Using film camera lens on digital bodies.
Dec 9, 2020 22:51:49 #
Dec 9, 2020 23:50:23 #
Petesfixit
Loc: Houston Texas
Not everyone is loaded with money, but there are some awesome old lenses that you can buy cheaply you just have to know which ones to get.
Dec 10, 2020 02:14:21 #
I get great results using my Nikkor AI-S and AF-D (in manual focus only) lenses on my Olympus Micro 4/3 digital camera bodies.
Dec 10, 2020 10:45:30 #
amfoto1
Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA
There have always been the occasional compatibility "issues" between various third party lens and Canon bodies. The issues are usually related either to camera and lens communication with respect to autofocus or aperture control or both.
The third party lens manufacturers don't license the technology from Canon. That's one of the ways they are able to offer lower cost products. Instead they reverse engineer a system that will work. However, this means they can only design their lenses to work with existing camera models. They have no way of "future proofing" against any changes Canon might make to their camera systems in the future.
Canon works hard to insure compatibility of their own lenses on their cameras. There no issues at all that I'm aware of, using any EF lens on any Canon EOS film SLR or DSLR (plus they're adaptable for use on the mirrorless cameras). Of course, EF-S lenses are designed strictly for use on the APS-C cameras.... but that's more of a physical limitation (not electronic).
There's no incentive for Canon to work to make their cameras compatible with third party lenses. If anything, it might be the other way around... by making changes to their camera systems, they
As a result, it's often an older third party lens that won't work properly on a newer camera. I had this happen with a Sigma 28-75mm zoom. It worked fine on 1990s era Canon film SLRs. It even worked on early DSLRs, including a EOS 10D, which used an AF system very similar to and possibly the same as the Elan 7/7E, EOS 30/33 film cameras. However, that same lens would cause a slightly later EOS 30D, with a different AF system. The moment the camera tried to focus the lens, it would cause ERR 30 and lock up the camera. Something in the communication between the two prevented them from working.
Sigma had the most of these problems on Canon, but they also made the most different lenses over the years. And, to Sigma's credit, with more recent and valuable lenses they often would offer free service to update the lens (probably just new firmware), solving the problem. The 28-75mm I had was just too old, not worth very much and AFAIK, never possible to have updated.
But it's happened with Tamron too. In fact, when Canon first introduced their 45-point AF system in the 80D it practically coincided with several Tamron prime lens introductions, which proved in the Canon versions to not be fully compatible with the new AF. Tamron scrambled to correct the problem, though. Good thing they did, since Canon has used that AF system in other models since then (i.e, 90D, 6D II).
The modern mirrorless cameras use a very different AF system from most of the DSLRs. Instead of an array of sensors in the bottom of the mirror compartment, they have dual pixel AF embedded directly in the imaging sensor itself. Apparently the change has worked out well in this case, allowing that old Sigma 70-300mm to work on the much newer camera.
So those old lenses.... that can be bought cheaply because they don't work on recent DSLRs... might find new life adapted for use on the M-series or R-series mirrorless (though they still won't improve in optical quality, focus speed or other possible shortcomings).
In general, it doesn't hurt to try. In all cases I'm aware of the worst that happens is the third party lens vs camera communication issues simply cause the camera to throw an ERR code and lock up, which can be corrected simply by removing the lens, turning the camera off and back on. No real harm done to either the camera or the lens.
By the way, similar things happen with other systems too. It's not just Canon. In fact, there are all sorts of compatibility concerns between Nikon cameras and Nikon's own lenses.
We shouldn't be surprised, since cameras and lenses have been increasingly electronic and computerized. Look at how computer technology compatibility... hardware and software... have changed over the years.
The third party lens manufacturers don't license the technology from Canon. That's one of the ways they are able to offer lower cost products. Instead they reverse engineer a system that will work. However, this means they can only design their lenses to work with existing camera models. They have no way of "future proofing" against any changes Canon might make to their camera systems in the future.
Canon works hard to insure compatibility of their own lenses on their cameras. There no issues at all that I'm aware of, using any EF lens on any Canon EOS film SLR or DSLR (plus they're adaptable for use on the mirrorless cameras). Of course, EF-S lenses are designed strictly for use on the APS-C cameras.... but that's more of a physical limitation (not electronic).
There's no incentive for Canon to work to make their cameras compatible with third party lenses. If anything, it might be the other way around... by making changes to their camera systems, they
As a result, it's often an older third party lens that won't work properly on a newer camera. I had this happen with a Sigma 28-75mm zoom. It worked fine on 1990s era Canon film SLRs. It even worked on early DSLRs, including a EOS 10D, which used an AF system very similar to and possibly the same as the Elan 7/7E, EOS 30/33 film cameras. However, that same lens would cause a slightly later EOS 30D, with a different AF system. The moment the camera tried to focus the lens, it would cause ERR 30 and lock up the camera. Something in the communication between the two prevented them from working.
Sigma had the most of these problems on Canon, but they also made the most different lenses over the years. And, to Sigma's credit, with more recent and valuable lenses they often would offer free service to update the lens (probably just new firmware), solving the problem. The 28-75mm I had was just too old, not worth very much and AFAIK, never possible to have updated.
But it's happened with Tamron too. In fact, when Canon first introduced their 45-point AF system in the 80D it practically coincided with several Tamron prime lens introductions, which proved in the Canon versions to not be fully compatible with the new AF. Tamron scrambled to correct the problem, though. Good thing they did, since Canon has used that AF system in other models since then (i.e, 90D, 6D II).
The modern mirrorless cameras use a very different AF system from most of the DSLRs. Instead of an array of sensors in the bottom of the mirror compartment, they have dual pixel AF embedded directly in the imaging sensor itself. Apparently the change has worked out well in this case, allowing that old Sigma 70-300mm to work on the much newer camera.
So those old lenses.... that can be bought cheaply because they don't work on recent DSLRs... might find new life adapted for use on the M-series or R-series mirrorless (though they still won't improve in optical quality, focus speed or other possible shortcomings).
In general, it doesn't hurt to try. In all cases I'm aware of the worst that happens is the third party lens vs camera communication issues simply cause the camera to throw an ERR code and lock up, which can be corrected simply by removing the lens, turning the camera off and back on. No real harm done to either the camera or the lens.
By the way, similar things happen with other systems too. It's not just Canon. In fact, there are all sorts of compatibility concerns between Nikon cameras and Nikon's own lenses.
We shouldn't be surprised, since cameras and lenses have been increasingly electronic and computerized. Look at how computer technology compatibility... hardware and software... have changed over the years.
Dec 12, 2020 18:48:31 #
rmalarz wrote:
I can't address your query regarding Canon equipment. I use Nikon/Nikkor equipment. I have quite a few pre-digital lenses and use them on my digital bodies. The results are exceptionally good.
--Bob
--Bob
Ditto. One more reason why I'm glad I stuck with Nikon.
Dec 13, 2020 11:39:26 #
Is this a film lens? A Canon on a Sony Digital? Manual focus? Who said old lenses are good enough? What?
bee & goldenrod by Paul Sager, on Flickr
bee & goldenrod by Paul Sager, on Flickr
Dec 13, 2020 15:22:15 #
i have 1 or 3 fd lenses that i use on my sony slt a77. great results when i use a mono-pod. i use them mostly for fun.
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