CONVERTING TO DIGITAL

[mdni]

hi there,

I currently have a cannon slr EOS 30 with an EF28 -105 mm & EF70- 300 usm. and have been getting great images for the past 2 or 3 years.
however I am intreasted in going digital or at least partly digital as I won't sell the eos 30.

my question is this...if I buy an EOS 20d can I use my current lenses or do I need new lenses for the digital body??

 

[usayit]

Your lens are compatible with the 20D. There is a slight catch. The 20D's sensor is smaller than a 35mm frame which introduces a 1.6x factor to the focal lengths of your lenses.

 

[mdni]

so basically I can use my lenses but I now have a 1.6x factor.....emmm

so when buying a lens that will be 100% compatible to the 20d what do I look out for? I mean do lenses come in "digital type" ???
if so is there a new familly range or prefix to the model numbers???

 

[duncanp]

id reccomned using your current and getting a super wide angle around 10mm - 28mm which would give you a focal length of 16 - 44.6mm

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

Any Canon 'EF' lens will work on any EOS camera...film or digital. As mentioned, the 20D (along with a few other digital bodies) has a sensor smaller than 35mm film so there is a 'Crop factor'.

This is nice on the tele end because the lenses 'feel' longer on the digital bodies but not so nice on the wide end.

For this reason, Canon has introduced a few 'EF-S' lenses. They are ultra-wide but will only work on specific digital bodies. The kit lens with the 20D (& rebel XT) is 18-55mm...which is comparable to 28-88mm on a 35mm SLR. EF-S lenses are quite a bit less expensive than full frame lenses of that focal length.

Now the catch with the EF-S lenses is that they will not work on film bodies. Firstly, the image circle would not be big enough for the film and secondly, the rear element sticks into the camera too far and would keep the mirror from flipping up.

So one option would be to get a digital body with the EF-S lens for use on only that camera. You could still use other EF lenses on both film & digital. Another option would be to spend more on a wide lens...which would be normal/wide on the digital but really wide on the film body.

I've got a 20D and still carry my old EOS 650 around...from time to time. I've got a 24-70 zoom that I love on the film camera...it's still wider than the 18-55 kit lens on the 20D.

 

[JOAT]

Welcome to the forum.

Any Canon 'EF' lens will work on any EOS camera...film or digital. As mentioned, the 20D (along with a few other digital bodies) has a sensor smaller than 35mm film so there is a 'Crop factor'.

This is nice on the tele end because the lenses 'feel' longer on the digital bodies but not so nice on the wide end.

For this reason, Canon has introduced a few 'EF-S' lenses. They are ultra-wide but will only work on specific digital bodies. The kit lens with the 20D (& rebel XT) is 18-55mm...which is comparable to 28-88mm on a 35mm SLR. EF-S lenses are quite a bit less expensive than full frame lenses of that focal length.

Now the catch with the EF-S lenses is that they will not work on film bodies. Firstly, the image circle would not be big enough for the film and secondly, the rear element sticks into the camera too far and would keep the mirror from flipping up.

So one option would be to get a digital body with the EF-S lens for use on only that camera. You could still use other EF lenses on both film & digital. Another option would be to spend more on a wide lens...which would be normal/wide on the digital but really wide on the film body.

I've got a 20D and still carry my old EOS 650 around...from time to time. I've got a 24-70 zoom that I love on the film camera...it's still wider than the 18-55 kit lens on the 20D.

Couldn't have said it better myself

 

[Big Mike]

Thanks

I should also mention that other lens makers have lenses that will work on your EOS cameras. Some even have their own line of "digital only" lenses...the designations will vary. Some have lenses that they say are "optimized for digital" but will also work with your old film EOS.

Sigma & Tamron are two of the best '3rd party' lens makers. They do have some really good (and really bad) lenses...and they are often cheaper than equivalent Canon brand lenses.

 

[bobaab]

have a quick question about that...does that mean that when you are looking through the viewfinder, you see what the lense sees, but once the picture is taken, the picture will be a cropped version of what you saw? Am I understanding this right?

 

[Big Mike]

No, the viewfinders in the "crop factor" cameras have been made so that you see what the sensor sees (or about 95%) which is about standard for most SLR cameras.

In fact, when using a camera with a crop factor...you don't really even notice the difference. What you see is what you get.

The only time you see the difference, is if you take the same lens and put it on a 35mm film (or full frame digital) camera...then the field of view will be different. But if you don't compare the two...you might never know...and probably won't care.

The real reason why we warn people about this...is if they are used to what focal lengths are on a film SLR. 28mm on film is fairly wide, good for landscape or groups shots in a smaller room. 28mm on a 20D is just not very wide. Know what I mean?

 

[kemplefan]

film lenses will work realy well most companyeis make hi end film lenses insted of digital so it is somewaht of a mith that they dont work as well

 

[bobaab]

Thanks for clearing that up Mike. I guess this is a warning for those who are really used to film photography. If it's still "WYSIWYG" (what you see is what you get, pronounced "wizzee-wig" :mrgreen, then I'll be A-okay...