XL2 Parts On an EOS 5D Mark III Body - Is a 20x L IS Zoom Lens XL 5.4-108 to EF?

[OldRogue]

I own an XL2 from 2003 [±], and I have a second-hand 5D Mk iii en route to me, so I would like very much to know if the XL2's 20x L IS Zoom Lens XL 5.4-108 mm is adaptable to a Canon EOS 5D Mk iii [EF mount]?
I'd also like to know if I can recycle the color viewfinder onto the 5D.

[John_Q]

Hello OldRogue, XL mounts are not going to be compatible with our digital SLR cameras. The EOS 5D Mark III supports EF lenses only. The eyecup on the viewfinder of the EOS 5D Mark III is the only part that is interchangeable.

[OldRogue]

Thanks for the quick answer, John.
I was hoping there might be [even a 3rd-party] mount adapter available, so I could experiment. I have seen footage from *film* lenses on Canon DSLRs that was interesting, if not amazing.

[johnrmoyer]

I use a 45 year old Minolta lens on a Canon mirrorless camera. The shorter distance between flange and sensor compared to DSLR makes it possible. And a 35mm film lens can illuminate a "full frame" digital sensor. The XL lens might need to be used with a smaller sensor?

I have seen recipes for 3d printing some adapters, but not the one you want.

[AtticusLake]

Hi John,

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@johnrmoyer wrote:

I use a 45 year old Minolta lens on a Canon mirrorless camera. The shorter distance between flange and sensor compared to DSLR makes it possible.

While this is interesting, I think it would be helpful to be clear, just in case the OP doesn't know, that your camera is *not* EF mount.  In general, lenses that can work on RF will usually *not* work on EF.

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And a 35mm film lens can illuminate a "full frame" digital sensor. The XL lens might need to be used with a smaller sensor?

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Be careful when you say "film" -- 35mm movie film has a frame size about half of full frame.

In any case, your point is correct; the XL2 uses a so-called "1/3 inch" sensor, which is about 1/4 inch on the diagonal, which is a tiny fraction of full frame (1.7 inch).  So no, I would guess that an XL2 lens is nowhere near able to cover any modern interchangeable-lens camera sensor.  Adapters will not help with that.

[OldRogue]

"In any case, your point is correct; the XL2 uses a so-called "1/3 inch" sensor, which is about 1/4 inch on the diagonal, which is a tiny fraction of full frame (1.7 inch)."
~ Just a note; the XL2 uses three such senors, one for each color.

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[AtticusLake]

Yes.  My understanding is that the image first hits a prism, which then splits it to the 3 CCD sensors.  So the image circle is still about 1/4".