Now you can use Canon-fit lenses on an L-Mount camera thanks to Sigma

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Sigma's MC-21 Mount Converter opens up the L-Mount mirrorless cameras to Canon EF lenses

Sigma's big announcement at the CP+ exhibition in Yokohama was the availability of its 11 new Art prime lenses for the L-Mount system used by the new full-frame mirrorless Panasonic Lumix S1 and S1R cameras.

No fewer than 42 lenses have been promised for the L-Mount system by the end of 2020.

There’s more news than that, though. Sigma has also announced an MC-21 Sigma Mount Converter that allows the use of both Sigma SA mount and Canon EF mount lenses on L-Mount cameras.

This is a much more important announcement than it might first appear. It offers an upgrade (‘sidegrade’?) path for previous owners of Sigma Foveon sensor cameras to new L-Mount models without having to change their lens systems. It's an important move for Sigma and its fans as the company moves from its previous bespoke cameras and lens mount to the new L-Mount system it's developed jointly with Leica and Panasonic.

• Panasonic S1 and S1R: everything you need to know about the new Lumix range

A new upgrade option for Canon DSLR owners?

The main story with the Sigma MC-21 Mount Converter is that it allows Canon EF DSLR lenses to be fitted to the new L-Mount cameras. This means Canon DSLR owners looking to go mirrorless now have a choice between Canon’s own EOS R and EOS RP, and the new L-Mount models from Panasonic. 

Before we get too excited, though, we should point out that Sigma is only claiming compatibility with a selection of its own Canon EF mount lenses and does not yet make any claims about broader EF lens compatibility and restrictions.

Nevertheless, Canon’s full-frame mirrorless models have received positive but mixed reviews, and do not compete head-on with Panasonic’s 4K video technology, or the 47-megapixel resolution of the Lumix S1R, so this could be an exciting development for both videographers and high-end stills photographers.

There’s no news yet on when the MC-21 Mount Converter will be available or what it will cost, but it does add to the momentum building up behind Panasonic, Sigma, Leica and their L-Mount Alliance.

Read more:

• The best mirrorless cameras in 2019
• The 10 cheapest full-frame cameras in 2019
• Sigma full-frame mirrorless camera is coming

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Rod Lawton
Rod Lawton
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Rod is an independent photography journalist and editor, and a long-standing Digital Camera World contributor, having previously worked as DCW's Group Reviews editor. Before that he has been technique editor on N-Photo, Head of Testing for the photography division and Camera Channel editor on TechRadar, as well as contributing to many other publications. He has been writing about photography technique, photo editing and digital cameras since they first appeared, and before that began his career writing about film photography. He has used and reviewed practically every interchangeable lens camera launched in the past 20 years, from entry-level DSLRs to medium format cameras, together with lenses, tripods, gimbals, light meters, camera bags and more. Rod has his own camera gear blog at fotovolo.com but also writes about photo-editing applications and techniques at lifeafterphotoshop.com