Legacy lenses

[zharca]

Does anyone have experience in re-using manual 35mm lenses on modern digital cameras?

We've aquired a Canon 400D as a first "proper" digital camera, but I still have, unused for a long time, a very good set of fast Olympus prime lenses from 24 to 180mm (plus a 1.4 converter) and it looks as if I can get an adapter to fit them onto the Canon body and even give focus confirmaion.

If I sold the OM system, there's no way I could justify buying glass of this quality again for what's now just "hobby" use, so I'd really like to re-use them if they would work. I'm OK with manual focus and exposure - always had to do it before!

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by zharca

Does anyone have experience in re-using manual 35mm lenses on modern digital cameras?

We've aquired a Canon 400D as a first "proper" digital camera, but I still have, unused for a long time, a very good set of fast Olympus prime lenses from 24 to 180mm (plus a 1.4 converter) and it looks as if I can get an adapter to fit them onto the Canon body and even give focus confirmaion.

If I sold the OM system, there's no way I could justify buying glass of this quality again for what's now just "hobby" use, so I'd really like to re-use them if they would work. I'm OK with manual focus and exposure - always had to do it before!

manual focus and you can indeed set the camera to manual everything - though you will also need a light meter as the in camera ttl metering probably wont work

however i have to say that this is a bit like buying a sports car then driving it only in first gear with a man walking in front with a red flag !

A zoom to cover those optical lengths would set you back no more than 200 notes (probably about the same as an adapter and a decent light meter) and while it is true that prime lense may give better results than zooms when comparing like for like i would be very suprised if results from a hodge podge system like the one you propose were better than those from a modern zoom.

I wouldnt bother selling the OM system tho as you wont get much for them , and it might be worth keeping for times when you still want to use film - also you can get good macro results by using a reversing ring to flip your 24, 35, or 50mm fast prime onto the front of a canon lens

also if you do have a hankering for a fast prime to put on the 400D the canon EF 50mm F1.8 is les than £85

[zharca]

Hi thanks for that.
Metering is a bit of a sore point at the moment - my Sekonic, which has never missed a beat, suddenly stuck on "battery check" about a week ago. It might be cheaper to get a new base unit off Ebay than to have it repaired as I figure I still need a flash meter in any case.

I'm still in two minds about whether to keep one film system, and the only sensible choice is the Olympus 35mm. I can justify this more if I can fit the lenses onto the Canon.

[Zebethyal]

Eeyore has already mentoned flipping lenses and attaching to the front of an existing lens using a coupler.

Another use for manual lenses would be with a bellows unit either forward or reverse mounted, I use Nikon E series manual lenses on my bellows unit regularly, for reverse mounting, the lens could be any make as you are only using the filter threads, the shorter the focal length, the greater the magnification.

I also use enlarger lenses on my bellows with a variety of adapters, my intention here is for IR and UV photos of flowers, since the Nikon enlarger lenses pass light in these wavelengths whereas the coatings on most other lenses tend to block the UV part (also need a bunch of special filters here).

Stick most things on a bellows unit and you are into manual everything (especially in the Nikon world)

Regards

Tim

[zharca]

Hi, what you are saying about UV is really interesting because it's something that's been lurking in the back of my mind to explore, and I kinda hoped to experiment with the OM system and a UV pass filter. If the lenses block it, that rather stuffs the idea. But I do have Schneider process lenses around (cost a fortune, worth squat!), so maybe it's back on the cards. Don't have bellows, but they are now quite cheaply available for OM now.

[Zebethyal]

If you are interested in UV photography, have a read of Bjorn Rorslett's website.

My Fuji S2 Pro is supposedly sensitive to UV, though my attempts thus far with a B+W 403 UV pass filter (to block visible light) and a Tiffen Hot Mirror (to block any IR getting through the 403) along with a selection of enlarging lenses (El Nikkor 50mm f/2.8, 63mm f/2.8 and 74mm f/4) and a Nikon PB-6 bellows unit and some adapters have only yielded very purple pictures with little or no sign of the subject.

I may at some point obtain a second hand Nikon D50 and have it modified for UV/IR by having the hot mirror removed from the CCD sensor and have something that passes more UV/IR but blocks visible light put in it's place, this would lead to sensible exposure times and the ability to actually see what you are taking a picture of without having to stop and apply a nearly black filter before pressing the shutter.

Regards

Tim

[zharca]

Hi, thanks for the link, that is fascinating stuff. I'd never thought that digital cameras would be sensitive to very short wavelengths and I think it might be easier with film - after all, film can run right up to x-ray! We even used to have copy films that were just UV sensitive - daylight loading - but they were very slow.

thanks, jeff

[Maccattack]

I read somewhere you can use the old om lenses on the om digital slrs with an adaptor so maybe if the new oms are really unpopular you could get a knockdown body .Why not shoot some film on the om for old times sake , they would be good for street photography and I think still excellant for macro .
I still use my old olympus stuff occasionally and got my son to take an interest without worrying about him scuffing an old OM2 .
Not much help but I enjoyed the nostalgia...
I dont understand the uv end but Bjorn Rorstveldt(something like the last name - ) has a lot of uv on his web site ( a search for nikon lens reviews should find his wenb site)

Cheers

Malcolm

[eeyore]

you can use the OM lenses on the Olympus DSLRs with an adaptor but again the performance will be variable and you will still lose the TTL funcrions such as metering

[nightshade]

I use Takumars 42mm screw thread reversed for macro