Commlite CM-EF-MFT mount adapter at glance:
- Enables Canon EF and EF-S lenses to be mounted on Micro Four Thirds cameras
- Allows electronic setting of the aperture
- Price: £98
- Website: www.amazon.co.uk
The rise of compact system cameras has seen an explosion of interest in adapting lenses of different mounts for use on them. However, this is difficult with modern electronic mounts such as Canon EF, as it requires translation circuitry between the camera and lens. Luckily, such adapters are now available from several sources, with the most affordable being from Chinese company Commlite. It makes adapters to use Canon lenses on Sony and Micro Four Thirds cameras, and I tested the latter.
The Commlite CM-EF-MFT adapter aims to support electronic aperture control, communication of focal length and aperture data for recording into EXIF metadata, and image stabilisation (both in-lens and in-body – just be sure not to enable both at the same time). Unlike more expensive rivals, it doesn’t make any attempt to provide autofocus. Instead, you have to focus manually. Notably, it has no USB port for updating the firmware.
Commlite CM-EF-MFT mount adapter – Key features
All-metal construction
The barrel is made of a good-quality aluminium alloy.
Flare-resistant
The inside is painted matt black to suppress reflection of stray light.
Lens release
A sliding tab releases the lens, allowing you to remove it quickly and easily.
Commlite CM-EF-MFT mount adapter – Our verdict
There’s not much to complain about the CM-EF-MFT adapter in terms of build quality, especially given the price. It sits correctly on the camera body, the lenses mount and detach smoothly, and infinity focus is maintained.
In use, the adapter does broadly what it claims, working with every lens/camera combination I tried – but it’s temperamental. It only works on Olympus cameras if they’re set to manual focus, and even then it prevents burst shooting. On both Olympus and Panasonic it struggles with lens data when using zooms, and requires a reset after zooming to display the correct focal length and aperture. Once you understand these quirks, it does allow practical use of Canon EF lenses on Micro Four Thirds. It just needs the bugs ironed out.
SCORE: 3 out of 5
You may also consider:
Metabones Canon EF lens to Micro Four Thirds T Smart Adapter
Website: www.metabones.com
Price: £320
Metabones offers broadly the same features as the Commlite adapter, plus autofocus on Panasonic cameras. It also has a tripod foot and USB port.
Metabones Canon EF lens to Micro Four Thirds T Speed Booster Ultra 0.71x
Website: www.metabones.com
Price: £495
This version from Metabones adds optics to reduce the focal length by 0.71x and to increase maximum aperture by 1 stop.
Kipon EOS-MFT AF Adapter
Website: www.kipon.com/en
Price: £225
As well as aperture control and AF support, Kipon’s adapter claims to allow autofocus on both Olympus and Panasonic cameras. It also comes with an included USB port for any necessary firmware updates.
