Suggestion on Canon film SLR?

[Stormhammer]

Hello everyone. I've been going back and forth on another thread here I posted a week or two back about film and all its caveats, and wanted to get some suggestions on a nice used film SLR. I want to eventually get a Canon DSLR as well, and I know the lenses are interchangeable between them, plus I've always been a fan of the Canons I have used in the past.

I'm not sure what any of the great ones are as far as film goes, but I have had my eye on an A-1 for a while. Love the looks of it and from what I've been able to dig up through Google searches, seems to be a good camera and not suffer from some of the same issues I have heard the AE-1 suffers from. With that being said, can anyone recommend any other good models and what I may want to look for when getting one other than potentially replacing light seals and whatnot?

 

[Derrel]

Canon manual focus lenses are not interchangeable with the lenses for Canon's EF mount cameras. Older film cameras like the A-1 35mm SLR use the older-type, manual focus lenses, while newer, AF Canon cameras that are part of the EOS system use the "EF" mount.

I dunno...the inexpensive AF 35mm film SLRs, like the low-cost Rebel-series models, are not all that bad, and can be had very affordably these days. I bought a Rebel XT 35mm AF film SLR with a Sigma 70-210 zoom for $19 a couple years ago.

And as far as lenses being interchangeable: a good number of that era's Sigma 35mm SLR AF lenses are *not* compatible with Canon d-slrs. The Sigma 70-210 I got works great on the film Rebel XT, but it will NOT work reliably on my Canon 20D nor on my 5D...it locks up either of those DSLR cameras about every fourth shot.

Bad foam on the back seals, and fungus inside lenses, and bad battery contacts (corroded contacts) are the biggest issues on 30- to 40-year-old electronic-shuttered film cameras. SO are non-working shutters, sticky diaphragm actuation mechanisms, and broken light metering systems.

 

[Stormhammer]

Hey Derrel. I also looked into those Nikon F100's you mentioned, but I couldn't find any in my price range. They all seemed to be rather expensive, at least from what I found. I was trying to stick to Canon as well because I was under the impression the lenses were interchangeable but since they aren't, I guess it doesn't really matter which brand I go with. I'd like to stay under $200 if possible, but I'd be willing to spend a little more on something that's in good shape with a lens and not just the body.

 

[limr]

Well, if you are opening it up to other brands, Pentax has better compatibility with legacy lenses than either Canon or Nikon. Plus, you pay less of a price premium and will end up with more camera for less money for both film and digital. You could likely get a nice Pentax film SLR set-up for less than $200, depending on what you wanted. A basic K1000 with a few lenses? Definitely below $200.

 

[john.margetts]

I was trying to stick to Canon as well because I was under the impression the lenses were interchangeable but since they aren't, I guess it doesn't really matter which brand I go with. I'd like to stay under $200 if possible, but I'd be willing to spend a little more on something that's in good shape with a lens and not just the body.

Canon EOS film cameras are compatible with digital EOS camera lenses - but not entirely. My 50 mm f/1.8 lens works well with both film and digital EOS cameras but my brand new Sigma 159-600 C lens comes with a warning that it is not usable on a film EOS camera.

 

[TCampbell]

Hello everyone. I've been going back and forth on another thread here I posted a week or two back about film and all its caveats, and wanted to get some suggestions on a nice used film SLR. I want to eventually get a Canon DSLR as well, and I know the lenses are interchangeable between them, plus I've always been a fan of the Canons I have used in the past.

I'm not sure what any of the great ones are as far as film goes, but I have had my eye on an A-1 for a while. Love the looks of it and from what I've been able to dig up through Google searches, seems to be a good camera and not suffer from some of the same issues I have heard the AE-1 suffers from. With that being said, can anyone recommend any other good models and what I may want to look for when getting one other than potentially replacing light seals and whatnot?

The A-1 and AE-1 lenses (Canon FD lenses) are not compatible with Canon EOS cameras. I have an AE-1 and it still works great (they eventually develop a 'squeak' when you take a shot but can be lubricated to solve that problem (mine did eventually develop that problem and a drop of clock oil on the right spot solved it.)

To share lenses between the film and digital bodies, both bodies must be Canon "EOS" bodies. Also... with digital cameras, came sensors which were physically smaller than a single frame of 35mm film. It turns out you can make a high quality lens which is smaller, lighter, and more affordable when the lens doesn't have to provide a large image. This is where the Canon EOS "EF-S" series of lens come frame (the "S" stands for "Short back-focus" and these lenses are designed for use exclusively on cameras with APS-C sized sensors.) Canon also makes EOS "EF-M" lenses (designed for use only on their "mirrorless" cameras). But their EOS "EF" lenses (no suffix) are compatible across the line and can be used on any camera. Canon also makes a few special-purposes lenses such as the tilt-shift series "TS-E" and the speciality extreme macro "MP-E" lenses -- which can be used with any EOS camera (film or digital).

So if you want to get a film camera from Canon, make sure it's an "EOS" film camera. Also if you get a digital EOS camera, only the "EF" lenses will be interchangeable between bodies. (A film camera can be thought of as a "full frame" body).

 

[Derrel]

Canon 35mm film series the EOS Rebel X- series is inexpensive yet has nice features. I got a film EOS Rebel X- something or other for $30 with a Sigma 70-210 F/4~5.6 zoom! It's packed away somewhere right now. Cheap camera, yet has everything you need, and uses EF lenses

 

[Light Guru]

Don't limit yourself to DSLR cameras that have the same lens mount as old film cameras.

You can always get adapter rings to use other old lens mounts on newer DSLR bodies. So don't.

I have an adapter that lets me use old Pentax k mount lenses on canon cameras.

 

[cabledawg]

Old Canon FD lenses can be easily adapted to newer EF-S bodies. With most adapters, you'll lose infinity focus. I've read elsewhere that there are some adapters that will compensate for the lens to sensor distance and get you close to infinity focus but I've not used one. Only advice for that is to stay away from those with plastic inserts versus glass inserts. The one I have has a "Lock" position that will set the aperture at whatever f-stop is on the lens ring. The camera will still function in manual mode but wont display nor allow adjustment of the aperture.

I have found adapters that will let you use EF-S lenses on the old FD cameras but they're expensive. Basically there is a controller for the aperture and AF is disabled by default. Havent seen one in awhile so I dont think they were all that popular.

 

[davidharmier60]

I have and really like an EOS650.
Because of it and the lenses I have I plan to get a 40D DSLR.

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[jcdeboever]

@Stormhammer If your going back and forth from film to DSLR, I would suggest a Canon EOS 30V / 7Ns / Elan 7NE. All the same model, just depends on where you live. They take the same glass. I should have grabbed one when I had the chance (thrift store) but didn't have any glass for it.

 

[davidharmier60]

If that was directed at me I was sold on the 40D by the toughness of it. I'm about to see if any of my lenses are AF-S.

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[jcdeboever]

If that was directed at me I was sold on the 40D by the toughness of it. I'm about to see if any of my lenses are AF-S.

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Nope to OP. The Canon I mentioned was really a solid camera, it felt well made. I seen a video on it and it was impressive.

 

[goodguy]

I have both the A-1 and AE-1, both in excellent working condition, got them for display purposes only, gorgeous design cameras!

 

[benhasajeep]

If you are looking for cross compatibility between older film manual focus and new digital cameras. Nikon and Pentax are the way to go. Any Nikon Ai lens will mount and work to some degree on Nikon digitals. They also work on Nikon AF bodies. F100 is a good body. N90s is a good body. Even 8008's are decent AF bodies (I have all 3). The F100 will have additional capability for some of the newer lenses made today. I have MF lenses that I use on my digital bodies. The better bodies allow you to enter the lens information and gives you some automation.

Pentax and their K mount is similar. You can use their old MF K lenses on the new bodies, of course manual focus only.

Just as a side note, older Nikon lenses adapt to new Canon bodies easier than older Canon FD lenses. With Nikon lenses on Canon, you only need a fairly inexpensive metal adapter about $15. It does not require a lens element or crop factor to reach infinity focus like a Canon FD to EF mount adapter does to achieve infinity focus.