Compatible Threads (M42/FD etc)

After some heavy thought I have decided to build out my prime collection with some older lenses to speed things up. The problem I am having is that there are a million lenses out there but I don't always know what will be compatible when I come across it used at say a pawn shop etc. This thread may exist but I couldn't find recommendations for these three lengths at a reasonable (under 300) price, 50-55mm, 85mm, 100/105mm. I seem to have no trouble coming across the canon 50mm FD 1/8 but I want quality, im thinking 1/4 or better for most lengths. Any recommendations or direction would be awesome.

The easiest lenses to adapt to an EF mount are M42. There are tons of adapters and lenses out there- prices have gone up with a variety of people doing the same thing you are. FD lenses are the hardest to adapt- they require either an adapter with glass (really a teleconverter) which tends to degrade quality, or a glassless adapter, which may or may not allow infinity focus depending on the lens and camera combination. Ed Mika produces high end conversion kits for the expensive FD glass, but you are looking at $150-300 to adapt the lens.

There are a ton of 50mm lenses- f1.4 or better is going to raise the cost. The Pentax SMC 50mm 1.4 is a very nice M42 lens. There are also quite a few Helios lenses in your price range. Check out the adapted lens thread in the lens sample archive here for more choices as well.

Olympus OM mount are also easy to adapt, and they have some nice choices as well.

Qlayer2 wrote in post #16843430
The easiest lenses to adapt to an EF mount are M42. There are tons of adapters and lenses out there- prices have gone up with a variety of people doing the same thing you are. FD lenses are the hardest to adapt- they require either an adapter with glass (really a teleconverter) which tends to degrade quality, or a glassless adapter, which may or may not allow infinity focus depending on the lens and camera combination. Ed Mika produces high end conversion kits for the expensive FD glass, but you are looking at $150-300 to adapt the lens.

There are a ton of 50mm lenses- f1.4 or better is going to raise the cost. The Pentax SMC 50mm 1.4 is a very nice M42 lens. There are also quite a few Helios lenses in your price range. Check out the adapted lens thread in the lens sample archive here for more choices as well.

Olympus OM mount are also easy to adapt, and they have some nice choices as well.

so glad you mentioned the FD conversion, that's the kind of info I need. I would hate to get a "steal" only to fine out the conversion has me spending all the money I saved. Sidebar, do people who spend that kind of money converting, usually just use the same converter setup on multiple lenses, or are they more likely to have several adapters preloaded?

Look at my gear list and ask me questions. Gene

About half way down THIS LINK is a chart telling what mount will work with the EOS system, without an adapter that has additional optics (which will degrade image quality).

Easiest to adapt, with the greatest selection is the standard M42 mount. There are some fantastic lenses in this mount, like the Takumar (Pentax) 50mm 1.4. Be aware that there are a few M42 mounts (and others that are adaptable on the surface) that may require slight modifications. The best example of this is some of the Fujinon EBC lenses. They are phenominal lenses, but there is a very small tab that needs to be filed down to attain infinity focus.

M42 in general gives you a lot to choose from, and lots can be fun. There are really oddball lenses out there in M42 that are great. There is the CZ Biotar, which gives a neat swirly bokeh, and I even managed to get a hold of a pre-war 17 blade biotar that I'm eventually going to use seriously. Yes, 17 blades!

Easiest to adapt (IMO) in order of preference;

M42 (pretty much any)
Exakta (lots of Zeiss Lenses)
Nikon
Olympus
Kodak Retina aka DKL or Deckel mount (nice Schneider-Kreuznach and Rodenstock lenses out there)

Those don't need additional glass, so they are great.

I just got in my FD>EOS adapter, and I'll let you know how it is. I got it because I need it for a specific purpose, and had no plans to get one until this came up. If it fairs well, I may keep it and actually use some of the tons of FD glass I have.

Dear Bracetty,

I'll throw out the suggestion that you also consider manual focus Nikon "F" mount lenses. You can pick up an adapter from Fotodiox or Ebay with a focus confirmation chip on the adapter for about $ 30.00.

Going with Nikon assures you of an extensive selection of manual focus lenses due to the popularity of the Nikon 35MM slr's over the years. You needn't be concerned with buying AI, or AIS lenses either. I use several Nikon lenses I inherited from my Grandfather that he purchased for use with his Nikon F before it was converted to accept the FTN finder in the early 1960's. The lenses were well taken care of by him, and they still work perfectly and produce excellent images.

You should be able to find a Nikon 50 or 55 MM f 1.4 for about $ 50.00 - $ 75.00 if you look around a bit. If you can afford to be patient and search craigslist you can probably find a good usable Nikon slr with 2 or 3 older Nikon lenses for $ 150.00 or so to get started.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

all good stuff, given my relatively remote location I come across people always throwing out old photo gear that probably have lots I could use and get for a pretty good price. Cl is rich with this stuff, when it comes up. thanks for all the help, would it be beneficial to have the adapters available before I come across the lens for sale? I know that may be more of a preference, but im wondering is setup quick if I come across something at say a yard sale...

Gene, do you have any photos with gear listed posted online? id like to check out samples from some of your gear im not familiar with.

Bracetty wrote in post #16843464
so glad you mentioned the FD conversion, that's the kind of info I need. I would hate to get a "steal" only to fine out the conversion has me spending all the money I saved. Sidebar, do people who spend that kind of money converting, usually just use the same converter setup on multiple lenses, or are they more likely to have several adapters preloaded?

These are conversions, not adapters, so they can't be swapped between lenses. They are specific to the lens being converted.

do you really need a 50/85/100mm...i'd forget the 85mm, just get a 50mm and a 100mm

i mean you could probably get both of those lengths with AF for around $400

Any of the Yashica ML or DS-M primes are great and usually go for less than their Pentax or Olympus counterparts (because they're less known) and C/Y mount is just as easy to adapt as M42 or OM.

Yashica ML 50/1.7 (got this in a 2 pack with my ML 50/2 for $50, both are excellent) wide open

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