FD lenses and magic lantern

Started by pixelrev, June 23, 2012, 07:28:23 PM

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pixelrev



A test video we shot using FD lenses on a 550D/Rebel T2i running magic lantern.

Thanks for viewing.

Ian & Dom

lucas

Did you used such a horrible Adapter with a Lens or "macro only"?
rockin' ML on the 550D - this is how I roll

pixelrev

We used an adapter in order to fix the FD lenses to the camera, but we don't think it's horrible, does a good job of allowing us to use good quality old fashioned lenses. We liked the results our testing produced and we now use FD lenses regularly because of the creamy filmic look they are capable of producing when used right.

Thanks for taking a look.

Ian & Dom

bart

Thanks for sharing your video. If you like this look and get it straight from the camera, then there is little wrong with that. There are other ways to get this look through filters or editing that give you more control over where you want details and where you want softness.

pixelrev

Thanks for the comments b4rt.  Although we don't use many "on camera" filters, we do a lot of work grading wise on all our images in After Effects, Photoshop and Premiere Pro, if you check out our blog you'll see the kind of stuff we do in regards to grading/image manipulation in post. In fact we shoot with grading in mind, so we always use various flat picture styles when filming the original image. The main reason for using FD lenses for us is budget, but we do happen to like the natural creamy softness of the image to.

Thanks again for viewing!

Ian & Dom

bart

I saw your site and like to tone mapping examples in the photo section of this forum. If you can share those photo's on flickr, I can add those to the gallery if you like.
If budget is important then I still wouldn't go for FD lenses, because the mount of FD lenses is too large. When you focus far and to infinity the image doesn't get projected on the sensor but a little in front of the sensor. They require an adapter with magnifying glass to enable focus to infinity. The budget adapters have inferior glass that have a bad influence on the image quality of the FD glass. You also get an increase in focal length and less light sensitivity due to the adapter.

For budget options Pentax lenses are a far better choice. Very common and cheap. No concessions toward the image quality and fine m42 adapters cost 5 Euro on Ebay. My current favorites are: Pentax takumar super-multi-coated 50mm f1.4 (needs uv light treatment to get rid of the yellow color casts) and the MIR-24H 35mm f2. The MIR is sharp open, the Pentax after stopping down to f2 and both have a very nice bokeh. These cost between 50-100 euro. But if you take a 50mm f1.7. That one is great and a lot cheaper.

Aside for Pentax you can use Nikon, Olympus, Yashica, Tamron Adaptall lenses, Leica and loads of others with their own adapters.
Ricoh, Minolta should be avoided as they have the same problem as Canon FD.
http://www.pentaxforums.com/lensreviews/showcat.php?mcats=20,23&si=&what=title&name=&when=&whenterm=&dist=&radius=

lucas

hm, I can not agree on that somehow. Get's the Lenses too long - I like converting better. But hey, everyone's how he likes it! Keep up :)
rockin' ML on the 550D - this is how I roll

screamer

Hi, first of all, i love that filmish look. Yes, b4rt are right, the fd lenses probably is not the best choice regards tha quality of image. but, hey, there's a lot of interesting photography/filming based on the "non-quality". Sometimes the "bad influence" of a cheap glass can be a feature, not a bug. it's a matter of tastes. So, because i like this images i say: fd lenses on a 550d? cool :D

anyway B4rt is completely right, there's a lot of alternatives, and probably the most can give better results in terms of image quality, but with the same filmish look. Let's say you can pass from an old 16mm to an old 35mm filmish look :D
And, other interesting and cheap lenses with m42 mount are the russian helios

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helios_(lens_brand)

especially the 44, quite famous for its bokeh (that used the old zeiss biotar optical formula).

here you can find a lot of other interesting and cheap old russian lenses: http://top35mm.com/

cheers, and great work ;)
always trying to use the 100% of magic lantern..
Gear:
Canon 60D, all the samyang lenses, Canon 50 mm 1.4, Canon 60mm macro, Canon 70-300 usm, Sigma 4.5mm fisheye, Sigma 17-70 2.8, Canon 40mm f2.8 pancake, all the Lensbabies and a lot of other pieces, Flash metz 58 af2

pixelrev

Hi guys,

First off, thanks for the suggestions and comments, some great ideas there. We'll take them on board for sure.

b4rt, thanks very much for the offer of posting the pics in the gallery too. We've uploaded them to a flckr account now.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pixelrevprints/

Thanks again guys.

Ian & Dom

bart

Hi Ian & Dom,

Could you point out in the flickr set which photo is achieved through ML functionality in one of these categories?
HDR Bracketing
Focus Stacks
Long Exposures
Trap Focus
Motion Detection

Like the HDR photo's. Are they made out of multiple exposures or with tone mapping on one existing photo.

pixelrev

Hi b4rt,

We've included the info in the flickr set now. Most of the Hdr are multiple exposures (usually two) and tone mapping in post.

Anything else you need to know just let us know.

Thanks again!

Ian & Dom

aegisdi

I have to agree with b4rt on the lens choices.  I use both Mamiya 645 lenses & Pentax Screw Mount (M42) lenses on film shoots.  Both are cheap manual lenses with great quality for video.  But they can't resolve properly for still photos on a 18 MP sensor, so don't use them for that.

Most lens issues depend of personal taste and the needs of the project.


v1de0

I've used Fd lenses a lot.  they are great lenses only complaints I have is the lenses have to be mounted in order to open and close the aperture and some times it will get stuck with my adaptor. also i've read you loose about a full stop of light.
Canon Rebel t2i/550D 18-55 kit lens  rokinon Asperical lens(f1.4)varios fd lenses 2x tele converter quanatiary 80-200   50mm f1.8/f1.4 Pentax 50mm f2.82, Pentax telephoto lens and a 75 -300 EF Zoom.  Final Cut pro 10 2010 iMac 2006 iMac 07 MacBook 2006 MacBook pro and a custom pc beast (for Premier)

archp2008

I've read a ton of material on attaching FD lenses to EOS bodies and the half dozen or so limitations of such procedures. I've also read a ton about the various (more expensive) ways to use FD lenses or suggestions on other cheap lenses that could be purchased and/or camera bodies that could be purchased, that would, in various readers opinions, be better.  That having been said, I'm wondering why viewers have to insist on informing the uploaders of all these FD to EOS videos of the limitations of their techniques and alternatives they could/should use.  The uploaders of such FD to EOS videos likely have not specifically asked for such criticism. As for me, I would like to say thanks to the uploader for the video as it gives me a better idea of what I can expect if and when I decide to try one of those adapters on my old FD lenses.  They are presently lying in a case on the floor of my closet. One of them, a 300mm, is mounted on my Canon AE1 (film) body in the unlikely event that my 135mm EF lens on my T2i will be too short to catch a photo of some wildlife outside my house.  Specifically, I would like to ask if the use of Magic Lantern helped alleviate any of the difficulties in using FD lenses on an EOS Rebel such as the T2i.  Specifically I was hoping the Focus Peak option might help in focusing with large apertures.  Thanks in advance for any comments on this.

ilguercio

How can it help?
They are manual lenses and, by the way, you're going to lose infinity if you use them with adapters.
Canon EOS 6D, 60D, 50D.
Sigma 70-200 EX OS HSM, Sigma 70-200 Apo EX HSM, Samyang 14 2.8, Samyang 35 1.4, Samyang 85 1.4.
Proud supporter of Magic Lantern.

Francis

It certainly can't hurt. I find focus peaking helpful in all situations.

ilguercio

Quote from: Francis on September 06, 2012, 02:42:28 AM
It certainly can't hurt. I find focus peaking helpful in all situations.
Yes but, it's not helping FD lenses. I'd rather say it helps with the manual lenses in general.
FD lenses are complicated on EOS bodies, if you don't have any handcrafting ability it's better to look at other old lenses instead.
Canon EOS 6D, 60D, 50D.
Sigma 70-200 EX OS HSM, Sigma 70-200 Apo EX HSM, Samyang 14 2.8, Samyang 35 1.4, Samyang 85 1.4.
Proud supporter of Magic Lantern.