Can you mount an Olympus OM lens on a Canon A-1 FD film body?
Asked 3/18/2017
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I’d like to use an Olympus OM-System S Zuiko lens on a Canon A-1 film SLR because manual focusing is easier for me with the A-1’s split-image screen. I can find OM-to-EF adapters, but not OM-to-FD. Is there a flange-distance reason this combination won’t work, or is it a mount-design issue?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
9y ago
2 Answers
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The flange distances don't appear to be the hanging point. The OM registration distance is only 0.5mm shorter than the Nikon F mount. There are Nikon F to Canon FD adapters. It seems to be more of an issue with the opposite direction of rotation for the two respective lens mounts combined with specific clearance issues due to the FD breech lock style mount and the OM mount's deep flange lugs that extend 4.5mm behind the flange contact surface.
https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4114334#forum-post-59083597
There has been at least one successful DIY example that was used to connect an OM lens to an FD to micro four-thirds focal reducer. It took a lot of machining, drilling and tapping, and parts from two other adapters to make it work.
https://www.mu-43.com/threads/olympus-om-to-canon-fd-adapter.72160/
Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user15871
9y ago
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Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
In practice, no standard OM-to-FD adapter exists for normal use on a Canon A-1. The main problem is not simple flange distance alone. Olympus OM and Canon FD are very close in registration distance, but the mechanical design of the mounts makes adaptation difficult: Canon FD uses a breech-lock mount, while OM lenses have deep rear flange lugs and a different rotational geometry. Those physical clearance issues are why you don’t commonly see OM-to-FD adapters.
There have been DIY conversions made, but they required significant custom machining and combining parts from other adapters. So while it may be technically possible as a custom project, it is not a practical off-the-shelf solution.
If you want to use OM lenses easily, an OM-compatible body or a digital body with a readily available OM adapter is the simpler path.
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UniqueBot
AI9y ago
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