Greetings everyone. So, I'm planning to shoot a narrative next month and I will have canon 5D Mark III and 1DX. I have a set of old canon fd primes from 24mm-100mm and two zooms brand new 35-105mm (I ordered from eBay) and 80-200mm. I was planning to use them on the shoot and I got some questions. What is the best adapter that will work? Will lenses vignette? Is there anything specific I should know before using them on eos bodies? Stuff like that. Thank you.
Canon FD lenses on 5D Mark III or 1D X?
- Thread starter KMA_WWC
- Start date
Samuel H
Major Contributor
there are 3 kinds of FD to EOS adapters:
* standard adapter without built-in optics: the lens won't focus at infinity, it will become a macro-only lens
* standard adapter with built-in optics: I think everyone aggrees that they absolutely kill your lens (
* mount replacement: not easy to find, and they're usually designed only for one single model; I read recently about one that worked on severa models, but I can't recall where it was
in summary: FD to EOS is tricky, most people avoid it
* standard adapter without built-in optics: the lens won't focus at infinity, it will become a macro-only lens
* standard adapter with built-in optics: I think everyone aggrees that they absolutely kill your lens (
* mount replacement: not easy to find, and they're usually designed only for one single model; I read recently about one that worked on severa models, but I can't recall where it was
in summary: FD to EOS is tricky, most people avoid it
These are claimed to be good quality EF to FD adaptors http://www.thelensdoctor.co.uk/page14.html
He means kiling the quality of the lens..Not damaging it ubt pretty much producing useless or low quality results.
kostas
Well-known member
Canon FD lenses have a shorter back flange distance than EOS cameras. That is they need to sit closer to the sensor than they can on EOS cameras.
Even if you use a very thin adapter (if you manage to find one very thin) your lens will only focus up to some inches.
If you are up to serious work, the option of using FD glass with FD to EOS adapters with corrective optical element should also be excluded. The corrective element introduces a crop factor, halos, and glow (bluriness) that alter the optical quality of your lenses.
FD glass is nice if you have a Panasonic or a Sony, but on EOS you should opt for other type of glass. M42 lenses are the most common example, Olympus OM or Nikon are also good alternative options.
Even if you use a very thin adapter (if you manage to find one very thin) your lens will only focus up to some inches.
If you are up to serious work, the option of using FD glass with FD to EOS adapters with corrective optical element should also be excluded. The corrective element introduces a crop factor, halos, and glow (bluriness) that alter the optical quality of your lenses.
FD glass is nice if you have a Panasonic or a Sony, but on EOS you should opt for other type of glass. M42 lenses are the most common example, Olympus OM or Nikon are also good alternative options.
In which case you will not be able to focus to infinity & it is just a macro lens.
Another consideration if contemplating FD lenses on a EOS camera is that there is if I recall correctly an effective 1.3x magnification (or thereabouts) therefore a 50mm FD lens becomes an 80mm on an EF mount.
Samuel H
Major Contributor
No, those are the lens mount replacements I mentioned but couldn't recall where I'd read about. No glass to destroy image quality, and focal flange distance preserved so you get infinity focus. But they don't work on all lenses, and they're not cheap:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/ed_mika/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686
If you're buying lenses, I'd avoid FD-to-EF. But if you already have a set of FD lenses, this is the best way to get them working on your EF camera.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/ed_mika/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686
If you're buying lenses, I'd avoid FD-to-EF. But if you already have a set of FD lenses, this is the best way to get them working on your EF camera.
Hunter5117
Member
I just installed my first EdMika EF lens mount on my FDn 24mm f1.4 lens and I can not tell you how pleased I am with this lens mount. The process was very well documented on EdMika's Youtube videos for how to do the conversion. Nothing required any permanent damage to the FDn lens, assuming that I can figure out how to reassemble it if and when I might want to restore it to FDn mount. the first time disassembly of the lens and installing the new mount was a bit daunting but only ended up taking me about an hour using 2 phillips screwdrivers.
The brass mount furnished by EdMika is extremely high quality and maintains manual iris control, I even declicked the lens while I was at it. I had previously used FD to M4/3 adapters on my GH1 but was never happy with the amount of play introduced by the 2 lens mounts. This is now rock solid. Anyone who has an investment in legacy FDn glass and would like to use them on their EF mount bodies would be well served to give these a try.
The brass mount furnished by EdMika is extremely high quality and maintains manual iris control, I even declicked the lens while I was at it. I had previously used FD to M4/3 adapters on my GH1 but was never happy with the amount of play introduced by the 2 lens mounts. This is now rock solid. Anyone who has an investment in legacy FDn glass and would like to use them on their EF mount bodies would be well served to give these a try.
Lucas Adamson
Well-known member
I have to agree. EdMika conversion is the way to go. No adapters are up to the job - it requires mount conversion, and on the best and fast FDs it is worth the £100 cost, as the lenses are such good value to begin with. My 135mm f2 was my first - what a peach! I'm converting my whole FD prime set to EF over time.