Using fd lens on eos cameras

artona

artona

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stewart
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Last Sunday we snapped up a Canon FD 50mm f1.4 from ebay. We then ordered a converter. The converter arrived on Tuesday but the lens has sat in Swindon for most of the week, a casualty of the postal strike.

It arrived 15 minutes after we left yesterday and is sitting in my neighbours house who left an hour before we got back last night and is out until after lunch today.

So how long is lunch Steve, when are you back, I want to try out the lens :bonk::bonk::bonk:

stew
 
artona said:
Last Sunday we snapped up a Canon FD 50mm f1.4 from ebay. We then ordered a converter. The converter arrived on Tuesday but the lens has sat in Swindon for most of the week, a casualty of the postal strike.

It arrived 15 minutes after we left yesterday and is sitting in my neighbours house who left an hour before we got back last night and is out until after lunch today.

So how long is lunch Steve, when are you back, I want to try out the lens :bonk::bonk::bonk:

stew
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I hate waiting, I'm so impatient, have you considered breaking and entering :clap:
 
b****r - it'll be worth the wait though. :thumbs:
 
I have a fd 50 f1.4 on my Canon A1, can you post some shots so I can see if it would be worth getting an adaptor also please ;)
 
Certainly will, once I get hold of it. I purchased the auto confirm adaptor. Can't quite work out why it needs glass in it though just to adapt the fitting. I am thinking that an extra piece of glass could make the quality suffer

stew
 
artona said:
Certainly will, once I get hold of it. I purchased the auto confirm adaptor. Can't quite work out why it needs glass in it though just to adapt the fitting. I am thinking that an extra piece of glass could make the quality suffer

stew
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I read this somewhere else:-

When it comes to adapting FD lenses to EOS cameras the key difference here is the lens register incompatibility. Adapters for Canon FD-mount lenses, including the two adapter models that Canon themselves sold at one point, must deal with this incompatibility somehow. Either they contain optics (glass lens elements) to compensate for the register difference and retain infinity focus or else they don’t contain optics and don’t retain infinity focus. There’s no way around this.

Here's a link to the full article

http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-manual-lenses/
 
I have a mint FD 50mm 1.4 I could have sold you if I'd known.
 
might still be interested. I have now received the lens but I think its siezed up. On the side of the lens is a silver button, press it and nothing happens. The iris just seems fixed mid way

stew
 
The only button I can see on mine is just a stud for a finger grip I suppose - it doesn't do anything.

3934573252_8ca46b9ee6_o.jpg
 
Got it working, it was me being too pamsy wamshical lol. However the quality is not good enough, looks like a fine haze over everything

stew
 
AJH748 said:
I read this somewhere else:-

When it comes to adapting FD lenses to EOS cameras the key difference here is the lens register incompatibility. Adapters for Canon FD-mount lenses, including the two adapter models that Canon themselves sold at one point, must deal with this incompatibility somehow. Either they contain optics (glass lens elements) to compensate for the register difference and retain infinity focus or else they don’t contain optics and don’t retain infinity focus. There’s no way around this.

Here's a link to the full article

http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-manual-lenses/
Click to expand...

thanks for the link, interesting stuff

stew
 
No probs - just to clarify -that stud is into the focusing collar and turns with it.
 
artona said:
You are right. Its a shame as the fd lens is as new and I bet without the adaptor it is pin sharp. I love the feel of these old lens

stew
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There are plenty of M42, older nikon-F, contax, leica R and olympus OM lenses that don't need an adapter with glass in it. Olympus, Nikkor and Zeiss 50 f/1.4 are quite highly rated. If you can get Leica R then even better. I can't be bothered with MF though.
 
CT said:
The only button I can see on mine is just a stud for a finger grip I suppose - it doesn't do anything.

3934573252_8ca46b9ee6_o.jpg
Click to expand...

I've got very vague memories of this button being something to do with flash exposure control. Could be wrong though.

Perhaps I am missing something, but what is the appeal of this lens on an EOS camera?
 
I've heard of people in the US machining the lens mount to obviate the need for an adapter and maintain infinity focus, but I've no idea of the costs, or if it is really worth it.
 
Hi MartynK

Too much playing for me. We are looking to take some extra photographers on and if the experiment had paid off it would have been great. There are some great looking FD lens available - 50mm f1.4 for £40 instead of over £200, 85mm f1.2 for under £400.


stew
 
artona said:
Hi MartynK

Too much playing for me. We are looking to take some extra photographers on and if the experiment had paid off it would have been great. There are some great looking FD lens available - 50mm f1.4 for £40 instead of over £200, 85mm f1.2 for under £400.


stew
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You're probably right, but there do seem to be a lot of enthusiasts in the US who are willing to spend money on this sort of thing. Converting Rokkor f1.2s is another popular idea.

I even read a thread somewhere by an engineer who managed to convert an old, manual, SLR body to digital, confounding the experts who said it was impossible. Of course, he did admit that it was a personal project, just to see if he could do it, and that it "sort of" worked in a rather clumsy way. Whatever. I like his sense of adventure!
 
artona said:
Hi

I have put the lens and adaptor up for sale

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=166030

stew
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Stew, I guess that is why these lenses are so cheap - ie, they don't work very well.

But if you wanted to use it for very shallow DoF portraits, 50mm and f/1.4 is good combination on a crop camera. What is the maximum focusing distance of this lens with a non-optical adapter? Might be workable for close-ish subjects and a bit of fun.
 
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