Adapter guide
Olympus OM lenses on L-mount
Yes, this works. Olympus OM has a 46mm flange distance and L-Mount Alliance (Leica, Panasonic, Sigma) has 20mm, so a 26mm mechanical adapter with no glass fills the gap and infinity focus is preserved. Focus and aperture stay manual.
- Olympus OM flange
- 46 mm
- L-mount flange
- 20 mm
- Adapter thickness
- 26 mm
- Optical elements
- None required
Setting it up
On Panasonic S bodies set Shoot w/o Lens to On and enter the focal length for stabilisation. Leica SL bodies accept adapted lenses without a setting change and Leica sells its own R-Adapter L for Leica R glass.
Automatic diaphragm with the aperture ring at the front of the lens, next to the filter thread. Many Zuiko lenses carry their own depth-of-field preview button.
Olympus OM lenses and their field of view on L-mount
Effective focal length changes with sensor size. The lens itself does not change; the smaller sensor simply captures a narrower part of the image circle.
| Lens | Focal length | Aperture | Full frame | Frames like (APS-C (1.5x)) | Years | Used value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympus OM-System Zuiko Auto-S 50mm f/1.4 | 50mm | f/1.4 | 50mm | 75mm | 1972-1980s | $70 to $280 |
| Olympus OM-System Zuiko Auto-S 55mm f/1.2 | 55mm | f/1.2 | 55mm | 83mm | 1972-1984 | $300 to $900 |
| Olympus OM-System Zuiko Auto-W 24mm f/2.8 | 24mm | f/2.8 | 24mm | 36mm | 1975-1980s | $90 to $300 |
Frequently asked
Do Olympus OM lenses work on L-mount cameras?
Yes. A plain Olympus OM to L-mount adapter works with no optics. Olympus OM has a 46mm register and L-Mount Alliance (Leica, Panasonic, Sigma) has a 20mm register, so the adapter is a 26mm tube that puts the lens exactly where a Olympus OM body would. Plain adapter ring. Turning the front aperture ring stops the lens down directly on an adapter.
Do Olympus OM lenses focus to infinity on L-mount?
Yes. Because the adapter restores the native 46mm register, infinity focus is preserved and the full focus scale on the lens stays accurate. Adapters machined slightly short let the lens focus past infinity by a small margin, which is harmless; adapters machined long stop short of infinity, so buy from a maker with tight tolerances.
What focal length does a Olympus OM lens become on L-mount?
On full frame L-mount bodies (Leica SL series, Lumix S series, Sigma fp) the focal length is unchanged: a 50mm lens frames as a 50mm. On APS-C (1.5x) L-mount bodies (Leica CL, TL, TL2) a 50mm lens frames like a 75mm lens on full frame; the aperture and depth of field at a given distance do not change.
More on this mount: Olympus OM mount reference