Canon EOS & lenes (Dumb Question)

[Blackpool Rocker]

Hi Folks,
Ok, this may be a very silly question, but new to this photograpy stuff. I have just had a
Canon EOS 450d from Jessups.The chap who sold me the camera informed me that lenes from the
Canon range of film slr camera's will fit my EOS.
Now, while I will admit i had to bow to his knowledge at the time, in the cold light of day
this carnt be right.....is it..?

Cheers for your help.

[VxDuncan]

Yes, any of the "EF" (ie old EOS) lenses will fit. Basically the AF stuff. Not sure about the FD stuff (I'm a Nikon type). Due to the smaller sensor, everything is "zoomed in" by 1.6x, therefore 28mm old lenses have the field of view of ca. a 44mm lens. Hence, you will need a new wide angle probably, but the longs zooms will work fine.

Older sigma stuff may need a reflash of the firmware to be compatible, and modern lenses will be slightly better if they have been specifically designed for digital.

[cbcbcb]

VxDuncan said:

Not sure about the FD stuff

The FD lenses don't fit. There are some adaptors available (including an official Canon one), but they require some optical components in order to retain the ability to focus to infinity.

[Blackpool Rocker]

...so, if I look on e-bay and purchase a Canon EOS 300/500 film camera and lenes, I should be ok?

[beanbag]

Blackpool Rocker said:

...so, if I look on e-bay and purchase a Canon EOS 300/500 film camera and lenes, I should be ok?

If they are EF lenses then there is no problem. FD lenses do pose an issue and I would avoid them in all honesty unless you are looking at very specialist applications....

[Famous Graham]

Blackpool Rocker said:

...so, if I look on e-bay and purchase a Canon EOS 300/500 film camera and lenes, I should be ok?

Unless you're particularly after a film camera as well, then there's no need to look for that. There are oodles of lenses sold on their own. All EF & EF-S lenses will fit your 450D

[rustyspit]

Blackpool Rocker said:

...so, if I look on e-bay and purchase a Canon EOS 300/500 film camera and lenes, I should be ok?

In principle yes, but bear in mind that what would be a useful general purpose lens on a film camera, may be less useful on a 450D due to effectively giving you 1.6x more magnification.

...e.g. a 24-85mm would be a general purpose zoom on a 35mm camera, but may feel uncomfortably 'long' to use indoors on a digital camera where the general purpose zoom lenses tend to be more in the 18-55mm range.

[Blackpool Rocker]

...so,what model Canon camera's use the AF lens mounting.
I have just looked at a Canon T70 camera and that didnt look
as though it was a AF mounting.

[SamHH]

Blackpool Rocker said:

...so,what model Canon camera's use the AF lens mounting.
I have just looked at a Canon T70 camera and that didnt look
as though it was a AF mounting.

You're right, that camera uses an older lens mount. Only EOS series cameras have the EF mount. All Canon SLR cameras since the early 90s have been EOS series cameras using the EF mount.

[Famous Graham]

Blackpool Rocker said:

the AF lens mounting

AF = Auto focus

It's not a mounting.

[RobDickinson]

Any EOS EF or EF-S will fit.

Remember the 1.6 focal length multiplier - some (28-80 etc) ranges arnt so good on crops.

Older Consumer lenses tend to be slower and have poorer AF motors + possibly fungis/dirt/scratches etc.

Also look out for the exact version of lenses, I have an early 28-80USM which is nice , the mkII on wasnt.

Look out for some older Sigma's which wont work properly.

Having said all that there can be good deals around.

[arej]

Don't the new EF lenses also have the 1.6x magnification? Is there another option?

[Famous Graham]

arej said:

Don't the new EF lenses also have the 1.6x magnification? Is there another option?

It's not the lenses, it's the fact that the body's sensor is a different size.

[VxDuncan]

This is turning into a paralell of the Nikon FX/DX thread

Basically if you're on a budget buy the body with a cheap "kit lens" like the 18-55. Build quality is poor but the optics are good, and it's a perfect lens for the 400 / 450D. A standard lens off an old camera won't go wide enough. Then you can add a longer zoom etc. when you're ready.

[arej]

Famous Graham said:

arej said:

Don't the new EF lenses also have the 1.6x magnification? Is there another option?

It's not the lenses, it's the fact that the body's sensor is a different size.

So any lens you use will have the magnification effect? It is only EF lenses you can use on a 450D isn't it?

[VxDuncan]

Yes. It's due to the different size of the sensor compared to film. The 450D has a smaller area, therefore to illuminate it the lens sits slightly closer to the move the focal point backwards (think it's this way round!), making the view of view tighter. Hence the 1.6x mag factor.


Crop sensors will take EF and EF-S.
Full frame (and 35mm) EF only.

[RobDickinson]

arej said:

So any lens you use will have the magnification effect? It is only EF lenses you can use on a 450D isn't it?

450D will take EF and EF-S lenses.

ALL focal lengths are expressed in 35mm terms, eevn on the crop/EF-S lenses.

50mm is 50mm regardless.

But your field of view is reduced with a crop sensor so its effective focal length is 1.6*

Your not actualy changing the focal length at all but thats how its easiest to understand it all.

[MonkeyHanger]

VxDuncan said:

Older sigma stuff may need a reflash of the firmware to be compatible, and modern lenses will be slightly better if they have been specifically designed for digital.

Forget older Sigma lenses. They are very unlikely to have any chips left in stock now.

My advice is don't buy a used Sigma unless it's an EX series lens.