Using Canon FD Lenses on Modern DSLRs
Using Canon FD lenses on modern Canon DSLRs - Can you do it?
Q.
I have a Canon AE-1 camera that uses FD mount lenses. I would like to buy a digital SLR camera that uses the same mount. Do I have any options that would allow me to use these lenses since I have 4 lenses and would like to continue to use them?
A.
B + H Video do an adapter that will work. It increases the focal length by 1.25x and you lose an F-stop. The optical quality of your lens may suffer a little too. However, it may be worth the sacrifice to continue using your lenses?
Use a tripod, smaller f-stops and expose well and I recon you would get away with it.
Q.
Could you explain the difference in FD and EF lenses please?
A.
No-one makes cameras to fit those lenses anymore unfortunately. The FD lens was a manual focus lens made for Canon by Canon. his was back when things were a lot simpler, great lenses though. The EF system came out to match advancing autofocus technology when cameras became electronic.
The EF lenses were one of the first breed of fast autofocus lenses designed to work with the EOS system.
If you do buy an adapter, make sure it is compatible. There have been a couple of stories of the wrong ones "frying" the electronics of modern DSLR’s. Maybe think about buying a cheaper EF zoom lens such as the EF 28-135mm...a great lens!
Q.
Will the flash and filters from my AE-1 fit a new Canon DSLR camera?
A.
The flash should do. However, it may not be fully compatible (i.e, E-TTL) like the modern speedlight. It should still work ok though, especially in manual. The filters will fit whatever thread size they are. I.e. If the filter is a 52mm thread and so is the lens, it will be fine.