Canon EF Film Body and FD/nFD Lenses

argyle · Joined: 14 Aug 2008 Posts: 10

I just picked up a Canon EF film body in excellent condition and have a question or two. First, is it possible to shoot this camera in full manual mode? At this point, I'm unsure how to do this. My FD lenses allow me to to lock the aperture lever on the rear of the lens before mounting; the nFD lenses do not have this feature (lever does not lock). If I use the nFD lenses, am I relegated to using only the AE mode with this body?

visualopsins · Expire: 2025-04-11

Depends on which EF body. Smile

You know FD/NFD lens on EF body requires an adapter with glass element. EF register distance is more than FD register distance. Without glass element lens cannot focus to infinity.

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9096 Location: Houston, Texas

I believe argyle is referring to the EF camera of the 1970s, which is an FD camera.

Argyle, it doesn't matter which lens type you use, whether FD or nFD. The only difference between the two (other than the older FD being more massive, generally) is the way they mount. You don't want to lock the aperture lever before mounting. This disallows full-aperture metering. And, yes, the nFD lenses don't have this feature.

If you engage the "A" on the lens after mounting it, your EF is in Shutter Priority mode, which is where this camera is most often used. In fact, it's pretty much designed to be used in this mode. But it is entirely possible to shoot in manual mode with the EF. However, it is somewhat hamstrung. Like the A-Series Canons (except the AT-1), the meter is telling you what aperture it thinks you should set it to. It does NOT display the aperture you have set. So you have to look away from the viewfinder, rotate the aperture ring to the desired setting, recompose and shoot. This is, IMO, the only drawback to an otherwise excellent camera. But then, I like shooting in manual mode, so I prefer a meter readout that displays the actual settings of both the shutter speed dial and the aperture ring, so that I can bring them into coincidence for correct exposure.

However, I have used my EF to great effect in Shutter Priority, so I can vouch for it working well in that mode. As long as you pay attention to the light sources within the viewfinder frame, you're good. A-series cameras and the EF tend to have a bad habit of closing down the aperture excessively if there are any significantly bright light sources within the frame. So I always have my eye out for this sort of thing when I'm using my EF or my A-series Canons. This "feature" is something to be cognizant of, whether shooting in Shutter Priority or Manual Mode.

The EF is a great camera. Enjoy!

visualopsins · Expire: 2025-04-11

Thanks Michael! I forgot about the old EF NON-EOS model...