[sbtm]

Hi,

Would somebody care to explain how are various lens mount different from different lenses? I know the new Sony 100 Alpha uses the Konika Minolta lens mount, guessing that it will not fit on the Nikon and Canon cameras. Are the Canon and Nikon's the same? Probably not.

So how would lense makers like Sigma or Tamron, cater for these two brands (Canon/ Nikon) if they have different lense mounts?

Thanks

[Warspite]

Sigma and Tamron lenses are made with specific mounts - so you would purchase say a Tamron with an EOS mount if you had a Canon.

You must buy these lenses for particular mounts as they cannot be altered to fit different systems.

Nikon, Canon, Olympus, and Sony make lenses for their own mounts only - the exception is Fuji which I believe uses the Nikon system.

[Suzy]

Thanks, I never knew that

I think I just gave you some points

[sbtm]

Great!

Thanks

[Steve]

Originally Posted by Warspite

Nikon, Canon, Olympus, and Sony make lenses for their own mounts only - the exception is Fuji which I believe uses the Nikon system.

Just to confirm that the last statement is totally correct and the reason why is that the Fuji S2 which was their first DSLR was a Nikon body re-badged running on different software. Fuji believed it to be better for them to use the Nikon as a stepping stone into the DSLR market.

Regarding the other mounts and interchangeably, as Warspite says in general you have to buy the correct mount for the body you wish to use the lens on but in some cases you can buy adaptors that will allow otherwise wrong lenses and bodies to be used together. Most times though you will lose some functionality, be that auto focus or having to set your aperture manually. It is always better to buy the correct mount in the first place.

One last point just to make it even harder to understand...not all Canon lenses will fit on all Canon bodies either, recently (last couple of years) Canon introduced EF-S lenses which have a different system to the standard EOS mount. The EF-S looks almost identical but the back of the lens protrudes into the body further and so it would catch and damage the sensitive mirror mechanisms when in use.

HTH

[sbtm]

Would getting a lense from a third party loose some functionality like AF or setting the aperture? Or the camera can make full use of the lense?

[Steve]

As long as you buy the correct mount ie Canon for Canon or Nikon for Nikon etc then no, you would not lose any functionality. The third party companies such a Tamron, Sigma etc are all very good at engineering their lenses to work with the different camera makes.

[VinnyP]

Canon (and I) used to have the Canon Fd mount as well (non AF) and those lenses will not fit any of their autofocus cameras and visa versa.
Most Nikons will fit most bodies with varying degress of compatibility. I am not sure about Minolta but I think they are the same.

Tamron used to have interchangeable mounts so you could switch between different manufacturers bodies just by buying a different adaptor. That was in a time when camera lenses were much simpler beasts. These days they are just like the other 3rd party manufacturers and adapt their lenses according to the manufacturers specifications.