Old canon lenses

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psychology

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Hi

I'm looking to buy my first DSLR but am still unsure of what to get, although Jessops seem to have a good deal on a Sony A500 twin lens kit. I have however just been given an old Canon eos 100 camera with a 28-80mm ultrasonic lens and a canon zoom lens EF 80 - 200mm 1:4.5-5.6 II. There is also a canon 300EZ speedlite flash. Will these lenses work on a new canon camera, and if so should I be looking to purchase a canon instead of a sony as it will save me a few bob on new lenses?

Very confused! :bonk:
 
As you're no doubt aware, the EOS 100 is a film camera anyway,so it's an SLR-not a DSLR. Both the lenses you describe will work on newer Canon cameras and between them they cover a useful focal length range so there is a potential saving there for you.

There''s nothing at all wrong with the Sony either depending on price, the packet of lenses you get with it, and how far you intend to go with your photography - is it a mild interest or something you're likely to get very interested in and want to expand your equipment? I suspect you don't really know the answer yourself yet. ;)

It sounds like you don't want to be doing anything in a rush. Research the market and what's available for the cash you want to spend. The vast majority of photographers opt for Canon or Nikon. It isn't herd mentality as some would have you believe - both these manufacturers have been making cameras for a very long time and will continue to do so in the future. Both makes also have the largest backup 'system' of available lenses and accessories.

Seriously- take your time making the choice. Perhaps if you give us an idea of what you're prepared to spend you'll get plenty of advice.
 
I was looking to spend £600 on the sony kit and have been researching for several months as I really am a complete beginner. However, now that I've been given these lenses I am having a rethink. I will have to buy a kit bag, memory card etc, so if these lenses will work on a new canon dslr I,m probably looking to spend about £400 - £500. Also is it essential that lenses are stabilised, as I assume these older ones aren't.

Thank you for your help
 
Stabilised lenses aren't essential. They typically allow you to safely use a shutter speed about 2 stops slower than you'd normally be able to without seeing blur from camera shake in your images. They come into their own when shooting in low light obviously, but for shooting in normal levels of light, it's not something you need to worry about.

How old aren't you? :D Is weight of the camera body going to be an issue for you?
 
44 :) . Just had a good conversation with my wife and am maybe thinking of buying a second hand camera body to see how I get on and then I can upgrade later.
 
psychology said:
44 :) . Just had a good conversation with my wife and am maybe thinking of buying a second hand camera body to see how I get on and then I can upgrade later.
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You could pick up something like a 30D for less than £300 and use it with you existing lenses leaving you with plenty of cash in the bank!
 
I think the EZ line of flashes had a higher trigger voltage than the EX series that is available now so that might cause damage to a newer camera if you use it on there, but as has been said already the EF lenses should work.
 
matt2martin said:
I think the EZ line of flashes had a higher trigger voltage than the EX series that is available now so that might cause damage to a newer camera if you use it on there, but as has been said already the EF lenses should work.
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I've got a EZ300 and measured the triger voltage at under 4v so it's prefectly safe to use on modern digital kit. What it won't do, however, is fire at anything other than full intensity - so it's not particularly user-friendly...

 
The canon lenses should work fine on new DSLRs
 
a1ex2001 said:
You could pick up something like a 30D for less than £300 and use it with you existing lenses leaving you with plenty of cash in the bank!
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the 30d seems to fly off the shelf, what do people seem to think of the 20d or any other suggestions.

Thanks to everyone for their invaluable advice.
 
Two different mounts. All EF mount lenses will work on all Canon EOS camera's including digital (Lenses with the EF-s designation only work on crop camera's not full frame). The Bayonet mount FD lenses require an adaptor- they will be manual focus only. The adaptor will need electronic circuitry if you want focus confirmation in camera. I'm not sure if all FD mount lenses work, someone else will confirm this.
 
TrevorP said:
Two different mounts. All EF mount lenses will work on all Canon EOS camera's including digital (Lenses with the EF-s designation only work on crop camera's not full frame). The Bayonet mount FD lenses require an adaptor- they will be manual focus only. The adaptor will need electronic circuitry if you want focus confirmation in camera. I'm not sure if all FD mount lenses work, someone else will confirm this.
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That's correct EF lenses work on all Canon digitals, EF-S are crop-crippled and only work on the 1.6 crop sensors. FD and FDn lenses can be made to attach to EOS cameras with EF mounts (digital and the film EOS's) though if you want to maintain infinity focus you'll need a adaptor with a lens built in, which is in effect the same as a 1.2x converter. It is possible to get these FD to EF adaptors with a chip that will also give AF confirmation, though at quite a high premium.
 
Sorry - yep - I dropped a link on for one of the adaptors on my original post. Probably available cheaper direct from china/hong kong, but you'd be waiting for a week or so.

Main drawback is that it's a manual focus, manual aperture lens. You'd need to open the aperture up wide, focus and compose while theres plenty of light getting in the lens, then stop back down to what you want for actually taking the shot and at this point meter and adjust the shutter speed (or shoot in Aperture Priority and let the camera keep the shutter open as long as it needs - easier, but runs risk of getting a slow shutter speed and camera wobble - at least with full manual if the speed is too slow you can tweak the aperture)

There's some lovely FD glass out there, it's just a shame that it needs an extra bit of glass in the adaptor to focus to infinity. :shrug:
 
Am I reading this right, all EF fit lenses will fit on my 20d and work in auto focus? or manual focus only?
 
I think most of the lens issues have been answered here.

As for the flash. You can attach the EZ to a DSLR body without fear of frying the electronics but you will only get it to work in Manual, not TTL (i.e. automatic) mode.

The bible of all things Canon Flash is here: http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/
 
Sorry just re-read the link and your EZ flash will only work if it has a manual mode.
 
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