What cameras use a PL mount?

High-end cinema cameras: Arri Alexa Mini LF, Alexa 35, Amira; RED Komodo X, V-Raptor; Sony FX9 / VENICE / VENICE 2 (with PL adapter); Canon C700 / C500 Mark II (with PL adapter); Z CAM E2-F8. PL-native bodies are rare in stills photography — the mount is industry-standard for film and digital cinematography, not for consumer or pro stills cameras.

Can a PL-mount lens be adapted onto a Sony E or Canon RF body?

Yes — PL's 52 mm flange (the deepest of any current mount) leaves abundant room for a mechanical adapter onto every mirrorless body (Sony E, Canon RF, Nikon Z, Fujifilm X, MFT, L-Mount). Pure mechanical interface: aperture is set on the lens, focus is manual or follow-focus-driven. No AF, no Cooke /i or Zeiss eXtended Data metadata pass-through unless the adapter explicitly carries the contact pins for it.

What's Cooke /i Technology and how does it relate to PL?

Cooke /i is an electronic protocol that adds lens metadata (focus distance, T-stop, focal length, lens serial number) over four contacts on the PL flange. Released in 1998 by Cooke Optics and adopted by Arri, RED, Sony, and Canon Cinema-EOS cameras. Zeiss developed a parallel eXtended Data spec; modern cinema bodies typically read both. PL itself remains pure-mechanical at the mount level — /i and XD are layered, optional protocols.

Arri (industry standard) · Cinema mount

PL (Positive Lock) — flange distance, protocol, and adapter compatibility

Arri's Positive Lock cinema mount, the de-facto industry standard for high-end cine glass since 1982. 52 mm flange (the deepest of any current mount) and four locking flange-pins yield a rock-solid interface that resists shock and follow-focus torque. Pure mechanical interface — some lenses carry Cooke /i or Zeiss eXtended Data contacts for metadata pass-through, but no AF or electronic aperture in the body-to-lens protocol. PL adapters exist for nearly every mirrorless body (Sony FX, Canon C-series RF, RED, Z CAM); the deep flange means a PL-to-mirrorless adapter is always physically possible without optics.

Mount specifications

Flange focal distance: 52 mm
Throat diameter: 54 mm
Electronic protocol: Mechanical only (no electronic coupling)
Supported formats: full-frame, APS-C
Manufacturer: Arri (industry standard)
Introduced: 1982
Status: Active production

PL (Positive Lock) on the flange-distance axis

PL (Positive Lock) sits at 52 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.

Flange focal distance (mm)SLR / DSLRMirrorlessRangefinderMedium-format mirrorlessCinemaLegacy SLR

Adapting PL (Positive Lock) lenses onto other bodies

You own PL (Positive Lock) 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
Body mount Canon EF flange 44 mm	Mechanical MFno ISAp. ring	generic mechanical adapter ring (multiple vendors)	Mechanical adapter only — no electronic communication between PL (Positive Lock) lens and Canon EF body.
Body mount Canon EF-S flange 44 mm	Mechanical MFno ISAp. ring1.5× crop	generic mechanical adapter ring (multiple vendors)	Mechanical adapter only — no electronic communication between PL (Positive Lock) lens and Canon EF-S body.
Body mount Canon RF flange 20 mm	Mechanical MFno ISAp. ring	Wooden Camera PL-RF IBE Optics PL-to-RF Mount Module (interchangeable on C70 / C400) Vocas PL-RF	Pure mechanical — PL has no electronic interface, so AF / IS / electronic iris are all n/a. Cooke /i or ZEISS eXtended Data contacts (where present) are not currently surfaced through these RF adapters.
Body mount Canon FD flange 42 mm	Mechanical MFno ISAp. ring	generic mechanical adapter ring (multiple vendors)	Mechanical adapter only — no electronic communication between PL (Positive Lock) lens and Canon FD body.
Body mount Canon EF-M flange 18 mm	Mechanical MFno ISAp. ring1.5× crop	generic mechanical adapter ring (multiple vendors)	Mechanical adapter only — no electronic communication between PL (Positive Lock) lens and Canon EF-M body.
Body mount Nikon F flange 46.5 mm	Mechanical MFno ISAp. ring	generic mechanical adapter ring (multiple vendors)	Mechanical adapter only — no electronic communication between PL (Positive Lock) lens and Nikon F body.
Body mount Nikon Z flange 16 mm	Mechanical MFno ISAp. ring	generic mechanical adapter ring (multiple vendors)	Mechanical adapter only — no electronic communication between PL (Positive Lock) lens and Nikon Z body.
Body mount Sony A / Minolta A flange 44.5 mm	Mechanical MFno ISAp. ring	generic mechanical adapter ring (multiple vendors)	Mechanical adapter only — no electronic communication between PL (Positive Lock) lens and Sony A / Minolta A body.
Body mount Sony E (incl. FE) flange 18 mm	Mechanical MFno ISAp. ring	Sony PL-mount adapter (factory-fit on FX9, FX6, FX3 with optional PL kit) Wooden Camera PL-E Vocas PL-E Hawk PL-E	PL flange (52 mm) sits 34 mm above E-mount's 18 mm flange — there is generous room for a stout, locking adapter with shims for back-focus calibration. Cinema E-mount bodies (FX9 / FX6 / Venice in E-mode) accept the PL kit natively; consumer E-mount A7-series bodies use third-party adapters.
Body mount Fujifilm X flange 17.7 mm	Mechanical MFno ISAp. ring1.5× crop	Fotodiox Pro PL-FX Kipon PL-FX	1.5× crop on X-Trans means most full-frame PL primes give a ~Super-35-equivalent field of view — close to the original Super-35 framing those lenses were designed for.
Body mount Fujifilm GFX (G-mount) flange 26.7 mm	Mechanical MFno ISAp. ringvignettes	generic mechanical adapter ring (multiple vendors)	Mechanical adapter only — no electronic communication between PL (Positive Lock) lens and Fujifilm GFX (G-mount) body.
Body mount Micro Four Thirds flange 19.25 mm	Mechanical MFno ISAp. ring2× crop	Wooden Camera PL-MFT Metabones PL-MFT	2× crop applies — Super-35 PL primes give a ~4× full-frame equivalent. Useful on BMPCC 4K / 6K (BMPCC 4K is actually MFT mount), GH5, GH6.
Body mount L-Mount flange 20 mm	Mechanical MFno ISAp. ring	Wooden Camera PL-L IBE Optics PL-to-L	PL flange (52 mm) on an L-mount 20 mm flange leaves 32 mm of adapter — comfortable for rigged builds on Panasonic Lumix S1H / BS1H or Sigma fp.
Body mount M42 (Pentax / Praktica screw mount) flange 45.46 mm	Mechanical MFno ISAp. ring	generic mechanical adapter ring (multiple vendors)	Mechanical adapter only — no electronic communication between PL (Positive Lock) lens and M42 (Pentax / Praktica screw mount) body.
Body mount Leica M flange 27.8 mm	Mechanical MFno ISAp. ring	generic mechanical adapter ring (multiple vendors)	Mechanical adapter only — no electronic communication between PL (Positive Lock) lens and Leica M body.
Body mount Pentax K flange 45.46 mm	Mechanical MFno ISAp. ring	generic mechanical adapter ring (multiple vendors)	Mechanical adapter only — no electronic communication between PL (Positive Lock) lens and Pentax K body.
Body mount Canon EF (cine) flange 44 mm	Mechanical MFno ISAp. ring	generic mechanical adapter ring (multiple vendors)	Mechanical adapter only — no electronic communication between PL (Positive Lock) lens and Canon EF (cine) body.
Body mount Canon RF (cine) flange 20 mm	Mechanical MFno ISAp. ring	generic mechanical adapter ring (multiple vendors)	Mechanical adapter only — no electronic communication between PL (Positive Lock) lens and Canon RF (cine) body.
Body mount Exakta flange 44.7 mm	Mechanical MFno ISAp. ring	generic mechanical adapter ring (multiple vendors)	Mechanical adapter only — no electronic communication between PL (Positive Lock) lens and Exakta body.
Body mount C-mount flange 17.526 mm	Mechanical MFno ISAp. ring2.7× crop	generic mechanical adapter ring (multiple vendors)	Mechanical adapter only — no electronic communication between PL (Positive Lock) lens and C-mount body.
Body mount Praktica B flange 44.4 mm	Mechanical MFno ISAp. ring	generic mechanical adapter ring (multiple vendors)	Mechanical adapter only — no electronic communication between PL (Positive Lock) lens and Praktica B body.
Body mount Konica AR flange 40.5 mm	Mechanical MFno ISAp. ring	generic mechanical adapter ring (multiple vendors)	Mechanical adapter only — no electronic communication between PL (Positive Lock) lens and Konica AR body.
Body mount Minolta SR / MC / MD flange 43.5 mm	Mechanical MFno ISAp. ring	generic mechanical adapter ring (multiple vendors)	Mechanical adapter only — no electronic communication between PL (Positive Lock) lens and Minolta SR / MC / MD body.
Body mount Olympus OM flange 46 mm	Mechanical MFno ISAp. ring	generic mechanical adapter ring (multiple vendors)	Mechanical adapter only — no electronic communication between PL (Positive Lock) lens and Olympus OM body.
Body mount Contax/Yashica (C/Y) flange 45.5 mm	Mechanical MFno ISAp. ring	generic mechanical adapter ring (multiple vendors)	Mechanical adapter only — no electronic communication between PL (Positive Lock) lens and Contax/Yashica (C/Y) body.
Body mount T-mount (T2) flange 55 mm	Speed booster MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheel	Speed Booster / focal-reducer family	Flange clearance is only -3.0 mm — a plain mechanical adapter cannot reach infinity focus; a focal reducer (Speed Booster) with optical glass is required. Speed Boosters typically widen the effective focal length (~0.71×) and add ~1 stop of light, which can be desirable on crop bodies.	Speed Booster equivalence calculator Plug in any PL (Positive Lock) 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. Lens focal length (mm)Max aperture (f/N)Focal-reducer family Effective focal length 35.5 mm 50.0 mm × 0.71 on the reducer. Effective aperture f/1.28 0.99 stops brighter than f/1.80. Full-frame equiv. angle of view 53.3 mm 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 = `−2 · log₂(ratio)`). The body's crop factor still applies on top — the full-frame-equivalent angle-of-view multiplier is ratio × body crop. Calculator is informational; verify against the adapter vendor's per-lens compatibility chart before purchase.

Adapting other lenses onto a PL (Positive Lock) body

You own a PL (Positive Lock) 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 T-mount (T2) flange 55 mm	Mechanical MFno ISAp. ring	generic mechanical adapter ring (multiple vendors)	Mechanical adapter only — no electronic communication between T-mount (T2) lens and PL (Positive Lock) body.
Lens mount Canon EF flange 44 mm	Speed booster MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheel	Speed Booster / focal-reducer family	Flange clearance is only -8.0 mm — a plain mechanical adapter cannot reach infinity focus; a focal reducer (Speed Booster) with optical glass is required. Speed Boosters typically widen the effective focal length (~0.71×) and add ~1 stop of light, which can be desirable on crop bodies.
Lens mount Canon EF-S flange 44 mm	Speed booster MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheelvignettes	Speed Booster / focal-reducer family	Flange clearance is only -8.0 mm — a plain mechanical adapter cannot reach infinity focus; a focal reducer (Speed Booster) with optical glass is required. Speed Boosters typically widen the effective focal length (~0.71×) and add ~1 stop of light, which can be desirable on crop bodies.
Lens mount Canon FD flange 42 mm	Speed booster MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheel	Speed Booster / focal-reducer family	Flange clearance is only -10.0 mm — a plain mechanical adapter cannot reach infinity focus; a focal reducer (Speed Booster) with optical glass is required. Speed Boosters typically widen the effective focal length (~0.71×) and add ~1 stop of light, which can be desirable on crop bodies.
Lens mount Nikon F flange 46.5 mm	Speed booster MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheel	Speed Booster / focal-reducer family	Flange clearance is only -5.5 mm — a plain mechanical adapter cannot reach infinity focus; a focal reducer (Speed Booster) with optical glass is required. Speed Boosters typically widen the effective focal length (~0.71×) and add ~1 stop of light, which can be desirable on crop bodies.
Lens mount Sony A / Minolta A flange 44.5 mm	Speed booster MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheel	Speed Booster / focal-reducer family	Flange clearance is only -7.5 mm — a plain mechanical adapter cannot reach infinity focus; a focal reducer (Speed Booster) with optical glass is required. Speed Boosters typically widen the effective focal length (~0.71×) and add ~1 stop of light, which can be desirable on crop bodies.
Lens mount M42 (Pentax / Praktica screw mount) flange 45.46 mm	Speed booster MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheel	Speed Booster / focal-reducer family	Flange clearance is only -6.5 mm — a plain mechanical adapter cannot reach infinity focus; a focal reducer (Speed Booster) with optical glass is required. Speed Boosters typically widen the effective focal length (~0.71×) and add ~1 stop of light, which can be desirable on crop bodies.
Lens mount Pentax K flange 45.46 mm	Speed booster MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheel	Speed Booster / focal-reducer family	Flange clearance is only -6.5 mm — a plain mechanical adapter cannot reach infinity focus; a focal reducer (Speed Booster) with optical glass is required. Speed Boosters typically widen the effective focal length (~0.71×) and add ~1 stop of light, which can be desirable on crop bodies.
Lens mount Canon EF (cine) flange 44 mm	Speed booster MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheel	Speed Booster / focal-reducer family	Flange clearance is only -8.0 mm — a plain mechanical adapter cannot reach infinity focus; a focal reducer (Speed Booster) with optical glass is required. Speed Boosters typically widen the effective focal length (~0.71×) and add ~1 stop of light, which can be desirable on crop bodies.
Lens mount Exakta flange 44.7 mm	Speed booster MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheel	Speed Booster / focal-reducer family	Flange clearance is only -7.3 mm — a plain mechanical adapter cannot reach infinity focus; a focal reducer (Speed Booster) with optical glass is required. Speed Boosters typically widen the effective focal length (~0.71×) and add ~1 stop of light, which can be desirable on crop bodies.
Lens mount Praktica B flange 44.4 mm	Speed booster MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheel	Speed Booster / focal-reducer family	Flange clearance is only -7.6 mm — a plain mechanical adapter cannot reach infinity focus; a focal reducer (Speed Booster) with optical glass is required. Speed Boosters typically widen the effective focal length (~0.71×) and add ~1 stop of light, which can be desirable on crop bodies.
Lens mount Konica AR flange 40.5 mm	Speed booster MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheel	Speed Booster / focal-reducer family	Flange clearance is only -11.5 mm — a plain mechanical adapter cannot reach infinity focus; a focal reducer (Speed Booster) with optical glass is required. Speed Boosters typically widen the effective focal length (~0.71×) and add ~1 stop of light, which can be desirable on crop bodies.
Lens mount Minolta SR / MC / MD flange 43.5 mm	Speed booster MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheel	Speed Booster / focal-reducer family	Flange clearance is only -8.5 mm — a plain mechanical adapter cannot reach infinity focus; a focal reducer (Speed Booster) with optical glass is required. Speed Boosters typically widen the effective focal length (~0.71×) and add ~1 stop of light, which can be desirable on crop bodies.
Lens mount Olympus OM flange 46 mm	Speed booster MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheel	Speed Booster / focal-reducer family	Flange clearance is only -6.0 mm — a plain mechanical adapter cannot reach infinity focus; a focal reducer (Speed Booster) with optical glass is required. Speed Boosters typically widen the effective focal length (~0.71×) and add ~1 stop of light, which can be desirable on crop bodies.
Lens mount Contax/Yashica (C/Y) flange 45.5 mm	Speed booster MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheel	Speed Booster / focal-reducer family	Flange clearance is only -6.5 mm — a plain mechanical adapter cannot reach infinity focus; a focal reducer (Speed Booster) with optical glass is required. Speed Boosters typically widen the effective focal length (~0.71×) and add ~1 stop of light, which can be desirable on crop bodies.

References

Common questions

What cameras use a PL mount?: High-end cinema cameras: Arri Alexa Mini LF, Alexa 35, Amira; RED Komodo X, V-Raptor; Sony FX9 / VENICE / VENICE 2 (with PL adapter); Canon C700 / C500 Mark II (with PL adapter); Z CAM E2-F8. PL-native bodies are rare in stills photography — the mount is industry-standard for film and digital cinematography, not for consumer or pro stills cameras.
Can a PL-mount lens be adapted onto a Sony E or Canon RF body?: Yes — PL's 52 mm flange (the deepest of any current mount) leaves abundant room for a mechanical adapter onto every mirrorless body (Sony E, Canon RF, Nikon Z, Fujifilm X, MFT, L-Mount). Pure mechanical interface: aperture is set on the lens, focus is manual or follow-focus-driven. No AF, no Cooke /i or Zeiss eXtended Data metadata pass-through unless the adapter explicitly carries the contact pins for it.
What's Cooke /i Technology and how does it relate to PL?: Cooke /i is an electronic protocol that adds lens metadata (focus distance, T-stop, focal length, lens serial number) over four contacts on the PL flange. Released in 1998 by Cooke Optics and adopted by Arri, RED, Sony, and Canon Cinema-EOS cameras. Zeiss developed a parallel eXtended Data spec; modern cinema bodies typically read both. PL itself remains pure-mechanical at the mount level — /i and XD are layered, optional protocols.