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Sony · Mirrorless mount

Sony E (incl. FE) — flange distance, protocol, and adapter compatibility

Sony's mirrorless mount — "E" branding for APS-C lenses, "FE" for full-frame lenses; same physical mount. Largest third-party adapter ecosystem of any mount, thanks to the shallow 18 mm flange. Canon EF, Nikon F, Leica M, M42, and Minolta MD all adapt cleanly; AF-capable adapters (Sigma MC-11, Metabones, Viltrox) cover EF natively.

Mount specifications

Flange focal distance
18 mm
Throat diameter
46.1 mm
Electronic protocol
Sony E
Supported formats
full-frame, APS-C
Manufacturer
Sony
Introduced
2010
Status
Active production

Adapting Sony E (incl. FE) lenses onto other bodies

You own Sony E (incl. FE) glass and want to mount it on a body with a different lens mount. Rows are sorted by feasibility.

Body mountResultAdapter examplesCaveats
Nikon Z
flange 16 mm
Mechanical
AF fullIS fullAp. electronic
  • Megadap ETZ21 Pro
  • Techart TZE-01
  • Sony FE / E lenses get full PDAF + Eye-AF, in-lens IS pass-through, and electronic aperture on Z bodies through both adapters.
  • Flange clearance is only 2 mm (E 18 mm → Z 16 mm) — the adapter is a thin ring; rest heavy zooms on the lens collar, not the adapter.
Canon RF
flange 20 mm
Speed booster
MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheel
  • Speed Booster / focal-reducer family
  • Flange clearance is only -2.0 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.
Canon EF-M
flange 18 mm
Speed booster
MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheel1.5× crop
  • Speed Booster / focal-reducer family
  • Flange clearance is only 0.0 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.
Fujifilm X
flange 17.7 mm
Speed booster
MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheel1.5× crop
  • Speed Booster / focal-reducer family
  • Flange clearance is only 0.3 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.
Fujifilm GFX (G-mount)
flange 26.7 mm
Speed booster
MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheelvignettes
  • Speed Booster / focal-reducer family
  • Flange clearance is only -8.7 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.
Micro Four Thirds
flange 19.25 mm
Speed booster
MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheel2× crop
  • Speed Booster / focal-reducer family
  • Flange clearance is only -1.3 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.
L-Mount
flange 20 mm
Speed booster
MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheel
  • Speed Booster / focal-reducer family
  • Flange clearance is only -2.0 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.
Leica M
flange 27.8 mm
Speed booster
MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheel
  • Speed Booster / focal-reducer family
  • Flange clearance is only -9.8 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.

Adapting other lenses onto a Sony E (incl. FE) body

You own a Sony E (incl. FE) 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 mountResultAdapter examplesCaveats
Canon EF
flange 44 mm
Mechanical
AF fullIS fullAp. electronic
  • Sigma MC-11 EF-E
  • Metabones EF-E Mark V
  • Viltrox EF-E5 / EF-NEX IV
  • Fringer EF-NZ (when paired with similar smart-EF adapters)
  • AF speed and tracking depends on lens; Sigma's own EF lenses with MC-11 perform closest to native.
  • Some third-party EF lenses (Tamron, older Sigma) have known AF quirks — check per-lens compatibility lists.
Canon EF-S
flange 44 mm
Mechanical
MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheelvignettes
  • generic mechanical adapter ring (multiple vendors)
  • Mechanical adapter only — no electronic communication between Canon EF-S lens and Sony E (incl. FE) body.
  • Lens has no aperture ring; choose an adapter with a built-in aperture-control wheel.
Canon RF
flange 20 mm
Mechanical
MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheel
  • generic mechanical adapter ring (multiple vendors)
  • Mechanical adapter only — no electronic communication between Canon RF lens and Sony E (incl. FE) body.
  • Lens has no aperture ring; choose an adapter with a built-in aperture-control wheel.
Nikon F
flange 46.5 mm
Mechanical
MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheel
  • generic mechanical adapter ring (multiple vendors)
  • Mechanical adapter only — no electronic communication between Nikon F lens and Sony E (incl. FE) body.
  • Lens has no aperture ring; choose an adapter with a built-in aperture-control wheel.
Sony A / Minolta A
flange 44.5 mm
Mechanical
AF fullIS fullAp. electronic
  • Sony LA-EA5 (full-frame, on-sensor AF + internal screw drive)
  • Sony LA-EA4 (translucent-mirror PDAF, older A7 generations)
  • LA-EA5 supports phase-detect AF on E-mount bodies with on-sensor AF, including for screw-drive A-mount lenses.
  • On older E-mount bodies without on-sensor PDAF, screw-drive A-mount lenses revert to contrast-detect AF or manual focus.
Fujifilm GFX (G-mount)
flange 26.7 mm
Mechanical
MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheel1.27× crop
  • generic mechanical adapter ring (multiple vendors)
  • Mechanical adapter only — no electronic communication between Fujifilm GFX (G-mount) lens and Sony E (incl. FE) body.
  • Lens has no aperture ring; choose an adapter with a built-in aperture-control wheel.
L-Mount
flange 20 mm
Mechanical
MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheel
  • generic mechanical adapter ring (multiple vendors)
  • Mechanical adapter only — no electronic communication between L-Mount lens and Sony E (incl. FE) body.
  • Lens has no aperture ring; choose an adapter with a built-in aperture-control wheel.
M42 (Pentax / Praktica screw mount)
flange 45.46 mm
Mechanical
MFIS lens-onlyAp. ring
  • generic mechanical adapter ring (multiple vendors)
  • Mechanical adapter only — no electronic communication between M42 (Pentax / Praktica screw mount) lens and Sony E (incl. FE) body.
Leica M
flange 27.8 mm
Mechanical
——Ap. ring
  • Voigtländer VM-E Close Focus
  • Techart LM-EA9 (autofocus M adapter)
  • Generic M-NEX rings
  • Manual focus by design; Techart LM-EA9 adds AF by mechanically extending the rear flange.
  • Wide M-mount lenses can show colour cast / smearing on the sensor edges; mitigated on later A7 generations.
Pentax K
flange 45.46 mm
Mechanical
MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheel
  • generic mechanical adapter ring (multiple vendors)
  • Mechanical adapter only — no electronic communication between Pentax K lens and Sony E (incl. FE) body.
  • Lens has no aperture ring; choose an adapter with a built-in aperture-control wheel.
PL (Positive Lock)
flange 52 mm
Mechanical
——Ap. 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.
Canon EF (cine)
flange 44 mm
Mechanical
MF—Ap. electronic
  • Sigma MC-11 EF-E (electronic aperture pass-through)
  • Metabones EF-E Mark V
  • Viltrox EF-E5 / EF-NEX IV
  • Smart EF adapters pass aperture commands through to the EF-cine lens iris — useful for setting T-stops electronically on a Sony FX body.
  • No AF (cine prime has no AF motor); follow-focus or wireless FIZ controls focus manually.
Canon RF (cine)
flange 20 mm
Mechanical
MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheel
  • generic mechanical adapter ring (multiple vendors)
  • Mechanical adapter only — no electronic communication between Canon RF (cine) lens and Sony E (incl. FE) body.
  • Lens has no aperture ring; choose an adapter with a built-in aperture-control wheel.
Exakta
flange 44.7 mm
Mechanical
——Ap. ring
  • Fotodiox Exakta-NEX
  • K&F Concept Exakta-NEX
  • Generic Exa-NEX rings
  • Auto-aperture Exakta lenses use a side-mounted plunger to stop down — adapter doesn't actuate this; use the lens's manual A/M switch (where present) or stop down by hand.
  • 26.7 mm flange clearance — comfortable adapter thickness.
T-mount (T2)
flange 55 mm
Mechanical
MFIS lens-onlyAp. ring
  • generic mechanical adapter ring (multiple vendors)
  • Mechanical adapter only — no electronic communication between T-mount (T2) lens and Sony E (incl. FE) body.
C-mount
flange 17.526 mm
Mechanical
——Ap. ringvignettes
  • Generic C-E rings (Fotodiox, Pixco, Rainbowimaging)
  • Full-frame E (FE) bodies see heavy vignetting; APS-C E (Sony α6000-series) bodies still vignette to a circle smaller than the sensor.
  • C-mount flange is 0.474 mm below Sony E's — most lenses can't reach infinity focus through a standard thin adapter.
Praktica B
flange 44.4 mm
Mechanical
——Ap. ring
  • K&F Concept PB-NEX
  • Fotodiox PB-NEX
  • Praktica B has no aperture ring on the lens — aperture is set via a body-driven coupling tab. Most PB-NEX adapters include a built-in aperture control wheel to actuate this tab.
  • 26.4 mm flange clearance — comfortable adapter thickness.
Konica AR
flange 40.5 mm
Mechanical
——Ap. ring
  • K&F Concept AR-NEX
  • Fotodiox AR-NEX
  • Metabones AR-NEX (premium)
  • Konica AR's 40.5 mm flange leaves 22.5 mm for the adapter — Hexanon primes (40 mm f/1.8, 57 mm f/1.2) hit infinity comfortably.
  • Aperture-priority lenses (later Hexanon EE/AE) need an adapter with an EE-lock-disable pin or you'll be stuck wide open.
Minolta SR / MC / MD
flange 43.5 mm
Mechanical
——Ap. ring
  • K&F Concept MD-NEX
  • Fotodiox Pro MD-NEX
  • Voigtländer VM-E (for M-mount-converted MDs)
  • Aperture is set on the Rokkor lens's own iris ring; the camera meters in stop-down mode.
  • Late-MD lenses with the MD tab don't communicate that information — the body sees a pure manual lens.
Canon EF-M
flange 18 mm
Speed booster
MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheelvignettes
  • Speed Booster / focal-reducer family
  • Flange clearance is only 0.0 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.
Nikon Z
flange 16 mm
Speed booster
MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheel
  • Speed Booster / focal-reducer family
  • Flange clearance is only -2.0 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.
Fujifilm X
flange 17.7 mm
Speed booster
MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheelvignettes
  • Speed Booster / focal-reducer family
  • Flange clearance is only -0.3 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.
Micro Four Thirds
flange 19.25 mm
Speed booster
MFIS lens-onlyAp. wheelvignettes
  • Speed Booster / focal-reducer family
  • Flange clearance is only 1.3 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.

Adapter SKU teardown

Curated adapter SKUs that involve the Sony E (incl. FE) 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.

  • Sony LA-EA5

    released 2020

    Sony A / Minolta A lens → Sony E (incl. FE) body

    • 9 body-side contacts
    • no firmware updates
    • not weather sealed
    • no glass — pass-through
    • Adds an internal screw-drive motor inside the adapter, restoring AF on screw-drive A-mount lenses (legacy Minolta + early Sony A) when paired with on-sensor PDAF E-mount bodies (a7 III and later).
    • On older E-mount bodies without on-sensor PDAF, screw-drive A-mount lenses revert to contrast-detect or manual focus.

  • Sigma MC-11

    released 2016

    Canon EF lens → Sony E (incl. FE) body

    • 9 body-side contacts
    • firmware updatable
    • not weather sealed
    • no glass — pass-through
    • Excellent native-like AF performance with Sigma's own EF Art and Sports lenses; Canon-brand EF lens support varies by model.
    • Firmware-updatable via USB; FW v1.40 (2018) added several Tamron and Canon lens compatibility entries.

  • Metabones EF-E Mark V

    released 2017

    Canon EF lens → Sony E (incl. FE) body

    • 11 body-side contacts
    • firmware updatable
    • not weather sealed
    • no glass — pass-through
    • Long-running EF-on-Sony adapter; Mark V adds improved phase-detect AF support on PDAF-capable Sony bodies.
    • Firmware-updatable via the USB port on the side of the adapter.

  • Metabones Speed Booster ULTRA 0.71× EF-E

    released 2014

    Canon EF lens → Sony E (incl. FE) body

    • 11 body-side contacts
    • firmware updatable
    • not weather sealed
    • optical glass in path (focal reducer)
    • Focal reducer for APS-C Sony E bodies (a6xxx series) — multiplies aperture by ~1 stop and reduces focal length by 0.71×, effectively letting EF full-frame lenses cover the APS-C sensor with extra light.
    • Not for full-frame E-mount bodies (image circle won't cover the sensor).

  • Viltrox EF-NEX IV (EF-E)

    released 2018

    Canon EF lens → Sony E (incl. FE) body

    • 9 body-side contacts
    • firmware updatable
    • not weather sealed
    • no glass — pass-through
    • Budget EF-on-Sony adapter with electronic communication and firmware-updatable AF support.
    • AF performance lags Metabones / MC-11 with non-Sigma EF lenses but is workable for static subjects.

  • Techart LM-EA9

    released 2022

    Leica M lens → Sony E (incl. FE) body

    • 0 body-side contacts
    • no firmware updates
    • not weather sealed
    • no glass — pass-through
    • Mechanical-AF adapter: a 4.5 mm motorised tube physically extends the flange to drive autofocus on rangefinder-era M-mount lenses (and any other mechanically-coupled MF lens).
    • AF speed is leisurely by design; brilliant for static or controlled-subject work, not for sports.

  • Voigtländer VM-E Close Focus

    released 2015

    Leica M lens → Sony E (incl. FE) body

    • 0 body-side contacts
    • no firmware updates
    • not weather sealed
    • no glass — pass-through
    • Helicoid extends the rear flange to enable close focus past the lens's native minimum (typically 0.7 m on a 50mm Summicron → ~0.3 m).
    • Build quality matches the M-system aesthetic; manual-focus by design.

  • Sony LA-EA4

    released 2014

    Sony A / Minolta A lens → Sony E (incl. FE) body

    • 9 body-side contacts
    • no firmware updates
    • not weather sealed
    • no glass — pass-through
    • Contains a full SLT (Single-Lens Translucent) mirror module and a dedicated AF sensor inside the adapter — gives any E-mount body, even those without on-sensor PDAF, 15-point phase-detect AF on every A-mount lens.
    • Includes an internal screw-drive motor, so legacy Minolta AF and Sony A-mount screw-drive lenses retain autofocus when the body itself cannot drive them.
    • SLT mirror costs ~⅓ stop of light; the AF coverage is the older 15-point pattern, not the full-sensor AF of modern Sony bodies. Superseded by LA-EA5 on bodies that have on-sensor PDAF (A7 III and later).

  • Sony LA-EA3

    released 2013

    Sony A / Minolta A lens → Sony E (incl. FE) body

    • 9 body-side contacts
    • no firmware updates
    • not weather sealed
    • no glass — pass-through
    • Pure pass-through electronic adapter — no SLT mirror, no internal motor. Relies entirely on the body for AF.
    • On modern E-mount bodies with on-sensor PDAF, the LA-EA3 drives SSM / SAM (in-lens motor) A-mount lenses with full AF, but screw-drive A-mount lenses are manual-focus-only because nothing turns the screw.
    • Lighter and shorter than the LA-EA4 by ~115 g; preferred when every lens in the kit is SSM / SAM. Cannot meaningfully focus on bodies without on-sensor PDAF.

  • Megadap ETZ21 Pro

    released 2022

    Sony E (incl. FE) lens → Nikon Z body

    • 11 body-side contacts
    • firmware updatable
    • not weather sealed
    • no glass — pass-through
    • Sony FE / E lens onto a Nikon Z body with full PDAF + Eye-AF, exposure metadata, in-lens IS pass-through, and electronic aperture.
    • USB-C firmware updates; Megadap publishes a maintained per-lens compatibility list covering native Sony G/GM glass plus most Sigma DG DN and Tamron Di III lenses.
    • Flange clearance is tight (E 18 mm → Z 16 mm = 2 mm), so the adapter is a thin ring. Heavy 70-200 / 100-400 zooms should be supported by the lens collar, not the adapter, on the Z body.

  • Techart TZE-01

    released 2022

    Sony E (incl. FE) lens → Nikon Z body

    • 11 body-side contacts
    • firmware updatable
    • not weather sealed
    • no glass — pass-through
    • Direct competitor to the Megadap ETZ21 — same purpose (Sony FE → Nikon Z with AF) at a slightly lower price point.
    • Firmware updates via micro-USB; Techart's compatibility list is shorter than Megadap's and Tamron + Samyang AF lenses sometimes lag a firmware revision behind.
    • Same 2 mm flange-clearance constraint — a thin ring; combine with a tripod-collared lens for any glass beyond ~1 kg.

  • Fotodiox Pro EF-NEX

    released 2018

    Canon EF lens → Sony E (incl. FE) body

    • 9 body-side contacts
    • no firmware updates
    • not weather sealed
    • no glass — pass-through
    • Budget electronic EF-on-Sony adapter; passes electronic aperture and EXIF, supports basic AF on most modern Canon EF and Sigma DG lenses.
    • AF is contrast-detect biased on PDAF-capable Sony bodies — markedly slower than the Sigma MC-11 or Metabones EF-E V. Best for portrait, landscape, and other non-tracking work.
    • No firmware-update port; what ships in the box is what you get. Adequate as a second adapter or for backup, not as a primary AF path.

References

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