Lens purchase for 5D, recommendations

[Jon Fairhurst]

Originally Posted by Marcus Marchesseault

...Like Jon, I am coupling it with a wider lens but I like my 35mm f/1.4 as it is super fast and doesn't distort much like a wider lens. This is a Nikon manual lens with an adapter...

A 35/1.4 would be a sweet partner - with either the 85/1.8 or 85/1.2. I'll gladly trade my 28/1.8 for a 35/1.4L, but I doubt that I'll get any takers. ;) I'd want the 24L to complete the set.

The 28/1.8 isn't the ultimate lens, but it's a great value. It's the same generation design as the 85/1.8 with the same feel and features.

BTW, last night I tested some Magic Lantern alpha code that lets me set two focus points and toggle between them with the push of a button. Currently, there's only one (fast) speed, but it works great with the 85/1.8. Soon, we'll be able to control the speed of the focus pull.

What a change! Before June, manual lenses were the thing to own. With the 1.1.0 firmware, Canon EOS lenses became viable, but many prefer the mechanical focus rings of other brands. With electronic focus control, Canon may soon be the lens brand of choice.

[Chris Barcellos]

Jon:

Not knowing the whole Canon lens history, I understand that FD's don't work, but what about lenses originally intended for EOS Rebel and such-- are they a fit for the 5D ??

Edit: Answered my own question. Canon 5D mount is for EF lenses only. Newer lensesn in EF-S series will not fit without some adaptation, if at all.

[Jon Fairhurst]

You've answered your own question, and I'll add that FD lenses only fit with surgery and an adapter. They're too deep for modern Canon cameras. Nikon has made hay with this, since you can mount AI lenses to modern Nikons with no problem.

Then again, I can mount Nikon glass to Canon cameras, but not the other way around. The FD lenses are one of the few truly obsolete 35mm product lines.

And yeah, skip the EF-S lenses.

One thing to look for are FTMF (full time manual focus) EF lenses. They are the way to go with electronic rack focus.

With the A-M switch, you have to set the lens to M, adjust it, change it to A and then do the rack focus stuff. When setting thing up I was back and forth with the A-M switch. My EF 35/2.0 is non-FTMF, and it doesn't communicate all of the focus information to the camera that I can get from the FTMF 85/1.8. It did still rack though...

With the FTTM lenses, you can adjust the lens manually, and the Magic Lantern readout shows the data change in real time. FTTM is the only way to go for electronic rack focusing!

[Chris Barcellos]

Thanks for that bit of wisdom....FTMF......

[Nigel Barker]

Originally Posted by Jon Fairhurst

You've answered your own question, and I'll add that FD lenses only fit with surgery and an adapter. They're too deep for modern Canon cameras. Nikon has made hay with this, since you can mount AI lenses to modern Nikons with no problem.

Not quite correct. The big issue is that when Canon moved to EF lenses they changed focal point vis a vis FD lenses. So with a simple adaptor like we use to fit Nikon lenses to the 5DII it is impossible to focus to infinity an FD lens but it is possible to use it as a Macro. There are adaptors available that include a lens that does allow focusing to infinity but sadly these adaptors come from the cheap end of the market ($30-40) so clearly the optics are not great quality.

I have a beautiful Canon FD Zoom 35-105mm F3.5 that probably has the best & smoothest zoom & focus rings of any of my lens collection & I would love to use it with the 5DII. Sadly with a cheap adaptor the image is just too soft for my liking although on the upside I suppose there is no chance of moire effect.

[Jon Fairhurst]

I've read that with some FD lenses you can actually machine them to work at infinity. I don't know. I haven't done that and wouldn't be motivated to try.

[Peer Landa]

Originally Posted by Zsolt Gordos

Other than that some vintage stuff is also worth a look. I bought this old Zeiss Flektogon 20mm prime, very nice "zeissish" look.

Yes indeed, I second that -- my favorite lens (especially when it comes to DOF & bouquet) is an old classic f/1.4 Carl Zeiss that I got from some underground dealer in Czechoslovakia, and then hacked it into an EF mount. It also has the longest (and smoothest) focus throw of any lens I've owned. Here's the very first shot (the camera accidentally went off) -- I saved it just as a reminder of the hell I had to go thru to get that lens to work on my camera.

-- peer