using film lens with 350D

I was under the impression that I could use my old 35mm film rebel slr lens with my new 350d so I only bought the 350d body (no lens kit). Reading bits and pieces here and there, I am still not sure if this is advisable. Should I buy "digital approved" lenses (like the sigma dc's)? What is the disadvantages of using my old film lenses?

(this a repost, I posted previously in wrong forum)

There are no disadvantages in use, except that al your lenses will work as if they are 1.6x longer than the marked focal length.

Thus a 50mm on the 350D will act like a 80mm. The main problem is with wide-angles where the 1.6x also applies so that your 20mm now acts like a 32mm on a film camera - this is one of the main reasons that buying the kit lens (18-55mm) is often recommended so that you have the film equivalant of a 28-90mm 'standard' zoom. Really wide-angles on the 350d and 20D do exist though, eg Canons' EF-S 10-22mm but this only fits the 1.6x bodies (so cannot be used on the Pro EOS-1D series or film bodies) Other lens makers do ultra-wides as well, but prices for all these are a little higher than some people can afford/justify.

--
Paul

Paul said it all. As long as it's EOS it should work on your 350D, just multiply the focal length by 1.6.

The only exception might be some old sigma lenses which need rechiping. I'm sure if you gave the model of lense you have someone could give you a definitive answer.

I do have an old sigma that keeps giving me err99, could it need rechipping?. it is a 100-300mm 1:4.5-6.7 DL Sigma Zoom

Not sure if that's enough info, I am not sure what the exact model is.....

E99 is common for Sigma's that need to be re-chipped for newer bodys. That's why I am not a fan of Sigma lenses even though they are said to make a few good lenses.

Give Sigma a call and they may re-chip for free if they still support that lens...

Good luck
--
http://www.worland.net

Even if you get the lens re-chipped (and I am under the impression that some of the old Sigmas can't or will not be re-chipped), this focal length is not the most practical, as an only lens. I would advise you to get something in the 17-55 or 28-135 range. If your budget is tight, the 18-55 kit lens is an option - some people are not so pleased with it, but others use it with success - or you could look into some modern Sigma or Tamron lenses (some quite good). There are also a couple of prime Canon lens (non-zoom) not very expensive, like the 35 mm f2 or the 50 mm f1.8, and many others!

Antonio

I also have the kit lens from my old canon rebel slr (non digital) 38-76mm
I don't care for it too much.....

how about these lenses? (sigma4less)

Sigma 18-50mm f/3.5-5.6 DC for Canon AF price is $87USD (yes, I'm kinda on a budget)
or
Sigma 18-125mm f/3.5-5.6 DC for Canon AF $240
or from b&H
Canon Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM Autofocus Lens

any of these any good for general shooting? I am real new to cameras (learning as fast as I can though). I would like to pay less than $200 for a good quality lens if possible and I can only get 1 lens this year..

I also see this, this seems like a good deal? Or is it better to get 1 lens to do the job of these 2? like a 18-125

8-50mm f/3.5-5.6 DC and 55-200mm f/4-5.6 DC Two Lens Kit $194.00

Hi, e,

erd said:

I was under the impression that I could use my old 35mm film rebel
slr lens with my new 350d so I only bought the 350d body (no lens
kit)

Click to expand...

You can indeed.

erd said:

Reading bits and pieces here and there, I am still not sure
if this is advisable. Should I buy "digital approved" lenses (like
the sigma dc's)? What is the disadvantages of using my old film
lenses?

Click to expand...

No real disadvantage.

Note that the main point of the Sigma DC lenses is that (like the Canon EF-S lenses) they take advantage of the smaller sensors in the cameras they are suioted for to (presumably) allow more economical implementation.

Indeed, the Sigma DC and DG lenses, and the Canon EF-S lenses and newer EF lenses, have certain design features that make them desirable for use on digital cameras, but I doubt if the benefit is very great.

Best regards,

Doug

Visit The Pumpkin, a library of my technical articles on photography, optics, and other topics:

http://doug.kerr.home.att.net/pumpkin

erd said:

I was under the impression that I could use my old 35mm film rebel
slr lens with my new 350d so I only bought the 350d body (no lens
kit). Reading bits and pieces here and there, I am still not sure
if this is advisable. Should I buy "digital approved" lenses (like
the sigma dc's)? What is the disadvantages of using my old film
lenses?

Click to expand...

There is no such thing as "digital approved" lenses. All of your old Canon EF lenses will work fine on your new 350D. In fact, pros using Canon pro-level DSLR cameras only use 35mm "film" lenses-- none of this "digital approved lenses" non-sense. All of Canon's pro (ie, their best) lenses are 35mm lenses-- for use on 35mm film bodies or DSLR bodies. "Digital approved" is just a marketing term, but the fact remains that a good lens is still a good lens, whether it was made before the "digital" age or after the "digital" age was born.

I used to think that digital lenses just had a smaller image circle but it's actually more complex than that.

Some "film" lenses have lens elements with flat surfaces that reflect light that has bounced off the image sensor (which is more shiny than film) back onto the sensor. This can cause ghosting or flare, but the extent to which you notice it will depend on the subject of the photo. Bright small light sources against a relatively dark background are the biggest problem (e.g. city lights at night).

"digital" lenses have more and better internal lens coatings to prevent the internal reflections from the sensor being bounced back towards the sensor. They also tend to avoid flat lens surfaces to spread any reflections that do occur so that they don't show up as ghosts.

If you already have your lenses then keep using them until any problem becomes evident. It may never happen for you. If you do find the problem, or if you don't already have the lens, then buy a digital lens.

I hope this helps you

• Alan

What about speed? do you also "lose" a stop?

No. F-stops remain the same but the DoF gets less. Check the specific DoFs at
http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html
--
Gautam