Use of Film lenses on a DSLR: Gentlemen, I own a Nikon DSLR ( D 610 ) and have some very nice lenses lying around from the not-too-distant film days. These lenses are, a Canon FD mount...

reindeer Loc: London U.K.

Gentlemen,
I own a Nikon DSLR ( D 610 ) and have some very nice lenses lying around from the not-too-distant film days.
These lenses are, a Canon FD mount 24 mm L-series F 1.4 Prime lens,
Two Leica 50mm F2 (R-Type) lenses and one 50mm Practika lens, the Canon and Leica lenses being in Mint condition. I would love to use them but have no idea which adaptors will do the trick.
Would be grateful for suggestions. Thank you.

Grizzly Loc: USA

Best idea I can think of is to check out the Sony NEX (now Alpha) mirror-less camera's may all of your lens'es with adapters. Problem: Quality adaptors are expensive. I am sure other "Hoggers" will come up with other ideas and/or suggestions.

Acountry330 Loc: Dothan,Ala USA

If you can find the adapters, you will have to use manual to use the lenses.

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

reindeer wrote:

Gentlemen,
I own a Nikon DSLR ( D 610 ) and have some very nice lenses lying around from the not-too-distant film days.
These lenses are, a Canon FD mount 24 mm L-series F 1.4 Prime lens,
Two Leica 50mm F2 (R-Type) lenses and one 50mm Practika lens, the Canon and Leica lenses being in Mint condition. I would love to use them but have no idea which adaptors will do the trick.
Would be grateful for suggestions. Thank you.

For Leica R lenses to focus at infinity, stop down metering:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/995095-REG/fotodiox_lr_nk_p_pro_nikon_camera_lens.html

Any adapter for 42mm screw mount or Canon FD lenses will not allow infinity focus without incorporating a separate correction glass, which will undoubtedly degrade image quality. The glass may be removed, and the lens used for close focusing.
Hope this helps.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

You can easily sell the FD L lens for a good bit of money as-is. I'm not familiar with the Sony line, but I've been using online FD lens reviews when mounted to Sony NEX3 bodies to help find FD lenses for my older film cameras.

mechengvic Loc: SoCalo

CHG_CANON wrote:

You can easily sell the FD L lens for a good bit of money as-is. I'm not familiar with the Sony line, but I've been using online FD lens reviews when mounted to Sony NEX3 bodies to help find FD lenses for my older film cameras.

Yeah, I'll give you 100.00 for your Canon FD 24mm 1.4!

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

reindeer wrote:

Gentlemen,
I own a Nikon DSLR ( D 610 ) and have some very nice lenses lying around from the not-too-distant film days.
These lenses are, a Canon FD mount 24 mm L-series F 1.4 Prime lens,
Two Leica 50mm F2 (R-Type) lenses and one 50mm Practika lens, the Canon and Leica lenses being in Mint condition. I would love to use them but have no idea which adaptors will do the trick.
Would be grateful for suggestions. Thank you.

I can't speak to things beyond the Canon FD realm, but there is a guy in Canada, Ed Mika, that sells excellent conversion kits for good quality FD lenses that allow them to be used on EOS cameras for about $100. These do not include glass that reduces the IQ and normally allow infinity focus.

Check this link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Canon-FD-24mm-1-4L-EDMIKA-EOS-EF-lens-mount-conversion-converter-adapter-kit-/181346846542?pt=US_Lens_Adapters_Mounts_Tubes&hash=item2a391d474e

Good luck

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

RWR wrote:

Any adapter for 42mm screw mount or Canon FD lenses will not allow infinity focus without incorporating a separate correction glass, which will undoubtedly degrade image quality. The glass may be removed, and the lens used for close focusing.
Hope this helps.

This is exactly what I've determined after a bit of research a year ago, ultimately deciding not to get an adapter to mount my FD lenses on a Nikon body.

Although I suppose any lens can be used for reverse lens macro photography with the help of a lens reversal ring, as the mount of the lens no longer matters.

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

rook2c4 wrote:

Although I suppose any lens can be used for reverse lens macro photography with the help of a lens reversal ring, as the mount of the lens no longer matters.

You're right, and lenses from 24~50mm perform the best reversed.

mldavis2

Almost anything you do that changes the way a lens was engineered to work will degrade the performance from original specs. Modern lenses have the advantage of working with the electronics of the camera and they are also better optically with computerized lens design, especially the zooms. Some of the fixed focal lengths of yore were outstanding, of course, but messing around with adapters will no doubt lower the quality since the lens elements are being used in a different distance from the sensor.

19104 Loc: Philadelphia

reindeer wrote:

Gentlemen,
I own a Nikon DSLR ( D 610 ) and have some very nice lenses lying around from the not-too-distant film days.
These lenses are, a Canon FD mount 24 mm L-series F 1.4 Prime lens,
Two Leica 50mm F2 (R-Type) lenses and one 50mm Practika lens, the Canon and Leica lenses being in Mint condition. I would love to use them but have no idea which adaptors will do the trick.
Would be grateful for suggestions. Thank you.

I find myself in the self same situation, I have about 10 Leica R lenses. Originally I was going to get a Leica M body and the adapter to use the R mount lens (on the rangefinder style body), but then I realized that I like looking through a real view finder. ( which is why I hate my Olympus ILC.) There is a company that specializes in using one lens mount on another body, and all of his mounts do not have glass. Some conversions are impossible due to thickness of the body. Here check this out http://leitax.com/leica-lens-for-nikon-cameras.html. they even sell the chips you can add to the lens so that the Nikon AF body recognizes them.

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

mldavis2 wrote:

... messing around with adapters will no doubt lower the quality since the lens elements are being used in a different distance from the sensor.

The elements of any given lens, when focused at any given distance, will be the same distance from the sensor regardless of which camera they are mounted on.
Not all of us consider the loss of auto functions, or even TTL metering, as a drawback. I have 6 Leicaflex lenses which, thanks to the Fotodiox adapters, I can mount on my DSLR, they focus at infinity with no correction lens, and all deliver outstanding resolution and contrast.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

mldavis2 wrote:

Some of the fixed focal lengths of yore were outstanding, of course, but messing around with adapters will no doubt lower the quality since the lens elements are being used in a different distance from the sensor.

For adapters, in some, or even many cases yes, but not necessarily true with a mount conversion. Check out the Ed Mika conversion kits for Canon FD lenses. By exchanging the lens mount the correct distance from rear lens elements to the sensor ( or film ) can be established.

I assume that a similar principle applied to the old Tamron Adaptall lenses where one lens could have different mounts to fit different camera brands.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

mechengvic wrote:

Yeah, I'll give you 100.00 for your Canon FD 24mm 1.4!

I'd hold out for a better offer. This morning the same lens is selling for $959 at KEH ...

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

Peterff wrote:

For adapters, in some, or even many cases yes, but not necessarily true with a mount conversion. Check out the Ed Mika conversion kits for Canon FD lenses. By exchanging the lens mount the correct distance from rear lens elements to the sensor ( or film ) can be established.

I assume that a similar principle applied to the old Tamron Adaptall lenses where one lens could have different mounts to fit different camera brands.

You are correct. Novoflex and Kilfitt were doing this at least 60 years ago. Then came the T2 and Soligor's T4 mounts.