Comaptibilty

[wongzn]

Hey people,
Planning on getting a dslr soon but I've got some things i'm considering. Generally, are there compatibility limitations among each brands, where lenses don't work with bodies of the same brand? For example, if i'm using a particular body from canon, how do i know if a particular lens is compatible with that model? Really hope if you guys can help out.Thanks!

 

[DonnyDan]

It is abit difficult to explain. But Canon Nikon Sony Olympus they dont share the same mount. However, there are adaptors to change the mount for a Canon user to mount a Nikon lens.

To be simple, if you get a
Canon, You fit a Canon, Sigma, Tokina and Tamaron.
Nikon, You fit a Nikon, Sigma, Tokina and Tamaron.
Sony, You fit a Sony, Sigma, Tokina and Tamaron.

Did i miss out some third party lens which is not mentioned. =)

Btw the easiest method is read your manual, it will show what mount it belongs to and check the lens mount before buying it.

 

[CS TAN]

If you are looking at Canon, you should visit Canon website, they have info explaining their EF lenses line up. Alternatively, go to vivo city Canon showroom and pick up a EF Lens and Lens accessories booklet.

In short, EF lenses can be use on all current Canon bodies. As for EF-S lenses, only crop bodies (7D, xxD, xxxD, and xxxxD & no 1 series) is compatible with them.

 

[Rashkae]

Hey people,
Planning on getting a dslr soon but I've got some things i'm considering. Generally, are there compatibility limitations among each brands, where lenses don't work with bodies of the same brand? For example, if i'm using a particular body from canon, how do i know if a particular lens is compatible with that model? Really hope if you guys can help out.Thanks!

If you buy a 4/3 system, the lenses should be compatible among all 4/3 bodies.

If you buy a Sony, all Minolta and Sony AF lenses are compatible.

If you buy a Nikon, all F-mount lenses are compatible.

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

It is abit difficult to explain. But Canon Nikon Sony Olympus they dont share the same mount. However, there are adaptors to change the mount for a Canon user to mount a Nikon lens.

To be simple, if you get a
Canon, You fit a Canon, Sigma, Tokina and Tamaron.
Nikon, You fit a Nikon, Sigma, Tokina and Tamaron.
Sony, You fit a Sony, Sigma, Tokina and Tamaron.

Did i miss out some third party lens which is not mentioned. =)

Btw the easiest method is read your manual, it will show what mount it belongs to and check the lens mount before buying it.

This is a bit misleading.
If you buy a 3rd party lens (eg. Sigma, Tamron, Tokina, etc) that has been made with a Nikon mount, it's as good as being a Nikon lens. So it can't fit Canon/Sony/Olympus, etc etc either. And vice versa with the other brands.

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

to TS:
If you own a Canon DSLR body, just look at the Canon lenses and 3rd party lenses with canon mounts.
Ignore adapters, etc, unless you already own another brand's lens that you die-die want to use with the body, or the other brand has a legendary lens that you have to get.

 

[ortega]

your best bet is to first select the camera that you are interested in
then try to download the user manual and get the official word on compatibility
if after reading, you still don't really understand, then ask specific questions

you will get clearer answers

 

[wongzn]

@Everyone.
Thanks for sharing. One more thing, there is the auto-focus motor inside the bodies of higher end dslr right and none in the lower end ones. As such, higher end ones are able to work with lens w/o in-built AF motor, which are cheaper. Vice Versa for lower end bodies. Hence, it is more worth in the long run to get a higher end body as i can save up from lens costs? Is this true? Sorry very fresh to this.

 

[ortega]

first i'll share a little of what i know

Nikon

1. All f-mount lenses can be mounted on all f-mount cameras
2. newer consumer lvl digital camera bodies do not have a AF motor (same as some canon bodies) eg. D40/D40X/D60/D3000/D5000
3. these cameras without AF motors can only AF with lenses that has AF-S in their names, this means that the AF motor is on the lens (3rd party lenses have different names)
4. manual focus lenses cannot AF at all, duh
5. only A mode and M mode can be used with manual focus lenses on these cameras D200/D300/D300s/D700/D2/D2x/D3/D3s/D3x
6. other than the above mentioned cameras on point 5, all other DSLRs will have incompatibilities

 

[ortega]

@Everyone.
Thanks for sharing. One more thing, there is the auto-focus motor inside the bodies of higher end dslr right and none in the lower end ones. As such, higher end ones are able to work with lens w/o in-built AF motor, which are cheaper. Vice Versa for lower end bodies. Hence, it is more worth in the long run to get a higher end body as i can save up from lens costs? Is this true? Sorry very fresh to this.

not totally true
there are quite a few AF-S lenses that are cheap

the potential savings is not there because when you get bitten by the BBB virus and want the pro level lenses you will still buy them

 

[ortega]

next is DX vs FX

DX lenses are generally lighter than FX lenses
DX lenses are generally smaller than FX lenses
FX lenses can be used on a DX body
DX lenses used on a FX body will display vignetting
Generally DX lenses are also cheaper if compared to similar spec FX lenses