Review: Fotodiox Canon FD-Nikon Lens Adapter

They said it could not be done and yet here it is. A means to use Canon FD lenses on a Nikon body.

If like me, You’re a Nikonian with a considerable investment in Canon glass, you might consider getting one of these. In exploring the option of converting my FD lenses for use with my new Nikon body, I came across many a claim that this is simply not possible.

To say that it’s impossible to adapt a Canon lens, or any other lens with a negative flange-to-film-plane distance for that matter, is simply a lie. Of course it’s possible. If they can make a teleconverter or an extension tube that couples with a lens and a lens that contains its own focusing motor, they can make an adapter from a Nikon body to a Canon FD lens. So for better or worse, I parted with $40.00 to prove these claims false.

The build quality is not the best, but it does the job. It mounts smoothly to both camera and lens, and features a rotating collar that unlocks the aperture blades. You set the aperture, compose and focus wide open, and rotate the ring to stop down and take the picture.

The optical quality is another story.

If your intent is to avoid purchasing redundant Nikon lenses, forget it. If your intent is to have fun and say, “Hey, look what I can do!”, then go for it.

To be truthful, I wrote this off way too soon. Sensors hate legacy wide angle lenses, so judging it solely by a 24mm f/2.8 lens at its maximum aperture was a little too harsh on my part. The images were actually quite sharp. It’s just that they’re veiled in coma, giving them a soft-focus effect which can be quite effective if that’s your intent.

But stop down, and things change drastically. One stop is a sizable improvement, but two, and the image is quite usable. The 24mm f/2.8 looks good at f/5.6, the 50mm f/1.8 looks good at f/4.0 and the 35-105 f/3.5 looks good at f/8, but was still quite usable at f/5.6; and that was at 35mm! At 105mm, I could easily resolve a window screen at twenty-five feet.

Yes, for about the cost of a new lens, the quality could be improved. I’m not sure even I would pay that. The thing is, this thing costs less that the price of a good filter. And at that price, it does a pretty good job.

Build Quality ★★★

Enameled brass with dull-chromed mount (Canon side). Fit and finish acceptable. Mounts firmly, and aperture collar rotates smoothly.

Compatibility ★★★★

It allows products from two completely different brands to work together; how much more compatible can it be? If it coupled the lens’ aperture to the body, it would have gotten five stars.

Optical Quality ★★★

Usable, but not good at wide apertures. Images are sharp, but suffer from clarity issues. Depends largely on the lens. Shoot at around f/4-5.6 minimum, and you’ll get reasonable images.

Value ★★★★

For less than the cost of a good filter, you can play with your old lenses and make them feel useful again.

Versatility ★★★★

Because the optic can be easily removed, (the website now points this out as a feature) it can be used to mount a Canon lens to a Nikon extension tube for macro use with no optical degradation. It can also be used on the mount end of a reversed Canon lens to protect the rear element and unlock the aperture ring for macro work in place of the hard-to-find Canon Macro Hood and Diaphragm Adapter.

Included Accessories

Includes a “reproduction” Canon body cap and Nikon rear lens cap.

Specifications

You can view Fotodiox’s Specifications for this product by visiting their website.

Canon FD-Nikon Extension Tube

It was easier than I thought it would be. With the help of some scrap metal, tin snips and a Radio Shack notching tool, I fashioned a tool to remove the corrective optic from the Fotodiox FD-Nikon Lens Mount Adapter, effectively creating a 13mm extension tube that will mount Canon lenses to Nikon bodies. The added benefit of which is that it also serves as a Canon Macro Hood/Diaphram adapter.


Infinity focus is way, way off, but then so would it be if I used an extension tube with a Nikon Lens.

So now, I can consider that the $39.95 was well-spent, and I can actually recommend this product to anyone who is, like myself, handy and a little on the adventurous side.

But what exactly does this give me?

A compact, fast, high power macro lens based on the Canon FD 24mm f/2.8
This lens, when reverse mounted with a Fotodiox 52mm Reverse Lens Mount and fitted with the FD-Nikon adapter becomes a high-power manual macro lens with full aperture control. This setup has extreme magnification and a short working distance. With the Nikon BR-6 installed on the FD-Nikon adapter, I can attach any 52mm filter of my choice.

A compact, fast, macro lens based on the Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 or f/1.8
This lens, when conventionally mounted to the camera body with the Fotodiox FD-Nikon adapter, becomes a moderate-power closeup lens with full aperture control and a longer working distance. It’s the equivalent of using a 50mm Nikon AI-S lens with a 13mm extension tube. Interestingly, I have slight control over the degree of magnifcation by adjusting the focus and working distance. Reverse-mounting it would give me a speed advantage over the 24mm, but the magnification would not be as great. The wider the lens, the greater the magnification.

A moderately fast, zoom macro lens based on the Canon FD 35-105mm f3.5
This lens, when conventionally mounted to the camera body with the Fotodiox FD-Nikon adapter, becomes a macro lens with a versatile zoom range and variable working distance. This of course comes at the expense of speed, but an added benefit is that this lens has a constant aperture of f/3.5 unlike my Nikon AF-S 16-85mm f3.5-5.6. With the Canon, I can achieve 157.5mm @ f/3.5, whereas with the Nikon I can only get 127.5 @ F/5.6. So the magnification is 24% greater and the aperture is 1-2/3 stops faster. But, we do have to take into consideration the 13mm extension, so the effective magnification is even greater, and the speed a little slower. At 35mm, I have high magnification with a short working distance. At 105mm, I have moderate magnification with close focusing and a longer, very comfortable working distance. At any working distance between these two points, the zoom acts like a focus ring, so it’s extremely easy to find the optimal scale and simply focus to it. Since this lens isn’t wider than the 24mm, there isn’t an advantage to reverse-mounting it, even if I could find a 72mm reverse lens mount adapter.

A moderately fast, zoom macro lens based on the Canon FD 70-210mm f4
This lens, when conventionally mounted to the camera body with the Fotodiox FD-Nikon adapter, has a less useful range than the 35-105mm, but then I can get closer while being further away. Again, the widest angle of view gives the greatest magnification, so I can fill the frame with a flower at about 6" away and achieve about half that magnification at 210mm. At that zoom level, the maximum lens-to-subject distance is about 128", a little over ten feet, so it almost feels like using a normal lens at close range. Again, the continuous aperture is a benefit here, but this setup doesn’t seem to offer as great an advantage over using my Nikon 70-300mm.

I can add extension tubes to any of these setups to increase magnification by reducing the minimum focusing distances. For example, if I add a 36mm extension tube to the 50mm f/1.4 lens, I'll increase the magnification by almost 75% (0.72). To determine this, I divided the extension distance by the focal length of the lens. This amount is then added to the original magnification of the lens.

I could also add my Canon FD 2x-B teleconverter to increase magnification by a factor of two while increasing the maximum focusing distance. However, this comes at the expense of adding two stops of exposure.

Finally, I can simply reinstall the optic and accept its qualities for what they are, using it as…

A Soft-focus Effect Canon FD to Nikon Lens Adapter
Used for the purpose it was originally designed, I was initially disappointed. Now, knowing it has additional purpose hidden within, I can judge it less harshly. I’m not going to achieve the 36mm, f/2.8, reasonably sharp images I originally thought. But the question is, can I achieve an image with a pleasing aesthetic quality? Since the answer is a definite yes, it’s worth pursuing.

Canon FD 24mm f/2.8 + Fotodiox FD-Nikon adapter

The down side to all of this? Now I have to unpack and keep accessible all the Canon FD lenses that I’d squirreled away since I made the transition to Nikon, because I’m going to be using them.

A Lot.

They Make Teleconverters, Don’t They?

What’s wrong with this picture?

Look closely. Isn’t that a Canon FD Lens on a Nikon body? Isn’t that impossible?

Read more >