Archive 2009 · Minolta to Canon Adapter

Jos Tesseract
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Minolta to Canon Adapter

Has anyone here heard of or acquired (and ultimately used) a Minolta MD to Canon EOS adapter? and are they any good?

My Dad has an old Minolta X700 and a few pretty sweet lenses, and I was wondering if there's an adapter out there that I could get, to make them work on my Canon EOS (RebelXT).

Is it a worthwhile avenue to explore? or is this a pipe... err lens dream?

Jun 05, 2009 at 01:26 AM

jcolwell
Online
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Minolta to Canon Adapter

Minolta MD has a shorter register (or sensor to lens mount distance), and so you can't get "infinity focus" with a simple mechanical adapter. You can get a MD to EOS adapter with an optical element that enables focus to infinity (there are many on eBay), but it will almost certainly lower the image quality from the lens. OTOH, a simple mechanical adapter should work fine for close subjects, or you can remove the optics from one with infinity focus (if its image quality seems poor).

The MD register is only 0.5mm less than EOS, so you might be able to focus within a few metres or so - maybe somebody who's tried this will let us know the maximum focus distance for MD on EOS, without corrective optics.

Edited on Jun 05, 2009 at 03:17 PM · View previous versions

Jun 05, 2009 at 07:28 AM

gasrocks
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Minolta to Canon Adapter

There is a guy in Italy who sells a Minolta to Canon adapter. However it involves replacing the mount on your body. Now, you can only mount Minolta lenses.

Jun 05, 2009 at 08:30 AM

h_rearden
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Minolta to Canon Adapter

The register difference is 0.5mm by most accounts, however one source states "43.72 +0.01 -0.02" for Minolta MD (as compared to EF's 44mm).

But Jim is right about the adapters. Glassless might get you some decent macro/close-up functionality and the ones with glass are likely not going to produce good results.

However, many of the MCs and MDs can be converted (rather than adapted) to EF mount.

It is likely best to consider each lens and try to decide which are worth the effort/expense of conversion.

Jun 05, 2009 at 08:35 AM

Jos Tesseract
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Minolta to Canon Adapter

Hmmmm.... Alright, thanks guys.

Sounds like it's a pointless pursuit, as 2 of the lenses i'd like to use are in the telephoto range. One is a 135mm and the other was something weird like 170mm. So, without inifinity focus, they would be more or less ineffective.

Jun 05, 2009 at 11:17 AM

thejakestir
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Minolta to Canon Adapter

A guy posted some sample over on dpreview the other day using Minolta lenses on the 5d2.
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1010&message=32035574

Jun 05, 2009 at 12:26 PM

RustyBug
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Minolta to Canon Adapter

Without infinity focus ... I would think that they could still make a nice portrait lens, if the optics are otherwise pleasing to you, i.e. sharpness, color, bokeh, etc.

Would a stopped down, hyperfocal approach enable infinity objects to be in focus by incresaing the DOF?

Jun 05, 2009 at 01:32 PM

jcolwell
Online
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Minolta to Canon Adapter

h_rearden wrote:
The register difference is 0.5mm by most accounts, ...

Thanks, I slipped a decimal point (brain fart). Original corrected. A 5mm difference in register is big; a 0.5mm difference is not so big, but still important.

Jun 05, 2009 at 03:17 PM

JimBuchanan
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Minolta to Canon Adapter

Except for the 58mm Rokkor lenses, most all other Rokkors that I am aware of, have a standard back/bayonet construction. My Minolta to EOS lens conversion technique is based, in part, on procedures found in threads on this forum. The .5mm register difference is accounted for by taking out optical path in the EF replacement bayonet, and/or infinity adjustment screws, and/or machining off the lens body face where the back screws to, depending on which lenses.

I certainly agree the optics containing Minolta-EOS adapters will degrade whatever optical qualities are inherent to the lens.

Here is an interesting one, the EF mount Minolta 35mm shift lens with the VFC feature:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3343/3485586921_9838344d36.jpg

Jun 05, 2009 at 04:11 PM


FM Forums \| Leica & Alternative Gear \| Join Upload & Sell

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.