Digital body to film lens compatibility

[ecdraceofspaces]

Hello everyone,

I am in the process of doing research in order to buy a new digital SLR. I currently own an Older 1980's Canon with two lens, and one early 1980's Minolta with 2 Minolta lens and a Sigma 50 mm - 200 mm telephoto lens; and I am trying to upgrade to digital. At the moment I am torn between a Canon T3i or a Nikon D5100. I like both but I am veering towards the Nikon side because of their optical quality and I like the ergonomics a bit better. However, I am a broke college student and I need to stretch my money as much as I can

Hence I have a couple of questions. I have a 1980's Canon SLR with a couple of lens. I would like to know I would be able to use this lens with a newer Canon body, specifically the Canon T3i. I know the autofocus will not work as the lens from the camera I have do not have autofocus. I can post the exact Canon and lens model I currently own a later today if this information is needed.

The second question is regarding Nikon. I have read / heard rumors that Nikon digital bodies accept older lens, even as far as 1970's era lens. Is this true?


Thank you for your time.

 

[ann]

yes for Nikon. There are several bodies that have difficultly with AF, D40 comes to mind. Their website should be helpful .

Canon will vary as they changed the mount type years ago (don't remember just when, as I am not a Canon users).

You might check with Sony as they bought out Minolta and the older lens might work on the Sony. I have heard good things about the high end Alpha series of Sony DLSR

 

[o hey tyler]

Hello everyone,

Hi there!

I am in the process of doing research in order to buy a new digital SLR. I currently own an Older 1980's Canon with two lens, and one early 1980's Minolta with 2 Minolta lens and a Sigma 50 mm - 200 mm telephoto lens; and I am trying to upgrade to digital. At the moment I am torn between a Canon T3i or a Nikon D5100. I like both but I am veering towards the Nikon side because of their optical quality and I like the ergonomics a bit better. However, I am a broke college student and I need to stretch my money as much as I can

That depends on the lens. It sounds to me like the camera you have is one prior to the switch to EF mount lenses. It must be pre-1987. The Minolta lenses would work with a Sony DSLR, I believe. But I (personally) would not endorse purchasing a Sony DSLR or SLT over Canon or Nikon.

Hence I have a couple of questions. I have a 1980's Canon SLR with a couple of lens. I would like to know I would be able to use this lens with a newer Canon body, specifically the Canon T3i. I know the autofocus will not work as the lens from the camera I have do not have autofocus. I can post the exact Canon and lens model I currently own a later today if this information is needed.

You may be able to use the old lenses in Manual Focus if you can find an adapter. Amazon.com: Pro Optic Canon FD Lens to EOS Body Adapter with Correction Glass - Focuses to Infinity: Electronics

The second question is regarding Nikon. I have read / heard rumors that Nikon digital bodies accept older lens, even as far as 1970's era lens. Is this true?

Yes, this is true. But a lot of those lenses will not AF on the D5100 because it doesn't have an internal focus motor. The lenses that you'd purchase for that camera would be lenses that had a built in focusing motor. FWIW, I find manual focusing tough to do with a crop frame body.

Thank you for your time.

You're welcome!

 

[TheBiles]

Nikon is more expensive than Canon. Keep that in mind, broke college student.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

 

[ecdraceofspaces]

yes for Nikon. There are several bodies that have difficultly with AF, D40 comes to mind. Their website should be helpful .

Canon will vary as they changed the mount type years ago (don't remember just when, as I am not a Canon users).

You might check with Sony as they bought out Minolta and the older lens might work on the Sony. I have heard good things about the high end Alpha series of Sony DLSR

I recall reading something like that. I was under the assumption that Cannon changes their lens mount every 5 or 10 years so I wasn't sure. On the other hand, as much as I would like to be able to use my old Sigma telephoto with a DSLR I don't want to deal with Sony. I've had many bad experiences with them in the past and I am trying other companies nowadays.

That depends on the lens. It sounds to me like the camera you have is one prior to the switch to EF mount lenses. It must be pre-1987. The Minolta lenses would work with a Sony DSLR, I believe. But I (personally) would not endorse purchasing a Sony DSLR or SLT over Canon or Nikon.

Right, as much as the ALPHA series looks good on paper I don't think I'll trust Sony on this one. Both SLR cameras I own are definitely early to mid 1980's, so no autofocus on any of the lens.

You may be able to use the old lenses in Manual Focus if you can find an adapter. Amazon.com: Pro Optic Canon FD Lens to EOS Body Adapter with Correction Glass - Focuses to Infinity: Electronics

Thank you sir, this should definitely tip the balance on the Cannon side a bit for me.

Yes, this is true. But a lot of those lenses will not AF on the D5100 because it doesn't have an internal focus motor. The lenses that you'd purchase for that camera would be lenses that had a built in focusing motor. FWIW, I find manual focusing tough to do with a crop frame body.

Yeah, I figured as much in terms of AF. However, I've gotten used to the manual focus on my film SLRs, hopefully this doesn't become a huge problem with the crop sensor.

Nikon is more expensive than Canon. Keep that in mind, broke college student.

I wasn't about to go and spend a couple of paychecks on a brand new camera anyway. I am looking for refurbished or used around the $500 range with a stock lens kit, lowest ebay auction I've found is a bit under $500 for a used Nikon with stock lens. But I am taking my time, maybe I can even land one of those deal of the day sales on this.




Thank you for the prompt responses everyone. Incidentally I found a short article on lens compatibility for Nikon, Cannon, Pentax and Minolta. This is the link:

http://www.porters.com/LENS COMPATIBILE.pdf

Simple and straightforward.

 

[TheBiles]

I'm assuming you aren't always going to want to use the cheapest refurbished body with the cheapest kit lens, so you might want to keep that in mind. Just my two cents.

Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201

 

[belial]

Canon has only done the one significant mount change. Anything 1987 and newer will work with a dlsr canon.

 

[belial]

Try looking at the canon 40d. A good mid range dslr and only goes for about $400 or so. It is a bit dated and doesn't have the best ISO performance but it's still a much loved body with a good build quality

 

[dxqcanada]

Manual Focus Canon and Minolta lenses are not compatible with the current DSLR cameras.

Canon EOS (EF mount) and Minolta Maxxum (A mount) autofocus lenses are.

 

[KmH]

Canon has only done the one significant mount change. Anything 1987 and newer will work with a dlsr canon.

That is only partly correct.

Canon used their R-mount until they replaced it with their FL-mount in 1964. The FL was replaced by the FD-mount in 1971, and the FD was replaced by the EF-mount and EOS system in 1987. Canon introduced the EF-S mount in 2003 for it's entry-level (APS-C image sensors) line of DSLR cameras. EF-S lenses will not mount on Canon EF camera bodies.

The mid to late 1980's saw all except 2 SLR camera makers abandon their current lens mount to usher in auto focus. The 2 camera makers that did not abandon their lens mount in the 1980's were Nikon and Pentax.

 

[Solarflare]

As a Nikon D5100 user, I can only agree with the previous poster who said that autofocus is a pain. Definitely get AF-S lenses for the D5100, and likewise cameras, only. Anything else is masochism. I dont even get the enhanced field in the lifeview that I got on my old G11 where I could check if focus is correct. The viewfinder doesnt really help much either in this respect, its too small.

If money is an issue, I would suggest buying a used body instead of a current model. Technology of digital cameras progresses very fast, soon current models like the D5100 will be outdated again anyway. So rather go for something like the D60 instead.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

Unless you plan on spending thousands of dollars in lenses, it really doesn't matter what system you get. We're talking entry level products here. Differences between the two will be subtle at best and you would have to intentionally look in order to tell a difference.

 

[belial]

That is only partly correct.

Canon used their R-mount until they replaced it with their FL-mount in 1964. The FL was replaced by the FD-mount in 1971, and the FD was replaced by the EF-mount and EOS system in 1987. Canon introduced the EF-S mount in 2003 for it's entry-level (APS-C image sensors) line of DSLR cameras. EF-S lenses will not mount on Canon EF camera bodies.

The mid to late 1980's saw all except 2 SLR camera makers abandon their current lens mount to usher in auto focus. The 2 camera makers that did not abandon their lens mount in the 1980's were Nikon and Pentax.

I forgot about r mount. I believe fl lenses still mount on fd cameras you just don't get aperture control. At least if memory serves from my reading. Efs vs EF isn't a major problem. There's only two lenses wort getting EF s anyway. An uwa and a regular zoom and I'd tend to advise going third party if you feel you must have those sizes, to not waste too much on a lens you won't be able to use if you upgrade to full frame

 

[ecdraceofspades]

Well, after more than a month of research and checking I finally snagged a brand new Canon T3i kit for about $640; tax shipping and new 16GB card included. So far I am pretty happy with it and I just snagged a new Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Autofocus Lens for about $100, updated to Photoshop CS6 and ready to take on digital photography. I am going to sell my film SLR equipment on ebay hopefully I can get some money out of that.

Thank you everyone for your time.

 

[KirkS]

Congrats and enjoy it! I also recently switched from film to digital, and one thing I have trouble remembering, is there is an additional variable with digital that you didn't have with film; ISO. I can't tell you how many times after I took a shot that I remembered I could have changed the ISO. With film, it was set it and forget it until the next roll of film.

Also, with the older EF lenses, they will all fit, but some of the third party (Sigma, Tamron, etc.), won't autofocus or you may not have aperture control. Just an FYI.