pdsilen Loc: Roswell, New Mexico

I use a Canon 7D. Not long ago I bought a Canon 6D Full Frame. (We all make mistakes). Anyhow. I learned very quickly that the only lenses that will fit on a 6d are EF-S lenses. Looking around for EF-S lenses be it KEH, Adorama, Amazon, or even ebay, Most of the lenses that I find are either 18-55mm or 70-250mm kit lenses. And I'm not prepared to spend over $1000 each for new lenses. Are there any adaptors out there that I can use? I welcome any ideas you might have.

ken_stern Loc: Yorba Linda, Ca

That's not true -- EF-S lenses only fit crop frame cameras -- The lenses you now have will fit on the 6D

Orson Burleigh Loc: Annapolis, Maryland, USA

That's backwards. EF-S lenses will not fit on a 6D (or any other full frame Canon DSLR).

Edited to apologize for redundant cross-post.

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

Any EF or EF-S lens will fit on and work well with your 7D. ONLY EF lenses will mount properly with your 6D. The mounts are the same but EF-S lenses have a protrusion that prevent them from being mounted without damage.
Curious why you state that the 6D was a mistake. When used for the type of photography it was designed for it does a fine job. I had one and it was an excellent companion to my 7DII.

chaman

It seems you are still making mistakes because what you said makes absolutely no sense. The 7D accepts EF-S and EF lenses. The 6D accepts mostly EF. There are no adaptors. Canon gear is good quality equipment and their best lenses come with a price. Did you ignore that when you got into photography? And you have mentioned "clients" in some of your past posts? Scary....quite scary.

juanbalv Loc: Los Angeles / Hawthorne

ouch.

juanbalv Loc: Los Angeles / Hawthorne

Say what?

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

As stated you have it backwards. The 6D uses EF mount lenses. Your 7D can use EF or EF-S (made for APS-C bodies like the 7D).
The 6D is an excellent camera even though it has a fairly simple auto focus system. I used one for over 4 years until I upgraded to a 5DIV. For some things I still miss it.
The only Canon lenses I own are EF/Full Frame. And I do own APS-C bodies. That way no matter what body I have or may buy in the future the lenses will work and not need to be replaced. If I feel the need to use an EF-S lenses I will borrow one from my daughter. She is petite and uses an APS-C/crop sensor camera and so except for her 50 mm f/1.8 I bought her only EF-S lenses (they are smaller and lighter).

For a long time the only lens I had for my 6D was a 24-105L f/4*. Even after I got a 14 mm, 50 mm and a 70-300 I often went all day at events like car shows, Civil War Re-enactments and Steam Punk festivals without changing lenses. I did get some needed exercise carrying the bag with the other lenses.

*there is now a mark 2 of this lens so used mark 1s should be reasonable to obtain. You can get one for $799 refurbished from the Canon Direct Store or a mark II for $879. If you check for sales they sometimes go for less. (Canon Direct refurbished have the same 1 year warranty as new.)

Or look at third party lenses. Tamron, Sigma and Tokina among other make some very good lenses for Canon FF bodies.

blackest Loc: Ireland

If you are prepared to go manual most m42 lenses will work with a chipped adapter on the 6d and the 7d

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

There are a number of non L Canon EF prime lenses that have excellent performance and even some L zooms under $500. Take a look at the 35mm f2 (one of Canon’s sharper lenses), either the 50mm f1.4 or 1.8, and the 85mm f1.8. None of these are over $500 new and can often be had for much less either used or refurbished, and a gently used 17-40L can often be had for $350-$400. All of these are good choices for your 6D

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

You've got it all wrong, EF-S lenses will not work on the 6D, EF lenses will!

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

You're EXTREMELY confused!

EF lenses are made for full frame, but are usable on all Canon SLRs and DSLRs made the last 30 years, including EOS 35mm film, APS-C crop sensor digital, APS-H crop sensor digital and so-called full frame digital models (same format as 35mm film).

EF-S lenses are designed for and usable on APS-C crop sensor models only (all of them except a few 2004 and earlier models, prior to the first EF-S lenses being introduced). In fact, the bayonet of Canon EF-S lenses is modified such that it will physically prevent them even being mounted on full frame cameras (or on APS-H models... which you can ignore because they're no longer manufactured and rather specialized "pro" cameras).

Your Canon 7D is an APS-C crop sensor camera that can use both EF and EF-S lenses. Canon currently has about 90 EF and EF-S lenses in production. About 125 million of them have been made the past 30 years.

The Canon 6D is a full frame model that works with all EF lenses, but cannot use EF-S. Of the current Canon lenses being produced, about 65 are EF.

Canon offers more selection of lenses than most manufacturers (only Nikon has similar depth to their system) and there are very many lenses that cost far less than $1000. However, I gotta say, lenses will have a MUCH greater influence on your photographs than the camera they're used upon.... and you "get what you pay for". Buy cheap and you'll usually get marginal lenses that are okay... but may not fully live up to your expectations.

Your 7D is a top-of-the-line APS-C camera with a high performance auto focus system and fast continuous shooting rate. The crop factor is particularly useful with telephoto lenses and the 7D's overall design and performance make it a particularly good choice for sports, wildlife and more (though, of course, you can use it for most anything).

The 6D is an entry-level full frame camera with a simplistic AF system and a relatively slow shooting rate. However, it's able to focus in unusually dimly lit situations (about two stops lower light levels than the 7D) and it's modest sized, large sensor allows it to be used at quite high ISOs... so it's an excellent low light camera. Full frame also works especially well with wide angle lenses, making it an excellent choice for landscape, architecture and some other subjects (though, of course, you can use it for most anything).

Choose lenses for each that best match your particular uses of the cameras. For example, to use the 7D for action photography you will want lenses with similar high performance auto focus: Canon USM or "ultrasonic focus drive". And with telephotos in particular, which can be a lot more difficult to hold steady for a shot, I highly recommend IS or "image stabilization". There are lenses offering these features ranging from a few hundred $ to well over $10,000.

Canon also offers a number of lenses with STM or "stepper motor" focus drive. It's a little slower, but very quiet and smooth. That makes it ideal for videography, if that's one of your uses of the cameras. Most STM lenses are EF-S.

Some of the least expensive lenses are not marked either STM or USM.... those use the slowest and noisiest "micro motor" type focus drive. There both EF and EF-S micro motor lenses. Often these also are more lightly built and have less refined image quality. They may be "kit lenses" offered at low cost with cameras. But, depending upon what you'll be doing with the lens, any of these types may be fine for your purposes.

For example, Canon has offered EF-S 18-135mm IS lenses with all three types of focus drive: USM, STM and micro motor. That's a popular "kit" lens (and a bit of a step up from the cheaper EF-S 18-55mm IS kit lens, which has been offered in STM and micro motor, but never with USM).

More examples, there are a large number of telephoto zooms in a similar range and at different prices, to choose among:
EF-S 55-250mm IS II (micro motor)... $150
EF-S 55-250mm IS STM.... $300
EF 75-300mm III (not recommended, no IS & micro motor)... $200
EF 70-300mm IS USM II (new model with "Nano USM")... $500
EF 70-300mm "L" IS USM (premium, pro quality)... $1350
EF 70-200mm f/4 "L" USM.... $600
EF 70-200mm f/4 "L" IS USM... $1100
EF 70-200mm f/2.8 "L" USM... $1250
EF 70-200mm f/2.8 "L" IS USM II... $1950
EF 100-400mm "L" IS USM II... $2050

That's just what Canon has currently in production. All would work on your 7D. Any of the EF lenses will work fine on 6D. If you include used and models recently discontinued and still avail. new, there are even more to choose among. Note: L-series are Canon's most pro-oriented models. They're typically better sealed for weather resistance, more strongly built and use the most advanced optics and focusing systems. Of course, they are also typically the most expensive!

You can do similar with wide angle lenses... portrait lenses... macro lenses.... etc. First you should be deciding what you want to do with your cameras and lenses, then choosing the appropriate tools for the job.

There also are "third party" lenses. The largest manufacturers of those are Tokina, Tamron and Sigma. Some of them can be excellent, too... and may cost a bit less (but may or may not be compatible with future cameras). Just so you are aware, 3rd party lenses made to fit Canon all use the EF mount (no EF-S), BUT not all of them are full frame compatible. Tokina designates full frame as FX and crop only as DX. Tamron designates full frame "Di" and crop only as "Di II". Sigma marks their full frame "DG" and their crop-only "DC".

Finally, you may also see some "EF-M" lenses.... There aren't a lot of them yet, but those are specifically for Canon M-series "mirrorless" cameras. They are not usable on either 7D or 6D.

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

I haven't seen anyone mention that Canon EF-S lenses are mechanically incompatible with their full frame bodies, but other brands made for Canon may fit, but will have vignetting (at their wider focal lengths for zooms).

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

That is a very common misconception. The mounts are mechanically identical on both EF and EF-S lenses, as they are on APS-C and FF bodies. It's the protrusion on the EF-S lenses that prevents mounting on FF bodies.

leftj Loc: Texas

EF-S lenses will not mount on a 6D. Only EF lenses.