old lenses and new cameras

[TommyF]

Just out of curiosity...I have a 35mm Canon EOS Rebel 2000 with the 18-58mm stock lens that it came with. I also have a 70-210mm lens that I dug up also made by Canon. Will these lenses work with DSLR's such as the Canon XTi or XSi?? I can get the bodies for between $250-$350 instead of spending $500 or more. Any information is greatly appreciated and as always..cheers.

 

[GFreg]

Well I can't speak for Canon because I never have owned or shot with them but with my Nikon D40 I currently have a 25 year old lens attached. You would have to check the specs on the camera and the lenses to see if the mounts are the same. You might lose some functionality, for example, my D40 doesn't have an auto-focus motor in the body so when I use an older lens I can't auto-focus. Just figured I would chime in since there are no other responses. Hopefully this helps a little bit.

 

[TommyF]

Cool thanks for the response. Much appreciated. Any Canon owners care to chime in?

 

[dyyylan]

check your manual, it should have a table of what lenses work and what functionality you'll be able to keep with it.

i have a 50mm f/1.4 and an old 70-200 f/2.8 for my nikon but i cant meter with them, for example (and they dont autofocus to begin with, heh)

 

[RancerDS]

The Canon EOS film SLR's use the EF mount. If you read the owner's manual for your new digital camera, you should see what lenses are suggested.

According to their site:
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTI

The camera uses EF and EF-S lenses on the standard EF-mount. So they will attach without a doubt. NOTE: Always take care in trying lenses from older cameras to place upon newer ones!

Mostly likely you will have TTL metering with no problems.

 

[TommyF]

Thanks for the info my friend. I dont have a digital SLR yet..still saving. As for a manual for my Canon Rebel 2000...heh....that thing has been long gone. Its been 3 kids, one marriage, and 5 deployments since that thing was new. My gosh, I bought that camera when my wife and I were still dating. That makes it about 13 years I think. Where does the time go?

 

[iolair]

I've got some older lenses with my new(er) Canon 20D.

Canon branded lenses from the EOS range should work on newer cameras with no problems at all.

I also have some Sigma branded old EF lenses, these have "issues" with the 20D :-(

 

[Dwig]

Canon film era EOS lenses use the same EF mount used today. Almost all Canon brand, as opposted to independent lens brands, will work with the current DSLRs. There may be a few that don't.

You do need to keep in mind that DSLRs, while they look like 35mm SLRs, do not all have the same size sensors. The most common are significantly smaller than a 35mm negative, being roughly the size of the old "half-frame" 35mm format. As a result, your lenses will seem "more telephoto" on the common DSLR than they do on film. When used on the common Canon DSLRs they will seem like lenses that were 1.6x longer than their actual focal length. As a result, an kit of film lenses that served well end up lacking any decent wide angle when used with the common DSLR. This difference is often referred to as the camera's "crop factor".

There are a few so called "full frame" DSLRs on the market abd Canon offers some. These are significantly more expensive, but had sensors roughly the same size as classic 35mm full frame film.

BTW, a Canon EOS Rebel 2000 would not have come with an 18-58mm lens. No lens of that FL range was made in EF mount. It more likely came with one of the several 28-80mm lenses that Canon offered.

 

[Dao]

Yes, I could not even locate the 18-58mm lens in Canon lens Museum site under EF.

As for the 70-210. If you are talking about this one.
Canon Camera Museum | Camera Hall - Lenses (EF Mount)

It should work and I used to own it. Of course there is another version of EF70-210mm from Canon that has a variable max apertures, and it should work as well.

 

[TommyF]

BTW, a Canon EOS Rebel 2000 would not have come with an 18-58mm lens. No lens of that FL range was made in EF mount. It more likely came with one of the several 28-80mm lenses that Canon offered.

My bad. You are correct. Anyway, so you are saying that my old 70mm-210mm lens would act like a 112mm-336mm lens on a DSLR? Wow. Thats a lot of lens.