A stupid question, I think...

[imperialism2024]

So I had a customer come in about a week ago looking at DSLR cameras. I asked him if he was looking to get into SLR photography in general, or if he was just looking to make a switch to digital and would need just a body. He said that while he had several Canon lenses from the 1970's and 1980's, he needed to get a whole new kit. When I asked why, he told me that when he was at the local camera shop (yes, we really only have one in our city...) a few weeks before, a Canon rep who was there told him that he would need to buy all new Canon lenses because older Canon lenses would harm a digital body. Then when he went to the same camera shop the day before talking to me, a (possibly commissioned) salesman told him the same thing, that film lenses could destroy a digital body. I was a bit puzzled by this, as I had always been under the assumption that the only harm that could come by using older lenses on a digital body is that one would lose autofocus, scene mode, and auto exposure capabilities. And while I know that the manufacturers and commissioned salespeople may, ahem, stretch the truth to boost sales, I never thought that they would resort to outright lies to improve business.

So, my question is, do Canon film lenses cause any harm whatsoever to Canon digital bodies?

[agent006]

I would imagine an FD lens would do a fair bit of damamge!

There are a few lenses that are digital specific (AF-S?) but i use old film lenses on my D30 and it's fine. They're just trying to get more cash out of him.

[vipers]

Well I have a Canon EOS300D, and the lenses from my 35mm Canon EOS500 fit, and work just fine, however the lense from the digi Canon wont fit the 35mm one.

If you take the lense off the digi cam, you will see on the body a red spot, and a white spot, the red spot is the line up for the older lenses, ie like those from my 35mm, and the white spot is the line up for newer lenses designed for the digi cam

Seems pretty obvious Canon designed their digital range this way, to save having to ditch older lenses.

Cant find the handbook just now, but it actually tells you this somewhere. The canon rep was talking out of his backside.................

P.S. Maybe, just maybe, some really old lenses wouldnt fit, but my 35 mm was purchased probably in the late 80's

>> Edited by vipers on Saturday 12th November 18:47

[imperialism2024]

vipers said:

Cant find the handbook just now, but it actually tells you this somewhere.

Hmm well that inspired me to go look at the manual online, and at least in the 350D manual it doesn't say anything about older lenses harming the camera, only that the camera is EF mount, and so any EF or EF-S lens will work.

[monkeyhanger]

Canon state that ALL Canon EF lenses made to date are compatible.

Problems can arise with some older 3rd Party (most notably Sigma) lenses but they will produce error msgs at worst, not damage the body.

[simpo two]

I think that's disgraceful misinformation; in fact in your position I might complain to Canon about their rep's behaviour. There may be extreme wide angle lenses where the rear element could impede the mirror action, but that's extreme. What does the manual say about lens compatibility?

[Prof Higgins]

If the chap has a canon system dating back to to 70's (and assuming his 80's kit was bought as compatible with his earlier stuff) then he must have and FD system, do not think EF was around even in late 70's. The FD and Eos(EF) systems were not compatible so you physically could not fit an FD lens to an Eos body. The rep of course still sounds like he is talking nonsense, unless he means you could cause damage trying to fit it onto the body, but this would be like saying you might cause damage trying to fit a nikon lens on to a canon body, much clearer to say it doesn't fit.

>> Edited by Prof Higgins on Saturday 12th November 20:58

[imperialism2024]

Prof Higgins said:

If the chap has a canon system dating back to to 70's (and assuming his 80's kit was bought as compatible with his earlier stuff) then he must have and FD system, do not think EF was around even in late 70's. The FD and Eos(EF) systems were not compatible so you physically could not fit an FD lens to an Eos body. The rep of course still sounds like he is talking nonsense, unless he means you could cause damage trying to fit it onto the body, but this would be like saying you might cause damage trying to fit a nikon lens on to a canon body, much clearer to say it doesn't fit.

To tell the truth, I was unaware that Canon switched mounts so recently. I guess that's what happens to an F-mount user like me

But it's just logical that Canon would not go through the trouble of sticking with the old mount if the new digital bodies were not compatible with the film lenses. And although it may just be the customer having selective hearing, he said that both the Canon rep and the salesman both said that all films lenses, even though they have the same mount, will physically harm the digital camera bodies.

[te51cle]

Yes you can put old FD lenses on new EOS bodies, Canon themselves had to make an adaptor when the EOS originally came out because they didn't have any EOS macro lenses. Useful Info. Using the Novoflex range you can put Nikon or Leica lenses on a Canon body if you want to !

However having said that you'd only have very basic connectivity, you'd have to stop down and focus manually so they'd be a pain to use. Might as well buy the some new EOS lenses (EF rather than EF-S though !) and get the full benefit from a modern system.

[beano500]

Canon changed their mount (previously FD) when autofocus came in (subsequently EF).


I know this because a decade ago when I wanted to progress to autofocus it was the prompt for me to change to Nikon.

Nikon haven't changed their mount (apart from adding the electrical gubbins) since the very first F.



Ironically this is the reason that Canon have some advantages over Nikon today. Their mount is larger now, hence the reason that full frame digital sensors are now practical on the Canon range but not Nikon!


Having said that you can still find ways and means. (Hey! Bring back the Tamron "Adaptall" system!)

>> Edited by beano500 on Sunday 13th November 10:43

[vipers]

imperialism2024 said:

vipers said: Cant find the handbook just now, but it actually tells you this somewhere. Hmm well that inspired me to go look at the manual online, and at least in the 350D manual it doesn't say anything about older lenses harming the camera, only that the camera is EF mount, and so any EF or EF-S lens will work.

That sounds about right to me, wonder why it is though that the older lenses from 35 mm cameras will fit the digi body, but lenses which come with the digi camera wont fit 35mm cameras.

Either way, its worth a letter of complaint to Canon, pointing out the complete lack of knoweldge of one of their reps!. Thank god for forums like these.

Some weeks ago, I had a broadband problem, emailed BT, got an absoutely crap response, tried gain, never ever got a response that time, put the problem on the computer page on this site, got the answer in about 3 minutes, flat, and completely solved the problem.....