Can Canon FD/FL lenses be used on a Canon Rebel T3i with an EF adapter?
Asked 3/30/2012
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I want to know whether older Canon FD/FL lenses can be mounted on a Canon Rebel T3i (EF/EF-S mount) using an FD/FL-to-EF adapter. Will they focus to infinity, and what image-quality or usability issues should I expect? I’m also interested in affordable older telephoto zoom options such as 70-300mm, including other adaptable legacy mounts if that makes more sense.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
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FD lenses are designed to sit closer to the film/sensor than EF lenses - so there is no adapter that can just place the lens in the correct location (because the correct location is inside the camera where the mirror is).
This leaves us with to options:
Adapter that places the lens farther than it's supposed to be - this has the same effect as placing the lens on a macro extension tube, you lose the ability to focus to infinity and from what I heard you are likely to lose the ability to focus behind macro range.
Adapter with a lens to corrects the distance difference (like the adapter you linked to) - so you just take an old lens (that is not as good optically as the new ones) and run all the light trough a second cheap lens degrading image quality even more.
So, if you mount FD lens on an EOS camera you have a choice, you can have an impractical focus range or bad image quality - and as an added bonus you also lose auto focus and other niceties of your camera.
If you want to use cheap old lenses you should choose lenses for a mount that has an adapter that can place the lens at the correct distance without optical corrections, basically and mount with the distance grater than what EF uses (you can use this list) - but you still lose a few decades of advances in camera and lens technology, don't expect the old cheap lenses to be nearly as good as the new expensive lenses.
Originally by user2481. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user2481
14y ago
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Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes, FD/FL lenses can be mounted on an EOS body only with significant compromises. Canon FD/FL lenses were designed for a shorter flange distance than EF, so a simple mechanical adapter places the lens too far from the sensor. That means you lose infinity focus and the lens behaves more like it’s on an extension tube, limited to close-focus/macro range.
To keep infinity focus, FD-to-EF adapters use an optical correction element. Those work more like a mild teleconverter and typically reduce image quality, especially with cheap adapters. Community experience also notes soft, bloomy results wide open. You’ll also have manual focus and manual aperture control only; any “chipped” adapter may provide limited EXIF confirmation, but not true lens communication.
For a long zoom like 70-300mm, stacking an older lens with a corrective adapter is generally not a great combination. If your goal is practical telephoto use on a T3i, a newer EF/EF-S-compatible lens is the better choice, giving you proper focus, better optical performance, and often autofocus and image stabilization.
If you want to experiment with vintage glass, primes tend to be more rewarding than old long zooms on FD-to-EF adapters.
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