Canon 5DmkII and Bower FD-EOS adapter on Canon lenses at DVinfo.net

Olof Ekbergh · February 5th, 2009, 05:43 PM

I thought some may find this interesting. I just got the adapter and dusted off some FL lenses from the 60's and 70's. And did a quick and dirty shoot in our office. No lighting, just natural light from a big window. The lenses are identified in the video.

The old lenses have very different look to them (from each other too). The 50mm has a nice silk effect, if I really clean the old dust and grime out I will probably loose that effect.

The Bower does add a 1.25 x to lenses. You get full manual control of the aperture and focus, on this shoot I did not use any ND's.

This does add a few more interesting looks to our arsenal, we mostly shoot XDHD. The bokeh is really cool even in the 24mm lens.

I had problems with Vimeo so I stuck it on my GoDaddy site.

Link: Testing Bower FD-EOS adapter on old lenses and Canon 5DmkII on Vimeo

Julius Tan · February 7th, 2009, 11:43 AM

The video link you've provided is not working at my end.

Aaron Huang · February 8th, 2009, 05:16 AM

Looks alright. Some of the shots is bit soft. Do you notice any light loss with the FD lens?

Olof Ekbergh · February 8th, 2009, 08:13 AM

There is about a 1 stop, maybe 2/3 stop loss.

Yes the 50mm is very soft. The lens has been sitting around for 30 years and has quite a bit of dust on the elements. I did not clean it just to get an the silk stocking look.

I like the 24mm wide but out of focus look, to blur bg even more focus a foot closer to camera than subject.

The 35mm has more contrast and saturation, and is pretty sharp.

I like the 135mm extreme blur.

This setup is definitely not super sharp as most modern L lenses that I have. But that is not always what you want.

I just had these lenses sitting on a shelf with a bunch of filters and a couple old FTb bodies, not used since the 80's. Now with this $50.00 adapter (B&H) I can use them for special effects in video, I love that.

Mostly we shoot video with an EX3. And now with the MKII we have a bunch more looks available. I shoot a lot with the 17-40 L and the 100-400 L.

I don't think the MKII is a great A-cam but a great special tool.

Olof Ekbergh · February 8th, 2009, 08:26 AM

BTW.

The video posted is a .mov, you need QT to view it.

I gave up on Vimeo after uploads failed, it has worked fine in the past.

I will post some more samples from these lenses when I use them in a project.

I will also post some interesting shots in a dark roundhouse of a steam engine shot with the 17mm. I was very impressed by the lowlight capability of the MKII.

Gary Szunyogh · February 8th, 2009, 11:06 PM

I cannot focus them at all. I used a 24 2.8 and a 135 f2. The colors were good, but never in focus on stills, it seemed better in video. Not sure which brand of adapter I have but it does have the glass.

February 5th, 2009, 05:43 PM	#1
Olof Ekbergh Sponsor: Westside AV Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Mount Washington Valley, NH, USA Posts: 1,365	Canon 5DmkII and Bower FD-EOS adapter on Canon lenses I thought some may find this interesting. I just got the adapter and dusted off some FL lenses from the 60's and 70's. And did a quick and dirty shoot in our office. No lighting, just natural light from a big window. The lenses are identified in the video. The old lenses have very different look to them (from each other too). The 50mm has a nice silk effect, if I really clean the old dust and grime out I will probably loose that effect. The Bower does add a 1.25 x to lenses. You get full manual control of the aperture and focus, on this shoot I did not use any ND's. This does add a few more interesting looks to our arsenal, we mostly shoot XDHD. The bokeh is really cool even in the 24mm lens. I had problems with Vimeo so I stuck it on my GoDaddy site. Link: Testing Bower FD-EOS adapter on old lenses and Canon 5DmkII on Vimeo Last edited by Olof Ekbergh; February 5th, 2009 at 08:47 PM.

February 8th, 2009, 11:06 PM	#6
Gary Szunyogh Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Strongsville, Ohio Posts: 30	I tried 2 FD's today I cannot focus them at all. I used a 24 2.8 and a 135 f2. The colors were good, but never in focus on stills, it seemed better in video. Not sure which brand of adapter I have but it does have the glass.

February 7th, 2009, 11:43 AM	#2
Julius Tan Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Cebu Philippines Posts: 69	The video link you've provided is not working at my end.

February 8th, 2009, 05:16 AM	#3
Aaron Huang Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: auckland,New Zealand Posts: 26	Looks alright. Some of the shots is bit soft. Do you notice any light loss with the FD lens?

February 8th, 2009, 08:13 AM	#4
Olof Ekbergh Sponsor: Westside AV Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Mount Washington Valley, NH, USA Posts: 1,365	There is about a 1 stop, maybe 2/3 stop loss. Yes the 50mm is very soft. The lens has been sitting around for 30 years and has quite a bit of dust on the elements. I did not clean it just to get an the silk stocking look. I like the 24mm wide but out of focus look, to blur bg even more focus a foot closer to camera than subject. The 35mm has more contrast and saturation, and is pretty sharp. I like the 135mm extreme blur. This setup is definitely not super sharp as most modern L lenses that I have. But that is not always what you want. I just had these lenses sitting on a shelf with a bunch of filters and a couple old FTb bodies, not used since the 80's. Now with this $50.00 adapter (B&H) I can use them for special effects in video, I love that. Mostly we shoot video with an EX3. And now with the MKII we have a bunch more looks available. I shoot a lot with the 17-40 L and the 100-400 L. I don't think the MKII is a great A-cam but a great special tool.

February 8th, 2009, 08:26 AM	#5
Olof Ekbergh Sponsor: Westside AV Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Mount Washington Valley, NH, USA Posts: 1,365	BTW. The video posted is a .mov, you need QT to view it. I gave up on Vimeo after uploads failed, it has worked fine in the past. I will post some more samples from these lenses when I use them in a project. I will also post some interesting shots in a dark roundhouse of a steam engine shot with the 17mm. I was very impressed by the lowlight capability of the MKII.