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Older Canon compatibility?
M38A1
Registered Users Posts: 1,317 Major grins
I'm waaayyyyy out of my element here looking at compatibility for older Canon glass, but my friend asked me about DSLR's so I said I'd ask my 'friends'. :thumb (I'm a nikon shooter, thus the lack of knowledge for this)
She provided me the following list of the gear she currently owns. All film and older from what I gather. She's been wanting to get an introductory DSLR and a basic 18-55 or so lens. She mentioned she has all this "Canon gear" so she was wanting to stick with Canon. I can understand that logic, but I don't know the nomenclature of the Canon line, nor compatibility with say, an entry level Rebel T3. (or my understanding is that's the entry level body)
So this is what she has... Would any of the lenses work for all functionality with an entry DSLR in the Canon line?
Canon A-1 body
Canon fd 50mm 1:1.4
Access p-mc 1:2.8 t=28mm wide-auto ø49 macro no. 8206223
tou/five star mc auto macro zoom lens no. K8451116 1:4.5 75-20mm 52ø)
Canon EOS Rebel x s body
Canon zoom lens ef 35-80mm 1:4-5.6 iii ø52mm
Canon zoom lens ef 75-300mm 1:4-5.6 iii
Many thanks in advance and I look forward to what the group provides which I'll pass along.
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She provided me the following list of the gear she currently owns. All film and older from what I gather. She's been wanting to get an introductory DSLR and a basic 18-55 or so lens. She mentioned she has all this "Canon gear" so she was wanting to stick with Canon. I can understand that logic, but I don't know the nomenclature of the Canon line, nor compatibility with say, an entry level Rebel T3. (or my understanding is that's the entry level body)
So this is what she has... Would any of the lenses work for all functionality with an entry DSLR in the Canon line?
Canon A-1 body
Canon fd 50mm 1:1.4
Access p-mc 1:2.8 t=28mm wide-auto ø49 macro no. 8206223
tou/five star mc auto macro zoom lens no. K8451116 1:4.5 75-20mm 52ø)
Canon EOS Rebel x s body
Canon zoom lens ef 35-80mm 1:4-5.6 iii ø52mm
Canon zoom lens ef 75-300mm 1:4-5.6 iii
Many thanks in advance and I look forward to what the group provides which I'll pass along.
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Comments
That is the reason that I am a Nikon shooter. I had a similar kit, but no old glass would fit the new bodies for Canon.
I do though use the Canon printers, just not the cameras.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/89910-REG/Hama_HA_30845_Lens_Adapter_for_Canon.html
From the above, what I THINK I've learned is, the Canon DSLR bodies are all part of the EOS family. And with that, the mounts for the FD and EF lenses are different than the EOS mounts?
From the above, B&H has an adapter that bridges the mounting differences (and adds 1.25x) so you lose some light in the neighborhood of a stop to do so.
What I still haven't determined is if the auto-focus and metering functions will work with EF lenses. Also, from what I gather, the EF lenses were the first Electronic-Focus series for Canon, so there might be a glimmer of hope on that series. Is that true?
I'm assuming the FD even with the adapter won't have auto-focus/auto-metering capability, right?
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The above lenses use the manual focus "FD" mount and would require an optical adapter. Unfortunately, the optical adapters are impractical for many reasons but mostly because accurate focus is nearly impossible. (I tried this and I have one of these adapters but, while optical quality is passable for snapshots with telephoto prime lenses, without the ability to accurately focus it's still pretty much worthless. Image quality with zooms and wide-angle primes are not even suitable for snapshots.)
You "can" just continue to use the camera for film and have the negatives scanned. I have an AE-1 Program that I still like, but it's really cheaper in the long run just to get an inexpensive used D-SLR body and EOS/EF mount lenses.
Modern Canon D-SLRs use the EOS/EF mount for FF and crop 1.3x/APS-H bodies, and the crop 1.6x/APS-C bodies, like dRebels and xxD bodies use "both" EF and EF-S lenses.
The Canon EF 35-80mm, f4-f5.6 III and Canon EF 75-300mm, f4-f5.6 III will safely mount and autofocus on a modern digital body, but they're only really suitable for snapshots in good light. Still, if you add some decent flash power and if you have no interest in "bokeh", stopped down they can do a little better and you can produce fair 5" x 7" and even 8" x 10" of very simple subject matter. The AF speeds are slow and the smaller aperture is also needed to help with AF error. (Most people will rapidly want to progress to something better.)
Still, it will let you get your feet wet by coupling those 2 lenses to an entry level dSLR. Just remember what I said about stopping down and needing "good light". A high-powered flash is really a necessity for indoor shooting.
The EF 75-300mm III is reviewed here:
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-75-300mm-f-4-5.6-III-USM-Lens-Review.aspx
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
Thanks Ziggy....
As mentioned, this is for a friend of mine who wants to step into digital so I said I'd poke around for her. I don't believe she has an interest in the film side of the equation, but it's good to know the EOS lens set is compatible with a new DSLR body. Accepting the lighting requirements, it's at least a start for her in descent/bright sunlight. I suppose she can always find an inexpensive 50mm f1/.8 to help her along too.
She mentioned she has a flash unit. I'll ping her on what that model is as well.
Again, thanks everyone for the input so far!
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