Using FD lenses on EOS bodies

[Belmondo]

I've already done a search to see what problems might be involved, and haven't really found all the answers.

I have the chance to buy a very clean 600mm f/4.5L FD mount lens quite inexpensively (considerably less than $1,000). I know that there are adapters available that will allow the lens to be used on an EOS body in a fully manual mode, but I have a couple questions:

1. Will the lens still focus to infinity?
2. How good is this particular lens compared to other options that will bive me 600mm?
3. Besides the manuall focus/manual aperture setting, are there any other drawbacks I should be thinking about?

Thanks for any input.

[ron chappel]

There are two types of adapters available:

a)a simple mechanical type the just holds the lens onto the camera.This type won't allow infinity focussing,it's for macro only.

b)Optical type adapters-there is a special canon one available for long lenses only (so the 600mm is OK) but it costs over us$500 2nd hand if you can find one.
the other is a cheapo crap one sold on ebay.don't even think about using one of those on an L lens :lol: .What a waste that would be :shock:

There is one final option-you could get the lens permanantly modified to fit EOS .
I've done it several times to FD lenses just on an experimental basis.
Getting it done properly-having metal parts lathed up-wouldn't cost a whole lot but is tricky because the weird aperture control ring would need redesigning.When i did mine i simply left the aperture ring off and set the aperture from the rear of the lens with a small lump of blue-tac 8)

It would be worth doing for a very good lens,and the 600/4.5 certainly qualifies for that!

There is someone in the states that does these kind of mods.If you can't track him down or want to do it yourself anyway...just let me know and i'll find the exact mount register distances.It's been awhile and i can't remember them exactly :)

[EXA1a]

There are two types of adapters available:

a)a simple mechanical type the just holds the lens onto the camera.This type won't allow infinity focussing,it's for macro only.

Are you sure it won't focus to infinity? You are right with most FD lenses but I have a 15 year old Sigma mirror telephoto lens with FD mount. I can attach this lens with a so-called "macro-adapter" to my EOS body and still focus to infinity. This lens has some play at the infinity end.
Maybe one can adjust the 600/4.5 lens's infinity stop so that the barrel's distance scale is slightly off but the lens focusses to infinity!?

--Jens--

[PacAce]

There are two types of adapters available:

a)a simple mechanical type the just holds the lens onto the camera.This type won't allow infinity focussing,it's for macro only.

Are you sure it won't focus to infinity? You are right with most FD lenses but I have a 15 year old Sigma mirror telephoto lens with FD mount. I can attach this lens with a so-called "macro-adapter" to my EOS body and still focus to infinity. This lens has some play at the infinity end.
Maybe one can adjust the 600/4.5 lens's infinity stop so that the barrel's distance scale is slightly off but the lens focusses to infinity!?

--Jens--

Don't forget that your mirror lens probably has an aperture of f/8 or smaller (and even more so with the adapter on) and hence a wider DOF making focusing to infinity less of a challenge than those with a wider aperturen.

[EXA1a]

There are two types of adapters available:

a)a simple mechanical type the just holds the lens onto the camera.This type won't allow infinity focussing,it's for macro only.

Are you sure it won't focus to infinity? You are right with most FD lenses but I have a 15 year old Sigma mirror telephoto lens with FD mount. I can attach this lens with a so-called "macro-adapter" to my EOS body and still focus to infinity. This lens has some play at the infinity end.
Maybe one can adjust the 600/4.5 lens's infinity stop so that the barrel's distance scale is slightly off but the lens focusses to infinity!?

--Jens--

Don't forget that your mirror lens probably has an aperture of f/8 or smaller (and even more so with the adapter on) and hence a wider DOF making focusing to infinity less of a challenge than those with a wider aperturen.
DOF doesn't play a role in this case - I can go to the sharpest point at infinity and beyond I get unsharpness again.
Maybe it's a specific feature of mirror lenses that they don't have a fixed infinity stop but a range in which you can find the infinity point before you hit the stop.

--Jens--

[CoolToolGuy]

There are two types of adapters available:

a)a simple mechanical type the just holds the lens onto the camera.This type won't allow infinity focussing,it's for macro only.

Are you sure it won't focus to infinity? You are right with most FD lenses but I have a 15 year old Sigma mirror telephoto lens with FD mount. I can attach this lens with a so-called "macro-adapter" to my EOS body and still focus to infinity. This lens has some play at the infinity end.
Maybe one can adjust the 600/4.5 lens's infinity stop so that the barrel's distance scale is slightly off but the lens focusses to infinity!?

--Jens--


Don't forget that your mirror lens probably has an aperture of f/8 or smaller (and even more so with the adapter on) and hence a wider DOF making focusing to infinity less of a challenge than those with a wider aperturen.
DOF doesn't play a role in this case - I can go to the sharpest point at infinity and beyond I get unsharpness again.
Maybe it's a specific feature of mirror lenses that they don't have a fixed infinity stop but a range in which you can find the infinity point before you hit the stop.

--Jens--
Jens, as you point out the lens may accomodate the adapter, especially if it is made to fit several different makes of cameras with different lens-to-focal-plane distances.

Have Fun,

[RichardtheSane]

Look at it the other way, if you bought it, tried the adapter and it didn't work, then sold it again... would you loose money?

[timmyquest]

http://www.wildpicture.com/firstframe.htm?http://www.wildpicture.com/pages/photography/fdsystem/fd600-45.htm

That would be cool to throw on my AE-1 8)

[Tomsk]

Is it this lens?
http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/camera/lens/f_lens.html

These big lenses focus past infinity don't they, so it might work with a simple non-optical adaptor.

[Belmondo]

Is it this lens?
http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/camera/lens/f_lens.html

These big lenses focus past infinity don't they, so it might work with a simple non-optical adaptor.

Tomsk:
Your link only takes me to the index page for all lenses at the Canon Museum, but Timmyquest's link in the post above yours works. That's the one.

[ron chappel]

The mirror lenses do indeed focus past infinity,i'm not sure why.
Sure they need some allowance for thermal expansion etc,but the amount most of them have is bizzare.

Yes the FD 600mm could have the infinity focus point adjusted to to some extent.Unfortunately it might not be enough as it probably only has several mm to play with.
The other issue is that once that is done the lens is not optically orriginal so might not perform so well.Adjusting the infinity focus only changes one set of elements-what is really needed is for the whole lens (including all the fixed element groups) to be set the exact right distance from the image plane