topic Re: EF mount lenses on R5 in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

EF mount lenses on R5

Betjothom — Sun, 20 Nov 2022 00:40:44 GMT

I currently have a Canon 5 D Mark iv that I like very much. If I purchased a mirrorless and used an adapter with my 400mm f 2.8 would I lose any performance from this lens or others?

Re: EF mount lenses on R5

Lotus7 — Sun, 20 Nov 2022 02:37:55 GMT

No, not at all. There will be NO performance loss. The Canon adapter has no optical function, but only provides the correct back focus distance required for EF mount lenses and relays the electronic connections for focus, in-lens stabilization and aperture control.

The IS functions of a EF 400 f/2.8 L IS -II or III will integrate nicely with the internal image stabilization of a R5 or R3 and result in a few more stops of IS so your usable slow shutter range will be extended. You should wind up with having a 400mm tele that can be hand held at 1/30 sec. and the improved camera performance may provide faster focusing in low-light situations.

Canon provides several EF to RF adapters at different price points with the difference being the inclusion of a control ring to control selected camera functions at the lens and/or the ability to add filters behind the lens. Optically, they are just empty spacer tubes, so unless you need the additional control ring function, the basic ($100 version) will work well for your lens.

It's important that the mechanical (2) bayonet mounts and the position of the sets of electronic contacts are absolutely correct, so it's smart to use a real Canon adapter instead of any of the "3rd party" models on the market, some of which have proven to be poor fits.

Re: EF mount lenses on R5

Betjothom — Sun, 20 Nov 2022 02:36:17 GMT

This is great information, thank you so very much!

Re: EF mount lenses on R5

FloridaDrafter — Sun, 20 Nov 2022 03:35:54 GMT

@Betjothomwrote:
I currently have a Canon 5 D Mark iv that I like very much. If I purchased a mirrorless and used an adapter with my 400mm f 2.8 would I lose any performance from this lens or others?

Lotus7 is spot on. I don't have the EF 400mm f/2.8L is USM III (if that's what you are referring to), but I have a bunch of EF L and non L lenses, from 24mm to 100-400mm, that work just as well on my R5 & 6 as they did on my 5D mark IV and 7D mark II, maybe better, but that's probably the cameras. However, RF L lenses are a step up from their EF counterparts, enough so that I have replaced almost all of my EF lenses with the RF versions, or as close as I could get. It's just better suited to the R. I consider the RF counterparts to be "mark XX" to the EF's, if that makes sense.

My original plan was to just adapt my EF lenses, but after buying the first RF, that plan changed.

Newton

Re: EF mount lenses on R5

Betjothom — Sun, 20 Nov 2022 04:14:34 GMT

Thank you, both replies are most helpful. Lots of decisions to make.

Re: EF mount lenses on R5

Waddizzle — Sun, 20 Nov 2022 13:53:48 GMT

According to my sports photographers friends and countless rumors, you may actually see an improvement in performance with the R5 and R6 mirrorless bodies.

Re: EF mount lenses on R5

Betjothom — Sun, 20 Nov 2022 14:01:46 GMT

Wow, didn’t see that coming! Thank you for that insight!

Re: EF mount lenses on R5

Lotus7 — Sun, 20 Nov 2022 14:31:24 GMT

Waddizzle: "...you may actually see an improvement in performance with the R5 and R6 mirrorless bodies."

That seems to sometimes be the case and is most likely due to the difference due to the fact that focus in mirrorless cameras is achieved through actually achieving absolute lens to focal-plane focus using the image sensor in a mirrorless body, as opposed to the indirect method of using a partially silvered mirror to reflect the focus points to a separate focus array in a DSLR. This necessitates a need for focus calibration "tuning" which may create subtle focus errors. Those are not usually significant when smaller apertures are in use because of the depth of the back focus plane. However, when very large apertures are used and/or long focal length lenses are brought into the system, the back focus range becomes so "thin" that even tiny focus calibration errors may affect image quality.

The other obvious factor is the constant improvement in actual image sensor and micro lens component performance in newer bodies.

Overall image quality is not determined by lenses, or sensors alone, but is a function of the whole imaging system. Focusing by direct measurement of image content on the same sensor as is producing the final image totally eliminates the possible (actually probable) mechanical errors in a focus system that depends on bouncing light off a hinged mirror onto a focus sensor in a different location than the actual sensor that will record the image. That's one of the major advantages of mirrorless imaging.

Re: EF mount lenses on R5

shadowsports — Sun, 20 Nov 2022 17:16:23 GMT

Waddizzle,

I agree. My adapted EF glass is amazing on the R5 C. Even the Sigma is great in Photo Mode. Its Cinema mode when Canon glass matters. People who are using the R5/R6/mkII will never experience this.

@Betjothom,

You will buy RF lenses (I promise you). I loved the EF~70~300 adapted on my R5 C. Then I put a RF100~400 on it. Weight savings alone is a game changer. It practically balances on one finger. That's the one thing I will not miss about my EF lenses. Yes they are built like tanks, but RF glass is still exceptional quality and lighter weight.

Re: EF mount lenses on R5

Betjothom — Sun, 20 Nov 2022 14:59:10 GMT

Thank you. Yes the weight factor is definitely a plus and as I’m an older adult my joints don’t always hold up to the weight and strain of the heavier equipment.

Re: EF mount lenses on R5

johnrmoyer — Sun, 20 Nov 2022 15:11:18 GMT

All of my EF and even my EF-S lenses work better on my EOS R5 than they did on my EOS 80D. I even use a 45 year old Minolta lens from a film camera. The EF-S lenses put the R5 into crop mode which has a few less pixels than the EOS 80D. I do not have any RF lenses.

Auto focus seems different to me on mirrorless than on DSLR.

Red-shouldered Hawk, EOS R5, EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM +1.4x III

Re: EF mount lenses on R5

Betjothom — Sun, 20 Nov 2022 16:07:18 GMT

Thank you for sharing your experience. The more I read the more I’m leaning towards a mirrorless. Thank you for posting the beautiful red-shouldered hawk photo as well. Birds are my passion.

Re: EF mount lenses on R5

johnrmoyer — Sun, 20 Nov 2022 17:42:40 GMT

The hawk was on a tree near my house this morning getting the first sun as it began to illuminate the treetops. It was cold here last night, so feathers were a fluffed a little. The EF 2x III extender also works well on the R5. The 1.6x crop of the R5 makes it easier to focus on far away small birds. I set white balance to "daylight". Eye focus found the hawk eye among the branches. I reduced the image to 75% and reduced the JPEG quality to 94 to make it small enough to upload here.

I was not able to use the same auto focus settings on the R5 as on my EOS 80D. The first few days were frustrating as I learned.

This is how the eye looks at 100%.

Re: EF mount lenses on R5

Betjothom — Sun, 20 Nov 2022 19:29:21 GMT

Thank you. The learning curve will be a challenge.

Re: EF mount lenses on R5

Lotus7 — Sun, 20 Nov 2022 20:16:56 GMT

Betjothom: "The learning curve will be a challenge."

Naw, don't worry about it. The R5 Advanced User Guide is only 919 pages. All you need to do is memorize every page and you will be up and running in no time. 😊😋

Actually, the transition from DSLRs to mirrorless was less dramatic than I expected. Once you learn Canon's "terminology" for different functions and features, and download PDF copies of the manuals to a computer or tablet allowing keyword searches (and larger print for old, tired eyes) it becomes relatively easy to find how to implement what you're trying to do.

Just be glad you have the advantage of Canon's long evolved, mostly logical menu system. Unlike other mirrorless camera pioneer manufacturers, who shall remain nameless (but who's brand starts with an "S") Canon's placement of feature access in well organized, hierarchical menus makes some sense.

Re: EF mount lenses on R5

FloridaDrafter — Sun, 20 Nov 2022 20:19:10 GMT

@Betjothomwrote:
"Thank you for sharing your experience. The more I read the more I’m leaning towards a mirrorless. Thank you for posting the beautiful red-shouldered hawk photo as well. Birds are my passion."
"The learning curve will be a challenge."

I didn't find that at all going from the 5D mark IV to the R5 and R6, but my setup would probably be considered simplistic by some 🙂

We are birders first, but also flowers and insects. I hope you can swing for the R5 or R6 mark II and hopefully when you get some RF glass it can be L. When I was using the 5D mark IV, I used L glass, but my wife needs light weight, so she uses non L. The RF 100-400 is outstanding on the R6 and she gets really good results with that combo.

Here are some examples of small birds taken with the R5 and EF 100-400mm L II at 40'+/-. If you know warblers, you know most are 3-4" beak to tail. The spider was taken with the same lens at near minimum focus distance, zoomed to 400mm. That is one of the reasons I love the EF 100-400mm L II, its close focusing distance.

Pine Warbler.Yellow-throated Warbler.Orchard Orb Weaver. This gal is a tiny 1/4". Taken with the EF 100-400mm L II.

Newton

Re: EF mount lenses on R5

Betjothom — Sun, 27 Nov 2022 20:08:21 GMT

Thank you, sorry for the delay, been I’ll.

Re: EF mount lenses on R5

Peter — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 10:27:50 GMT

I lost the feature "focus preset" with my 300/2.8L IS USM. Focus preset doesn't work in DSLR Live view either.

I used focus preset once with DSLR and never had the need of it with mirrorless.

Re: EF mount lenses on R5

Betjothom — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 13:42:19 GMT

Thank you!