what is a good body for canon FL lenses?

[darinwc]

what is a good body for canon FL lenses?
I have a t70 and it doesnt seem to like fl lenses.

 

[Kevin Kehler]

I have an AE-1 and an AE-1 Program that takes FL lens; I tend to use the former more, because the Program has a shutter cough (it's off by about 1/2 a stop) and the AE-1 just feels better in my hand. Your going to have to get a pre-EOS body (1986?) as FL lens are not auto focus and I don't know about compatibility. I remember reading an old issue of a photo magazine about how upset a number of photographers when Canon made a number of lens obsolete by not making bodies which were backwards compatible. The good part is they are actually very sharp lens, and usually cost less than $100 for the more expensive models (I picked up a 28mm f/2.8 and a 50mm f/1.8 for less than $20 at a garage sale).

 

[2F/2F]

As a general rule, I think they should work on any FD body, including your T70. There might be exceptions of which I am not aware, however. The mounts for FD and FL are the same. The difference is manual aperture for FL lenses and auto aperture for FD lenses. An FL lens is manual on any body. An FD lens is manual on FL bodies and automatic on FD bodies.

 

[cdholden]

I'd recommend something with the stop down lever, like an F1 (or F1n) or an FTb (or FTbn).

 

[Jeff Kubach]

I'd recommend something with the stop down lever, like an F1 (or F1n) or an FTb (or FTbn).

I agree. I really like the F-series Canon, easy to use and reliable.

Jeff

 

[2F/2F]

I'd recommend something with the stop down lever, like an F1 (or F1n) or an FTb (or FTbn).

Those are great cameras (my personal favorites of all time for 35mm), but no matter what body the FL lenses go on, they are always going to be manual aperture. The aperture in no way connects to the body, so the stop down lever won't do anything. If you don't need the system accessories or added features of the F-1s, you are just as well off getting something like a Pellix or one of the other 1960's bodies that were made for FL lenses, as they are literally dirt cheap.

What I am wondering is why they won't work on the OP's T70.

 

[benjiboy]

Look at this link http://canonfd.farah.cl/CanonFD_faql.html The FL Lenses were designed to use the stopped down metering system of the Canon FT before open aperture metering came out on the FTb

 

[Yeeski]

In general, Canon FL lenses will work properly on any Canon FD body except for the T50. Metering with these lenses will be a little more work on an A or T series camera than on F series cameras. Refer to the section of the manual on stopped-down metering with non-FD lenses. However, for F series cameras, you will need to find a replacement for the 1.3v mercury batteries. [Note that the New F-1 which uses a 6v battery is considered to be an A series camera. Confused?] You could also look at the FL series of cameras, though these will be older and more likely in need of service or repair.

 

[John Koehrer]

There is an aperture actuating lever on the lens, just no coupling for the meter.

 

[darinwc]

OK heres a further explanation:
The FL lens I have has an A-M switch. Which I assumed means Automatic or Manual.
However from what I am reading it sounds like the FL system was designed as a stop-down metering system, where I had assumed it was aperture-priority.
Last weekend I was camping and I had the T-70 and an FL lens mounted on it. Allmost every shot I took the camera was registering that the scene was too bright and beyond the range of the camera.
S000.. it sounds like in order to use the the T70 I have to work in a certain way:

1. focus-stopdown-shoot. Not very good with a moving subject, and care must be taken not to change the focus while doing so.
2. stopdown-meter-unstop-focus-shoot. I know the T70 has a meter-lock button, but I've never really used it before. I will have to give it a try.
3. use manual mode & shoot at desired aperture. This may be tough to critically focus at f8+, but my intent is to use the lens wide-open or nearly wide open. In this case maybe a camera with a much faster shutter speed would be better?

Let me know if im on the right track. The lens I am using is an FL 58mm f1.2

 

[2F/2F]

self correction: After reading John's post, I talked to my friend who owns a Pellix. The body will stop down the lens for you when you shoot. I always thought it was totally manual, but it is not. (When I have used her camera, I only used it wide open in poor light, so I did not realize this.) So, it should work fine. You can just ignore your meter and use an educated guess, use a handheld meter, or stop down to meter. I would say the guessing method would be the most accurate, unless the handheld meter is an incident meter.

 

[Yeeski]

On Canon FL cameras with TTL metering, readings are metered with the lens stopped down. When the stop down lever on the camera is pushed toward the lens, (a) the lens' diaphragm closes and (b) the meter activates. The A-M switch on an FL lens is used to preview depth of field or to stop down the lens when it's not mounted directly to the camera (i.e., when using a bellows, extension tube or lens reversing ring).

Stopped down metering on F series, FD mount cameras (i.e., original F-1, EF, FTb, FTbN, TLb, TX) is basically the same as on FL bodies. Turn the meter on and push the camera's stop down lever toward the lens. On A and T series cameras, FL lenses will only meter in the stopped down automatic exposure mode. Otherwise, FL lenses should be used in manual mode. This photo.net thread may be of interest:

http://photo.net/canon-fd-camera-forum/00Qdxg

Be aware that the FL 58mm f/1.2 lens is one of a handful of FL lenses that Canon says should not be used on most of the A and T series cameras. Some manuals state that this lens will not meter correctly and/or may interfere with the camera's aperture signal levers. On the other hand, some users have reported no problems using this lens on their cameras:

http://photo.net/canon-fd-camera-forum/00QX8Z

My choice of camera for FL lenses would be an original F-1, FTb or FTbN. FL bodies with TTL metering (Pellix, FT, TL) are fairly plentiful and cheap, but are more likely to need service due to their age.