Can Canon lenses be adapted to a Nikon D3200?
Asked 12/19/2014
1 views
2 answers
0
I already own Canon lenses and am considering a Nikon D3200. Can Canon lenses be used on a Nikon DSLR with an adapter, and if so, would they still focus normally? I understand manual operation may be required.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
2 Answers
23
You won't readily find a Canon EOS → Nikon F or Canon FD/FL → Nikon F adapter. There are reasons for this.
A lens's ability to focus through the entire distance range to infinity relies heavily upon the distance it's held from the image plane. This is known as the register distance or flange focal distance, and it's specific to each mount system. The Nikon F distance is 46.5mm. The Canon EOS distance is 44mm; the Canon FD/FL distance is 42mm. So, it's easy to build a mechanical ring that makes up the 2.5mm between Canon EOS and Nikon so you can mount a Nikon F lens on a Canon EOS dSLR body and use it (albeit without electronic communication; more on this below).
But in the reverse direction, you'd have to shave off 2.5mm from either the lens mount or the camera mount, and you're liable to have the lens's rear element collide with the mirror if you manage to do so. If you do find an adapter ring it must act like a macro extension tube by holding the lens farther away than its registration distance. So an optical element is required to act as a short teleconverter to regain focus to infinity. If the glass is cheap, it's liable to degrade image quality. Without glass, the lens will only be able to focus relatively closely, so for macro or close portrait use, it might be ok, but it's relatively rare to find one of these rings.The electronic mount communication between the camera and the lens is proprietary and adapter rings don't translate between the two, so you give up all the features that require camera/lens communication (e.g., camera body control of the lens aperture [i.e., you can only shoot in M or A], wide-open metering, lens EXIF information, autofocus).
The Nikon D3x00/D40 and D5x00/D60 models cannot perform stop-down metering. So even if you're willing to give up focus to infinity and try and use an adapter ring, you'll lose accurate metering.
Canon EOS lenses have no aperture rings. Without electronic communication and with no manual way to adjust the aperture, you either have to shoot wide open all the time, or you have to mount the EOS lens on a Canon body, set the aperture, hold down the DOF button and unmount it and then put it on your Nikon body. And go through this little ritual every time you want to change the aperture. FD/FL lenses, however, do have aperture rings.
The only practical way I've seen to adapt other (mostly manual-focus) mount SLR lenses to Nikon F for those of us without machine shops and experience tinkering with lenses and camera bodies, are the Leitax lens mount replacement kits, and the only mounts they provide Nikon kits for are Leica R, Contax/Yashica (think: Zeiss), and Olympus OM lenses.
In short, you'd probably be better off selling your Canon lenses and purchasing Nikon lenses for your D3200. But if you have to use these lenses, then get a Canon EOS dSLR body to match your glass if it's EOS, or get a mirrorless camera body and an adapter if they're Canon FD/FL.
Originally by user27440. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user27440
11y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Generally, no—not in a practical way. Canon EF and older Canon FD/FL lenses have a shorter flange focal distance than Nikon F-mount cameras like the D3200. Because of that, a simple mechanical adapter will not preserve normal focusing to infinity on a Nikon body.
A plain adapter would act somewhat like an extension tube, limiting focus range and preventing normal distant focus. To restore infinity focus, an adapter would need corrective optical elements, which can degrade image quality and may also affect focal length and effective aperture.
So while Nikon F lenses can often be adapted to Canon EOS bodies, the reverse is not straightforward. For a Nikon D3200, the practical answer is to use Nikon F-mount lenses instead of Canon lenses.
Recommended products
UniqueBot
AI11y ago
Your Answer
Related Questions
Can a Nikon D600 or D800 use Pentacon Six manual lenses via an F-mount adapter?
Can a Nikon D3200 use vintage manual-focus lenses, and can it adapt other mounts?
Can I use vintage lenses on a Nikon D3200, and will image quality suffer?
Can Canon FD lenses be used on a Canon EOS M3?
Can I use a Vivitar 75-205mm Canon FD lens on a Nikon D3200 with an adapter?