MF lens on a 5D?

Bryans12v

Ive read alot about people using old MF lenses on newer DLSR cameras and am wondering if someone can shed some light for me.

I just recently purchased the 5D and cant really shell out the cash for the 70-200 2.8 that I want. At the moment I have no good zoom. I do have the classic 70-210 f4 canon mf lens thats in prestine shape.

Will this lens work on my camera with any old run of the mill mf/af adapter? How does this work? I understand AF will not work but is there something that I need to disable in the camera first?

If I can get away with spending 30 bucks to have this zoom to use, it would greatly benefit me while saving for better glass.

Thanks in advance everyone!

run_kmc

If your old lens is a Canon FD mount lens, then it is possible, but will probably be terrible. This is because FD to EOS adapters generally aren't very good.

There are several vendors who make adapters to put FD lenses on EOS cameras, but since the flange focal distance is so similar, you need another piece of glass in the adapter to compensate for that. Most of these adapters are going to be terrible quality, optically. I believe Canon made an adapter. If so, that one would probably be acceptable, but I don't want to even think of how much they would go for used.

If you want a cheaper manual focus zoom, I would suggest looking at Olympus OM (OM Mount) lenses or Yashica ML (Contax/Yashica) lenses. Both mounts can be used on EOS cameras with an adapter that does not require optics. This will make the adapters much cheaper and won't degrade the quality of the lens..

ziggy53

run_kmc wrote: »

If your old lens is a Canon FD mount lens, then it is possible, but will probably be terrible. This is because FD to EOS adapters generally aren't very good.

There are several vendors who make adapters to put FD lenses on EOS cameras, but since the flange focal distance is so similar, you need another piece of glass in the adapter to compensate for that. Most of these adapters are going to be terrible quality, optically. I believe Canon made an adapter. If so, that one would probably be acceptable, but I don't want to even think of how much they would go for used.

If you want a cheaper manual focus zoom, I would suggest looking at Olympus OM (OM Mount) lenses or Yashica ML (Contax/Yashica) lenses. Both mounts can be used on EOS cameras with an adapter that does not require optics. This will make the adapters much cheaper and won't degrade the quality of the lens..

All true.

I have a Canon FD to EOS adapter and it's not really practical to use for most purposes. On newer cameras with a live view at least you can focus accurately, but with older cameras trying to manually focus with the viewfinder is just about impossible.

Image quality is reduced, but for long primes it's not horrible. With zoom lenses the results are worse and I don't recommend it.

In addition to the Olympus and Yashica mount manual focus lenses, Nikon "F" mount and Pentax Universal/M42 mount lenses can also be mounted with a simple, non-optical, adapter.

I have 2 - M42 to EOS adapters that have electronic chips added to allow AF confirmation. Focus is much easier to achieve with this type of adapter. Aperture is generally set after focus is acquired wide open. Here are some examples using this type of adapter with various lenses:


Above: Vivitar 500mm, f6.3


Pentax 50mm, f1.4 SMC @ f5.6


Vivitar 105mm, f2.8

Overfocused

I've used retro Pentax (m42 and K) and Nikon glass on the 5D MKII and they were fantastic. You can get some stunning optics if you go with pentax Takumar prime lenses, especially their 50mm. And, Nikon also works extremely well too.

Just make sure you get an adapter that says it allows focusing to infinity.

Matthew Saville

Unfortunately, the best manual focus DSLR experience is indeed going to be a Nikon experience. (Aside from Leica, of course)

Also, I will point out that personally, I really try and avoid using manual focus lenses longer than 50mm, especially for action shots. They might work well for landscapes or low-action nature shots, but are not as practical for something like candid photojournalism.

My favorite manual focus lenses are my 24mm and 50mm, on a D700, and that's all. I've tried longer telephoto lenses in the 85mm range, but they're quite difficult to focus manually without a split prism.

=Matt=

Brett1000

run_kmc wrote: »

If your old lens is a Canon FD mount lens, then it is possible, but will probably be terrible. This is because FD to EOS adapters generally aren't very good.

..

I agree, an adapter to FD is going to be terrible,. Why not get a 70-200 f/4 used for around $500 or a Sigma 70-200 2.8 without OS for around $500 - $600

JimKarczewski

Hell, I'd LOVE to be able to use my Mamiya AF lenses on my 5DII. But not gonna happen either. Both Mamiya and Canon (the ONLY thing I really detest about their lenses) have internal aperture control. Which blows if you want to use them on another body.. Without the proper conversion of the electronic signal, the best you get is wide open.