Thanks for the info Alex. I am just finishing conversion of my own nFD 135mm F2.0. I elected to remove the lowest base you referred to and install a custom spacer in order to avoid thinning the adapter plate. The spacer was approx 1.4 mm thick and put me just at infinity..well just a hair over because I prefer it that way. I replaced the original screws with 2mm countersunk slotted screws. Now I have to design and fabricate a new aperture linkage.
Found Alex's Flickr page when I was searching for FD 135mm f/2 conversion.
Came here and registered so that I could get more info about the conversion.
I don't even know how to dismantle the lens back-end, I only see 3 tiny screws on the outside of the lens and not the small screws on the butt of the lens. Are they covered by the metal ring?
I really want to re-use my FD 135/2, I even bought an ebay FD to EOS adapter (Bower).
If I'm not satisfied with the adapter, I really want to do the conversion myself or find a local service.
I've asked 2 sources that supposed to do the conversion of lenses to EOS, but one wasn't available and the other was too pricey (US$ is really weak against EU, at the moment)
If I had FD lenses I wouldn't bother converting them. I'd buy a FD-MFT adapter and use then on E-P1. Small, light, stabilized body and no conversion fuss. What's not to like?
Okay, so I got my FD to EOS adapter.
It's the newer version with removable element/optic.
Good news is, I can now use this ancient FD 135/2 lens with my 50D.
The adapter, with the element, allows proper focusing up to infinity - but with a multiplier factor and reduced clarity - the element doesn't seem to affect f-stops that much
The adapter, with the element removed, won't allow infinity focus - but the images are really sharp - so sharp, that I was able to see the surface texture of the test object.
Bad news is, with or without the element, it's impossible to take any hand-held shots.
I went all the way to ISO 3200, just trying to get a steady hand-held shot.
Even if I paid to get it converted to EOS rear-end, I just couldn't see how I could use it to take any portrait shots.
I think I'm going to sell this fantastic lens to Micro four third owners :_(
bigpow wrote:
Okay, so I got my FD to EOS adapter.
It's the newer version with removable element/optic.
Good news is, I can now use this ancient FD 135/2 lens with my 50D.
The adapter, with the element, allows proper focusing up to infinity - but with a multiplier factor and reduced clarity - the element doesn't seem to affect f-stops that much
The adapter, with the element removed, won't allow infinity focus - but the images are really sharp - so sharp, that I was able to see the surface texture of the test object.
Bad news is, with or without the element, it's impossible to take any hand-held shots.
I went all the way to ISO 3200, just trying to get a steady hand-held shot.
Even if I paid to get it converted to EOS rear-end, I just couldn't see how I could use it to take any portrait shots.
I think I'm going to sell this fantastic lens to Micro four third owners :_( ...Show more →
I can't understand how you can't get a sharp photo unless you are photographing moving subjects. I have one that I converted myself and although it can be difficult to focus under certain conditions it can also produce some beautiful sharp images even hand-held. Do you have much experience with manual focus lenses?
Just curious: is the FD 135mm 1:2.0 lens available only in nFD mount or also with the old silver breechlock mount?
Could not find any information on the old one, therefore probably not existent...
I think this was the f/4, but frankly it's not too important. The trick is to connect the aperture mechanism by 1) locking the inner silver ring w/ a small screw and 2) connect the lever mechanism w/ an aluminum plate (the L shape plate that goes into the fork, fixed with 2 screws on the right side). There are several DIY pages that might bring additional help.
Worst case your lense stay open at f/2, which isn't a bad proposition
