topic Re: Older FD/FL lenses/bellows in General Discussion

Older FD/FL lenses/bellows

McDonald — Wed, 04 Mar 2020 18:34:50 GMT

Hi. Have some older specialty Canon lenses, especially a FL bellows unit and Macro lenses. Are these adapatable to modern cameras in the Canon line? Beautiful pieces! Fun to get back into this aspect again! Thanks

Re: Older FD/FL lenses/bellows

kvbarkley — Wed, 04 Mar 2020 21:01:30 GMT

Not easily.

Re: Older FD/FL lenses/bellows

wq9nsc — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 13:53:29 GMT

Film has made something of a nostalgia comeback with some new formulations being introduced so perhaps buying a classic Canon SLR film body (plenty of them on ebay) would be a perfect use for these classic lenses.

Rodger

Re: Older FD/FL lenses/bellows

kvbarkley — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 14:07:22 GMT

It will have to be a really old camera, since the EF mount was introduced in 1987.

Re: Older FD/FL lenses/bellows

wq9nsc — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 14:23:54 GMT

I remember! I bought an EOS 650 in 1988 to replace my AE-1. But those FD/FL mount cameras aren't old, they are classics 🙂

Rodger

Re: Older FD/FL lenses/bellows

kvbarkley — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 14:31:19 GMT

Apple just explained the difference between"Vintage" and "Obsolete"

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201624

Re: Older FD/FL lenses/bellows

RobertTheFat — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 14:48:49 GMT

@wq9nsc wrote:
I remember! I bought an EOS 650 in 1988 to replace my AE-1. But those FD/FL mount cameras aren't old, they are classics 🙂

Rodger

Were those the ones where the lens screwed into the body, or am I just showing my age?

(In my defense, I spent the film era in the Nikon world and had little exposure to Canon products.)

Re: Older FD/FL lenses/bellows

wq9nsc — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 14:49:47 GMT

Sounds like they discovered what garbage the "beats" branded stuff was with their immediate obsolescence 🙂

The SR-500 communications console produced by Hallicrafters only during 1955, expensive as a new car at the time and very rare. I completely restored this one and it is vintage and rare but fully functional and not yet obsolete.

Rodger

Re: Older FD/FL lenses/bellows

kvbarkley — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 15:25:08 GMT

Nice. I have a friend who is restoring the radio shack on the USS Iowa in San Pedro.

Re: Older FD/FL lenses/bellows

wq9nsc — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 15:52:35 GMT

I am really glad to see that aspect of the old warships being restored properly, good for him!

Rodger

Re: Older FD/FL lenses/bellows

ebiggs1 — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 15:08:20 GMT

"Are these adapatable to modern cameras in the Canon line?"

Most of the time it is best to let history remain in the past. It is where it belongs. However, if you have the "hots' I am sure anything is possible with enough effort. I went through it with tons on old gear, so .....................

Re: Older FD/FL lenses/bellows

McDonald — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 16:31:44 GMT

Bayonet mount, but yes you know of them !

Re: Older FD/FL lenses/bellows

McDonald — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 16:34:30 GMT

You are most likely correct. Just thought there might be a solution hidden in the collective mind out there!

Re: Older FD/FL lenses/bellows

McDonald — Sat, 07 Mar 2020 16:01:16 GMT

It appears I may have found a solution, Metabones adapters have adapters for alot of mixed camera product connections. It appears that it only works on mirrorless cameras.

https://www.metabones.com/products/details/MB_FD-X-BM1

Re: Older FD/FL lenses/bellows

FDLover34 — Mon, 06 Apr 2020 23:29:47 GMT

As far as the bellows, I just used a glassless FD to EF adapter (available just about anywhere for under $50) to fit the camera (5D II) to the bellows (you could, in theory, use the adapter for the macro lenses but they will only be good for very close-focus).

Install the FD/FL lens to the front of the bellows (which I would assume you have) and you're good to go. It does take a little fiddling to put the lens on properly so it stops down, but it works.

Be advised that the larger bodies (D/DS/DX lines) are too big as they will bump into the rail.

There are countless threads on the pros and cons of using any kind of adapter for the macro lenses themselves. For my FD 200mm F/4 macro, I installed an Ed Mika adapter ($75) to keep infinity focus. However, he is essentially a one man operation and, unfortunatley, he seems to be dealing with personal issues and is MIA. He did offer a commercial referral but with Covid-19...