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Author Topic: Can a Canon FD lens be put on a Sony A7?  (Read 4266 times)

Iluvmycam

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Can a Canon FD lens be put on a Sony A7?
« on: April 30, 2015, 02:51:35 pm »

I'm looking for a FF cheapo cam to adapt some Canon FD lenses to. The cam will get wrecked. I normally use Leica M240 but cant afford to lose em. I was looking at a Sony A7 that I see costs about $1000. That would be doable for a disposable cam.

I see BH has lots of FD/Sony adapters what I can't tell if they fit the A7.

If Sony can't be adapted, what FF can be adapted to the FD and is in that price range and is at least 24mp FF.

Thanks

« Last Edit: April 30, 2015, 02:55:18 pm by Iluvmycam »
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Johnny_Johnson

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Re: Can a Canon FD lens be put on a Sony A7?
« Reply #1 on: April 30, 2015, 03:05:32 pm »

Yes they can be.
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Telecaster

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Re: Can a Canon FD lens be put on a Sony A7?
« Reply #2 on: April 30, 2015, 03:11:50 pm »

You can use pretty much any 35mm format interchangeable lens ever made on an A7. (There are some exceptions, of course…Zeiss Contaflex lenses are currently a no-go.) Canon FD is no problem, just get an FD-to-FE/NEX adapter. Novoflex makes one, and I've had good luck with their adapters on various cameras including an A7r. There are less expensive options too, maybe more appropriate for a rig that'll be beaten up.

-Dave-
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scooby70

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Re: Can a Canon FD lens be put on a Sony A7?
« Reply #3 on: April 30, 2015, 05:27:21 pm »

I use FD lenses on a Sony A7 and they work well. I use mine with a Novoflex adapter but as these are about £100 you can save money by buying a cheap one for £10 from an auction site beginning with e. If you'll be using lenses wider than 28mm be aware that some adapters for Sony mount are for Nex APS-C cameras. For example I have one and it vignetts badly with my 24mm lenses but is fine from 28mm onwards.

If you look at other digital cameras remember that some film era lenses will not work with a dumb metal adapter and need one with a corrective lens to achieve infinity focus. For example FD and Minolta film era lenses need an adapter with a lens in it when used on Canon DSLR's but old Olympus Zuiko lenses don't and will work well with just a dumb adapter on a Canon DSLR.
« Last Edit: April 30, 2015, 05:29:31 pm by scooby70 »
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Iluvmycam

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Re: Can a Canon FD lens be put on a Sony A7?
« Reply #4 on: April 30, 2015, 06:23:51 pm »

Thanks

I am using a FD circular fisheye 7.5mm. Do you think it will work OK?
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scooby70

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Re: Can a Canon FD lens be put on a Sony A7?
« Reply #5 on: April 30, 2015, 06:51:36 pm »

Well, if my APS-C Nex adapter got in the way of my 24mm lenses I think you'll be better off keeping away from them and going for an adapter designed for "full frame" lenses.
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Iluvmycam

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Re: Can a Canon FD lens be put on a Sony A7?
« Reply #6 on: April 30, 2015, 07:38:17 pm »

That is what I want to find out. If I can adapt the 7.5 mm to the A7. Sony adapters are very confusing. Some have glass in them.
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scooby70

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Re: Can a Canon FD lens be put on a Sony A7?
« Reply #7 on: April 30, 2015, 08:35:26 pm »

What you need for an FD lens is a dumb metal adapter which just does two things, allows you to mount the lens and places the lens at the correct distance from the sensor. No lens element in the adapter is required.

I use a Novoflex adapter to mount FD lenses on my A7. There may be cheaper adapters but my advice is to keep away from adapters made for the APS-C Nex cameras as you may end up with the same issue I had, it getting in the way of wide angle lenses. My advice is to look for an adapter which is specifically for the full frame A7.
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E.J. Peiker

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Re: Can a Canon FD lens be put on a Sony A7?
« Reply #8 on: April 30, 2015, 09:29:05 pm »

Fotodiox makes high quality adapters at a fraction of the cost of the Novoflex.
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mcbroomf

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Re: Can a Canon FD lens be put on a Sony A7?
« Reply #9 on: May 01, 2015, 06:51:15 am »

That is what I want to find out. If I can adapt the 7.5 mm to the A7. Sony adapters are very confusing. Some have glass in them.

The early adapters for Sony E-mount only had to cover APSc as the only bodies Sony made were the Nex series.  Some of them as said before would not allow the lens to cover the full sensor of the A7 series when it came out.  So check the description of the adapter.  For example this one specifically says it's made for Nex and A7 and A7r.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Adapter-for-Canon-FD-FL-Lens-to-Sony-a6000-a5000-a3500-a3000-Alpha-A7-A7R-NEX-5R-/321386354429?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ad41e96fd

Note that it says it's incompatible with A7s and A7II.  This is because Sony changed the mount to an all stainless steel type (was SS and plastic sandwich) to improve the fit and durability.  Some people have said that that this now gives them a problem with 3rd party adapters (just too tight).  With the A7 you should be OK, although there are some 3rd party all SS lens mounts that can be put on the A7 and A7r, so if you're buying used just check, or get an adapter that the supplier says is OK for both types.
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