Hama Lens Adapter Canon EOS 00030845

[verikos]

This Lens Adapter is intended to connect Canon FD, AE and FL lenses to the Canon EOS. I have some old FD lenses but can't use them on my canon 450D. I know this could be a complete shot in the dark but does anybody own one of these? If so, is it worth buying? Thanks.:)

[Pat]

Don't know the first thing about it, Denise. :)
But I found this review by a satisfied customer;
Focus -- All the lenses I've mounted on this adapter, from 17mm through 500mm, focus to infinity, and they all maintain focus with an FD teleconverter between the adapter and the lens. There is a very slight loss of sharpness. This is unavoidable in such products, and therefore quite acceptable, especially considering the price of the adapter compared to the cost of new lenses of 500mm and longer.

Focal length -- Based on looking through cameras with various lenses mounted, I estimate that this adapter has a 1.25x teleconverter effect. My old 500mm becomes a 625mm, and with the teleconverter it's about 1250mm.

Exposure -- Because older lenses lack current EOS technology you must set your aperture manually on the lens and control your shutter speed either manually or with aperture value (AV) mode. Easy enough and just like the old days before everything got all automatic.

Quality -- I do not (at least not yet) notice the problems the previous reviewer noted - the finish flaking off the adapter, a "hazy glow around bright objects" at wide apertures, or unsmooth operation of the aperture lock ring.

The aperture lock ring allows an FD lens mounted on the adapter to function like an old "preset" aperture lens. The previous reviewer is correct that this ring ought to be knurled for easier operation - it is a little hard to manipulate being smooth, narrow (although it is the full width of the adapter), and right against the camera body (but that is where the adapter must be). I fixed this with a bit of cloth ("gaffer's") tape which gives plenty of grip. Some users may prefer to put their lens into manual aperture mode instead of using it as a preset.

I am rating this product at 4 out of 5 stars because there are always inherent compromises in adapting equipment to do what it was never designed to do. In this case, two additional pieces of glass are added to an optical path which was not designed to use them, and aperture control goes back 40 years to completely manual operation. That said, I am very pleased with this adapter and would recommend without reservation.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/89910-REG/Hama_HA_30845_Lens_Adapter_for_Canon.html

[verikos]

Wow. Thank you so much for taking the time to reply Pat. This has got to be the most informative review I've read on the subject. I was getting really frustrated so I thought I would take a chance and see if anybody had any personal experience on the forum. After reading the reviews I definitely feel more hopeful that I can actually get some use out of the old FD lenses that are gathering dust in my wardrobe. Thanks again. I really appreciate it.