Minolta · Legacy SLR mount
Minolta SR / MC / MD — flange distance, protocol, and adapter compatibility
Minolta's manual-focus bayonet, in continuous production from the 1958 Minolta SR-2 through the last MD-Rokkor releases in 1985, when Minolta switched to the A-mount AF system. The mount went through three evolutions — SR (1958), MC (1966, adds open-aperture metering), MD (1977, adds shutter-priority data pin) — all backward-compatible at the optical interface. Native Rokkor glass is renowned: the 58 mm f/1.2, 85 mm f/1.7, and 24 mm f/2.8 VFC are sought-after by mirrorless adapter users. The 43.5 mm flange adapts cleanly onto every mirrorless mount.
Mount specifications
- Flange focal distance
- 43.5 mm
- Throat diameter
- 45 mm
- Electronic protocol
- Mechanical only (no electronic coupling)
- Supported formats
- full-frame, APS-C
- Manufacturer
- Minolta
- Introduced
- 1958 (discontinued)
- Status
- Discontinued
Minolta SR / MC / MD on the flange-distance axis
Minolta SR / MC / MD sits at 43.5 mm — highlighted in orange below. The flange-distance gap between the mirrorless and SLR clusters is the room a mechanical adapter occupies; that gap is why almost every SLR lens adapts onto every mirrorless body, and why the reverse is mechanically impossible.
Adapting Minolta SR / MC / MD lenses onto other bodies
You own Minolta SR / MC / MD glass and want to mount it on a body with a different lens mount. Rows are sorted by feasibility.
| Body mount | Result | Adapter examples | Caveats | ||||
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Body mount Canon RF | Mechanical |
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Body mount Canon EF-M | Mechanical |
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Body mount Nikon Z | Mechanical |
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Body mount Sony E (incl. FE) | Mechanical |
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Body mount Fujifilm X | Mechanical |
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Body mount Fujifilm GFX (G-mount) | Mechanical |
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Body mount Micro Four Thirds | Mechanical |
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Body mount L-Mount | Mechanical |
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Body mount Leica M | Mechanical |
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Body mount Canon RF (cine) | Mechanical |
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Body mount C-mount | Mechanical |
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Body mount Konica AR | Mechanical |
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Body mount Canon EF | Speed booster |
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| Speed Booster equivalence calculator Plug in any Minolta SR / MC / MD lens and pick the focal-reducer family. The calc returns the effective focal length and aperture on a Canon EF (APS-C), plus the full-frame equivalent angle of view after the body's crop stacks on top.
50.0 mm × 0.71 on the reducer. 0.99 stops brighter than f/1.80. 35.5 mm × 1.5× (APS-C sensor crop). A focal reducer concentrates the lens's image circle, so both focal length and f-number scale by the same ratio (stops gained = | |||
Body mount Canon EF-S | Speed booster |
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| Speed Booster equivalence calculator Plug in any Minolta SR / MC / MD lens and pick the focal-reducer family. The calc returns the effective focal length and aperture on a Canon EF-S (APS-C), plus the full-frame equivalent angle of view after the body's crop stacks on top.
50.0 mm × 0.71 on the reducer. 0.99 stops brighter than f/1.80. 35.5 mm × 1.5× (APS-C sensor crop). A focal reducer concentrates the lens's image circle, so both focal length and f-number scale by the same ratio (stops gained = | |||
Body mount Canon FD | Speed booster |
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| Speed Booster equivalence calculator Plug in any Minolta SR / MC / MD lens and pick the focal-reducer family. The calc returns the effective focal length and aperture on a Canon FD (APS-C), plus the full-frame equivalent angle of view after the body's crop stacks on top.
50.0 mm × 0.71 on the reducer. 0.99 stops brighter than f/1.80. 35.5 mm × 1.5× (APS-C sensor crop). A focal reducer concentrates the lens's image circle, so both focal length and f-number scale by the same ratio (stops gained = | |||
Body mount Nikon F | Speed booster |
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| Speed Booster equivalence calculator Plug in any Minolta SR / MC / MD lens and pick the focal-reducer family. The calc returns the effective focal length and aperture on a Nikon F (APS-C), plus the full-frame equivalent angle of view after the body's crop stacks on top.
50.0 mm × 0.71 on the reducer. 0.99 stops brighter than f/1.80. 35.5 mm × 1.5× (APS-C sensor crop). A focal reducer concentrates the lens's image circle, so both focal length and f-number scale by the same ratio (stops gained = | |||
Body mount Sony A / Minolta A | Speed booster |
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| Speed Booster equivalence calculator Plug in any Minolta SR / MC / MD lens and pick the focal-reducer family. The calc returns the effective focal length and aperture on a Sony A / Minolta A (APS-C), plus the full-frame equivalent angle of view after the body's crop stacks on top.
50.0 mm × 0.71 on the reducer. 0.99 stops brighter than f/1.80. 35.5 mm × 1.5× (APS-C sensor crop). A focal reducer concentrates the lens's image circle, so both focal length and f-number scale by the same ratio (stops gained = | |||
Body mount M42 (Pentax / Praktica screw mount) | Speed booster |
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| Speed Booster equivalence calculator Plug in any Minolta SR / MC / MD lens and pick the focal-reducer family. The calc returns the effective focal length and aperture on a M42 (Pentax / Praktica screw mount) (APS-C), plus the full-frame equivalent angle of view after the body's crop stacks on top.
50.0 mm × 0.71 on the reducer. 0.99 stops brighter than f/1.80. 35.5 mm × 1.5× (APS-C sensor crop). A focal reducer concentrates the lens's image circle, so both focal length and f-number scale by the same ratio (stops gained = | |||
Body mount Pentax K | Speed booster |
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| Speed Booster equivalence calculator Plug in any Minolta SR / MC / MD lens and pick the focal-reducer family. The calc returns the effective focal length and aperture on a Pentax K (APS-C), plus the full-frame equivalent angle of view after the body's crop stacks on top.
50.0 mm × 0.71 on the reducer. 0.99 stops brighter than f/1.80. 35.5 mm × 1.5× (APS-C sensor crop). A focal reducer concentrates the lens's image circle, so both focal length and f-number scale by the same ratio (stops gained = | |||
Body mount PL (Positive Lock) | Speed booster |
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| Speed Booster equivalence calculator Plug in any Minolta SR / MC / MD lens and pick the focal-reducer family. The calc returns the effective focal length and aperture on a PL (Positive Lock) (APS-C), plus the full-frame equivalent angle of view after the body's crop stacks on top.
50.0 mm × 0.71 on the reducer. 0.99 stops brighter than f/1.80. 35.5 mm × 1.5× (APS-C sensor crop). A focal reducer concentrates the lens's image circle, so both focal length and f-number scale by the same ratio (stops gained = | |||
Body mount Canon EF (cine) | Speed booster |
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| Speed Booster equivalence calculator Plug in any Minolta SR / MC / MD lens and pick the focal-reducer family. The calc returns the effective focal length and aperture on a Canon EF (cine) (APS-C), plus the full-frame equivalent angle of view after the body's crop stacks on top.
50.0 mm × 0.71 on the reducer. 0.99 stops brighter than f/1.80. 35.5 mm × 1.5× (APS-C sensor crop). A focal reducer concentrates the lens's image circle, so both focal length and f-number scale by the same ratio (stops gained = | |||
Body mount Exakta | Speed booster |
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| Speed Booster equivalence calculator Plug in any Minolta SR / MC / MD lens and pick the focal-reducer family. The calc returns the effective focal length and aperture on a Exakta (APS-C), plus the full-frame equivalent angle of view after the body's crop stacks on top.
50.0 mm × 0.71 on the reducer. 0.99 stops brighter than f/1.80. 35.5 mm × 1.5× (APS-C sensor crop). A focal reducer concentrates the lens's image circle, so both focal length and f-number scale by the same ratio (stops gained = | |||
Body mount T-mount (T2) | Speed booster |
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| Speed Booster equivalence calculator Plug in any Minolta SR / MC / MD lens and pick the focal-reducer family. The calc returns the effective focal length and aperture on a T-mount (T2) (APS-C), plus the full-frame equivalent angle of view after the body's crop stacks on top.
50.0 mm × 0.71 on the reducer. 0.99 stops brighter than f/1.80. 35.5 mm × 1.5× (APS-C sensor crop). A focal reducer concentrates the lens's image circle, so both focal length and f-number scale by the same ratio (stops gained = | |||
Body mount Praktica B | Speed booster |
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| Speed Booster equivalence calculator Plug in any Minolta SR / MC / MD lens and pick the focal-reducer family. The calc returns the effective focal length and aperture on a Praktica B (APS-C), plus the full-frame equivalent angle of view after the body's crop stacks on top.
50.0 mm × 0.71 on the reducer. 0.99 stops brighter than f/1.80. 35.5 mm × 1.5× (APS-C sensor crop). A focal reducer concentrates the lens's image circle, so both focal length and f-number scale by the same ratio (stops gained = | |||
Body mount Olympus OM | Speed booster |
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| Speed Booster equivalence calculator Plug in any Minolta SR / MC / MD lens and pick the focal-reducer family. The calc returns the effective focal length and aperture on a Olympus OM (APS-C), plus the full-frame equivalent angle of view after the body's crop stacks on top.
50.0 mm × 0.71 on the reducer. 0.99 stops brighter than f/1.80. 35.5 mm × 1.5× (APS-C sensor crop). A focal reducer concentrates the lens's image circle, so both focal length and f-number scale by the same ratio (stops gained = | |||
Body mount Contax/Yashica (C/Y) | Speed booster |
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| Speed Booster equivalence calculator Plug in any Minolta SR / MC / MD lens and pick the focal-reducer family. The calc returns the effective focal length and aperture on a Contax/Yashica (C/Y) (APS-C), plus the full-frame equivalent angle of view after the body's crop stacks on top.
50.0 mm × 0.71 on the reducer. 0.99 stops brighter than f/1.80. 35.5 mm × 1.5× (APS-C sensor crop). A focal reducer concentrates the lens's image circle, so both focal length and f-number scale by the same ratio (stops gained = | |||
Adapting other lenses onto a Minolta SR / MC / MD body
You own a Minolta SR / MC / MD body and want to mount glass from other systems. Mirrorless-lens-onto-DSLR-body combinations are omitted (rear element collides with the mirror box).
| Lens mount | Result | Adapter examples | Caveats |
|---|---|---|---|
Lens mount Nikon F | Mechanical |
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Lens mount PL (Positive Lock) | Mechanical |
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Lens mount T-mount (T2) | Mechanical |
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Lens mount Olympus OM | Mechanical |
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Lens mount Contax/Yashica (C/Y) | Mechanical |
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Lens mount Canon EF | Speed booster |
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Lens mount Canon EF-S | Speed booster |
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Lens mount Canon FD | Speed booster |
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Lens mount Sony A / Minolta A | Speed booster |
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Lens mount M42 (Pentax / Praktica screw mount) | Speed booster |
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Lens mount Pentax K | Speed booster |
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Lens mount Canon EF (cine) | Speed booster |
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Lens mount Exakta | Speed booster |
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Lens mount Praktica B | Speed booster |
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Lens mount Konica AR | Speed booster |
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Adapter SKU teardown
Curated adapter SKUs that involve the Minolta SR / MC / MD mount on either side, with the operational specifics — body-side electronic contact count, firmware-update path, weather sealing, and whether optical glass is in the path.
K&F Concept MD-NEX
released 2016Minolta SR / MC / MD lens → Sony E (incl. FE) body
- no firmware updates
- not weather sealed
- no glass — pass-through
- Minolta SR / MC / MD (Rokkor) bayonet onto Sony E. Mechanical-only: no electronics, no AF, no aperture coupling — focus by hand and set aperture on the lens's own ring, which drives the diaphragm directly with no adapter actuator needed.
- The 43.5 mm MD flange clears Sony E's 18 mm by 25.5 mm, so this is a flat glassless ring with infinity preserved — no focal reducer. Note this is the manual SR/MC/MD mount, NOT the unrelated 44.5 mm Minolta/Sony A autofocus mount (which needs an LA-EA, not this ring).
References
Common questions
- What's the difference between Minolta SR, MC, and MD lenses?
- All three share the same physical bayonet (1958-1985) and mount on every SR / MC / MD body. SR (1958-1966) is the original stopped-down-metering mount. MC (1966-1977) adds the MC tab for open-aperture full-aperture metering. MD (1977-1985) adds a second tab carrying minimum-aperture data for shutter-priority and program metering. All MD bodies accept SR and MC lenses; older bodies accept newer lenses with reduced metering modes.
- Will Minolta MD lenses autofocus on a Sony A-mount body?
- No — Minolta MD and Minolta A (Sony A) are different mounts. MD ran 1958-1985 with manual focus only; the A-mount AF system replaced it in 1985 with a totally new bayonet and electronic interface. MD lenses can be adapted onto Sony A bodies via dedicated MD-to-A adapters, but they lose infinity focus without corrective glass — the flange gap is only 1 mm, too little for a pure spacer ring to focus past close range.
- Which Minolta Rokkor lenses are most sought-after for mirrorless adaptation?
- MC Rokkor-PF 58 mm f/1.2 (signature swirly bokeh, $400-800), MD Rokkor 35 mm f/1.8 (sharp moderate wide, $80-200), MD Rokkor 24 mm f/2.8 VFC (variable field curvature, unusual close-focus characteristics), MC Rokkor-PG 50 mm f/1.4 (early "warm" Rokkor look), and the MC Macro Rokkor-QF 50 mm f/3.5 (1:1 with extension tube). All adapt cleanly onto Sony E, Fujifilm X, Canon RF, and Nikon Z with $15-30 mechanical rings.