![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/20170609_133606.jpg\")
<\/h1>\n<\/h1>\nThere are many good reasons <\/a>to adapt manual lenses<\/strong> to the Sony A7 series cameras. To do so you need an adapter and\u00a0this article will help you to choose the right one.<\/p>\n We are three guys from Germany who have adapted manual lenses for many years now. By using several dozen adapters over the years we have learned the hard way, that not all adapters are created equal<\/strong>. We hope that the money we spent on bad adapters will help you to avoid annoying miss-buys we experienced.<\/p>\n In the following two parts we tell you why you need an adapter in the first place, and which issues can arise with adapters. If all you need is the right adapter for your lens you can simply jump to Adapter Manufacturers<\/a>].<\/strong><\/p>\n All links marked with a * are affiliate links. If you use them we will get a few percents commission on your purchase without any added cost to you.<\/p>\n Last Update:<\/strong> January 2023<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n The first reason is that every camera manufacturer uses a different mount<\/strong> and with a few exceptions these are not compatible.\u00a0Let’s assume you want to use an old Minolta MC 55mm 1:1.7 <\/a>on your Sony A7II. The Minolta physically doesn’t fit your Sony. Here the adapter comes into play: on the side facing the camera it has the Sony E-mount and on the side facing the lens the Minolta SR-mount, so with the adapter your old manual focus lens now fits your new A7 series camera.<\/p>\n There is a second issue which needs to be overcome and that is the flange focal distance<\/strong><\/a>. This is the distance between the mounting flange of the lens and the sensor.\u00a0If the flange focal distance between the lens you want to adapt and the camera isn’t maintained you will either lose infinity focus or won’t be able to focus on anything at all. Your camera needs to have a shorter flange focal distance than your lens or it is impossible to make an adapter. That is one reason why\u00a0you can adapt almost any lens to the Sony E-mount cameras with their very short flange focal distance of just 18 mm.<\/p>\n Let’s have a look at the Minolta SR 1.7\/55 again. It has an SR-mount so its flange focal distance is 43.5 mm. Your Sony Alpha 7 has an E-mount with a flange focal distance of 18 mm. Therefore the adapter needs to be 43.5 mm – 18 mm = 25.5 mm thick.<\/p>\n Adapters can cause several issues which we want to discuss briefly to give you a better basis for an educated buying decision.<\/p>\n Optimally a lens would fit your camera so well that there is zero play and camera and lens feel like one unit. In practice even native E-mount lenses don’t fit perfectly and you can notice a\u00a0tiny bit of radial play. The reason for that is that it is more expensive to machine mechanical parts very exact with tight tolerances and therefore a small amount of play is often allowed to keep costs down. With adapters we have seen very different amounts of play.<\/p>\n We gave a brief explanation of how an adapter needs to span the difference between the flange focal distance of lens and camera in the previous paragraph. In theory any adapter, mount and lens would have exactly the same flange focal distance as specified. In reality there is variance in each component:<\/p>\n So this is a big game of tolerance. If you manufacture your adapter exactly it will work well on most lens\/camera combinations, but some people won’t be able to reach infinity with their lens. So most\u00a0adapter manufacturers make their adapters a bit shorter. This guarantees that the adapted lenses reach infinity but it also has several unwanted consequences:<\/p>\n So how much of an issue is it if an adapter is too short? It is a big issue if you use a fast wide-angle lens with floating elements. Phillip once tried to use the legendary Zeiss Milvus 2.8\/21 with a cheap Nikon F to Sony adapter on his A7 and it had very weak corners while the Milvus 1.4\/50<\/a>\u00a0showed very good performance with the same adapter. Bastian also had issues with a cheaper adapter and the Laowa 2.8\/12<\/a> and even with more expensive (but still too short) adapters and the Nikon 1.8\/20<\/a>. Phillip once tried the Canon EF 4\/16-35 with a cheap electronic adapter and this combo had serious field curvature issues.<\/p>\n To show you how big the differences can be Bastian made this comparison using his Nikon-F Samyang 14mm 2.8 and a K&F and a Rayqual adapter. Let us first look at the center of the frame:<\/p>\n As you can see in the center the differences are rather small. But now let us take a look at the corner region:<\/p>\n Here the too short K&F adapter leads to abyssmal image quality in the corners\u00a0with the floating elements Samyang lens and the Rayqual adapter looks significantly better.<\/p>\n I (Phillip) have been using legacy lenses with too short adapters for years and saw no reason to fix these adapters. But that’s just me, and I don’t use the focusing scale nor the infinity stop. Now that I own several legacy wide-angle lenses with floating elements, I am more cautious and have tuned my adapters <\/a>for correct infinity.<\/p>\n In theory adapters could also have uneven thickness which would lead to a tilted image plane and therefore degrade the image quality. Personally we have never run into such issues though, even with otherwise badly made adapters.<\/p>\n Adapter length is also an issue you can sometimes fix yourself<\/a>.<\/p>\n Another issue is light reflected by the adapter to the sensor.\u00a0Adapter reflections do not happen often. I (Phillip) used adapted lenses with cheap adapters for years before I ever noticed them. They seem to happen only with some lenses and in specific scenarios but then they often destroy an image. Here is an example for that:<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n You can fix adapter reflections <\/a>with some material and a little tinkering.<\/p>\n Not every adapter is absolutely light tight. This becomes an issue when you do long exposures, especially with a strong ND-filter.<\/p>\n Not all adapters are made to last. So far I (Phillip) have had to throw four cheap no-name adapters away because they no longer held the lens safely. In one case I had to spend over an hour to get it off my lens.<\/p>\n By reading about these issues one might get the impression that adapters are a huge headache and one would be much better served by staying away from them and choosing native lenses straight away. But if you look at Sony’s native lenses regarding tolerances this is a very serious issue with native Sony lenses <\/a>as well. Internet forums are full of reports of people who had to go through many copies to get a well centered one and we have had to return a significant proportion of the Sony lenses we have bought for oursevles as well.<\/p>\n Our list of issues is so detailed because, as reviewers, we think it is our job to take a really critical look and identify any potential issues. In practice many people buy a random $20 adapter and never notice any of these issue. But if you run into an issue our article should help you to understand and fix it<\/a> or to avoid it right away by choosing the right adapter.<\/p>\n There is a large number of adapter manufacturers and on top of that adapters from the same manufacturer might show some variation as well. We would have to test several hundred adapters to get reliable information on their average thickness and variation. We can’t do that. But we use certain brands a lot so we have a large enough sample size to give you more detailed information on them. We have also summarized other people’s (that we trust) reports on brands we have less experience with.<\/p>\n At around $20 they are very affordable but we have experienced much less issues with them than with other cheap adapters in the same price bracket. They usually fit well with only a small mount of play and their locking mechanism seems to be durable enough. Reflections can be an issue though, because the inside is rather reflective, but as said you won’t run into them often. The fact that they are usually rather short weighs heavier and will affect image quality with some lenses. Still they are our budget manufacturer of choice<\/strong> and each of us owns several of their adapters.<\/p>\n Recently K&F has released a second generation of adapters. The new adapters are much better at controlling reflections and the camera facing mount is now chromed. We still have only a small sample size but it seems that they only go a little beyond infinity, less so than the earlier version. The adapters are also noticeably heavier than earlier versions.<\/p>\n At $140-250 they are among the most expensive adapters but they are made in Germany with very tight tolerances and very good build quality. All the Novoflex adapters we have used so far showed zero play and the adapters suppress any flare issues effectively. They also have very solid springs to maintain pressure on the lens. The only smaller issue we have found is that they usually don’t quite reach infinity. One Minolta SR shows 3m on the focus scale of a Minolta MD 2.8\/24 focused at infinity and another one 5m on a Canon FD 2.8\/20<\/a>. Unfortunately the anodization on Novoflex products isn’t all too durable and after some usage you will see signs of wear on the adapters.<\/p>\n One advantage of the Novoflex over the Rayqual is the\u00a0ASTAT-NEX <\/a>(Affiliate link) tripod collar. It is bloody expensive but also rock solid and especially handy for mounting heavier lenses without a dedicated tripod collar.<\/p>\n Our recommendation if you want an adapter you don’t need to worry about.<\/strong><\/p>\n We have only tested a Nikon-G adapter from Rayqual so far but it might in fact be the best Nikon-G adapter as it even offers click stops (the Metabones doesn’t). Our other recommendation if you want an adapter you don’t need to worry about.<\/strong><\/p>\n Metabones is best known\u00a0for their Canon EF AF adapter (they were the first in the game) which is now available in its fifth generation. Their precision is above that of the cheapest manufacturers but according to lensrentals.com <\/a>they have a high failure rate (they should know because no one has similar sample sizes). The failures will be caused by the electronics most often but none the less they don’t seem to play in the same league as Novoflex or Rayqual. Metabones offers adapters for many mounts, which are also often a bit short (similar to Novoflex). Fotodiox offers adapters at different price points, the higher quality ones feature the “Pro” tag in their name. I (Bastian) have already tested 3 different of their Leica-M adapters: the normal one is a little too short but otherwise there is nothing wrong with it. The pro had very nice, solid build quality and acutally a very nice design. The Pro DLX stretch (a helicoid adapter) was unfortunately a little too much on the wobbly side (may introduce decentering to your lenses), I can’t recommend it. So, how much should you spend on an adapter and which brand should you buy? We can only recommend you to stay away from $10 no-name adapters, the saved money isn’t worth the potential issues. But if you spend $20 on a K&F or Fotodiox adapter you have a good chance of never running into any issues. And if you spend $15 on materials and tinker with them <\/a>for an hour you will most likely be able to fix any potential issues as well. So we would recommend to buy one of these if you are getting started with manual lenses or just use a few affordable lenses from one manufacturer.<\/p>\n If you never want to worry about your adapter and use some more expensive lenses on a regular basis we would recommend you to spend $150 on a Novoflex or Rayqual adapter.<\/p>\n Minolta lenses <\/a>with the SR mount are easily identified by the MC or MD engraved into the front. For a full list of all the models visit this page<\/a>. Identifying third party lenses with SR mount is bit more difficult but many have something like MD engraved near the mount and the image of the mount above can help.<\/p>\n Our budget recommendation<\/strong> is the K&F<\/strong> II adapter:\u00a0ebay.com<\/a>* | amazon.com<\/a>* | amazon.de<\/a>* Canon FD lenses <\/a>are very affordable and Canon made a few outstanding (at least in their time) lenses like the 1.2\/85<\/a>. They\u00a0can be identified by the engraved FD and use a rather complicated and unusual mounting mechanism which\u00a0makes it a bit more complicated to mount them.<\/p>\n Our budget recommendation<\/strong> is the K&F<\/strong> II adapter:\u00a0ebay.com<\/a>* | amazon.com<\/a>* | amazon.de<\/a>* The EF mount is the successor to the FD mount and is purely electonical, so Canon EF(-S) lenses, even most of the manual focus ones, need an adapter with electronics in order to being able to change the aperture. Most of these adapters also offer AF and support the lenses’ IS (if available). A few more things to consider:<\/p>\n Our budget recommendation<\/strong> is the Commlite<\/strong> (don’t expect great AF performance) adapter:\u00a0ebay.com<\/a>* | amazon.com<\/a>* | amazon.de<\/a>* Zeiss C\/Y lenses feature unusually good coatings for their age as well as great build quality and good sharpness. They are quite expensive compared to other legacy lenses though. After discontinuing the line Zeiss introduced the ZF\/ZE line of lenses with Nikon F\/Canon EF mount.<\/p>\n Our budget recommendation<\/strong> is the K&F<\/strong> II adapter:\u00a0ebay.com<\/a>* | amazon.com<\/a>* | amazon.de<\/a>* Olympus OM\u00a0was known for creating the smallest SLR lenses on the market with solid performance and in the 80s Olympus even created some of the finest manual lenses ever built among them the OM 2\/100<\/a>. These lenses are easily identified by the OM in the name but don’t confuse them with the newer “Zuiko Digital” lenses.<\/p>\n Our budget recommendation<\/strong> is the K&F<\/strong> II adapter:\u00a0ebay.com<\/a>* | amazon.com<\/a>* | amazon.de<\/a>*<\/p>\n Our peace of mind recommendation<\/strong> are Novoflex and Rayqual adapters. Their prices differ a lot between the markets and we would recommend the cheaper one. This is the predecessor of the M-mount. It is also known as the Leica Thread Mount (LTM) which is nothing but a standard M39 thread. In Russia it is also known as “Zorki”. Many older Leica, Zeiss, Voigtlander and also Jupiter lenses come with M39 mount. Adapters from M39 -> Leica-M: ebay.com<\/a>* | amazon.com<\/a>* | amazon.de<\/a>*<\/p>\n See also Leica M-mount<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n The M42 lens mount<\/a>\u00a0was used by a wide range of manufacturer often from east Germany but \u00a0also by Pentax <\/a>until they introduced the K-mount in 1975. It differs from all the other mounts in the senses that it is not a bajonet-mount but a screw-mount.<\/p>\n Our budget recommendation<\/strong> is the K&F<\/strong> II adapter:\u00a0ebay.com<\/a>* | amazon.com<\/a>* | amazon.de<\/a>*<\/p>\n Our peace of mind recommendation<\/strong> are Novoflex and Rayqual adapters. Their prices differ a lot between the markets and we would recommend the cheaper one. The Pentax K-mount was introduced in 1975 and Pentax gained a reputation for their very effective SMC-coating often seen as comparable to Zeiss’ T*-coating. You can find a very good database of user-reviews at pentaxforums.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our budget recommendation<\/strong> is the K&F<\/strong> II adapter:\u00a0ebay.com<\/a>* | amazon.com<\/a>* | amazon.de<\/a>*<\/p>\n Our peace of mind recommendation<\/strong> are Novoflex and Rayqual adapters. Their prices differ a lot between the markets and we would recommend the cheaper one. Leica’s range of SLR-lenses was known for great build quality, high prices and – at least in some cases – excellent image quality. Leica abandoned the mount in 2009. For a list of all R-mount lenses check out apotelyt.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Leica R-mount lenses are easily identified by the \u201c-R\u201d in their name. For example the Leica Summicron-R <\/strong>50 mm f\/2 is an R-mount lens, while the Leica Summicron-M<\/strong> 50 mm f\/2 is an M-mount lens and needs a different adapter.<\/p>\n Our peace of mind recommendation<\/strong> are Novoflex and Rayqual adapters. Their prices differ a lot between the markets and we would recommend the cheaper one. When it comes to Nikon F-Mount lenses the important question is whether you want to adapt older manual lenses, G-type lenses without an aperture ring, or E-type lenses with purely electronically controlled aperture. You can read more about adapting Nikon lenses in this article<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Metabones Nikon-G to Sony-E adapter was the first adapter to feature a decent, reliable and reproducable mechanism to control the aperture of G-type lenses but it has now been copied by many other manufacturers. Newer Nikon Z\/RF lenses can not be adapted to Sony cameras!<\/strong><\/p>\n Our budget recommendation<\/strong> for older Ai-s lenses is this K&F<\/strong> adapter:\u00a0ebay.com<\/a>* | amazon.com<\/a>* | amazon.de<\/a>*Why you need an adapter<\/h1>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/DSC00112-1.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/flangeFocalDistance.jpg\")
<\/p>\nAdapter Problems<\/h1>\n
Mechanical fit<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/DSC08436-e1675068714776.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\n
Adapter thickness<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/DSC08803.jpg\")
<\/li>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/DSC08808.jpg\")
<\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div>Sony A7rII | Samyang 14mm 2.8 | f\/2.8 | focus on center | 100% crops<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/DSC08808-2.jpg\")
<\/li>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/DSC08803-2.jpg\")
<\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div>Sony A7rII | Samyang 14mm 2.8 | f\/2.8 | focus on center | 100% crops<\/span><\/p>\nAdapter Reflections<\/h1>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/DSC02823.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/DSC01221.jpg\")
<\/li>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/DSC01222.jpg\")
<\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/DSC08645-2.jpg\")
Light Leaks<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/DSC00164.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/DSC05287.jpg\")
<\/li>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/DSC05288.jpg\")
<\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div>Sony A7rII | Nikon Series E 50mm 1.8 | NiSi ND1000 Filter<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\nDurability<\/h2>\n
Adapter Issues – Conclusion<\/h2>\n
Adapter manufacturers<\/h1>\n
K&F\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/DSC02819.jpg\")
<\/p>\nNovoflex<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/DSC00077-Edit1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nRayqual<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/DSC09992.jpg\")
\nFurthermore two loyal readers of this blog, Tim and David, have recommended them in the past and we trust their judgement. They play in the same league as the Novoflex adapters with zero play but they use light baffles which will suppress any flare even better (not that I ever noticed any issues with a Novoflex). Unlike the Novoflex adapters the Rayqual adapters have no margin to allow for miss-calibrated lenses or camera mounts, as the infinity hard stop will be dead on with most lenses. Therefore it can happen that you won’t reach infinity with them.
\nFurthermore some readers told us when using extension tubes you might run into vignetting issues quite easily.<\/p>\nMetabones<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/DSC_7123.jpg\")
\nWhat I (Bastian) really like about the Metabones adapter is the built in yet detachable Arca-Swiss compatible tripod mount, although you might run into difficulties when using very big clamps or an L-bracket mounted to your camera.<\/p>\nFotodiox Pro<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nNevertheless, I still have and use two of their cheaper adapters and see them as an alternative to the K&F adapters.<\/p>\nSo, how much should I spend on an adapter?<\/h1>\n
Adapter Recommendations by lens mount<\/h1>\n
Minolta SR mount<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/DSC09942-300x270.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/DSC09941-300x293.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nOur peace of mind recommendation<\/strong> are Novoflex and Rayqual adapters. Their prices differ a lot between the markets and we would recommend the cheaper one.
\nNovoflex<\/strong>:\u00a0ebay.com<\/a>* | amazon.com<\/a>* | amazon.de<\/a>*
\nRayqual<\/strong>:\u00a0ebay.com<\/a>* | amazon.com<\/a>*<\/p>\nCanon FD<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/DSC09948-300x292.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/DSC09947-300x277.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nOur peace of mind recommendation<\/strong> are Novoflex and Rayqual adapters. Their prices differ a lot between the markets and we would recommend the cheaper one.
\nNovoflex<\/strong>:\u00a0ebay.com<\/a>* | amazon.com<\/a>* | amazon.de<\/a>*
\nRayqual<\/strong>:\u00a0ebay.com<\/a>* | amazon.com<\/a>*<\/p>\nCanon EF\/EF-S<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/DSC00232.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/DSC00231.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nThey range from ~70$ (Commlite, Viltrox, Fotodiox) to ~400$ (Metabones T Smart) with the Sigma MC-11 in between for ~250$. I (Bastian) have tested Commlite, Viltrox and Sigma MC-11. When it comes to controlling the aperture they all worked quite well, but when it comes to AF I can only recommend the Sigma MC-11 of these three, the other two were quite unreliable, especially above 150mm. Furthermore the two cheaper adapters showed way more radial play than I can tolerate. When it comes to the flange distance the MC-11 was also the best match.
\nThe latest Metabones adapter is said to be at least on par with the Sigma MC-11, but it is also significantly more expensive and the guys over at lensrentals had not so good experiences<\/a> with their reliabilty.<\/p>\n\n
\nOur peace of mind recommendation<\/strong> are the Sigma MC-11 and Metabones T-smart adapters:
\nSigma<\/strong>:\u00a0ebay.com<\/a>* | amazon.com<\/a>* | amazon.de<\/a>*
\nMetabones<\/strong>:\u00a0ebay.com<\/a>* | amazon.com<\/a>* | amazon.de<\/a>*<\/p>\nContax C\/Y<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/DSC09950-300x287.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/DSC09951-300x291.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nOur peace of mind recommendation<\/strong> are Novoflex and Rayqual adapters. Their prices differ a lot between the markets and we would recommend the cheaper one.
\nNovoflex<\/strong>:\u00a0ebay.com<\/a>* | amazon.com<\/a>* | amazon.de<\/a>*
\nRayqual<\/strong>:\u00a0ebay.com<\/a>* | amazon.com<\/a>*<\/p>\nOlympus OM<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/DSC02820-300x292.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/DSC02821-300x292.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nNovoflex:\u00a0ebay.com<\/a>* | amazon.com<\/a>* | amazon.de<\/a>*
\nRayqual:\u00a0ebay.com<\/a>* | amazon.com<\/a>*<\/p>\nM39 \/ Leica Thread-Mount (LTM)<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/DSC00224.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nThere are very slim adapters from M39 to Leica-M available and I would recommend getting them and use a Leica-M -> Sony-E adapter as the bajonet mount is much more enjoyable than the M39 screw mount. These slim adapters feature engravings for Leica cameras, you don’t need to worry about these, just get the cheapest.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/DSC00226.jpg\")
<\/p>\nM42<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/DSC09940-286x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nNovoflex:\u00a0ebay.com<\/a>*\u00a0| amazon.de<\/a>*
\nRayqual:\u00a0ebay.com<\/a>* | amazon.com<\/a>*<\/p>\nPentax K<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/DSC09946-300x270.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/DSC09944-300x282.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nNovoflex:\u00a0ebay.com<\/a>* | amazon.com<\/a>* | amazon.de<\/a>*
\nRayqual:\u00a0ebay.com<\/a>* | amazon.com<\/a>*<\/p>\nLeica R-mount<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nNovoflex:\u00a0ebay.com<\/a>* | amazon.com<\/a>* | amazon.de<\/a>*
\nRayqual:\u00a0ebay.com<\/a>* | amazon.com<\/a>*<\/p>\nNikon F-Mount
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/DSC_7433.jpg\")
\nFor older manual focus lenses with a dedicated aperture ring even a cheap ~20$ adapter will suffice most of the time.
\nFor G-type lenses you need an adapter which allows to control the aperture, as for example the Metabones Nikon-G to Sony-E adapter for ~150$.
\nFor E-type lenses as of today there is only one Commlite AF adapter which allows to change the aperture for ~450$ but the AF performs very badly with some lenses. It might actually not even work with some lenses at all. As this may prove to be quite difficult to understand I prepared the following table for you:
\n![\"which](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/nikon_adapters.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nUnfortunately from my own experience I know the Metabones adapter is a little short and not the optimal solution for wide angle lenses with floating elements (which many modern lenses feature). I even asked a Zeiss Rep what adapters they recommend for their Otus lenses and they usually go with Novoflex, as these are more close to the original flange distance than the Metabones adapters, resulting in better image quality.
\nNowadyas I am using a Rayqual adapter, but these are hard to get in Europe.<\/p>\n
\nOur budget recommendation<\/strong> for more modern G-type lenses is this K&F<\/strong> adapter:\u00a0ebay.com<\/a>* | amazon.com<\/a>* | amazon.de<\/a>*
\nOur peace of mind recommendations<\/strong> are the Rayqual <\/strong>and Novoflex<\/strong> adapters (they work with Ai-s and G-type lenses):
\nRayqual<\/strong>:\u00a0ebay.com<\/a>* | amazon.com<\/a>* | amazon.de<\/a>*
\nNovoflex<\/strong>:\u00a0