Long shot - Anyone tried using FD lenses on an EOS body?

[PamelaJGillard]

So, my father-in-law was an avid photography enthusiast back in the day and since his passing I have become the recipient of his gear (mostly way too old to be of use or poorly stored and in such a sorry state that it would not be worth it to put money/time into restoration). However, tonight I received a camera bag with an AE-1 and a variety of FD lenses that appear to be in nice condition.

Has anyone purchased a lens adapter and used FD lenses on their EOS body? I found a Bower adapter on B&H that is reasonably priced and wonder if it would be worth the money and effort to just play around with the old lenses and see what kind of images I would get.

I understand that the lenses will be fully manual and I am not expecting to use them on a regular basis. I would mostly just use them for experimental shooting.

Thoughts?
__________________
~Pamela

Gear: 5D * 24-105L * 70-200 f/4L IS * Canon 50 mm f/2.5 macro * 430EX II

 

[Don Haines]

Yes.

I got my hands on an 800F5.6 lens and an FD to EOS converter. I found that my 70-200 lens could resolve more distant detail than the 800.....

The newest round of Canon L-glass is of far higher quality than the FD lenses were. The improvements are astounding. When you weigh those improvements against the image degradation caused by a converter, it's hard to get serious about the old lenses.....

 

[rs]

The FD mount has a shorter flange distance than EF - 42mm vs 44mm - so by the time you've added physical mount adapter to the 44mm, you end up with a total lens flange to sensor distance much greater than 42mm. Either you lose infinity focus, or there are optical elements (much like a mild TC) which further degrade the image quality of these old lenses.

In short, nothing works, bar one ingenious solution made by Ed Mika (who is also a member on this forum)

http://www.edmika.com/
http://www.canonrumors.com/tech-articles/fd-fl-lenses-on-your-ef-body/

His solution is custom made for each lens. Not all lenses can be adapted, and the cost makes it pointless on a cheap lens. Good L FD lenses are worth converting.

 

[marcel]

The best solution is a Sony A7.

 

[noncho]

I have used FD 50 1.4 on EOS, but it was with reworked mount from FD to EOS - no optical adapter, no infinity focus problem.

 

[steyr]

If you have the EOS M, try the FD-M adaptor.

 

[Hillsilly]

With a Sony NEX camera, you can use a lens turbo to give you the same look that you'd get with a film/FF camera. The Sony's also have good focus peaking options to make manual focusing easier.

 

[JumboShrimp]

On topic ... Ed Mika makes the best FD to EOS adapters. I have one for my FD 500/4.5L that is ingenious. They are a tad pricey, though and (I believe) customized for certain lenses. Don't bother with junk from Bower - it has an optical element that acts like a mini-teleconverter to maintain infinity focus.

 

[Maui5150]

On topic ... Ed Mika makes the best FD to EOS adapters. I have one for my FD 500/4.5L that is ingenious. They are a tad pricey, though and (I believe) customized for certain lenses. Don't bother with junk from Bower - it has an optical element that acts like a mini-teleconverter to maintain infinity focus.

+1

If you have any FD long glass 300mm or longer than a Mika adapter is a good and cheap solution, otherwise, why bother

 

[Bernd Stuht]

The Optical Quality of the modern EF-Type Lenses seems to be much better then the Mainstream
FD-Lenses - edmika´s Adapter is very interesting for HighQuality Lenses like fast L FD´s.

I´ver got some FD´s too, only "Amateur"level-Lenses, and still uses them for Macro in Retromount for Example, i could make a Test to compare FD against EF in lower Distance with my Lensless FD to EOS Adapter - FD 50mm 1:1.8 against EF 50mm 1:1.4 and FD 70-210 1:4 against EF 70-200 L IS 1:4 ?

But +1 - the Best ist to use it on FD Camera´s - i´ve got an 100% working T90 ;D .

Greetings Bernd

 

[sdsr]

The best solution is a Sony A7.

Sure, if you want 35mm equiv. angle of view, but any mirrorless camera (incl Micro 43 & Fuji X, in addition to Sony) with magnification and focus peaking - preferably one with an EVF and the right external controls - works well with old manual lenses; it's far easier to focus accurately and get exposure right.

 

[skybraun]

Try the Fotodiox "Pro" FD to EOS adaptor. That is the one I used and I never had a problem with it

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

So, my father-in-law was an avid photography enthusiast back in the day and since his passing I have become the recipient of his gear (mostly way too old to be of use or poorly stored and in such a sorry state that it would not be worth it to put money/time into restoration). However, tonight I received a camera bag with an AE-1 and a variety of FD lenses that appear to be in nice condition.

Has anyone purchased a lens adapter and used FD lenses on their EOS body? I found a Bower adapter on B&H that is reasonably priced and wonder if it would be worth the money and effort to just play around with the old lenses and see what kind of images I would get.

I understand that the lenses will be fully manual and I am not expecting to use them on a regular basis. I would mostly just use them for experimental shooting.

Thoughts?
__________________
~Pamela

Gear: 5D * 24-105L * 70-200 f/4L IS * Canon 50 mm f/2.5 macro * 430EX II

Pamela, those adapters are basically low power teleconverters which have a lens to allow the FD's to work on a EOS Body. They are fine to play with, but it depends on how critical you are about images. They do degrade the lens performance, and the cheap FD lenses were not wonderful to start with, at least compared to the newer EOS lenses.

The only way to decide is to get one and try it.

I have the
Fotodiox model, but have never actually bothered trying it. I was planning to use it to check out old FD lenses before reselling them. I have numerous old film bodies that I test them on, but being able to capture digital images quickly to show buyers seemed useful.
I've never had or found any high end FD lenses, with one of those, I'd go for the Ed Mika adapter.

 

[Lloyd]

I use the EdMika adaptor on a FD 800mm lens with my 5Diii and my 60D and I am very happy with the results. I have had better luck on the full frame 5Diii, but this may be due to having more experience with the lens by the time I bought the 5Diii :

 

[mb66energy]

"Tested" some FD lenses with the EOS M via FD->EF-M Adapter
FD 4.0 17 / FD 2.8 28 / FD 3.5 50 Macro / FD 1.4 50 S.S.C. (chrome ring) / FD 1.8 85 / FD 3.5 135 / FD 2.5 135 / FD 4.0 200

Only the FD 1.4 50 S.S.C. showed very good quality and is interesting for me because it has a higher aperture than all my other lenses. This one might be in the photo bag you mentioned.
In the tele range the EF 4.0 70-200 is far superior to the above mentioned lenses. The EF-S 60 Macro is crisper than the FD 3.5 50 Macro.
FD 4.0 17 never was a very sharp lens but is interesting for video because it has very low distortion.

The major drawback of the EOS M is the fact, that you cannot find the right focus setting via the display easily. A electronic viewfinder of a future EOS M would be very helpful for that.
But if you use more or less static objects/subjects using the FD lenses via EOS M might be a good way to experiment with these older lenses.

If you want use the lens on your 5D, this link might be helpful:
http://www.thelensdoctor.co.uk/page5.html
There you can convert one or two of the most promising FD lenses into an EF mount version - for me I am thinking about the FD 1.4 50 S.S.C. ... but still waiting what Canon will do in the 50mm range ...

 

[Chaitanya]

I use the EdMika adaptor on a FD 800mm lens with my 5Diii and my 60D and I am very happy with the results. I have had better luck on the full frame 5Diii, but this may be due to having more experience with the lens by the time I bought the 5Diii :

that photo of Toro Rosso and moon is awesome.

 

[TexPhoto]

When I switched from Nikon to Canon 5 years ago, a lens adapter helped me use a few of my lenses with the new 5DII body. I hated it. I had a fotoix adapter then even gave me focus confirmation (in theory). I just hated it. Like turning a philips screw with a small enough to fit standard driver, it just felt like a kludge.

A few months ago I saw a 50s era Nikon 28mm f2.8 in a store window and thought it looked so cool and vintage I have to have it. I still had the adapter anyway. Hated it.

 

[wickidwombat]

"Tested" some FD lenses with the EOS M via FD->EF-M Adapter
FD 4.0 17 / FD 2.8 28 / FD 3.5 50 Macro / FD 1.4 50 S.S.C. (chrome ring) / FD 1.8 85 / FD 3.5 135 / FD 2.5 135 / FD 4.0 200

Only the FD 1.4 50 S.S.C. showed very good quality and is interesting for me because it has a higher aperture than all my other lenses. This one might be in the photo bag you mentioned.
In the tele range the EF 4.0 70-200 is far superior to the above mentioned lenses. The EF-S 60 Macro is crisper than the FD 3.5 50 Macro.
FD 4.0 17 never was a very sharp lens but is interesting for video because it has very low distortion.

The major drawback of the EOS M is the fact, that you cannot find the right focus setting via the display easily. A electronic viewfinder of a future EOS M would be very helpful for that.
But if you use more or less static objects/subjects using the FD lenses via EOS M might be a good way to experiment with these older lenses.

If you want use the lens on your 5D, this link might be helpful:
http://www.thelensdoctor.co.uk/page5.html
There you can convert one or two of the most promising FD lenses into an EF mount version - for me I am thinking about the FD 1.4 50 S.S.C. ... but still waiting what Canon will do in the 50mm range ...

actually on the M if you install magic lantern and enable focus peaking it lets you use manual focus lenses incredibly accurately

 

[mrsfotografie]

With a Sony NEX camera, you can use a lens turbo to give you the same look that you'd get with a film/FF camera. The Sony's also have good focus peaking options to make manual focusing easier.

I'm considering getting one of these; I assume you mean the Mitakon Canon FD - Sony E-mount Lens Turbo? Is it any good? I have a bunch of consumer level FL and FD primes that I may use with it, and I'm thinking of picking up a Sigma 21-35 zoom.

Stuff that I tried on the NEX with good results (no optical adapter used):

Canon FL 50mm f/3.5 Macro: Sharp, good macro for butterflies.
Canon FL 135mm f/2.5: Sharp, exceptional bokeh
Canon FD 200mm f/4 S.S.C. Sufficiently sharp. some longtitudinal CA but this improves when stopped down and is easily corrected in post.

Attached shot was taken with the NEX-6 and Canon FD 200mm f/4 S.S.C. at f/5.6 or f/6.3. No optical adapter used so this then becomes a 300 mm lens. The photo is cropped to square from vertical but preserves maximum width.

 

[eyeland]

I inherited an old FD 50mm 1.8 in good condition. Paired with a glass-less adapter and dirt-cheap extension tubes it can be quite fun. Tried the same with an FD 135mm 3.5. Was waay to soft to be worth it imo.
Which lenses are in the bag?