RainbowImaging adapter Canon FD -> m43 : will it work with new FD lens?

S

slyn4ice

Active member
Hey guys,

I just got my RainbowImaging Canon FD -> m43 adapter, from here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Adapter-Canon-F...54132?pt=Lens_Accessories&hash=item4a9dcd4034

I am planning to use it with an older Canon FD 50mm f1.4 SSC lens. Since this is my first time using Canon FD lenses and adapters in general, i wanted to poll the forum's knowledge pool.

From what I understand, there are a few different types of Canon FD lenses out there depending on the date of production. My question is: will my adapter work with all Canon FD lenses? Has anyone tried it?

I would really appreciate your help on this one (before I plunge and buy the lens).
Thanks!
 
hi slyn4ice...yeah the adapter you bought will work with all the older manual focus canon lenses, i'm 98% positive :smile:

the older canon lenses have three stages i think...

canon FL (i dont own any FL mount lenses but i'm pretty sure its just the very first canon lenses, not sure what the FL stands for but i sure its the same mount as the newer FD fit)

canon FD breech lock (breech lock refers to canon lenses with the silver lock ring at the rear of the lens that you have to turn to lock the lens onto the camera, in this case the lens onto the adapter, black lens, silver lock ring, orange writing)

canon FD bayonet (bayonet lenses are the all black lenses with green writing, you just insert them into the camera/adapter and turn them to lock just like the bayonet (dagger) on old war rifles)


yeah if your looking to buy try go for the SSC lenses, they have the lens coating that reduces any stray light that might bounce around inside the lens, think its called ghosting.

50mm 1.4 lots of people say this lens is a a must have for the GH1, i agree.
28mm 2.8 another easy to get lens with a wider field of view.
35mm 3.5 is one of my favourite lenses, its not a sought after lens or talked about much and its pretty slow but i like the look it gives, its a breech lock lens yet its very sharp and gives a really nice image, nice contrast, and its one of the cheaper FD's to get if your just starting out.

one thing to remember that shocked me when i first got an adapter for older manual lenses is that a 50mm lens becomes a 100mm lens on the GH1.

so when buying keep this in mind because you will have to double what ever number the lens is stated as.

you might know half of this already but i just kept typing :smile: hope it helps a bit friend
 
Ah, it helps a lot to hear it from others :) When you are on a tight budget it's better to make no mistakes :) Yeah, I also didn't realize for a long time that the 50mm turns into a 100mm, but after seeing some shots it didn't change my mind.

Thanks!
 
I have that adapter, it works perfectly well with all my old Canon FL and FD lenses. I prefer the more expensive FD-m43 adapter from eBay seller Cieco7 because it's a solid piece of aluminum and lacks the OPEN/CLOSE feature, but they both deliver identical optical performance when adapting manual Canon glass to my GF13.

One thing you need to pay close attention to is infinity focus, as the tolerances for these adapters varies a bit, as does that of the lenses themselves. You can't trust infinity focus to be nuts-on without double-checking it in the VF. Certain of my old Canons do nail infinity focus perfectly with either the Rainbow or the Cieco7, so sometimes you do get lucky. But do check it with your eyes first, you'll probably find the adapter lets the lens overshoot infinity focus just a bit.
 
yeah all my FD's seem to over shoot the infinite focus marker, it has done the same with the 2 adapters i've owned :smile: i don't tend to shoot that far away anyway.

and yeah if your not wanting to spend loads best doing some homework first, don't buy too cheap tho... as you progress you will end up having to re-buy a better example of the same lens.

hope to see your first FD video upload when you make your purchase :smile: it takes me back to a year ago when i was about to get my first manual lens ahhhhh good times :smile:
 
FD 50mm 1.4 was my first legacy lens from ebay. I love it. But it's a little hassle to put an adapter so I don't remove it from the lens.

I tried to collect a set of faster FDs such as 20mm 2.8, 28mm 2.0, 35mm 2.0, 50mm 1.4. But I was sorta late in the game. The street prices have gone up a lot and it's much harder to get good copies.
 
I have an 33 year old Canon FD 50mm f1.8 S.C. from an old AE-1. Its older than me! Hope to try it on the GH2 and see how it works soon!
 
Hey guys,

Just thought i should report my progress :) I got the RainbowImaging adapter plus a Canon fd 50mm f1.4 and a 70-210mm f4 (i couldn't stop myself it was very cheap and in excellent condition). I just ordered the 28mm S.C. f2.8 too. terra1, you were right - the 70-210mm overshoots infinity focus. It is actually veeeeery difficult to get nice focus especially in the extreme 210mm range. But hey - its a cheap superzoom that I can actually hold with one hand.

This is my first experience with manual primes so i was doing some experiments with them to figure out the sweet spot between sharpness and aperture.

Here it is:
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?238223-New-Canon-FD-50mm-sharpness-test

I am going to run the same test with the 28mm when it arrives.

Yay!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top