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Classic Discontinued SLR Lens Adapters from Camera Manufacturers

While CameraQuest offers many new SLR lens adapters, there are also many classic (translation: discontinued and hard to find) adapters.

One of the most practical gadgets in my camera bag are adapters allowing  SLR lenses to be used on different make SLR bodies.    This allows me to reduce my lens investment, as well as the continued use of a favorite lens.   

A requirement is that all adapters allows the lens to be focused to infinity on the host SLR.   Generally most adapters do NOT give mechanical meter and diaphragm linkage between the lens and body.  This means you will manually open and close the lens aperture, and meter with the lens stopped down at shooting aperture (it can get a bit dark), using either manual or aperture priority exposure with your TTL metering for flash or ambient light (if your SLR body has those capabilities). 

While most 35 SLR lenses could be mounted on most ANY 35 SLR body with some sort of adapter, the main  problem is maintaining   INFINITY focus.   If the adapted lens is too far way from the film plane, the lens will be good for close-ups only.     For instance, Canon SLRs (both manual focus and AF) have comparatively thin bodies.  As a result, they are quite adaptable to use lenses from thicker SLR bodies, such as Pentax, Nikon, Leica, or Exakta, with no glass elements in the adapter to degrade lens performance.  The reverse is not true.  Nikon SLR bodies are comparatively thick.   No 35 SLR lenses I know of adapt to Nikon bodies, without adding a negative glass element, which will indeed degrade lens performance.   

While you generally have plenty of room between the lens and body to adapt  larger format lenses to smaller format (like 2 1/4 or even 4x5 lenses to 35mm),  the penalty is generally the larger format lenses to not have the high resolution of  35mm lenses. Another consideration is that their much larger coverage may increase flare within the much narrower adapter and 35mm film chamber.

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Classic discontinued (and often hard to find) Adapters

All listed adapters listed on this page were originally made by the SLR body manufacturer, though later versions may be by independent manufacturers,  allow infinity focus, and have no glass elements.  Generally no linkage between lens and body, which translates to  manual or aperture priority metering (if your body has that capability) at the shooting aperture.  

There are more adapters for 42mm screw mount lenses (aka Pentax screw mount aka Zeiss Screw mount)  than any other SLR lens mount.   Most 42mm screw mount lenses, however, are spring loaded to keep the aperture wide open.  Most Pentax Takumars have a stop down switch,  most non Pentax screw mount lenses do not.   Translation:  make sure either the lens or the adapter will allow you to stop down the lens to shooting aperture -- otherwise you will be shooting wide open all the time.    I don't have that information on all the 42mm adapters listed below.  IF I know, adapters which stop down 42mm lenses are listed as SD (Stop Down) and those that do not are listed as NSD (Not Stop Down).   Two adapters allow 42mm auto diaphragm operation -- on the Mamiya Auto XL and the Fujica X mount SLRs.   

Please note:  ALL 42mm screw mount lenses do NOT have identical mounts. Sometimes small changes were made, usually for full aperture metering, which may have a negative effect when you mount the lens on another make screw mount camera.  For example, most of the excellent Fujica 42mm screw mount lenses have a small metering lug on the rear of the aperture ring.    On some non Fujica screw mount bodies,  this prevents the lens from seating completely.  This is why you will sometimes find Fujica screw mount lenses with mysterious filing marks, from filing that pin off on the back of the aperture ring.   Try a Fujica screw mount lens on another screw mount SLR of your choice -- sometimes it works fine, sometimes not. 

List for info only: these Adapters are NOT in stock, but may be available on the USED market

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Revised: January 09, 2006 .  Copyright � 1998-2006  Stephen Gandy. All rights reserved.    This means you may NOT copy and re-use the text or the pictures in ANY other internet or printed publication of ANY kind.  Information in this document is subject to change without notice.  Other products and companies referred to herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies or mark holders.