Do you want a sharp, well-built lens? Of course you do! Everyone does. As many photographers already know, the lens makes a huge difference to your photos (even more than the camera, in fact!).
But if you’re like me, browsing through the latest high-end lenses can be a little depressing. The cost of luxury-grade glass can easily peak in the thousands of dollars, which is prohibitive for most folks and means that it’ll probably be a long time before you get your hands on brand-new class-leading lenses.
However…
What if I told you that you could have excellent lenses without breaking the bank?
You see, I recently discovered a method for retrofitting older film lenses to function with our modern cameras, and that is what I plan to share with you today! Take a look:
The value of old lenses
The great news is that the majority of lenses designed for film cameras are built like photographic tanks and possess extremely capable optics. These lenses are also readily available and affordable on almost any budget. You won’t find them new, but there are some great used copies to choose from.
The bad news is that these lenses are mostly manual-focus prime lenses. As a result, your autofocus won’t work, and you’ll need to develop your manual focusing skills in order to capture sharp photos. Also note that metering won’t work with these old film lenses (with at least one exception; we’ll talk about it later).
Of course, old lenses come with another major downside: they’re rarely natively compatible with newer camera equipment. A modern mirrorless camera and a 30-year-old film lens aren’t designed to fit together – and if you force the fit, you risk damaging both pieces of equipment.
So how is it done? How can you make a twenty-, thirty-, or even forty-year-old piece of gear work with today’s advanced camera bodies?
Adapting your old lenses to new cameras
Believe it or not, the answer is deceptively simple. For virtually every lens and camera combination, there is an adapter that will enable you to use the lens with the camera, regardless of manufacturer. Here’s an example:
I have an old analog Nikon F3 that was given to me by my father along with a couple of lenses: a Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 and a Nikkor 50mm f/1.8.
The entire kit remained mostly forgotten in a camera bag, and I kept it in storage for years. One day I stumbled across some information about how a few photographers were using old M42 Zeiss screw-mount lenses with their DSLRs using adapter rings.
They were producing outstanding photographs, and that got me thinking – if it was possible to find adapters for these old M42 lenses, could there also be manufacturers who produced similar adapters for other lens types?
Almost instantly, the old Nikon F3 leaped from some distant corner of my memory. My main shooting body (at the time) was a Canon 7D MkI. Could I possibly use my thirty-year-old Nikkor film, Canon 7D? Shockingly, the answer was “yes!” All I needed were these unassuming aluminum adapter rings, which I sourced on eBay for about $12 USD each.
The side of the ring matches the Nikkor mount:
My other ring mates with Canon camera bodies:
The entire process is very simple; the adapter simply snaps onto the lens:
And here’s another image, this time without the adapter in place:
Then it’s business as usual when attaching the adapted lens to the camera. Just line up the indicator dot with the mounting dot on your camera body, apply a slight twist, and wait for the lens and camera to lock together.
You’re done!
Tips for adapting old lenses
If you decide to switch adapters for whatever reason, don’t worry; the adapters should be removable! You simply need to depress a small spring catch. (Most brands have these.)
And remember, as I said earlier, old film lenses are completely manual models. This means that you’ll need to focus the lens by hand (i.e., using the focus ring on the lens barrel). It also means that you’ll need to adjust the aperture by hand (using the aperture ring on the lens barrel) instead of letting your camera do this for you.
At first, manual focus and manual aperture adjustments might seem like a pain. But that might change over time! Personally, I enjoy the deliberateness this action forces. You have to think about your composition so much more, and you get to experience the effects of the aperture adjustment literally firsthand.
(It might seem trivial, but the latter point is a big one! When you’re shooting with a particular window of sharpness in mind, you don’t have to constantly press the depth of field preview button. You can instead just turn the manual aperture ring, then watch as the plane of focus changes in real-time.)
Don’t worry if this manual operation doesn’t appeal to you. Like I said, it takes some getting used to, but pretty soon, you’ll be using various manual settings like a pro.
Additionally, for those who are really against manual focus, manual metering, and the like, the exception concerning the adapter rings I spoke of is that some are now being made with focus indicator chips built into the adapter. While this chip doesn’t enable you to use autofocus, it does allow the lens to communicate with the camera when the selected point of focus has been obtained. This is completely personal preference. I opted for the non-autofocus indication adapters because I wasn’t comfortable using aftermarket electronics of that type with my camera. Again, this is completely subjective.
Please Note: Neither the author nor Digital Photography School are responsible for any damages to your camera or lens as a result of using aftermarket devices. Please be an informed photographer prior to attempting any modifications to your precious gear!
Now, here are some images produced through a little Frankensteinish innovation.
Adapt some amazing film lenses!
Well, there you have it:
An effective way to use amazing film lenses to create beautiful photos – with a little help from an adapter or two.
If you have any old film lenses lying around that you think could make a good candidate for adaptation, go for it! And if you can’t find any suitable equipment, you can always go to your nearest camera store (or head over to a site such as eBay) and purchase some inexpensive new versions. Have fun working with your cheap and high-quality lenses.
