Arri Standard Mount Adapter for Canon 5D?

[Scott E Wilson]

Hello all. I am considering the purchase of a Canon 5D Mark II for video. I have a set of Arri / Zeiss standard mount cine lenses from an Arri 2C 35mm camera. They're not the best / fastest lenses by any means but I would like to be able to use them. I'm wondering if there is an adapter available? If so, I imagine it would increase the focal length but I'm not sure how significant it would be. Any ideas are appreciated.

[Brian Drysdale]

The chances are they won't cover the 5D's FF35 frame size. The standard mount cine lenses would be designed to be used on a standard 35mm motion picture frame, which is smaller than a Super 35mm frame.

[Ben Denham]

Yes, in terms of sensor/film size your lenses would be better paired with a 7D or maybe even the 60 or 550D cameras, but even then I'm not sure whether there are issues in adapting your specific lenses for those cameras.

[Scott E Wilson]

Thank you Brian and Ben for your input. I guess I mistakingly thought of the 'full frame' size of the sensor as being that of a full frame 35mm motion picture camera. But I take it that it is the equivalent of a full frame 35 still camera...which is pretty awsome... but I will have to re-think it. Choosing between the 5D and 7D has proven difficult. I was leaning towards the 5D for it's image quality.. although the ability for slow motion / over-crank on the 7D is a desire. I'm interested in playing with time-lapse.

Thanks again... you've given me valuable info!

[Jon Fairhurst]

Regarding the 5D vs. 7D, the big advantage of the 5D, IMHO, is that it can accept fast, wide lenses like the Canon 24/1.4L, the Canon 28/1.8, or the Zeiss 28/2 and deliver a wide view. If you want cine lenses on the 5D2, the CP.2 lenses are the way to go.

The killer lens on the 7D, IMHO, is the 17-55/2.8 IS zoom. Since you can't get faster than a 2.8 wide anyway, you can get that speed across the mid range with a zoom - and get IS to boot. It's ideal for daytime, handheld shooting.

But if you're starting with PL lenses, the 7D is the way to go. You get slow motion as well as an HD HDMI output when recording. Also consider the T2i as it can host Magic Lantern firmware which provides more video features like zebras and such. The T2i loses HD HDMI, so it might not be the way to go if you use an external monitor.

All of these cams can produce fantastic timelapses. By shooting in bracketed, RAW, photo mode, you can get crazy dynamic range at 4K-ish resolution with no aliasing problems. And you don't need fast lenses for timelapse. I find that deep focus works best, and you can do multi-second exposures to capture all the light that you could ever need.

[Scott E Wilson]

Thanks for your reply Jon (sorry for my late response). This helps me.

[David W. Jones]

I have used 35mm Arri standard mount lenses on a Micro 4/3 platform via an adapter with success.
As mentioned they will not cover the full size sensor of the 5DmkII.

[Steve Oakley]

actually the 60D is a better deal then the 7D.

there is a PL mount adapter, but it requires changing the EOS lens mount on the body to the adapter. basically remove all the screws in the EOS mount and swap in. you may also need to lock up the mirror before mounting some PL glass which extends backwards past the flange or you'll smash the camera's mirror.