FD lenses in Auto?

[jlamadoo]

That new 10D looks sweet to me. Can I use fast primes from the FD era at all? I can't find any mention of FD lens compatibility at all, anywhere. Every page I've seen says "EF" but none even mention "L" series which I understand are pro-grade "EF".

Who has links to pages with COMPLETE info on FD compatibility and modes?

(By the way, an Olympus OM user has been using his OM lenses, stopped down and focussed manuall on a Canon 10D EOS camera. He says it will do auto-exposure in Aperture-priority with OM lenses on an adapter. He always dials in -1/2 so it doesn't blow out the highlights.)

Thanks,
Lama (a newbie here but not to 35mm SLRs)

[CyberDyneSystems]

I know you're looking for a more definitive answer,.. I too would also like to know the full answer,...

my understanding was that the old FDs work on all EOS bodies as full manual lenses?

Anyone know the truth to this?

[jlamadoo]

Yeah, God is in the details.

Over on the Nikon side, the huge sales brochure says the N80 is compatible with AI lenses. What they DON'T tell you is you'll never meter in any way through an AI lens.

[daveh]

I have seen FD to EF converters. (Or at least I've seen pictures - never seen one "live".) I believe they are just physical mount adaptors, which make no attempt to translate electrical EF signals to mechanical FD signals. You'll be using manual focus and, I believe, stopped down metering (like an FL lens.) I'm not sure how/if you convince a 10D to do stopped down metering. Ask the friend with the OM adaptor.

The adaptors typically don't work with all lenses and involve a focal length multiplier and loss of an f-stop or so. Probably some degree of loss in image quality too.

Keep in mind that there are no manual focus aids (no microprism or split-image) in the 10D.

"L" lenses are just Canon's high-end models. There were FD "L"s and now EF "L"s.

[justme_dc]

So about 12 years ago when I switched from canon A & T series bodies with the FD mount to the Canon EOS series Bodies I searched High and low for a way to keep all the great FD glass I had purchased over the years. I found a few FD to EF converters including one actually made by canon. In application they were really slow to use and almost impossible to correctly meter with and just a pain to deal with in general. I wish I could have kept on using all those lenses but they all ended up getting sold off in favor of EF Glass. If you are really married to the idea of using FD glass it can be done but it isn't the easiest or fastest solution. On a futher note, I have found the the digital camera really shows the limits of the glass you have mounted on front. Some of the EF lenses that I thought were great with film are merely so-so with a digital camera. The old FD glass is good but it might not be quite up to digital standards.

Good luck to you