Lens Hacking: Canon FD to EOS!

The 35f2 with the radioactive glass was decent for the little bit I had one. The mount was loose so I sent it back to KEH for refund. That said, on my camera, the turd of the Mamiya 645 lenses called the 35f3.5 looks great on my camera in video mode (1080 and 24p or 30p). In video it seems to out perform my Zeiss Touit 32mm in the corners and visibly as sharp in the center with less moire everywhere. The FD 35f2 had decent resolution but more moire than the m645 35mm lens. I've also tested my m645 55f2.8 and 110f28 in video modes and both do a good job with low moire. Thankfully I had most of the m645 set already so only had to add the 35f3.5 and 45f2.8. Debating on adding the expensive 24f4 to my list as that would give me a slightly wide (APS-C sensor with 1.5 crop factor). Also considering a speed booster to gain back the wide end.

The reason I wanted the zoom is it is supposed to be parfocal, I'm not done messing with it but I need to get it open so I can clean the fungus out. Then I need to get infinity focus adjusted and then back focus so that it will again be parfocal. Not sure if the other FD zooms are really parfocal, none are listed as such when I do web searches. Figured a zoom would be handy for a few things as it would be normal to short telephoto or slight wide to slight telephoto with speed booster. So my fooling with FD lenses may be pretty short, the Mamiya 645 lenses are just working better for me right now and with the long flange distance should work on just about anything with an APS-C sensor or full frame sensor. Not sure if they will cover the new 65mm sensors but they might just clear the corners at some aspect ratios, ideally they are 56mmx42mm frames, need to calculate the image circle.
 
Today I went looking for a mount for a breach lock FD lens, I thought edmika had some, but he has no products listed on ebay right now. May have shut it all down for lack of interest (lack of sales) or some other reason.
 
Just saw that, and was a bit disappointed... finally getting the lenses in (had a 24mm F2 that looked wonderful, but had infinity focus issues - just decided to sell it off). Shooting primarily on the Contax 50mm 1.4 now, but find that the 85mm FD 1.8 seems to be a reasonably good match for the Contax... and the lens addiction has started :p (I mean, who doesn't want a matched set of Contax primes, and a matched set of FD, and... yeah)

Here's a quick grab from a short test I shot w/the A7s (very very minimal grading) and the FD 50mm F1.4 - definitely a solid lens! Looking forward to doing some 'real' shooting w/this lens kit in the near future!

Manual.jpg
 
Marty at fdtoef is still going and making changes. I just got a new design Saturday for a 24f2.8 so he should be able to help you out. Just buy the ones on his lists, they cover most of the new FD style that we would ever want. Tell him I sent you, maybe I'll get a discount on the next one.

My 15mm with his mount is great, way more accurate than most of the adapters you are probably using. Haven't tried the 24 with the new mount yet.
 
OK, so the next round of mounts from FDtoEF.com have arrived. Changed out my 135f2, 50f1.2, and 85f1.8 today. After the first set of mounts I talked to Marty and we discussed some options, pleased to see that the options have now made it into production.

#1 hard chrome plating

#2 a plastic filler to go between the mount and the rear lens element

Also made a big mistake on the 85mm, took out three screws that I thought were causing a problem, next thing I know there is a shower of tiny little ball bearings coming out. Thankfully not needed for the EF conversion, but a pain anyway. If you are doing the 85f1.8, don't unscrew the three tiny screw near the rear lens element, you don't need to remove them to take the FD mount off.



Here is what the new mounts look like (pictured is the 85mm f1.2 lens)



He said he is working on a few of the older style FD lenses, notably the FD 55f1.2 breach lock and would love to do the 85f1.2 but money to buy the lens is not always available. I would suggest that if you have a lens that isn't listed, you contact him and be prepared to send your lens to him to make a mount. I just sent him one of my broken nFD 35-105 f3.5 Macro zooms so that we can have a mount for this parfocal zoom. He already has the 20-35 f3.5 zoom listed.
 
I noticed one day on Amazon - cheap Canon FL/FD to Samsung NX adapters.

I still shoot film and have a darkroom - grabbed my 35 and 50mm 1960's era FLs. Really really nice on the NX1 at 4k. Bought a 100mm and found a screaming deal on a mint 19mm 3.5, legendary lens from 40 some years ago.

I gotta say - the 1960's glass on a modern sensor? Kind of luscious. Sort of "rembrandt-ey" color rendering. Not wildly unsaturated but kind of strange and special. I really need to grab a model and do some tests… now I need the 85, which isn't the same bargain most of the FL glass is.
 
The older FD and FL are built like tanks, should last nearly forever. If Marty gets enough of the breach lock adapted, I may move to the SSC coated series for everything.
 
This was quite the interesting thread to read through. Thanks for the initial post/daunting progress and thanks to whoever resurrected it 5 years later. Wish I were a diy god and could attempt this
 
The EFtoFD.com mount swaps are not challenging at all. You just need a couple very small screwdrivers and about 10 minutes of time. That's really all it takes with these mounts. I have one lens left, if I can make the repairs its needs, maybe I'll shoot a video of the entire process.
 
Just received a 135mm f2.5 and will be purchasing the conversion kit from here: https://edmika.com/

Just thought I should revive this thread to see if anyone else is still building an FD set and what recommendations they have. I am eyeing the 50mm f1.2 SSC and an 85mm f1.8 SSC.
 
I recently bought a mount for a 200f2.8 v1 from Edmika, having a bit of a problem getting the old mount off and no reply to the email I sent asking for tips. I'll figure it out eventually, but would be nice to get a response with any tips or to confirm what I suspect is the only way to get the old mount off.

If Marty has the mount you need, I'd go with FDtoEF every time, but his catalog of mounts is smaller than Edmika so you may need to go with that as an option. He does have some of the breach mount lenses now, and the 50 and 85 SSC might be the first that hes has done, you'll need to check his site http://fdtoef.com

If I do an SSC set, I may leave them as FD mount. The FD mount is a positive locking mount (no rotational play) where the EF always has a little play in the locking pin. If I could buy adapters that were positive locking EF, that would be a remedy, but I haven't seen them and I don'town any cameras that are high enough to include the positive locking EF mount.

I should probably mention that I have a mount coming from Marty for an FDn 20-35 parfocal zoom. Only primes I could really want are the 35mm and 20mm, te 35mm tends to have issues with the pins that ride in the focus helical, give a sloppy focus ring and the 20 has been more money than I want to spend for a kind of niche lens. My set so far is 15f2.8, 24f2.8, 50f1.2, 85f1.8, 135f2.8, 200f2.8, 35-105f3.5 parfocal, and 20-35f3.5 parfocal and all save the 200 have the metal FDtoEF mounts on them.
 
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Thing is I am using a BMPCC4K, and I really don't want to crop 1.9 into the image circle of the lenses. Even if they are plenty sharp, I have a 0.75 EF focal reducer which puts me right about S35.

Is it just me or FDtoEF site is down? The page is all messed up in my browser. I did shoot him a line but I haven't received a reply yet. Another benefit is that Edmika is a bit cheaper.
 
I talked to Marty yesterday about my most recent order. And yes the site is a mess, looks like the host may have updated something on him which broke the old way of doing things.

Yes the Edmika is a bit cheaper, you generally need to re-use the aperture actuator arm which gets pressed into the plastic. FDtoEF sends a new piece with the arm. Which is better I don't know but I like the metal mounts better. If you are going to do a full set of the f2 SSC lenses, then Edmika is mostly your only choice.
 
An update since I was able to get my 200f2.8 apart... Never did get any help from Edmika on the problems I was having. Got the mount swapped and working, but the iris control is not the best. Pressed the reused lever as far into the plastic bushing as I could (without breaking the plastic) and got everything assembled. Turned the iris ring and noticed that the iris now only moved about every 2/3 stops (or big jumps), the 1/3 stop no longer does anything. Pulled the mount back off, pressed even harder on the lever, got out a small mallet and tapped on the lever... Never really felt secure. Put it back together and still having the iris problem. There must be enough slop in the bushing to cause this issue and for the time being I'm stuck with this mount because FDtoEF does not make one for this lens. So while the Edmika are cheaper, I think the FDtoEF are worth the money. And no Marty hasn't given me anything for free, hasn't paid me, I've bought all of my mounts at normal purchase price. Being able to contrast both now that I have one of the Edmika, the FDtoEF mounts are worth the extra money (at least to me). And keep in mind that I have 3 generations of the FDtoEF mounts, second gen with bare aluminum, third gen with hard nickel plating over aluminum, and as soon as it arrives, fourth gen with hard anodized aluminum mount. He was making brass originally, but the price is so expensive that aluminum was the only way to keep going with a reasonable price. And the aluminum machines more easily so tooling prices are probably lower too.

Eventually I'll try to shim the 200f2.8 pieces to see if I can remove the slop and get the 1/3 movement back for the iris.
 
And by the way, you can get m43 to FD speed boosters from a couple of companies. I haven't tested them yet, but they would be what I would do to go FD on my m43 cameras. That would give you a locking mount so that when the adapter is locked to camera cage or rails, etc, the lens would be positively locked to the adapter. Just another thing to think about.
 
USLatin said:
Just received a 135mm f2.5 and will be purchasing the conversion kit from here: https://edmika.com/

Just thought I should revive this thread to see if anyone else is still building an FD set and what recommendations they have. I am eyeing the 50mm f1.2 SSC and an 85mm f1.8 SSC.
Click to expand...

FWIW I bought a 50mm 1.4 FDn new in about 1980. About 1992 while living in the U.K. I bought used 85mm 1.8 and 135mm 2.8, both FDn. These were all used on 35mm film cameras. In the last year I added a 24mm f2.0 FDn and a 35mm F2.0 breachlock and a Tamron 17mm f3.5 all from eBay. IMO the Tamron is the weakest, but really all the lenses are good. Also back in 1980 I got a Panagor macro adapter that goes between the 50mm and the camera body, goes to 1:1 magnification, does pretty well. Now I'd just get a maco lens off eBay.
 
Just a note on Edmika.com, and not a good one...

...I placed that order for the 135mm f2.5 and for the 55mm f1.2 back around my last post. I got confirmation and notice that it shipped. I waited. I waited some more... and even more... I sent emails to him asking for sings of life, saying I was willing to wait however long it would take since it was a good deal and not time critical. I asked every couple of weeks about 4 or 5 times... not a peep. I only wanted to make sure I would eventually get them. My requirements were as good as they could be, anything other than a scam would make me happy... not trying to trash him, so take the word scam with a grain of salt. I am only tying to state facts that may help others looking for the same product I am.

About a week ago I filed a claim with Paypal and just got my 2 x $75 refunded.

Just my 0.02
 
Are those the chrome nose FD, Marty has a bunch of mounts for those now, pretty sure he at least has the 55f1.2 made. Take a look on the fdtoef site and maybe drop him an email, worth the extra money in my opinion because the mounts are solid and the iris works properly. Focus always seems to be right on as well.

Everything in here except the 200 has one of his mounts installed, scroll until you find the picture of the case with lenses to see them http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?365173-Making-pick-and-pull-foam-cases-better/page2

I have a mount for the 35, but both my lenses have a lot of slop in the focus ring, so not in the case. Only other prime I might want would be the 20mm.
 
Wow! Just saw an update from Ed Mika on Faceboom. He posted the following back in October 18th 2019:

Hi this is Ed Mika. My wife and I are doing our best to train our son Kai to run the CNC mills. Beyond other factors It's been a struggle but we are making progress. All orders, including PayPal cancelled ones will be processed and mailed and those not cancelled will be offered our appreciation based consideration. I'm not certain if we will open up sales directly to public again but until we get back up to speed please reach out to SIMMOD LENS. Thanks to those many who have been very supportive, its helped on a very personal level. -Jakub Edward Mika
Click to expand...

Aparently his family had health issues. Not sure where he posted about that but that is what I gleamed from other comments. However, other coments are very discouraging painting a different picture. I replied to that post and I am awating a response. Hope I get mine! This 55mm silver nose has been staring at me since this whole thing began and I know he made amazing conversion kits. Man! Really hoping for this!

EDIT: ugh.. the website still says the shop has been closed until further notice...
 
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