Do Canon FD Mount Lenses Work on 5D MKII?

[wgp1987]

I was at my friends house the other day and his mom showed me a bunch of her old Canon FD mount lenses from her old 35mm camera. She had some decent glass that i would really be interested in but i am unable to get her lenses and my camera in the same place at the same time. Does anyone know if they would work on my camera and if not is there an adapter so they could? Also just so i know can they be adapted onto the ef-s mount for aps-c cameras?

 

[icassell]

Nope ... Canon FD lenses will not work on the EF or EF-S mount cameras. There are older lenses that can be adapted and used as MF on your 5D (like Nikon mounts), but NOT the older Canon ones. Darrel has experience with this stuff.

 

[KmH]

From Wikipedia:

[edit] Using FD lenses on other mounts

The 42mm flange focal distance of the FD mount is shorter than that of most other lens mounts. This means that it is impossible to mount an FD lens on most other types of cameras using an adapter, unless the adapter contains corrective optics or the ability to focus at infinity is sacrificed. (A notable exception is that Canon FD lenses can be mounted on Canon rangefinder cameras or other Leica screw mount cameras using the Canon lens mount adapter 'B', but rangefinder-coupled focusing is lost.)
Following the introduction of the EOS camera line, Canon briefly marketed an adapter which enabled FD telephoto lenses to be used on EOS bodies. The adapter contained high-quality corrective optics and functioned as a mild tele-converter; it could not be used on normal and wide-angle lenses. The adapter was produced in limited numbers, with the intent of easing the initial cost of conversion for professional users with expensive FD telephoto lenses. These adapters are now scarce and highly valued, selling for around $1000 on the second-hand market. (The original 'new' price was $250). Other inexpensive aftermarket FD to EOS adapters are available and can be used at the cost of greatly reduced image quality, particularly at large apertures.[6]
Mechanically skilled photographers and technicians have successfully retrofitted FD lenses with alternative mounts, including the EOS mount.[7]

 

[Big Mike]

Easy answer: No, they are not compatible.

Longer answer: The mount is different, so they won't even connect to any EOS camera. Canon completely changed it's mounting system when they went from manual focus cameras & FD lenses, to Auto Focus cameras (EOS) and EF lenses (eventually EF-S lenses as well).
There are adapters that you can use, that will allow you to mount FD lenses onto EOS cameras. The cheap ones probably don't have any glass in them, which means that you won't be able to focus the lens to infinity....so not very useful.
There are some that do have a lens element in them, which should allow them to focus all the way to infinity. The problem being that the quality of the glass element may not be up to par, thus giving you inferior image quality.
Canon did make some adapters, but they were never sold to the public, only pro photographers who had a lot of gear and were pissed off when Canon switched the lens mount. They can still be found but they aren't cheap. I've heard that there may be some decent quality off-brand adapters floating around, but I don't know much about them.

Obviously you would have to manually focus the lens, but there is also the issue of metering. The camera is used to controlling the aperture of the lens, electronically...so you may need to use a work-around for metering and setting the aperture on the lens.

The usual advice is that unless you have some really, really good FD lenses...it's just not worth the hassle to use them on an EOS camera.

 

[wgp1987]

Easy answer: No, they are not compatible.

Longer answer: The mount is different, so they won't even connect to any EOS camera. Canon completely changed it's mounting system when they went from manual focus cameras & FD lenses, to Auto Focus cameras (EOS) and EF lenses (eventually EF-S lenses as well).
There are adapters that you can use, that will allow you to mount FD lenses onto EOS cameras. The cheap ones probably don't have any glass in them, which means that you won't be able to focus the lens to infinity....so not very useful.
There are some that do have a lens element in them, which should allow them to focus all the way to infinity. The problem being that the quality of the glass element may not be up to par, thus giving you inferior image quality.
Canon did make some adapters, but they were never sold to the public, only pro photographers who had a lot of gear and were pissed off when Canon switched the lens mount. They can still be found but they aren't cheap. I've heard that there may be some decent quality off-brand adapters floating around, but I don't know much about them.

Obviously you would have to manually focus the lens, but there is also the issue of metering. The camera is used to controlling the aperture of the lens, electronically...so you may need to use a work-around for metering and setting the aperture on the lens.

The usual advice is that unless you have some really, really good FD lenses...it's just not worth the hassle to use them on an EOS camera.

From Wikipedia:

[edit] Using FD lenses on other mounts

The 42mm flange focal distance of the FD mount is shorter than that of most other lens mounts. This means that it is impossible to mount an FD lens on most other types of cameras using an adapter, unless the adapter contains corrective optics or the ability to focus at infinity is sacrificed. (A notable exception is that Canon FD lenses can be mounted on Canon rangefinder cameras or other Leica screw mount cameras using the Canon lens mount adapter 'B', but rangefinder-coupled focusing is lost.)
Following the introduction of the EOS camera line, Canon briefly marketed an adapter which enabled FD telephoto lenses to be used on EOS bodies. The adapter contained high-quality corrective optics and functioned as a mild tele-converter; it could not be used on normal and wide-angle lenses. The adapter was produced in limited numbers, with the intent of easing the initial cost of conversion for professional users with expensive FD telephoto lenses. These adapters are now scarce and highly valued, selling for around $1000 on the second-hand market. (The original 'new' price was $250). Other inexpensive aftermarket FD to EOS adapters are available and can be used at the cost of greatly reduced image quality, particularly at large apertures.[6]
Mechanically skilled photographers and technicians have successfully retrofitted FD lenses with alternative mounts, including the EOS mount.[7]

Nope ... Canon FD lenses will not work on the EF or EF-S mount cameras. There are older lenses that can be adapted and used as MF on your 5D (like Nikon mounts), but NOT the older Canon ones. Darrel has experience with this stuff.

that really, really, really ..... sucks

 

[KmH]

that really, really, really ..... sucks

That all happened in 1987. Nikon hasn't changed their mount since late 1959.

 

[Dao]

Take a look at this.
Canon EOS lens Adapters - Manual focus lenses on Canon EOS bodies

 

[Big Mike]

That all happened in 1987. Nikon hasn't changed their mount since late 1959.

It was bad for Canon users in 1987, but it finally started to catch up to Nikon recently when they stopped putting AF motors into their entry level DSLR cameras. But being able to at least mount their lenses from as far back as 1950, is pretty cool.

 

[mog]

@wgp1987

If you want to take manual focus portraits, do macro photography or use a Telephoto lens for (non-flight) wildlife photography then the FD Canon lenses are a bargain. You do not require infinity focus. Buy an ebay EOS/FD adaptor, remove the corrective glass (I had to break glass on one adaptor), then fit to your 5D2. Without the bad corrective glass fitted to most adaptors, the FD lens will work perfectly for manual focus. Use live view x10 for precise manual focusing (no mirror shake). Used like this the FD lens won't focus on distant objects, but it's not required for portraiture or macro anyway.

Metering? I soon got to know what settings are required for my lenses. In live view the results are obvious anyway! If you are going for a shallow DOF then leave lens wide and just adjust the shutter speed. If you're not on a tripod and can't hold the shot turn up the ISO a click.

There are some really great pro lenses out there for cheap. The only problem is now the micro 4/3ds guys have realised they can use them (with glass-free adaptors) so prices are going up on ebay. I bought some great Pro FD lenses from an old-style camera store

 

[Petraio Prime]

I was at my friends house the other day and his mom showed me a bunch of her old Canon FD mount lenses from her old 35mm camera. She had some decent glass that i would really be interested in but i am unable to get her lenses and my camera in the same place at the same time. Does anyone know if they would work on my camera and if not is there an adapter so they could? Also just so i know can they be adapted onto the ef-s mount for aps-c cameras?

No, incompatible.

 

[mog]

I was at my friends house the other day and his mom showed me a bunch of her old Canon FD mount lenses from her old 35mm camera. She had some decent glass that i would really be interested in but i am unable to get her lenses and my camera in the same place at the same time. Does anyone know if they would work on my camera and if not is there an adapter so they could? Also just so i know can they be adapted onto the ef-s mount for aps-c cameras?

No, incompatible.

So what is this?

Just have a look on ebay for "FD Adaptor" and you will find adaptors for Canon 550D 500D 50D 40D 60D ... and many others

 

[Petraio Prime]

I was at my friends house the other day and his mom showed me a bunch of her old Canon FD mount lenses from her old 35mm camera. She had some decent glass that i would really be interested in but i am unable to get her lenses and my camera in the same place at the same time. Does anyone know if they would work on my camera and if not is there an adapter so they could? Also just so i know can they be adapted onto the ef-s mount for aps-c cameras?

No, incompatible.

So what is this?

Just have a look on ebay for "FD Adaptor" and you will find adaptors for Canon 550D 500D 50D 40D 60D ... and many others

They may 'fit' but they won't 'work'

 

[mog]

The OP wanted to know if he could use FD lenses on his Canon 5D2. I have done so.

If you use adaptors with glass in the result is similar to using a poor TC. If you take the adaptor's optic out, you have a fine lens for work where you are not focusing on infinity (up to around 30m in my case). If you don't have thousands to spend on new Canon lenses it's a useful solution, especially for macro and telephoto work (where new lenses are very expensive).

I saw some cut-and-paste answers which, while maybe technically correct, give the impression that FD is unusable. FD lenses are very usable on modern DSLRs. I found the results to be much better than I expected, esp for portrait and macro. If the OP can buy FD lenses in a private sale situation, he could buy a superior lens at a bargain price. For the price of a few cheap adaptors, I'm encouraging the OP to have a try.

 

[usayit]

Unless there is a specific interest in adapting older manual lenses, most photographers will end up frustrated and better off buying the appropriate modern lenses for the system. Other than myself, I have yet to meet anyone in person who said that it was a worth while effort. This is with appropriately adapted lenses.

The returns are even less when you are "forcing" a lens to a body via a "poor" method that essentially is like using extension tubes. If you intend to use zooms, the advantages are even less... as older zooms from the mid-80s and prior are poor performers when compared to present modern day zooms (and I'm not talking about high end "L" lenses either).

 

[WhiteSoul8]

If they are free, TAKE THE GLASS! I REPEAT!! TAKE THE GLASS!


And then buy a Canon AE-1 from ebay for $50, and you just set yourself up nicely =)