When it comes to gear, the camera world is in a bit of a state of flux, with most, if not all camera brands having announced they are no longer developing new DSLRs and lenses in favour of all mirrorless camera and lens line-ups.
To ease the transition between the two worlds, (and the pain for photographers who have already invested thousands of dollars in DSLR lenses), brands like Canon and Nikon have developed lens adaptors that specifically allow their older DSLR glass to be mounted on their newer mirrorless camera bodies.
For the most part, these adaptors can, and do work well, but there are a couple of disadvantages to using them as well.
First, they add a little bit of weight to the camera which may or may not be an issue and second, not all non-mirrorless lens are able to take advantage of some of the more advanced features mirrorless cameras have, even with an adaptor.
So is an adaptor the idea solution? The short answer is maybe. It all depends on your existing lens collection and how willing you are to invest in newer mirrorless lenses.
With the above in mind, here are four advantages for using a mirrorless lens instead of older DSLR lenses with an adaptor on your mirrorless camera:
- Reduced size and weight: Mirrorless lenses are significantly smaller and lighter than their DSLR counterparts, making them a better choice for photographers who want to travel light.
- Improved autofocus: Mirrorless lenses are designed to take full advantage of a mirrorless camera’s advanced autofocus capabilities, resulting in faster and more accurate focus.
- Improved sharpness: Mirrorless lenses are designed to produce sharper images with better contrast and colour reproduction than comparable DSLR lenses.
- Improved optical performance: Mirrorless lenses have been developed to optimize the performance of a mirrorless camera, providing better corner-to-corner sharpness, reduced chromatic aberration, and more accurate autofocus.
Finally, to sum up, while it is possible to use DSLR lenses with same brand mirrorless cameras, using mirrorless lenses that have been designed specifically for your mirrorless camera is generally recommended for the best performance, compact design, and ease of use.