Camera Advice

[Astryd]

I had a 35mm Canon Rebel X and I am looking for a new digital camera. I have a great Canon Zoom lens that I can use with my Rebel. I would like to know if I can get a Digital camera that i can still use my zoom lens with. If I can not does anyone have any suggestions? I am so lost when it comes to digital cameras.?

 

[Ratpack]

You would have to check, but some film camera lenses are compatible with the same brand DSLR cameras If it does then go with Canon so you will already have some extras. If not, then it will depend on features wanted and budget to work with.

 

[WillCAD]

Your Rebel X uses a lens mount called Canon EF, sometimes known as the EOS mount because all the cameras that take those lenses are part of Canon's EOS series cameras.

Canon makes a bunch of digital SLRs that take EF lenses, meaning that your current lens would fit. But there are some differences. Canon's digital SLRs have sensors that are somewhat smaller than a piece of 35mm film, so the focal length of any lens has to be changed to compensate. To figure it out, you use a multiplier of 1.6. In essence, a 28-80mm lens on a DSLR will give you the same range as a 45-128mm lens will on your Rebel X.

Also, because the electronics are slightly different in a DSLR, some lenses that were made for film cameras will not talk properly to a DSLR. My Sigma 28-200 lens, for example, only works about 20% of the time with my Digital Rebel.

Your best bet, if you want to get a digital camera that looks, feels, and works substantially like your Rebel X, is to go for a Canon Digital Rebel XT (350D). The Rebel XT is almost always sold as a kit with an 18-55 lens (which is the equivalent of a 28-80 lens on your film camera).

I recently bought a Canon Digital Rebel (300D), which is a slightly older model than the current Rebel XT, but very similar. I am completely happy with it; it takes stunning pics, works just like my old 35mm Rebel G, and my Canon Speedlight flash unit works with it.

 

[Marimar]

I had a 35mm Canon Rebel X and I am looking for a new digital camera. I have a great Canon Zoom lens that I can use with my Rebel. I would like to know if I can get a Digital camera that i can still use my zoom lens with. If I can not does anyone have any suggestions? I am so lost when it comes to digital cameras.?

All EOS lenses should work w/all Canon SLRs, be it digital or film. So the answer would be you want/need another Canon if you want to keep using the Canon Zoom Lens.

However, the EF lenses will only work on (certain/all?) Canon digital cameras.

 

[WillCAD]

All EOS lenses should work w/all Canon SLRs, be it digital or film. So the answer would be you want/need another Canon if you want to keep using the Canon Zoom Lens.

However, the EF lenses will only work on (certain/all?) Canon digital cameras.

Actually, EF is the official name of the lens mount, and EOS is the name of the camera series that takes EF lenses, so EF and EOS lenses are the same thing.

Canon does have a new EF-S lens mount for its more expensive digital cameras like the 20D and Digital Rebel, but EF-S is really just a variant of the ES lens mount. The 20D and Digital Rebel can take both EF and EF-S lenses, but EF-S lenses cannot be used on older cameras with EF mounts.

 

[Marimar]

Actually, EF is the official name of the lens mount, and EOS is the name of the camera series that takes EF lenses, so EF and EOS lenses are the same thing.

Canon does have a new EF-S lens mount for its more expensive digital cameras like the 20D and Digital Rebel, but EF-S is really just a variant of the ES lens mount. The 20D and Digital Rebel can take both EF and EF-S lenses, but EF-S lenses cannot be used on older cameras with EF mounts.

I stand corrected...thanks! Yes, I meant the EF-S. What is in bold is exactly what I wanted to communicate.

 

[pattyT]

oooppps....

 

[Astryd]

Thanks for the information!

 

[manning]

Actually, EF is the official name of the lens mount, and EOS is the name of the camera series that takes EF lenses, so EF and EOS lenses are the same thing.

Canon does have a new EF-S lens mount for its more expensive digital cameras like the 20D and Digital Rebel, but EF-S is really just a variant of the ES lens mount. The 20D and Digital Rebel can take both EF and EF-S lenses, but EF-S lenses cannot be used on older cameras with EF mounts.

Also those lenses made for the digital camera will not have the 1.6 conversion factor.

 

[WillCAD]

Also those lenses made for the digital camera will not have the 1.6 conversion factor.

Not exactly.

An EF-S 18mm lens will give you the same view as an EF 18mm lens.

But the EF-S lenses are designed to be used on the Canon digital cameras; the distance from it's rearmost element to the sensor is shorter than that of a regular EF lens, which is why the EF-S lenses will only work on Digital Rebels and 20Ds. Put an EF-S lens on a film SLR, and the back of the lens will interfere with the mirror flipping up to take the picture.

 

[manning]

I think we are saying the same thing. My reference is that the lens are for the digital camera and thus the conversion factor,1.6, doesn't apply IE 18mm will be 18mm not 28mm. I didn't mean the ef-s could be used on a film camera.

 

[WillCAD]

I think we are saying the same thing. My reference is that the lens are for the digital camera and thus the conversion factor,1.6, doesn't apply IE 18mm will be 18mm not 28mm. I didn't mean the ef-s could be used on a film camera.

I get what you're saying. But I disagree with it.

A 50mm lens on a full-frame film camera has an angle of view of 46 degrees. Put that same lens on a digital camera with a 1.6 focal length multiplier and it has a field of view of 29 degrees.

A 50mm EF-S lens on a full-frame film camera would have a field of view of 46 degrees (except of course it wouldn't talk to the camera properly) Put that same lens on a digital camera with a 1.6 multiplier and it has a field of view of 29 degrees.

When you talk about a "50mm" lens, the 50mm refers to the lenses focal length, which is the distance between the lens and its focal point, i.e. the film or sensor.

Since digital camera sensors are generally smaller than a frame of 35mm film, the sensor see less than the film does at any given focal length. What the sensor sees at a focal length of 50mm is equivelent to what film sees at a focal length of 80mm - hence the 1.6 multiplier.

But a 50mm Canon EF-S lens has a focal length of 50mm, just like a 50mm EF lens. Focal length is focal length; both lenses will give you the same field of view when put onto a Canon Digital Rebel or D20. The 1.6 multiplier still applies.

I verified this the day I got my Digital Rebel by putting the EF-S 18-55mm lens on it, setting it to 50mm, and taking a shot. Then I put my Sigma 28-80 lens on it, set it to 50mm, and took a shot. Both shots covered the sameframe, even though one is an EF-S lens and the other was made before Canon ever even had a line of digital SLRs.

See here:
http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Glossary/Optical/Focal_Length_Multiplier_01.htm

and here:
http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Glossary/Optical/Focal_Length_01.htm

for more complete explanations.

 

[manning]

In simple terms, a picture taken with an 18mm lens on a slr film camera, designed for a film camera will appear as a picture taken with an 18 mm lense.

A picture taken with an 18 mm lens on a digital camera designed for a film camera will appear as a picture taken with a 29mm lens.

A picture taken with an 18 mm lens on a digital camera designed for a digital camera will appear as a picture taken with an 18 mm lens.

All we want to know is the 1.6 factor. We need to know that a 50mm slr lens is going to act like an 80mm dslr lens. It's still a 50mm lens, but it is acting like an 80 mm lens.

 

[WillCAD]

In simple terms, a picture taken with an 18mm lens on a slr film camera, designed for a film camera will appear as a picture taken with an 18 mm lense.

A picture taken with an 18 mm lens on a digital camera designed for a film camera will appear as a picture taken with a 29mm lens.

A picture taken with an 18 mm lens on a digital camera designed for a digital camera will appear as a picture taken with an 18 mm lens.

All we want to know is the 1.6 factor. We need to know that a 50mm slr lens is going to act like an 80mm dslr lens. It's still a 50mm lens, but it is acting like an 80 mm lens.

Not true.

I verified this the day I got my Digital Rebel by putting the EF-S 18-55mm lens on it, setting it to 50mm, and taking a shot. Then I put my Sigma 28-80 lens on it, set it to 50mm, and took a shot. Both shots covered the sameframe, even though one is an EF-S lens and the other was made before Canon ever even had a line of digital SLRs.

The Canon EF-S lenses we've been talking about DO NOT eliminate the 1.6 multiplier. They have the same focal length and the same field of view as an EF lens designed for film cameras.

 

[manning]

The problem here I hate to admit is my failure to do my homework. I have not converted to DSLR and thought I had read that they were developing lenses that didn't need the conversion factor. I missed that one. Just got done reading the canon website.

You have forced me to go looking for the wet noodle and write 1,000 times "do your homework".

 

[WillCAD]

The problem here I hate to admit is my failure to do my homework. I have not converted to DSLR and thought I had read that they were developing lenses that didn't need the conversion factor. I missed that one. Just got done reading the canon website.

You have forced me to go looking for the wet noodle and write 1,000 times "do your homework".

Well, don't flagellate yourself too hard. The only reason I was sure I was right is that I actually have two EF lenses and an EF-S lens that I could compare directly on the same camera.

There are some rather expensive DSLRs out there that actually have full-frame sensors. Since these sensors are the same physical size as a frame of 35mm film, there is no 1.6 multiplier when you put a lens on them. Sigma makes one, and I think Nikon makes one. But, as I said, those puppies are mondo expensivo, so I'll stick with my Digital Rebel for now and live with the 1.6 multiplier.

 

[Marimar]

You have forced me to go looking for the wet noodle and write 1,000 times "do your homework".

Don't feel too bad...I thought they did too (eliminate the 1.6 factor).

Where's my noddle!?