Doin' the Happy Dance...

[photophorous]

...because I just brought this beauty home from my local camera shop.



I don't even have a camera body for it yet, but I'm working on that. Over the last year or two I've built up a pretty large Minolta film SLR kit; larger than I need, really. Ever since I got my Canon digital I've been thinking about selling it all to buy a different film SLR kit with lenses that can be mounted to my Canon. Minolta is one of the few that can't be adapted. I also recently decided to sell a couple of my rangefinder lenses, which is a long story. [I still like the RF, but for now all I'm keeping is the body and a 50mm. Later I'll get a better wide angle than what I can afford at the moment.] Trading all this stuff in lets me get a Contax or Yashica 35mm SLR body (haven't picked one yet), a 28mm and a 50mm (all I really need), along with an adapter to use them on my DSLR. The adapter is on the way and now I just need to find the film body and a 50mm Planar. Woohoo!

Just had to show it off.

Paul

[brmill26]

You sound like a man with a plan, Paul! That is some very nice glass; it sounds like you'll have a very nice kit when you get done.

[schrackman]

Sweet glass!!!

[Cathathome]

Cool!

Can you elaborate on the adapter part? I've been sticking to Canon EF or Canon mount lenses only, believing this is my only option. I could be persuaded to try different lenses if they could be made compatible, especially with future cameras. My XT won't last forever, eh? . Plus I keep looking at the old film Rebel collecting dust...hmm, full frame!

[photophorous]

Brad, I am definitely a man with a plan. I've been slowly building my Minolta kit because it's all so cheap. A $30 lens here, a $15 lens there...next thing I know I have five 50mm lenses, a 45mm lens, two 28mm lenses, a 35mm, two 135mm, and four bodies. It's just too much. The quality is good, but not as good as the Zeiss, and since it can't be adapted to my Canon, I'll end up duplicating too much. So, the Minolta has to go, in favor of a much smaller and slightly higher quality kit. I can't wait to get a camera body so I can try it out!

Paul

[photophorous]

Cool!

Can you elaborate on the adapter part? I've been sticking to Canon EF or Canon mount lenses only, believing this is my only option. I could be persuaded to try different lenses if they could be made compatible, especially with future cameras. My XT won't last forever, eh? . Plus I keep looking at the old film Rebel collecting dust...hmm, full frame!

Hi Cath,

The Canon EF lens mount is blessed with a short flange distance, which gives you the ability to adapt lots of other lenses, including, Nikon, Olympus, M42 screwmount, Contax, and I'm sure there's more. There is a catch though...actually, a couple of catches. You have to buy the appropriate adapter, and even then you will loose autofocus and auto-aperture function. You may also loose certain metering modes.

The autofocus issue can be dealt with in two ways. You can swap out your focus screen for one that is better suited for manually focusing (google Katz eye or Haoda fu). Or, you can get an adapter that has a chip on it and allows focus confirmation. There are advantages and disadvantages to each. I just ordered a focus confirm adapter, but I haven't tried it yet.

The lose of auto-aperture function might be the biggest issue for most people. It means you have to focus with the aperture wide open, so you have enough light to see, then stop the aperture down to where you want it to take a meter reading and to take a shot. It's not practical for fast moving subject matter or quick shooting in general, but it works.

The metering issue is not a big deal. Even the plane metal adapters will still allow center weighted and spot metering modes, but if you want to use the evaluative mode, there are only certain chipped adapters that allow that. Even then, some people report exposure problems. You may have to apply some exposure compensation, but it shouldn't be a big deal. I actually prefer center weighted most of the time anyway.

It's not a perfect solution, but if you have some old manual focus lenses, or you want to save some money and don't mind the hassle, there are tons of lens options for your Canon.

Paul

[Cathathome]

Thanks for the tips, Paul! Certainly something to consider for the future.

Enjoy your Zeiss

[brmill26]

I've used a Nikon to Canon adapter to shoot some old fully manual Nikon lenses on my XTi. If you're familiar with manual cameras, it's a snap. I've had no problem metering, but the lack of any matte does make focusing difficult.

[Xia_Ke]

Mmmm, Zeiss goodness. Congrats on the new lens! I'll be looking forward to seeing some shots

[photophorous]

Doh! I finally got a body for this Distagon on Friday and when I mounted it on the camera I realized the meter wasn't registering changes to the lens aperture. It turns out the lens mount was bent and that was preventing a small tab on the lens from engaging the meter coupling ring inside the camera body. So I had to return the lens. They took it back, but now I have to find another one.

In the mean time, I've sold a bunch of stuff on ebay and picked up a good 50mm f/1.4 Planar and a couple of bodies; a decent Contax 139Q, and a beat up Yashica FX-D for backup. I'm waiting on a quote from KEH for a couple of the nicer Minolta items that I'm selling. Once they get back to me, I'll probably put that money towards another 28 Distagon. They give you an extra 10% when you use the money at KEH. I also have some fresh leather on the way. The 139Q is getting a new covering, new light seals, and a new mirror bumper.

I should have some pics from the 50 soon.

Paul