Are Canon EF to Sony E Lens Adapters Worth It? (Part 2)

Part two of our Canon EF to Sony E Mount Lens Adapter comparison. Click here for Part 1, and here for Part 3.

How Well Did The E Mount Adapters Perform?

As mentioned previously, for each lens, we’ve set up similar shots with three different focal areas.

1. Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG ø82 HSM Art

Using this lens, we shot on the longest end (105mm). Each shot is 1/100 sec, f/4, ISO-1000, tripod mount with 2 second timer.

(Click on thumbnails to view side-by-side comparisons)

With the same settings as the Canon, the Sony A7 RIII performed better with the lens on both adapters than the Canon 5DS R did with the lens mounted natively.

We suspect this is not because of a difference in lenses, but rather because of how focusing works in each camera's firmware and, to a lesser extent, difference in camera sensors.

Somewhat less suprising (given that this is a Sigma lens) was that the Sigma adapter gave slightly cleaner shots with this Sigma lens than the Metabones did.

2. Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC ø72 HSM Art

This is an EFS mount lens (DC mount in Sigma terminology), so we only tested this on the Sony A7 RIII to compare the adapters. Each shot is 1/100 sec, f/4, ISO-1000, at the short end (18mm), tripod mount with 2 second timer.

(Click on thumbnails to view side-by-side comparisons)

Overall, we didn’t notice any significant quality difference between the two adapters in the shots we took.

3. Tamron 85mm f/1.8 Di VC USD

Each shot is 1/100 sec, f/4, ISO-1000, tripod mount with 2 second timer.

(Click on thumbnails to view side-by-side comparisons)

There didn’t seem to be any discernible difference between the adapters for this lens. As before, either adapter on the Sony a7R III was able to consistently get sharper focus than the Canon 5DS R.

4. Canon 50mm f/1.4 EF USM

Each shot is 1/100 sec, f/4, ISO-1000, tripod mount with 2 second timer.

(Click on thumbnails to view side-by-side comparisons)

The Sony a7R III took longer to acquire focus with this lens with both adapters. Once it did, however, the shots came out sharper than those taken on the 5DS R (See the Sigma adapter shot in #2, and the Metabones shot in #3).

5. Canon 35mm f/2 EF IS USM

Each shot is 1/100 sec, f/4, ISO-1000, tripod mount with 2 second timer.

(Click on thumbnails to view side-by-side comparisons)

With this lens, the Sony a7R III with both adapters and the Canon 5DS R seemed to perform similarly. As usual, the a7R III was better at resolving details than the 5DS R, as can be seen in the close-up of the owl toy’s fur in Shot #1.

Continue to Part 3 for the rest of the comparisons and our conclusions.