Lens adapters for vintage lenses

[KDM Mods]

I have a Canon 70D and I’d really like to try a vintage lens. I really want a fast aperture lens. I was looking around and found a canon and nikkor 50mm f1.2. I’d really like a speed booster but I can’t find any. Are there and adapters that won’t take away from sharpness/the best one you can buy? I don’t want to break the bank.

Thanks guys!


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[petrochemist]

A speedbooster needs to move the lens physically closer to the sensor than it's unmodified mount. I'm not sure that's possible with 35mm SLR lenses on even an EF mount.

I suspect getting a f/1.2 on EF mount would break my bank, but f/1.4 isn't too bad price wise. I think I paid ~£150 for my PK mount 50mm f/1.4 and have seen them cheaper since. A f1.2 is currently on e-bay at £330.

EF mount is about the most adaptable DSLR lens mount, with (manual) adapters readily available for quite a few mounts including PK, M42, OM, C/Y, Nikon F...
Note Canon FD lenses can't focus to infinity without additional optics on EF bodies.

That should give you a few to select from, but do make sure the lens is f1:1.2 not f1:2 (the second being f/2).

 

[KDM Mods]

A speedbooster needs to move the lens physically closer to the sensor than it's unmodified mount. I'm not sure that's possible with 35mm SLR lenses on even an EF mount.

I suspect getting a f/1.2 on EF mount would break my bank, but f/1.4 isn't too bad price wise. I think I paid ~£150 for my PK mount 50mm f/1.4 and have seen them cheaper since. A f1.2 is currently on e-bay at £330.

EF mount is about the most adaptable DSLR lens mount, with (manual) adapters readily available for quite a few mounts including PK, M42, OM, C/Y, Nikon F...
Note Canon FD lenses can't focus to infinity without additional optics on EF bodies.

That should give you a few to select from, but do make sure the lens is f1:1.2 not f1:2 (the second being f/2).

Ok thank you for the info.


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[photoflyer]

It is fun to try but I quickly went back to the purpose built modern lenses. I found the results were not sharp (I worked really hard to get the focus right), the loss of a couple f stops was problematic and honestly the color, when compared to the modern lens, was subpar. A friend gave me four lenses he picked up at a garage sale, from a 35mm to an old zoom. They were good lenses, in the day, but simply not good on today's cameras.

That said, I would encourage you to do it. I don't recall what adapter I used and I am not home so I cannot get to it. I was about $35.00.

 

[TCampbell]

There have been adapters to convert FD lenses so they can be attached to EOS camera bodies... but these come with many caveats and the general consensus seems to be that it's not worth it.

A Canon EOS lens has a 44mm flange to focal-plane distance. A Canon FD lens is designed for a 42mm flange to focal-plane distance. So straight away, the lens is already a minimum of 2mm farther than intended. By the time the mount is converted, it may actually be a few millimeters farther. That means it is "as if" you've inserted an extension tube on the lens. Mounting it farther than the intended distance will shift the entire focus range closer (which is the whole point of an extension tube). There's a little wiggle-room on "infinity" focus but too much and the lens wont be able to focus to infinity (though I've never read this specific complaint).

Second, FD lenses are meant to be controlled via a mechanical interface between camera & lens (to control the aperture). Obviously nothing like this exists for an EOS camera body... so there's no aperture control from the camera. Fortunately FD lenses have the aperture ring on the lens barrel. But the mechanical interface includes a metal lever that extends out a bit from the back of the lens. There's no place for that to go on an EOS body. This means there's some disassembly and conversion involved.

I have not tried to convert any of my FD lenses from my AE-1 body, but from what I can tell, the lens conversion kit is specific to the lens (there's no universal adapter).

And lastly... the big drawback is the focus. These lenses don't have auto-focus but EOS bodies are optimized for auto-focus. Camera bodies that didn't include auto-focus had that nice big "split prism" focus aid in the viewfinder... that you don't have on modern cameras.

35mm film bodies had a nice large, bright viewfinder that made it easier to see and to auto-focus. The 70D is an APS-C camera. That means it has a physically smaller sensor and also a smaller viewfinder. This makes it a bit farther to achieve good auto-focus.

And lastly... modern lenses designed with the aid of computers tend to be sharper than the old lenses. Do not expect the old lenses to deliver the image quality that you can achieve with modern lenses. Sure... there are some modern lenses that are not-so-good (typically lenses designed with 'affordability' in mind don't have as many lens elements to optimize image quality) so it's possible to find an high-end old lens that outperforms a modern low-end lens... but even many modern low-end lenses are starting to produce pretty impressive results (the modern Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM is a good example... that's a pretty good lens considering it only costs about $125)

You can certainly try it if you want ... but keep the trade-offs in mind and be aware that many of those who have tried it came away concluded that it wasn't as good as they thought it would be and probably wouldn't do it again knowing what they know now.

 

[cabledawg]

There are adapters for FD lenses to EOS bodies but as mentioned before, you wont be able to focus to infinity unless the adapter has an optic and getting precise focus is sometimes a little difficult. I have an adapter with an optic that I use, but mostly with macro lenses as I dont have those in an EF/EF-S format and cant really afford them right now. Biggest issue I've had is that my optic, while made of glass, isnt of high quality and tends to cause some haze when shooting with bright light and I get a little vignetting depending on the lens I'm using. Take it out and the pics look pretty good. I've heard of someone removing the FD mount and replacing it with an EOS mount, but that requires someone with the knowledge and tools to work on camera lenses.