SLR Lens question

[SewIn2Disney]

Hi, rather strange question for you photo geeks :animwink:

Is there such a thing as a "lens converter"? What I'm getting at is: My dad had a great SLR camera, from 1983, It's a Minolta. He bought tons of lenses, filters, flash units, etc for it, but unfortunately the body itself does not work anymore. My dad said that I can have all of it since I really want a SLR, and I love photography, but I cannot afford one right now (too bad it's not digital...) so he'll give me his. It's going to cost over $300 to fix the body, or about $150 to buy a new body on ebay. Now....my mom also has an SLR camera, and it does work (also a Minolta), but my dad's camera's lenses does not fit my mother's camera's body.

SO (If your still with me here), my question is, is there some sort of thing you can screw onto one lens to make it fit another camera? That way the lenses would be convertable, and then someday when I do get a digital slr, I won't have to buy a whole new set of lenses.

Thank you for any responses in advance!:wave:

 

[RonAnnArbor]

One thing that is not interchangeable on cameras is different size lenses...for example, if you have a .54 lens size, it has to be a .54 lens body. Your only real choice is to find a body that fits the lens. By the way, a used Canon Rebel Digital camera will sell for about 500 dollars on eBay, so you might really want to think about saving your money and getting something you want down the road, rather than spending a lot of money on a non-digital at this point. Many companies are not even going to support non-digital after a period of phasing them out. If you must go with one of the options above, then the 150 for a new body sounds about as good as you are going to get, unless you find a similar body at a garage sale somewhere for less. Check your local PTA thrift stores and things like that -- you will often find camera bodies for very low cost as people upgrade to digital cameras and throw out or donate their old SLR's....I was lucky -- I had a canon SLR, and the canon lenses are compatible with the canon digital SLR's...

 

[SewIn2Disney]

Thanks for the replys. I don't plan on spending any money on either of the film cameras, I was just stating how expensive it would be to fix/replace.

I plan on buying a Nikon SLR, as I'm a Nikon junkie (I've got four other Nikon digi cameras). I'm hoping I can get a converter for my dad's lenses for my new camera. Minolta went out of buisness, so I won't be buying a Minolta DSLR.

One last question....they are called lens converters, right? Or do they have another name. I do not have a good camera store in my area (just standard Best Buy, Circut City, Targets, etc), so I'm going to have to search for these on the internet, and "lens converter" is not turning up what I'm looking for.

Thanks!

 

[JarettK]

Minolta has had a few lens mounts in the last 40 years.

T - The most simple mount, it is like a screw. There are T mount adapters available.

S - Early 1950s

Pre-MC (1958-1970) -- These sometimes say Rokkor PF
MC - 1st Generation (1955-1972) -- MC Rokkor
MC Rokkor - 2nd/3rd generation ( 1972-1977 )

MD Rokkor - 1st gen ( 1977 - 1979 )
MD Rokkor - 2nd Generation (1978 - 1982 )
MD - 3rd Generation ( 1981 - Present )

X-600 - Used only on the X600 camera.

MC and MD lenses should work with the better Minolta cameras (Like the Maxxum 7000 and 7).

You can buy a MD/MC to digital adapter but they are a few hundred dollars. A Dynax 5d or 7d is less than the cost of this, and should be compatible with old lenses.

Since you are a nikon fan.. it may be time to sell the lenses off to an old collector and Minolta fan, or a photo student who picked up a used Minolta. Put the money into some good Nikkor glass.

 

[SewIn2Disney]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I think I am just going to stick with saving up for Nikkor lenses. I ended up getting a Nikon D50 DSLR for graduation, and my parents upgraded the package to include the Nikon digital lens. The man at the camera store told them to make sure I only used Nikon lenses with the camera, and I should really only use lenses made for digital cameras.
One other question: How do you all feel about tele-converters as a cheaper alternative to buying new lenses? Does it cheapen the pictures at all? By cheapen, I mean, is it clear around the edges as well as the center, does it add any grainyness, etc?
Thanks for all your help, the SLR world is so big and confusing!

 

[JarettK]

Actually the "made only for digital" lenses are typically not as good as the lenses made for film SLRs (there are a few exceptions).

Because a DSLR sensor is much smaller than a film frame, the lens can be smaller and cheaper to produce. Also, the center of a lens is the best quality... so when you have a bigger piece of glass, and you only use the center... you get a sharper image.

The sales guy is in for sales.. nothing more. He is only interested in selling the higher markup item. Typically thats the nikon gear.

Yes I love nikon and their lenses and accessories. I use their lenses and flashes... but I know there are some other lenses that are 'better' for the money.

If you are on a budget, would you rather pay $350 for a 28-75mm f/2.8 Tamron lens, or $1400 for a 24-70mm Nikon Nikkor lens? The difference in output of the 2 is minimal.. I went with the cheaper one. After more than 30,000 shots, many of them award winning or for clients, I don't have a single regret.

Some Nikon lenses are amazing, some are blah. Some Tamron or Tokina or Sigma lenses are amazing, some are blah.

It all comes down to what you want to shoot, and your budget.

Just remember, sales people will lie to you for a very small commission...

Feel free to ask more questions on the topic, Ive used most of Nikons line of gear.

P.S.: On the topic of teleconvertors... most of them are just not of the quality you would want. It would be cheaper and easier to buy a used lens off ebay and get better quality. Lets say you have a 28-75 f/2.8 lens. You try to put a 2x teleconvertor on it. You lose 1.5-2.0 stops of light depending on the teleconvertor and you just made your lens a 56-150 f/5.6 lens. BUT the downside is, the outside of the lenses are blurry, and edges and bright lights will turn purplish (also called Chromatic aberration). Most 1.4x or 2.0x teleconvertors are $50-150.

Whats a better alternative? Buying a Nikon 80-200D f/4.5-5.6 click for review used off ebay for $75-80. Is it as great as the Nikon 80-200 f/2.8, no it focuses a little slower, and isnt as good in the dark. But it is great on a sunny or overcast day. And it is $900 cheaper or more.

Like I said.. it is about compromise and what you want to shoot.

 

[Bluewaves]

If you are looking to buy all new stuff my suggestion woudl be Canon, their in house range of lens is more extensive as well as their DSLR's tend to be easier to shoot with and generally have gotten better reviews, the other thing Canon has done and Nikon has not is released all the information about how the camera stores and processes its photos, might not sound important but when you go to download those photos, photoshop, aperature, on a mac know exactly how the camera worked so they can take full advantage of the cameras benefits and drawbacks.

The Rebel XT is excellent and its around $800 brand new I'm sure you'd be able to find a used one for less and the can lens mount has been around since 1984 so there is over 20 yrs of lens out there for it.

 

[SewIn2Disney]

Jarett, I actually bought the Nikon 80-200, from a camera store, and I ended up returning it a week later. They guy said to take it home and try it out, so I took it to Disney for the week, and I just wasn't happy with it. Don't get me wrong, the zoom was amazing, but you couldn't take just a normal shot if you wanted to, even zoomed out, you were still in telephoto mode, and couldn't get everything in the frame. I ended up returning it the day I got back from Disney. I think I will save up and get a (approximately) 35-200 or 300 mm lens all in one, that way I still have the telephoto, but I can still have a "normal" range too. I do, however, love the wide angle lens that came with the camera, I've never had one before, and I absolutly love everything about it. In fact, i just about love everything with the Nikon camera!
Thanks for all of the tips! Now I know who to go after when I have my next question!

 

[EpcoTim]

A quick recomendation, get a cheap 28mm 1.8 fixed. Its close to a 50mm on 35mm terms. Great for low light situations and it will teach you a lot on how to frame a shot, plus its close to what a humans eye is. And you can get a used one dirt cheap at http://www.keh.com

 

[SewIn2Disney]

quick question: I just found out that digital mm and film mm are not the same (like you said, a 28mm dig. is 50mm in 35mm terms.) is there a chart somewhere where I can compare the numbers?
I'm looking around on the site you recommended, and there is a lens, 70-200 mm, but I was wondering what that equates to.

 

[pisco]

The conversion from full frame to digital (actually APS-C size size) is dependent on the camera used. On Canon cameras the conversion factor if 1.6, on Nikon 1.5. So on a Nikon a 70-200 would be a 105-300.

 

[mrtoad]

I would take the advice from EpcoTim as well. I don't think you will want to use something from 35 out to 200 or 300 as your main lens. You are talking a big freaking lens that will make your day not as enjoyable as you have it hanging from your neck.

As much as it is a pain to swap out lenses, for the most part you are not going to want to zoom out that far all the time so it won't be so bad.

Jarett, I actually bought the Nikon 80-200, from a camera store, and I ended up returning it a week later. They guy said to take it home and try it out, so I took it to Disney for the week, and I just wasn't happy with it. Don't get me wrong, the zoom was amazing, but you couldn't take just a normal shot if you wanted to, even zoomed out, you were still in telephoto mode, and couldn't get everything in the frame. I ended up returning it the day I got back from Disney. I think I will save up and get a (approximately) 35-200 or 300 mm lens all in one, that way I still have the telephoto, but I can still have a "normal" range too. I do, however, love the wide angle lens that came with the camera, I've never had one before, and I absolutly love everything about it. In fact, i just about love everything with the Nikon camera!
Thanks for all of the tips! Now I know who to go after when I have my next question!

 

[SewIn2Disney]

Wow.....how come they didn't teach all of this in my photography class? Good greif....I'm going to have to sign up for a digital only class somewhere. I know how to develop my own film and print my own pics in a darkroom, but I guess none of that is relevant at all today.

I think I'll just stick with my lens now, I'm extremely happy with the pictures it takes, and it's zoom capabilities. I have a small Nikon point and shoot with an 8x zoom, which is more then sufficient. I've got plenty of time to invest in more goodies for my SLR later on.

And EpcoTim, that website you recommended is great, thanks for the link!

 

[Kadee]

Wow.....how come they didn't teach all of this in my photography class? Good greif....I'm going to have to sign up for a digital only class somewhere. I know how to develop my own film and print my own pics in a darkroom, but I guess none of that is relevant at all today.

I think I'll just stick with my lens now, I'm extremely happy with the pictures it takes, and it's zoom capabilities. I have a small Nikon point and shoot with an 8x zoom, which is more then sufficient. I've got plenty of time to invest in more goodies for my SLR later on.

And EpcoTim, that website you recommended is great, thanks for the link!

Hi, I loved reading this thread. It gave me a lot of good info.

About photography classes..... I learned a lot more from the adult continuing education photography class than the actual college credit photography class. I got a LOT more hands on experience and one-on-one help. They are also cheaper. I pay typically about $75 (minus the discount for being a grad of the college) for an 8 week course. At the university here, they call them "Special Courses." You might want to check into it. Just a suggestion.

 

[SewIn2Disney]

I went to a small private college, so the photography class I took was the only one, I just took it for fun.
But, I bought my camera from Rands (not sure if they are a country-wide thing or not) but, it came with 15 free classes. I was considering taking them (they have a whole list of classes to take, after you take the two basic classes) execpt the center you have to take them at is almost an hour away.

I do, however, learn a lot from everyone around here!