Other lens to EOS adapters and lenses

[WetMogwai]

I find myself lately wanting to use lenses with manual focus and manual aperture on my EOS cameras. This is mainly to simplify full manual operation on cameras where the shutter speed and aperture use the same control.

I understand that the FD-EF adapter is only useful with some of the telephoto lenses. I want something that allows use with both wide angle and telephoto lenses, possibly with zoom, though that is not important. Ideally, I'd like to be able to use this system on both my older 35mm cameras and my current model D... camera.

I'm most interested in starting off with just a few lenses. I'd like something wide, around 18-28mm, a fast 50mm, and something around 85mm. I may want to add more later, like something around 200-300mm, but I can usually walk, so long lenses aren't terribly important.

I have two problems with this project. First of all, I'm on a tight budget. The cheaper this can be done, the better. The second problem is that I don't know where to start. I'm unfamiliar with non-Canon lens systems. What would be the best system to look at?

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

M42 lenses and Tamron Adaptall lenses are two options. The Tamron SP lenses are generally the better ones, and most are pretty good, some, like the SP 90/2.5 are excellent. There have been lots of M42 (Pentax screwmount) lenses made, and some are great and some not so much. Zeiss sells some new lenses in M42 (ZS) mount, but they aren't cheap. They also have ZE mount lenses for EOS, but those are even less cheap.

 

[Dennis S]

I use both M42 and I found a good Tamron BBAR lens (35-210mm f/3.5) that I use on my EOS cameras,,, Elan IIe & 7e. As far as the FD-EOS (EF) adapters you have to look through more glass or loose the infinity focus, I have both adapters that get very little usage. For what you loose it is easier sticking to the A,F or T body Canons for your FD lenses.

 

[TimmyMac]

Easiest is of course M42; you can get a direct adapter.

Minolta MC is pretty easy if you're willing to permanently convert the lens.

But why not just get a manual focus body? Note that you have to stop the lens down by hand after you focus with EOS bodies using manual lenses. It's surprisingly annoying and it's a big part of why I quit bothering with converting my Minoltas and got an XD11. You also get the benefit of a (much) better focusing screen for MF work.

 

[2F/2F]

You can also put Nikon lenses on an EOS body. I used to do it quite often, and still would if my adapter had not broken. Putting pre-AI Nikon glass on my 10D has resulted in some of my favorite digital images I have ever taken. The look of this glass is very unique, and one of the great things about digital is how quick it is to compare the results of different lenses, so you can really see that it is all about the glass. Adapting lenses is one of the best ways to exercise finely detailed control of your pictures. I do it, but I should do it more often. Canon FD bodies are among the best for adapting lenses to, as the bodies are so shallow compared to most. There are fewer options with EOS bodies (and most other cameras, for that matter). You lose all of your automation when adapting anyhow (the stuff that might make one choose EOS over FD), so may as well just get a cheap FD body as a base for adapting multiple lenses to.

 

[daveandiputra]

I just bought a cheap nikon F to EOS adapter, it roughly cost me US$15, nikon manual focus lens are easily found, and i think the quality will be excellent even on the cheaper E series lens..
although i have no way to compare it to more expensive adapter it looks like that it is nicely made..

 

[Andy38]

I also used Nikon pre-AI and AI(S) lenses for my Eos's (film and digital).
The adapters have focus confirmation that works well, because of my poor eye-sight; and it helps perfectly for macro.

With Tamron SP lenses, I used 2 adapters : first one for Nikon on SP lens, then the other seen above, on the first...

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

The original Tamron Adaptall II mount for EOS is fairly rare, I assume because Tamron only made it briefly before introducing their own autofocus lenses with the EF mount, but it's a solid metal adapter with no moving parts, and therefore easy to duplicate, so there are Chinese copies available on eBay for cheap.

 

[Karl K]

The cheapest option is....

... old T-mount manual lenses, which can be bought for a few dollars, literally.
Add a cheap $20 T-mount-to-EOS adapter and you're good to go.

 

[6x9]

...I'd like something wide, around 18-28mm, a fast 50mm, and something around 85mm. I may want to add more later, like something around 200-300mm, but I can usually walk, so long lenses aren't terribly important....

Try a Tamron 17mm f/3.5. Probably the best bang for your buck ultra-wide. Or Maybe the OM wides like the 21mm.
It is hard to find a bad 50mm but if you want fast, any of the Nikon f/1.2s, the Pentax f/1.2s or a Cosina 55mm f/1.2. There was plenty of 50/1.4s out that you can find cheap.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Try a Tamron 17mm f/3.5. Probably the best bang for your buck ultra-wide.

I have that one. Not a bad lens. The earlier version has built-in filters. The later version requires a slip-on hood that is often missing (I don't have it) with threads on the front to take filters. I don't think they are very different optically, though the one with the built-in filters should include the filter in the design.

 

[WetMogwai]

Thanks for all the help. Hopefully I can get a good set of lenses soon. I was admiring Nikon's ability to use old lenses on new cameras last night. My friend had a D-something with a bag full of old lenses. Only one had an automatic aperture. I wish Canon was that versatile natively.

 

[naaldvoerder]

I think you can put virtually anything on the EOS lens mount, Contax, Leica, Nikon. Have a look here;

http://www.cameraquest.com/adaptnew.htm

Jaap Jan

 

[brucemuir]

Thanks for all the help. Hopefully I can get a good set of lenses soon. I was admiring Nikon's ability to use old lenses on new cameras last night. My friend had a D-something with a bag full of old lenses. Only one had an automatic aperture. I wish Canon was that versatile natively.

EOS is waaaay more versatile regarding lens adaptation than Nikon F mount.
You can mount any F mount lens on EOS with the correct adapter.
Not to mention Contax C/Y, Rokkor, and many others.

You CANNOT mount older Canon manual focus lenses to EOS without an adapter than employs a glass element so it defeats the purpose.

 

[TimmyMac]

EOS is waaaay more versatile regarding lens adaptation than Nikon F mount.
You can mount any F mount lens on EOS with the correct adapter.
Not to mention Contax C/Y, Rokkor, and many others.

You CANNOT mount older Canon manual focus lenses to EOS without an adapter than employs a glass element so it defeats the purpose.

But you don't get automatic aperture, which is pretty annoying.

 

[totalmotard]

Behold the Franken camera!

300 4.5 ais Nikkor, Tc200, F-mount adapter, mounted on an 18mpx Canon T2i with a 1.6 crop factor, yielding 960mm of WTF?!? for about $250. So, what did I do with it?

Yes, that's the full frame.

 

[WetMogwai]

But you don't get automatic aperture, which is pretty annoying.

But that's the point. The Nikon can still use the old Nikon lenses with the manual aperture. The Canon can't without an adapter.

 

[Vonder]

Beware the Pentax adapters. Pentax K mount lenses have a tab that sticks out and may interfere with being able to use all apertures. I bought one to try and use Pentax lenses on my Canon EOS 7D and none of them work properly.

 

[cmo]

I purchased a number of adapters over the years and want to share one advice: forget the el-cheapos from asian sellers on ebay or domestic sellers that offer the same garbage. Many of them are just a PITA, sometimes not on the first day, but they turn out to be useless after a while, bargains turn into losses.

Cameraquest and Novoflex, for example, have very good, precise adapters.

 

[thanos]

Beware the Pentax adapters. Pentax K mount lenses have a tab that sticks out and may interfere with being able to use all apertures. I bought one to try and use Pentax lenses on my Canon EOS 7D and none of them work properly.

I have exactly that setup. A 7D with a cheapo K-mount adapter and use it with a Pentax M 50 f/1.4 and a Pentax 28mm f/2.8 (all manual focus, but aperture priority works) and have zero problems. Of course only the stop down metering is annoying on apertures of f/18 and beyond as the live view is very dark. The viewfinder is ok.

 

[Ralph Javins]

Good morning;

A comment for TimmyMac; you do not need to convert or modify Minolta SR/MC/MD lenses to use them on a digital camera. One of the most cost effective and simple ways to put a Minolta manual focus lens onto a digital camera without any other additional glass for an "optical correction" is with the replacement lens mounting flange for a Canon EOS APS-C body digital camera. The one by Mauro Placido at digitalrokkor.altervista.org is easily done. It does not require that you alter the lens. And, if you decide to go back to using the Canon EF and EF-S lenses on the Canon body, you just remove the screws for the Minolta lens flange, and put the Canon lens flange back on and put the screws back in.

Why permanently alter something when it is not necessary? That will also affect the possible sale value of that Minolta ROKKOR lens in the future, and I do not know what it will do if you try to use that modified lens on a Minolta camera body.

 

[j-dogg]

You can also put Nikon lenses on an EOS body. I used to do it quite often, and still would if my adapter had not broken. Putting pre-AI Nikon glass on my 10D has resulted in some of my favorite digital images I have ever taken. The look of this glass is very unique, and one of the great things about digital is how quick it is to compare the results of different lenses, so you can really see that it is all about the glass. Adapting lenses is one of the best ways to exercise finely detailed control of your pictures. I do it, but I should do it more often. Canon FD bodies are among the best for adapting lenses to, as the bodies are so shallow compared to most. There are fewer options with EOS bodies (and most other cameras, for that matter). You lose all of your automation when adapting anyhow (the stuff that might make one choose EOS over FD), so may as well just get a cheap FD body as a base for adapting multiple lenses to.

This.......I run a Nikon to EOS adapter on my Digital Rebel and have came up with some neat effects with my old glass. I have two lenses that really help to vintage my picture, as in, give it the look of old 35mm film from decades ago as opposed to what you can get now. One of my best images on my digital was shot through a Rokinon f2.8 28mm lens I got for 20 dollars at a pawn shop for my Nikkormat FTN.