens)
- Transmission of metadata (like focal length and aperture) to the camera.
The reference explicitly notes that adapters like the Metabones smart adapter allow you to use Modern Glass with modern [cameras], suggesting these adapters bridge the gap between current electronic lenses and bodies while potentially maintaining features like aperture control.
Types and Uses
Lens adapters open up a wide range of possibilities for photographers:
- Using Vintage Lenses: Adapters allow classic manual focus lenses (like M42, Nikon F, Canon FD, etc.) to be used on modern digital cameras.
- Cross-System Adaptation: Photographers can adapt lenses from one modern system (e.g., Canon EF) to a camera body from another system (e.g., Sony E-mount, Micro Four Thirds).
- Maintaining Investment: Adapters help protect a photographer's investment in lenses when switching camera bodies or systems.
While the term "converter" can sometimes refer to optical devices like teleconverters (which magnify the image) or wide-angle converters (which reduce the focal length), in the context of adapting lenses to different camera bodies, "converter" is often used interchangeably with "adapter." Based on the provided reference's discussion of mounting different lenses on different bodies and specific products like the Metabones smart adapter, the focus is clearly on these compatibility devices.
In essence, a camera lens converter (adapter) is a vital tool for expanding the compatibility and versatility of your camera system by allowing you to pair various lenses with different camera bodies.
