Can I use my old Canon EF film lenses on a newer DSLR, and is it worth building around them?
Asked 9/9/2014
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I’m shopping for a lightweight DSLR on a modest budget and already own an older Canon EOS 500 QD 35mm film camera with two lenses: Canon EF 35-80mm f/4-5.6 III and Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 II. I’m considering bodies like the Canon SL1/T4i/T5i and want to know whether these older EF lenses will work on newer Canon DSLRs.
I mainly shoot landscapes, portraits, nature, and occasional macro, and I prefer a compact setup because larger kits can be discouraging to carry. I also care somewhat about video.
Are these film-era EF lenses fully compatible with newer Canon DSLRs, and are they good enough to justify choosing Canon around them? Also, how will they behave differently on a modern crop-sensor DSLR compared with a 35mm film body?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
2 Answers
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I won't get into vintage camera gear values, but yes, you can still use EF lenses on any Canon dSLR camera bodies--the mount is compatible, as is the electronic communication between the lens and body. And if you like small and compact and want to stay in the Canon lineup, the SL1/100D (or any successor) may be worth looking at, but is unlikely to be found used at the time of this writing.
However. I would also say that there are other choices open to you, and that the lenses you have are entry-level/consumer-grade, and therefore may not be worth staying in the mount system to keep using. The crop factor of today's dSLRs means that lenses tend to look longer (i.e., have a narrower field of view) on digital than they did on film, because the sensor is smaller than the frame of 35mm film. So, for example, your 35-80 is no longer a wide-ish-to-slight telephoto lens on a T5i, but frames more like a normal-to-telephoto lens (e.g., the FoV would be equivalent to 1.6x 35-80 => 56-128mm on a film camera.
Today, there is a new class of camera that is displacing or supplementing dSLRs for many shooters--typically those for whom travel and street photography is the largest portion of their shooting. And those are the mirrorless cameras. These cameras also have interchangeable lens mounts, but they combine some features from SLRs and others from digital P&S cameras (live view exposure simulation, focus peaking, etc.) and are overall quite capable feature-wise, but much smaller, lighter, and more discreet. The three main systems that seem to have the bulk of discussion/reviews about them are the Sony E-mount (NEX, or Alpha Mirrorless), Fuji X, and Olympus & Panasonic micro four-thirds cameras. These are only the most popular systems; there are other mirrorless systems like Canon's EOS M, Nikon 1, Samsung NX so you'll want to do research to see which might be the best fit for you. The sensors in the mirrorless cameras can be the same size as those in dSLRs, so the image quality is on a par. And while the overall lens systems are more restricted than dSLR systems which are leveraging film era designs, all of them have "the basics" covered; and you say you don't want to carry a lot of lenses. So depending on what you shoot, these may be as good (or better) of a fit than a dSLR.
Originally by user27440. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user27440
11y ago
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Yes. Canon EF lenses from your film EOS camera will mount and communicate properly with Canon EOS DSLRs, including models like the SL1, T4i, and T5i.
That said, those two lenses are consumer/entry-level lenses, so they’re usually not a strong reason by themselves to commit to the Canon system. If you choose Canon, think of them as usable starter lenses rather than a major advantage.
One important difference: on most newer Canon entry-level DSLRs, the sensor is smaller than a 35mm film frame. This creates a crop factor, so the lenses give a narrower field of view than they did on film. In practical terms, they will feel “longer” on a crop-sensor DSLR, which can be useful for telephoto shooting but less ideal if you want wider views for landscapes or travel.
If compact size matters most, the Canon SL1/100D line is a reasonable option to consider. But don’t feel locked into Canon just because of these lenses; their value is compatibility and convenience, not exceptional optical quality.
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