Use of Canon lenses on m43

[Mrs T]

My father was rather taken with the E-M5 when I let him have a look this weekend. He has a question which I cannot answer and I hope someone on this forum can. He is a Canon user and he wants to know whether he could use his favourite lens on the Olympus and what functionality could he expect i.e focus/exposure if any.

His favourite lens by the way is the EF 70-200mm 1:4 L IS USM.

Thank you,

Amanda

[swing]

Re: Use of Canon lenses on m43

There seem to be a number of EF to m43 adaptors out there, ranging from very cheap to quite expensive. However, only the very expensive will control aperature, and none of them (that I could quickly find) offer AF. So, apart from using the lens wide open, it may be cheaper to spend the money on some new glass..

[theMusicMan]

Re: Use of Canon lenses on m43

I am not aware of any (though I am happy to be corrected) non 4/3 lenses that will provide AF and auto-exposure functionality. The electronics and associated controls are simply not the same on other lens mounts to those on 4/3.

If you plan on using any non 4/3 lens on a 4/3 camera with an adapter, you will need to use manual focus (you still get focus assist though - the green dot and beep) and you will have to manually adjust the aperture though the camera will still provide you with an indication of what the correct exposure should be. It's all manual though... which isn't really such a bad thing. In fact, it could be positively uplifting.

[swing]

Re: Use of Canon lenses on m43

Exposure is available on at least one very expensive adaptor (costs more than most m43 cameras though!), but agreed I can't find any adaptors for EOS EF lenses that allow AF on any other bodies (not just m43).

[Mrs T]

Re: Use of Canon lenses on m43

Hi Swing and John,

Thank you very much for your replies, both are very useful and I appreciate you taking the time to help.

Hopefully we might get a convert to Olympus! I can tell he's very tempted.

Amanda

[bredman]

Re: Use of Canon lenses on m43

As a novice m43 user i'm no expert, but will that lens become a 140-400mm f2.8 due to the crop factor?

[PeterBirder]

Re: Use of Canon lenses on m43

As a novice m43 user i'm no expert, but will that lens become a 140-400mm f2.8 due to the crop factor?

Yes it will. However on a Canon DSLR with an APS-C sensor which has a crop factor of 1.6 it will be a 112-320mm.

Regards.

[Mrs T]

Re: Use of Canon lenses on m43

Pete and Peter,

Thanks for the additional information.

Amanda

[brianvickers]

Re: Use of Canon lenses on m43

I have the Ef/m43 adaptor and the 70-200 f4 lens...using the adaptor the lens is fixed wide open at f4, so using manual exposure I have to adjust shutter speed and focus is manual of course. For the price of the adaptor its worth being able to use your EF lenses - but its not a solution for every-day use in my opinion

[Mrs T]

Re: Use of Canon lenses on m43

Hi Brian,

Thanks for taking the time to share this information.

Amanda