BetterPhoto Q&A
Category: New Answers

Lens adapter.

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December 28, 2004

Unless you have a terrific FD supertelephoto or macro lens that would cost a fortune to replace (eg. FD 300 f/2.8L), the adaptors are not worth the effort. Even with the adaptor, the camera cannot control the aperture, so the lens must be used in stop-down metering only (M or Av exposure modes only):
(a) aperture fully open to focus manually (note that the focus screen of most EOS cameras is not overly bright nor do they have manual focus aids like micro- or split prism.)
(b) then stop down to the desired setting using the aperture ring on the lens
(c) then set the shutter speed using M or Av modes
(d) take the picture.

There were two adaptors. Because the lens to film plane distance is greater in EOS cameras than the FD models, the adaptor needs optical elements to maintain infinity focus. These elements act as a 1.26x teleconverter with corresponding 2/3 stop light loss, and I believe they also extended into the attached lens, so could only be used on a select few lenses (the off-brand adaptors may not have this limitation). The other Canon model did not have optical elements and so was limited to macro use. With respect to the third party adaptors, some users have been unhappy with the resolution of the optics (your mileage may vary) and have punched them out to use the adaptor for macro only.

More information here:
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/canon/fdresources/fdlenses/fdeos.htm.

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December 29, 2004

http://www.outbackphoto.com/the_bag/paul_lens_adapters/essay.html

It has links to companies that sell the adapters.

Peter

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December 31, 2004