Old FD macro lens question.

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Gary
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A workmate handed me an old Canon macro lens, a 200mm 1:4

I have a Canon 40d and wondered if its worth shelling out for a converter for this lens or would the cash be better put towards an EF macro lens?

Just wondered if anyone knew what it would be like using a converter presuming it would work at all.
 
I bought a cheap FD-EOS converter off eBay from Hong Kong to use my old FD 100mm macro lens. Since it was for macro work it didn't need to focus to infinity, so could do without the element that corrects for infinity focussing. It just acted as a short extension tube and therefore deal for macro work.
 
Avoid optical adapters (image quality may suffer too much) and it'll work just fine in macro work.
 
An FD to EOS converter a few quid,and EOS Macro lens a few hundred quid its a no brainer
However if you really get into macro then an AF macro lens may be a good idea in the future
 
An FD to EOS converter a few quid,and EOS Macro lens a few hundred quid its a no brainer
However if you really get into macro then an AF macro lens may be a good idea in the future
 
Many thanks for taking the time to reply flolks , I appreciate your help.

The plot thickens a bit, not sure what I have now.

I had a hunt for a EOS to FD adapter and quickly realized that the lens I have does not look like the FD mount lenses I am seeing.

Can anyone throw a bit of light on this for me? Not at all familiar with these older lenses, The metal bit at the bottom of the lens I presume is some sort of adapter?

There is a button that seems to partially release it but it does not come off.

The second lens (underneath) in the pic was given to me by the same guy, it mentions "Canon TV Zoom lens" I presume this is a video lens?




Click on the pic for a bigger view...


Cheers for looking.
 
This is a very, very strange mount, and i'm used to see the most unusual things in this area.
I don't know what kind of adapter is this, but you really have to remove it to use the lens.

Canon TV lenses are indeed video lenses and can be transformed to use on rangefinder cameras.
 
Cheers for the info on the video lens.

I've had a bit of a search of t'internet and it seems to be Canon's c-mount.

The metal end on the macro is indeed an adapter, it took quite alot of force to get it off.... but its off.:thumbs:



I've ordered a cheap and cheerful ef adapter (no glass) from ebay and it should be good fun trying it out, many thanks again for everyone's help

Wonder what I can nail the tv lens onto now....:suspect:
 
The lens on the left is a regular Canon FD 200mm f/4 lens. It's not a macro.

The other one I'm reasonably sure is a TV/video lens, not intended for stills. But no idea what use it is.

Either way, as previously posted SRB-Giturn are very helpful and will know for sure just what can be done.
 
The lens on the left is a regular Canon FD 200mm f/4 lens. It's not a macro.

Are you sure? I just presumed because it said macro on it...




Last question OneTen mentioned a cheap FD-EOS converter off eBay, do I need one with AF Confirm? or is it unimportant?
 
The irrefutable way to establish which version it is would be to look at the filter/lens cap diameter. The old 200/4 telephoto was 55mm, the new telephoto was 52mm whilst the f/4 macro was 58mm.

Bob
 
The irrefutable way to establish which version it is would be to look at the filter/lens cap diameter. The old 200/4 telephoto was 55mm, the new telephoto was 52mm whilst the f/4 macro was 58mm.

Bob

Cheers for that Bob, its 58mm Sir.
 
Are you sure? I just presumed because it said macro on it...




Last question OneTen mentioned a cheap FD-EOS converter off eBay, do I need one with AF Confirm? or is it unimportant?

Sorry, I didn't notice that. Clearly it is a macro. I just don't recall a Canon 200mm macro, which is kind of unusual, so assumed it wasn't. Apologies.

This adapter is I think as good as you'll get in terms of camera functions, including infinity focus. http://www.srb-griturn.com/canon-fd-lenses-on-canon-eos-cameras-1204-p.asp But it needs a correction lens in it to achieve that, which means it costs £55 and adds 20% focal length, and will do nothing at all to improve image quality. On top of the very limited camera functions.

When you can get a super little lens like the EF-S 55-250 f/4-5.6 IS for under £200, that doesn't make much sense to me, but if you can get a plain (cheap) adapter, without the infinity corrector, it should make a great macro lens where a lot of auto functions are switched to manual anyway.

I don't think you will get AF Confirm (in the viewfinder) with any adapter. I have a set of fully manual extension tubes and when I fit those, thus cutting off all electronic communication with my 40D, the AF light is switched out.
 
Sorry, I didn't notice that. Clearly it is a macro. I just don't recall a Canon 200mm macro, which is kind of unusual, so assumed it wasn't. Apologies.

This adapter is I think as good as you'll get in terms of camera functions, including infinity focus. http://www.srb-griturn.com/canon-fd-lenses-on-canon-eos-cameras-1204-p.asp But it needs a correction lens in it to achieve that, which means it costs £55 and adds 20% focal length, and will do nothing at all to improve image quality. On top of the very limited camera functions.

When you can get a super little lens like the EF-S 55-250 f/4-5.6 IS for under £200, that doesn't make much sense to me, but if you can get a plain (cheap) adapter, without the infinity corrector, it should make a great macro lens where a lot of auto functions are switched to manual anyway.

I don't think you will get AF Confirm (in the viewfinder) with any adapter. I have a set of fully manual extension tubes and when I fit those, thus cutting off all electronic communication with my 40D, the AF light is switched out.

Cheers for that HoppyUK, I have ordered a cheapo one, the lens was free so if it works, it will be a bit of fun until I can justify a proper ef one.
 
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