Yongnuo 50mm f/1.8 on Canon EOS 500 film body

[pwp]

Here's a curly one! My daughter is doing photography at school and needs to use a film camera. Weird! We got a second hand EOS 500 film camera from the 1990's with a dull Sigma zoom. We thought a nice bright prime with AF would be an improvement so got a new $70 Yongnuo 50mm f/1.8, a clone of the Canon Nifty Fifty. You could think of it as the Thrifty Fifty!

The lens checked out fine on my 7DII, 5DIV and 1DX, but doesn't work on the old EOS 500. All my EF lenses work fine on the EOS 500. AF works well, but when you hit the shutter, the mirror flips up but that's the end of it. An error message BC shows on the screen....but not the more usual err BC.

Has anyone had compatibility issues with EF glass on Canon film bodies?

-pw

 

[slclick]

I use a variety of Canon EF glass on my film cameras and they all work well. Some focus much better than others of course but all work. My Sigma Art even works on my Canon film bodies....So much reverse engineering out there for 3rd parties. Yongnuo must not have the contacts correct. Canon modified their lens communication protocols in the 1980's and who knows, maybe because it's an old lens design....maybe it's a handshake thing, it takes two to tango and the Yongnuo is all alone on the dance floor.

 

[midluk]

I think I saw a review video online which explicitly stated that the lens does not work on film bodies.

 

[pwp]

I think I saw a review video online which explicitly stated that the lens does not work on film bodies.

You're absolutely right on this, Yongnuo hasn't got the reverse engineering thing down as neatly as Sigma or Tamron. The handshake doesn't quite take place. Apparently Sigma Art glass and recent Tamrons will all function as expected on Canon film bodies.

Too bad, my Thrifty Fifty buy was a dead loss. I guess I'll get a few dollars for it. It's not really a lens I'd like to use for commercial clients!

Buyer beware!

-pw

 

[sulla]

It's not really a lens I'd like to use for commercial clients!

Probably this 70$ lens isn't ment for this purpose either. I also wouldn't consider it a dead loss, use it on recent digital cameras and you'll be just fine.

Buyer beware!

Problably perfect backwards compatibility from an even cheaper clone of the cheapest Canon lens there is shouldn't be expected. The Yongnuo lens has never been designed to be perfectly backwards compatible, and why should it? I would expect the number of useres using this lens on film cameras is ... limited. Sure it would be nice if it was, but...

 

[tron]

This is a case where the cheap becomes expensive! How much can someone save by buying a Chinese version of 50 1.8 instead of the real one? The 50 1.8 is not an expensive lens.

 

[Kit Lens Jockey]

Yes, I noticed the same issue with a Yongnuo 50 1.8 on an EOS 650. Can't really expect perfection from a $50 lens. It's funny, because the lens has Yongnuo DIGITAL printed on it. I always just assumed it was some cheesy marketing thing to make it look more high-tech. Turns out it is truly just a digital lens. :