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DSLR and old lenses!
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To be honest, I think that you’re best to go into a camera shop and try the cameras.
Get a feel for one over another. Most if not all brands will have a good range of lens, both new
and old for them.Its really down to personal choice at the end of the day. We’ll could all name our own equipment
brands but won’t really help you much at the end of the day.Appreciate you comment and agree it is personal. As I have been off the SLR scene for about 10 years and the technology has escalated. What I am looking for is direction based on other peoples experience. It is a vast market and help is what is benn requested. Can you recommend a good dealer then or would you suggest that I go else where to find this information…
I take Mark’s point, but I also agree with your point. You really need someone who’s prepared to say what they would buy today if they were starting from scratch, but everyone tends to have a loyalty and know their own brand.
I’ve bought much of my kit on Ebay and there are certainly advantages (as I mentioned above). I’ve liked Pentax gear for the reasons mentioned (though my original choice of Pentax was totally accidental). Pentax’s new K10D is ?600 without lens (~?900), which is great value for 10Mpxl with stabilising. However, the Pentax lens section on Ebay is always a lot smaller than the Canon/Nikon equivalent and it’s a lot harder to get top end specialist lenses (e.g. 300mm f/2.8 as Ciaran mentioned).
From what Ciaran said about the Nikon lens compatibility, I think I’d certainly consider that option. Canon (as I understand it) has two lens types even for its dSLRs (I may be wrong, though).
Just a word on megapixels: bear in mind that crushing 10Mpxls into the same space as 6Mpxls is quite a feat. If it keeps escalating like that, noise will inevitably become an issue, as I understand it.
Whatever you choose, let us know, won’t you?
Pete
I appreciate the comments and understand the personal touch.
I have been reviewing this now for awhile, and I believe my best options based on quality and availailty would be Nikon.
My preference would be to use a Nikon D70s (I know its old in DSLR technology terms) and build a system from there. I dont mind using manual focus as I like control, and metering, well if in doubt I can use a HH spot meter. I dont make a living out of photography anymore so the camera doestnt have to 100% reliable. The point that annoys me with Digital is the high dependencies on batteries. Long gone are the mechcanial beauties.My next task is to plan how to build this system. Will I buy a body and prime seperate, start with 28mm (? digital equiv) or buy a zoomerang.
Thanks
Battery life is much better than it used to be. If you’re thinking of going for an older model, bear this in mind. I don’t know enough about the Nikon you mentioned to say whether the battery is good/bad/indifferent.
For landscapes, you need to be thinking of 18mm focal length if the sensor is 23.5mmx15.7mm. This equates to about 28mm on film, give or take.
Zoom lenses are more prone to barrel distortion – especially at these short focal lengths, I think. This can be corrected in computer. Prime lenses at 14mm, 16mm etc are pricey, as you’d expect, and you won’t see so many bargains because they’re mostly new kit.
The D70s is a classic and will serve you very well. Not sure that its old technology to be honest though other than as
a camera its superceded by the high-pix D80.You will have trouble if you wish to use manual lens on the D70s though.
Canon’s EF mount is the most back-compatible (via adaptors) with most other manufacturer’s lenses, due to its favourable mount opening size and register (lens flange to sensor plane distance). Yes, some Nikons are compatible with older Nik lenses, as are Pentaxes and Takumars, but Canon is the one to go for if you want the widest choice of old glass. There are very few lenses that cannot be adapted to EOS slrs, although oddly, the one really difficult major mount to adapt successfully is Canon’s own FD mount! See here for the reason: http://bobatkins.com/photography/eosfaq/manual_focus_EOS.html
Also, great information at http://oomz.net/mf/index.php
I currently have a selection including Meyer-Gorlitz M42s (pre-Pentacon East German lenses, single coated, low contrast but pretty sharp), OM-Zuiko mounts (Olympus and 3rd party), Carl Zeiss Jenas, Russian M42s (Helios and Industar), Tamron Adaptalls working via Adaptall-Zuiko-EOS adaptors, and they all work very well on EOS slrs, provided you are happy to use Av mode, stopdown metering, and use a bit of EV compensation when stopping down. I could also use Takumars, Nikkors, Leitz lenses, Contax Zeisses and virtually anything else, but I have only been collecting for a little while! There are some truly great Contax/Yashica mount Zeiss lenses out there for the asking (Distagons etc) if you can afford them. The Tamron Adaptall SP (pro range) lenses have a fantastic reputation?some of them are still pretty much unrivalled for sharpness until you get up to Canon L prime lens territory and prices. The 90mm macro is a classic, and some of the zooms are excellent (for zooms).
If you want to use open aperture metering and have the convenience of auto stopdown, I’d suggest you get the Pentax K10D and stick to using K-mount Pentax lenses though. Just get in and buy some quick, because the eBay prices are rising fast as more sellers get hip to the possibility of selling their old gear to new K10D owners! The K Pentaxes are renowned for their big bright viewfinders too, which is an important consideration when using manual focus glass. For this reason I would recommend against any entry level DSLRs (except the Pentax) as they mostly use dim small pentamirror finders. For Canon, start with the 30D, for Nikon the D80, both of which have far better finders than the cheaper 350/400D or D40/50 models. I just got a 30D (from Carsten on this forum, thanks mate!) and it’s a thoroughly useable, well sorted camera, a real delight to use. The best high ISO noise performance in the business (until you get to full frame), and the 5 fps has to be heard (and used) to be believed.
Further to stuff mentioned above:
Petethebloke, Canon have just the one DSLR lensmount, but some lenses (the small image circle EF-S ones) can only be physically mounted on recent 1.6x crop cameras, as their short backfocus and sticky out rear elements would foul the mirror in full frame cameras. All EF lenses can be mounted on all Canon DSLRs.
PolMac?avoid old zooms until you’ve done a lot of reading and know what to look for. Many are simply not very good, extremely soft wide open and with bad distortions, CA and the like. Tamron SP zooms are mostly good, and a couple of Series 1 Vivitars, but there’s a whole pile of crap awaiting the eager eBayer ;) Primes are a more reliable buy as long as you stick to known good ones like the Takumars, Zuikos, Zeiss Jenas etc. Don’t bother with Hanimexes, old Sigmas and their ilk. They’re just not good. Average at best.
Hi Polmac, don’t know how Kilbride is fixed for camera shops, but try and find a retailer who has a few of the current models in-stock. Call in when the shop is not too busy and spend some time handling the various models.
Canon DSLR’s use a mixture of different sized sensors, the cheaper models use a sensor around 23mm while the more expensive “Pro” models use a full size 35mm sensor. Current Canon lenses will work on any model in the range although using one of the budget lenses on a full frame sensor will dramatically highlight the limitations of the cheaper lens.
Nikon DSLR’s all use the same sized “DX” sensor. The pixel count may be different, ranging from 2mp on the old D1 up to 12.5 mp on the latest D2Xs, but all the sensors are the same size. Any Nikon lens right back to the 1950’s will fit, althought some of the functions may be curtailed. I have used an old c 1960’s 300mm lens on the D70 and it worked prefectly in manual mode. The D70 does not give TTL metering on some of the very old lenses, but they still work in manual. The D200 on the other hand does meter correctly with the old lenses.
If you are starting from scratch I don’t understand why you are concerned about compatability with older lenses, when you have tried some of the newer lenses you won’t want to go back.
With the newer Nikon models catching the headlines the trusty older D70 or D70S is available for around ?400 with the 18 – 70 mm Kit lens. There are a great many professionals who use the D70 on a daily basis, even if it is only classified as semi-pro. The 18 – 70 Kit lens is generally regarded as one of the sharpest available outside the “Professional” range and amazing value for money.
I don’t have anything against Canon, I just happen to use Nikon, and having now aquired some Nikon “Pro” lenses I am locked into that brand. This year I upgraded to the D200 and only a few months ago sold my D70 to a young lady from your neck of the woods. I, like many others, had purchased a 3 year extended warranty. In my case this still had 18 months cover remaining and I provided the new owner with the origional purchase receipt to allow her to avail of this cover. If you have a look around the second-hand market you may be lucky enough to find a similar offer. Most DSLR owners treat their cameras with great care so the second-hand market is not as risky as some might suggest.
Les
weeles wrote:
Current Canon lenses will work on any model in the range although using one of the budget lenses on a full frame sensor will dramatically highlight the limitations of the cheaper lens.
Just to make this absolutely 100% Waterford Crystal clear:
EF lenses will fit any EOS camera. Period.
EF-S lenses will fit EOS300D/350D/400D and 20D/30D models. They will not fit older ones like 10D or D30/60, and they will not fit any of the full frame ones. The EF-S mount is the same as EF, but has an extra bit of plastic on it to prevent fitting the small image-circle lenses to f/f cameras, where they might damage the mirror. EF-S lenses would also vignette badly if used f/f.
EF-S is a way to get smaller high performance lenses made for less money. Simple as that. If you only need to cover a small image circle, you can make the elements smaller for less cash. Why Canon have not made a 10 or 12mm superwide prime in EF-S with a stop or two more speed than the rather expensive and slow 10-22mm zoom, and costing a bit less, is utterly beyond me. It has to be possible, and there’s certainly a market for it. If they can make limited appeal full-frame EF 24mm and 35mm f/1.4Ls, they can make an EF-S 12mm f/2.8 in their sleep. Wake up Canon!
Thanks Steve,
Not being a Canon user I missed the difference between the EF and the EF-S lenses, the EF-S indicating the (S) short back reach so as not to fowl the mirror.
Les
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