Adapting Lenses to Any Camera Body: What Actually Works (And What Doesn't)

Adapting Lenses to Any Camera Body: What Actually Works (And What Doesn't)

I’ve been chasing the budget angle on photography gear long enough to know that one of the fastest ways to stretch your kit is adapting lenses you already own to a new body. When I made the jump from a crop-sensor DSLR to a mirrorless system a couple of years back, I had a small collection of glass I wasn’t willing to sell at a loss. The question was whether I could actually use it or whether I’d just be buying a pile of junk adapters that turned sharp primes into manual-focus paperweights.

What a Year With the Fujifilm GFX 100 II Actually Teaches You (According to Joel Grimes)

What a Year With the Fujifilm GFX 100 II Actually Teaches You (According to Joel Grimes)

I’ll be straight with you: a $7,000+ medium format camera is not something I’m buying anytime soon. My whole thing is proving that great images don’t require a second mortgage. But I watch a lot of content from photographers who work at the top end of the market, because understanding what the ceiling looks like helps me explain what you’re actually giving up when you buy a $600 body instead. That context matters when I’m testing gear.