Can I use these 35mm lenses with a digital camera?

[grant]

I'm looking to buy an entry level SLR digital camera. I found a bunch of my dad's 35mm gear and was wondering if I could use any of it for any of the cameras on the market. Heres what the lenses are:

1) Canon Lens FD 50mm 1:1.8 (is on a Canon AE-1)
2) Auto Vivitar Telephoto 135mm 1:2.8 No 28100757
3) Tamron SP 90mm 1:2.5
4) Rokin auto zoom 28-80mm 1:3.5 - 4.5 Macro (l)62 No 300705 MC (is on a Fujica st701)

How do I know if they're interchangeable at all? There doesn't seem to be a lot of information on the lens that tells you what it work with.

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

It depends on the mount that is on the back of the lens.
The Canon FD 50mm is not directly compatible with any modern cameras* because Canon changed their mount when they went to Auto focus cameras & lenses in 1988. If those other lenses fit onto that AE-1, then they would also have an FD mount...and thus would not be compatible. Although, the ones with 'auto' in the title make me think they might be Auto Focus lenses, which might be modern enough for a Digital SLR (DSLR) camera....but you would have to ascertain which mount they are, in order to know which cameras would be compatible.

*I should mention that you can get an adapter to use older lenses on modern cameras, but it's not really a good option so I don't recommend it....not unless you have some really spectacular older lenses.

 

[Steph]

Vivitar, Tamron and Rokin made lenses for various cameras. However if they all fit the AE-1 (FD mount), then none of them will fit any dSLR.

 

[grant]

No they don't all fit the AE-1

The
- Rokin auto zoom 28-80mm 1:3.5 - 4.5 Macro (l)62 No 300705 MC (is on a Fujica st701)
- Auto Vivitar Telephoto 135mm 1:2.8 No 28100757
both fit the Fujica st701 and just thread onto the camera

The Canon 50mm FD is on the AE-1...and from what your saying sounds like it won't work with Digital.

And then I'm not sure about the Tamron 90mm. Doesn't seem to fit either.

Does pretty much every company make their lenses to attach differently?

 

[Steph]

No they don't all fit the AE-1

The
- Rokin auto zoom 28-80mm 1:3.5 - 4.5 Macro (l)62 No 300705 MC (is on a Fujica st701)
- Auto Vivitar Telephoto 135mm 1:2.8 No 28100757
both fit the Fujica st701 and just thread onto the camera

The Canon 50mm FD is on the AE-1...and from what your saying sounds like it won't work with Digital.

And then I'm not sure about the Tamron 90mm. Doesn't seem to fit either.

Does pretty much every company make their lenses to attach differently?

The FD lens will NOT fit on any dSLRs (without adapters). The lenses for the Fujica are M42 screwmounts lenses and will NOT fit any dSLRs (without adapter).
Of course you could buy adapters to fit these lenses to a dSLR but you may loose some functions (such as metering and infinity focus) depending on the lens/camera/adapter combination.

 

[Big Mike]

Does pretty much every company make their lenses to attach differently?

Most camera companies use their own unique mount, although there are some that do (or did) use a more universal mount. The lens companies just make different mounts to match.

My advice is to look for a new DSLR based on it's own merits and don't worry about the lenses you already have. Get a good lens with the camera and shoot with that. It may be fun to see if you can get one or more of those other lenses to work with the camera, but I'd suggest doing that as a side project, for fun & experimentation, rather than trying to make those your primary lenses.

 

[tsaraleksi]

You should be able to purchase an M42 adaptor on ebay for only about $20 or so to let you mount the screwmount lenses on a dSLR. The FD lens is probably just not worth worrying about.

 

[grant]

Alright, thanks alot.