Male mount of Minolta MC-Rokkor 58mm 1:1.4 lens with female lens mount of an Minolta XD-7
Lenses sold per year by mount type

A lens mount is an interface – mechanical and often also electrical – between a photographic camera body and a lens. It is a feature of camera systems where the body allows interchangeable lenses, most usually the rangefinder camera, single lens reflex type, single lens mirrorless type or any movie camera of 16 mm or higher gauge. Lens mounts are also used to connect optical components in instrumentation that may not involve a camera, such as the modular components used in optical laboratory prototyping which join via C-mount or T-mount elements.

Mount types

A lens mount may be a screw-threaded type, a bayonet-type, or a breech-lock (friction lock) type. Modern still camera lens mounts are of the bayonet type, because the bayonet mechanism precisely aligns mechanical and electrical features between lens and body. Screw-threaded mounts are fragile and do not align the lens in a reliable rotational position, yet types such as the C-mount interface are still widely in use for other applications like video cameras and optical instrumentation.

Bayonet mounts generally have a number of tabs (often three) around the base of the lens, which fit into appropriately sized recesses in the lens mounting plate on the front of the camera. The tabs are often "keyed" in some way to ensure that the lens is inserted in only one orientation, often by making one tab a different size. Once inserted the lens is fastened by turning it a small amount. It is then locked in place by a spring-loaded pin, which can be operated to remove the lens.

Lens mounts of competing manufacturers (Sony, Nikon, Canon, Contax/Yashica, Pentax, etc.) are almost always incompatible. In addition to the mechanical and electrical interface variations, the flange focal distance from the lens mount to the film or sensor can also be different. Many allege that these incompatibilities are due to the desire of manufacturers to "lock in" consumers to their brand.

In movie cameras, the two most popular mounts in current usage on professional digital cinematography cameras are Arri's PL-mount and Panavision's PV-mount. The PL-Mount is used both on Arri and RED digital cinematography cameras, which as of 2012 are the most used cameras for films shot in digital. The Panavision mounts are exclusively used with Panavision lenses, and thus are only available on Panaflex cameras or third-party cameras "Panavised" by a Panavision rental house, whereas the PL-mount style is favored with most other cameras and cine lens manufacturers. Both of these mounts are held in place with locating pins and friction locking rings. Other mounts which are now largely historical or a minority in relation to current practices are listed below.

List of lens mounts

Mount name Flange focal distance Frame size Throat or thread diameter Mount thread pitch Mount type Primary use Camera lines
Canon SV 32.00 mm       Bayonet Photography (Digital) Canon RC-701 & 760
Argus C3 40.3 mm 35 mm 34 mm 20 TPI Screw Photography Argus C3
Canon EX 20 mm 1/2"     Bayonet Photography
Canon FL 42 mm 35 mm 48 mm   Breech lock Photography  
Canon FD 42 mm 35 mm 48 mm   Breech lock Photography Canon F series, A series, and T series SLRs
Canon FDn (a.k.a. "New FD") 42 mm 35 mm 48 mm Bayonet Photography completely interchangeable with earlier FD lenses
Canon EF 44.00 mm 35 mm 54 mm[1]   Bayonet Photography Canon EOS 35mm film SLR, Full Frame & APS-H DSLR
Canon EF-S 44.00 mm APS-C 54 mm   Bayonet Photography (Digital) Canon EOS APS-C DSLR
Canon EF-M 18 mm APS-C 47 mm   Bayonet Photography (Digital) Canon EOS M series Mirrorless APS-C Cameras
Canon RF 20 mm 35 mm and APS-C 54 mm Bayonet Photography (Digital) Canon EOS R series full-frame and APS-C mirrorless cameras; lenses designated as RF-S are optimized for APS-C sensors, but will mount on full-frame bodies
Nikon S 34.85 mm 35 mm 49 mm   Bayonet Photography Nikon Rangefinder
Nikon F 46.5 mm 35 mm 44 mm[2]   Bayonet Photography Nikon F 35mm film SLR, Full Frame & APS-C DSLR
Nikon 1 17 mm 13.2 x 8.8mm 40 mm   Bayonet Photography (Digital) Nikon 1 series
Nikon Z 16 mm 35 mm 55 mm Bayonet Photography (Digital) Nikon Z - Mirrorless Full Frame & APS-C
Sony Mavica 57 mm       Bayonet Photography (Digital)
Sony E | FE 18 mm 35 mm and APS-C 46.1 mm (1.815 inch)   Bayonet Photography (Digital) Sony E/FE Mount Alpha Mirrorless Full Frame / APS-C| Sony NEX Mirrorless APS-C
Minolta SR 43.50 mm 35 mm 44.97 mm   Bayonet (54°) Photography Minolta SR/MC/MD
Minolta V 38.00 mm APS-H 39.7 mm   Bayonet Photography Minolta Vectis
Minolta A 44.50 mm 35 mm and APS-C 49.7 mm (1.939 inch)   Bayonet (54°) Photography Minolta DSLR AF/Alpha/Dynax/Maxxum
Sony DSLR Alpha (α) A Mount
Pentax Auto 110 27 mm 110 film 19.5 mm   Bayonet Photography Pentax Auto 110 and Auto 110 Super
Pentax Q 9.2 mm 1/2.3", 1/1.7"  31 mm   Bayonet Photography (Digital)
Pentax K 45.46 mm 35 mm and APS-C 44 mm   Bayonet Photography Used also by Ricoh, Chinon, Agfa, Vivitar and KMZ Zenit cameras
Leitz Visoflex I 91.3 mm 35 mm M39 26 TPI Screw Photography
Leitz Visoflex II/III 67.8 mm 35 mm 44 mm   Bayonet (Leica M) Photography
Leica M 27.80 mm 35 mm 44 mm   Bayonet Photography Leica M series
Leica CL
Minolta CLE
Leica R 47.00 mm 35 mm 49 mm   Bayonet Photography
Leica L 20 mm 35 mm and APS-C 51.6 mm   Bayonet Photography (Digital) L-Mount Alliance (Leica, Panasonic and Sigma Mirrorless)
Contax RF 34.85 mm 35 mm 44 mm   Double bayonet Photography Contax I, II, III, IIa, IIIa
Kiev rangefinders
Contax G 29.00 mm 35 mm 44 mm   Breech lock Photography
Contax N 48 mm 35 mm 55 mm   Bayonet Photography
Contax/Yashica 45.5 mm 35 mm 48 mm   Bayonet Photography Yashica/Contax
Yashica MA ~45.8 mm 35 mm     Bayonet Photography Kyocera Yashica 230 AF etc.
Fujica X 43.5 mm 35 mm 49 mm   Bayonet Photography Fujica-X
Fujifilm X 17.7 mm APS-C 44 mm   Bayonet Photography (Digital) Fujifilm X series mirrorless
Olympus Pen F 28.95 mm 35 mm half-frame     Bayonet Photography
Olympus OM 46 mm 35 mm 46 mm   Bayonet Photography
Four Thirds 38.67 mm 17.3 mm × 12.98 mm ~44 mm[A]   Bayonet Photography (Digital) Olympus E
Panasonic Lumix DMC-L
Leica Digilux
Micro Four Thirds 19.25 mm 17.3 mm × 12.98 mm ~38 mm[A]   Bayonet Photography (Digital) Olympus Pen & OM-D series
Panasonic G, GF, GX & GH Series
Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera
KM 28 mm (27.80 mm?) 35 mm 44 mm   Bayonet Photography Konica Hexar RF
Konica F 40.50 mm 35 mm 40 mm   Bayonet Photography Konica F
Konica AR 40.50 mm 35 mm 47 mm   Bayonet Photography Konica Autoreflex
Samsung NX mini 6.95 mm 1"  38 mm   Bayonet photography (Digital)
Samsung NX 25.5 mm APS-C 42 mm   Bayonet Photography (Digital)
Samsung Kenox 44.5 mm 35 mm   Bayonet Photography Manual focus only; there is only one compatible camera - Samsung Kenox GX-1/Samsung SR4000.
Icarex BM 48.00 mm 35 mm mm   Breech lock Photography Icarex 35S
D 12.29 mm 8 mm 15.88 mm (0.625 inch) 32 TPI Screw Cinematography  
CS 12.526 mm[3] 1/3" , 1/2"  25.40 mm (1 inch) 32 TPI Screw Cinematography / Industrial  
C 17.526 mm (0.69 inches) 1/2" , 16 mm, 2/3" , 1"  25.40 mm (1 inch) 32 TPI Screw Cinematography / Industrial / Machine Vision  
S (a.k.a. M12) No Flange. Back focal distance from <1mm to 12mm. 1/6"  to 1"  12 mm 0.5 mm pitch Screw CCTV, PCB Edmund Optics μ-Video
Bolex Bajonet 23.22 mm 16 mm     Breech lock Cinematography effective focal distance 17.526 mm (0.69 inches) due to beam splitter behind mount flange (accepts C-mount lenses with adapter)
1/3" bayonet mount 25 mm 1/3" (5.24x2.94) Bayonet Video JVC professional video cameras
M39 (a.k.a. L-Mount, LTM) 28.80 mm 35 mm M39 26 TPI Screw Photography Leica M39 screw mount
Narciss 28.8 mm 16 mm M24 1 mm Screw Photography
1/2" bayonet mount 37.80 mm 1/2" (6.97x3.92) Bayonet Video Non-Sony professional video cameras
Alpa 37.80 mm 35 mm 42 mm   Bayonet Photography
Sony 1/2" Video 38 mm 1/2" (6.97x3.92) Bayonet Video Sony professional video cameras
Aaton universal 40 mm 16 mm 50 mm   Breech lock Cinematography
Miranda bayonet/M44 41.5 mm 35 mm and APS-C     Bayonet Photography Miranda Camera Company
Petriflex 43.5 mm 35 mm     Breech lock Photography
Sigma SA 44.00 mm 35 mm 44 mm   Bayonet Photography Sigma SA
Paxette 44 mm 35 mm M39 1 mm Screw Photography
Praktiflex 44 mm 35 mm M40 1 mm Screw Photography
Praktica 44.40 mm 35 mm 42 mm   Bayonet Photography
Exakta, Topcon RE 44.7 mm 35 mm 46 mm   Bayonet Photography
Zenit M39 45.2 mm 35 mm M39 1 mm Screw Photography
M37 45.46 mm 35 mm 37 mm 1 mm Screw Photography Asahiflex
M42 45.46 mm 35 mm 42 mm 1 mm Screw Photography Praktica,[4] Pentax, Zenit
B4-mount 48 mm 2/3" (9.6x5.4) Bayonet Video Professional and broadcast video cameras
Praktina 50 mm 35 mm 46 mm   Breech lock Photography
T-Thread (Very earliest type) 50.7 mm 35 mm M37 0.75mm Screw Photography Tamron
Adapt-A-Matic 50.7 mm 35 mm 54 mm   Bayonet Photography Tamron
Adaptall & Adaptall-2 50.7 mm 35 mm 54 mm   Bayonet Photography Tamron
Arri standard 52 mm 35 mm and 16 mm 64 mm   Tab lock Cinematography
Arri bayonet 52 mm 35 mm and 16 mm 64 mm   Bayonet Cinematography
Arri PL 52 mm 35 mm and 16 mm 54 mm   Breech lock Cinematography
Arri LPL 44 mm Arri LF 62 mm   Breech lock Cinematography
Arri Maxi PL 52 mm 70 mm 64 mm     Cinematography
T 55 mm 35 mm 42 mm 0.75 mm Screw Photography Tamron
YS Auto T-Thread 55 mm 35 mm 42 mm 0.75 mm Screw Photography Sigma Corporation
T-thread 55 mm 35 mm 47 mm 0.75 mm Screw Photography Tokina
H-Mount 55 mm 35 mm 47 mm 0.75 mm Screw Photography Hanimex (rebranding of Tokina M47)
Panavision PV 57.15 mm 35 mm 49.5 mm   Breech lock Cinematography
B3-mount 58 mm 2/3"     Reverse bayonet Video Ikegami
Mitchell BNCR 61.468 mm 35 mm 68 mm   Breech lock Cinematography  
Zeiss Panflex 5522/23 for Contax RF 64.50 mm 35 mm   Double bayonet Photography
Kowa Six/Super 66 79 mm 6×6     Breech lock Photography
Hasselblad 74.9 mm 6×6 69 mm   Bayonet Photography
Hasselblad Xpan 34.27 mm 35 mm panoramic 46 mm   Bayonet Photography
Bronica ETR 85 mm 6×4.5 mm   Bayonet Photography
Bronica RF mm 6×4.5 mm   Bayonet Photography
Bronica SQA 101.7 mm 6×6 57 mm   Bayonet Photography
Bronica GS1 85 mm 6×7 80.5 mm   Bayonet Photography
Mamiya 645 63.3 mm 6×4.5 62 mm   Bayonet Photography
Mamiya 6 56.2 mm (approx.)[5] 6×6 mm   Bayonet Photography
Mamiya 7/7II 59 mm (approx.) 6×7 49 mm[6]   Bayonet Photography
Mamiya RZ67 105 mm 6×7 60 mm   Bayonet Photography
Mamiya RB67 112 mm 6×7 60 mm   Bayonet Photography
Mamiya ZE 45.5 mm 35 mm     Bayonet Photography
Mamiya/Sekor E 43.5 mm 35 mm 49 mm   Bayonet Photography
Pentax 645 70.87 mm 6×4.5 61.2 mm   Bayonet Photography
Pentax 6x7 84.95 mm 6×7 72 mm   Bayonet Photography
Pentacon Six 74.1 mm 6×6 60 mm   Breech lock Photography
Fujifilm G 26.7 mm 43.8x32.9 mm 65 mm[7]   Bayonet Photography (Digital) Fujifilm GFX series
Rolleiflex SL66 102.8 mm 6×6     Bayonet Photography
Rolleiflex SL35 44.46 mm 35 mm 46 mm   Bayonet Photography
RMS thread, society thread 150/180 mm   0.8", Whitworth 36 tpi Screw Microscope older microscopes
Leica
Nikon Biological		 Unknown   M25 0.75 mm Screw Microscope
BD Mount Unknown   M26 0.7 mm Screw Microscope Mitutoyo
Olympus BD
Nikon BD
Zeiss Unknown   M27 0.75 mm Screw Microscope
TFL[8] 17.526 mm 28 mm M35 0.75 mm Screw Machine Vision
TFL II[9] 17.526 mm 35 mm M48 0.75 mm Screw Machine Vision

For small camera modules, used in e.g. CCTV systems and machine vision, a range of metric thread mounts exists. The smallest ones can be found also in e.g. cellphones and endoscopes. The most common by far is the M12x0.5, followed by M8x0.5 and M10x0.5.[10]

  • M4.2x0.2 (1/7" sensors)
  • M4.6x0.25 (1/5", 2.4mm, 3.8mm sensors, industrial endoscopes)
  • M5x0.35 (1/6", 1/5" sensors)
  • M5.5x0.35 (1.7", 1/5.8", 1/5", 1/4" sensors)
  • M6x0.35 (1/4", 5.2mm, 4.85mm sensors)
  • M6.4x0.25 (1/3" sensors)
  • M7x0.35 (1.8", 1.7", 1/6", 1/5", 1/4", 1/3.6", 1/3.2", 1/2.7", 4.85mm sensors)
  • M8x0.35 (1/4", 1/3" sensors)
  • M8x0.5 (1/5", 1/4", 1/3" sensors; sometimes occurs in diode laser modules)
  • M9x0.5 (1/2.7", 1/3", 1/3.2" sensors; also commonly encountered in diode laser modules)
  • M10x0.5 (1/4", 1/3" sensors)
  • M12x0.5 (the S-mount, listed in the table)
  • M22x0.5 (1/1.2" sensors)

Focusing lens mount

The axial adjustment range for focusing Ultra wide angle lenses and some Wide-angle lenses in large format cameras is usually very small.

So some manufacturers (e.g. Linhof) offered special focusing lens mounts, so-called wide-angle focusing accessories for their cameras. With such a device, the lens could be focused precisely without moving the entire front standard.

Secondary lens mount

A teleconverter attached between a camera and its objective

Secondary lens refers to a multi-element lens mounted either in front of a camera's primary lens, or in between the camera body and the primary lens.

(D)SLR camera & interchangeable-lens manufacturers offer lens accessories like extension tubes and secondary lenses like teleconverters, which mount in between the camera body and the primary lens, both using and providing a primary lens mount. Various lensmakers also offer optical accessories that mount in front of the lens; these may include wide-angle, telephoto, fisheye, and close-up or macro adapters.

Canon PowerShot A and Canon PowerShot G cameras have a built-in or non-interchangeable primary (zoom) lens, and Canon has "conversion tube" accessories available for some Canon PowerShot camera models which provide either a 52mm or 58mm "accessory/filter" screw thread. Canon's close-up, wide- (WC-DC), and tele-conversion (TC-DC) lenses have 2, 3, and 4-element lenses respectively, so they are multi-element lenses and not diopter "filters".

Lens mount adapters

This lens adapter is a passive adapter designed for mounting a Nikon F mount lens to a Micro Four Thirds camera.

Lens mount adapters are designed to attach a lens to a camera body with non-matching mounts. Generally, a lens can be easily adapted to a camera body with a smaller flange focal distance by simply adding space between the camera and the lens. When attempting to adapt a lens to a camera body with a larger flange focal distance, the adapter must include a secondary lens in order to compensate. This has the side effect of decreasing the amount of light that reaches the sensor, as well as adding a crop factor to the lens. Without the secondary lens, these adapters will function as an extension tube and will not be able to focus to infinity.[11]

See also

Notes

^ A: The authoritative normative source for 4/3 standards information is Four-Thirds.Org and not 3rd-party reviews.

4/3's published facts:

  • "Size of the 4/3-type Sensor: The standard diagonal length of the sensor is 21.63 millimetres (0.852 in). It is half that of 35-mm film format (36 millimetres (1.4 in) x 24 millimetres (0.94 in) = 43.27 millimetres (1.704 in)) The image circle of the interchangeable lens is specified based on this diagonal length. The focal length is about a half that of a 135 film camera lens assuming the same angle of view."[12]
  • "The foundation for the high picture quality of the Four Thirds system is the lens mount, which is about twice the diameter of the image circle."[13]
  • "Differences between Four Thirds System mount and Micro Four Thirds System mount: Mount diameter reduction; As a result of research aimed at facilitating the design of compact, lightweight lenses while maintaining the current strength, the outer diameter of the lens mount has been reduced by approx. 6 millimetres (0.24 in). ... the Micro Four Thirds System ... specifies the optimum flange back length required to reduce camera size and thickness, assuming the omission of the mirror box. The flange back length has been reduced to about 1/2 that of the Four Thirds System."[14]

So:

  • 21.63mm * 2 = 43.26 millimetres (1.703 in) or ~44mm
  • 43.26mm – 6mm = 37.26 millimetres (1.467 in) or ~38mm
  • ; See: Pythagorean theorem ()

NOTE: Some published reviews of 4/3 instead cite the (female) "outside diameter" of the lens or mount as ~50mm (and micro-4/3 as ~44mm),[15] and not the appropriate major diameter (D) ~44mm which is the camera body's female mount inside-diameter and the lens's male mount outside-diameter (micro-4/3 ~38mm).

References

  1. ↑ "Camera Story – 1987–1991 EOS". Canon. Archived from the original on 2008-07-24. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
  2. ↑ "Debut of Nikon F". Nikon. Archived from the original on 2020-08-12. Retrieved 2020-10-26.
  3. ↑ Hornberg, Alexander (2007-02-27). Handbook of Machine Vision. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9783527610143.
  4. ↑ The M42 (Praktica) mount is sometimes referred to as a "P" thread. See, e.g., "Questar Corporation: Photographic Camera Adapters "P" Thread". Retrieved 2017-03-01.
  5. ↑ "Mamiya 6". www.kenrockwell.com.
  6. ↑ "Camera Mounts Sorted by Register". www.graphics.cornell.edu. Retrieved 2018-08-23.
  7. ↑ "FUJIFILM GFX 50S, Features". Fujifilm. Retrieved 2018-05-23.
  8. ↑ "Lens Mounts | Edmund Optics".
  9. ↑ "Lens Mounts | Edmund Optics".
  10. ↑ "cctvopticallens-m12 and cs mount lens provider". www.cctvopticallens.com. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  11. ↑ "Lens mount compatibility chart". Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  12. ↑ "About Four Thirds, Standard, Whitepaper (Summary of Standard)". Four Thirds System. Archived from the original on 2009-03-07. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
  13. ↑ "About Four Thirds, Standard, Benefits of Four Thirds". Four Thirds System. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
  14. ↑ "Micro Four Thirds, Standard, Whitepaper (Summary of Standard)". Four Thirds System. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
  15. ↑ "Olympus and Panasonic announce Micro Four Thirds". Digital Photography Review.

Sources

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