Forums > Photography Talk > Interchangeable Lenses??

Photographer

Mad Hatter Imagery

Posts: 1668

Buffalo, New York, US

This might be a dumb question but is it wise to use non-Canon lenses on Canon cameras? Are there good lens that are totally compatible? I want to get a 180 degree fisheye lens. Canon has like one of those, and it's $1,200. More than a bit outside my price range.

Jun 15 20 07:02 pm Link

Photographer

Shadow Dancer

Posts: 9773

Bellingham, Washington, US

I have a couple of Tamron lenses that perform well on my Canon T2i. I understand Sigma has upped their game over the past few years and are now a viable choice. Tokina has always made quality lenses (although some may be better than others).

Those are the big Three third party lens makers, I'm sure there are others.
The adapter market has evolved, I haven't kept up. That might be another direction. A super-wide won't need fast autofocus, you should be able to zone focus and fire away.

As always, read as many reviews as you can find and buy from a reliable dealer with a solid return policy.

Also consider KEH for used Canon lenses, their descriptions are beyond honest. They sent me a lens they rated "Ugly" once and there were minor cosmetic flaws, you really had to look for them. Great company.

Jun 15 20 07:33 pm Link

Photographer

Orca Bay Images

Posts: 33877

Arcata, California, US

I found this article in about the time it took me to Google "180-degree fisheye lens canon-compatible." How solid the reviews are, I don't know, but whenever I've browsed product listings for Nikon-compatible third-party glass, compatibility is usually featured in the bullet points.

https://www.adorama.com/alc/6-best-fish … lr-cameras

Jun 15 20 07:33 pm Link

Clothing Designer

GRMACK

Posts: 5436

Bakersfield, California, US

There's a bunch of them out there:  https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/l-search … ye&N=0

The biggest difference is most all  of them, other than the Canon one, requires manual focus, i.e. no auto-focus.  Look at some reviews of some of the ones B&H offers for your Canon.  Some may be rectilinear where the image looks sort of normal and a straight horizon but very wide.  The non-rectilinear will look like the chrome hubcap sort of image with more cuvature or the horizon. Still others may just be the circular look like a globe with a black outer field in the image.

Don't know about Canon's internal processing, but with Olympus I can select the rectilinear pattern or not as the camera can read their lens info and adjust depending on how I set it up in the menu.  Non-Olympus lenses will not allow me to do that as the body will not read the lens data.  More bizarre is that their 8mm fisheye has a wider field of view than their 7-14mm zoom set at 7mm which startled me.

Jun 15 20 07:37 pm Link

Photographer

Shadow Dancer

Posts: 9773

Bellingham, Washington, US

GRMACK wrote:
There's a bunch of them out there:  https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/l-search … ye&N=0

The biggest difference is most all  of them, other than the Canon one, requires manual focus, i.e. no auto-focus.  Look at some reviews of some of the ones B&H offers for your Canon.  Some may be rectilinear where the image looks sort of normal and a straight horizon but very wide.  The non-rectilinear will look like the chrome hubcap sort of image with more cuvature or the horizon. Still others may just be the circular look like a globe with a black outer field in the image.

Don't know about Canon's internal processing, but with Olympus I can select the rectilinear pattern or not as the camera can read their lens info and adjust depending on how I set it up in the menu.  Non-Olympus lenses will not allow me to do that as the body will not read the lens data.  More bizarre is that their 8mm fisheye has a wider field of view than their 7-14mm zoom set at 7mm which startled me.

Lens focal lengths are "nominal" rather than precise. If one lens is actually wider than the stated focal length and the other is less wide than the stated focal length, the situation you describe can and will occur. Apertures are also nominal, which explains why one lens at f8 will deiver a different exposure than another lens at f8.

For us real world folks, nominal means "sorta", more or less.

Jun 15 20 07:50 pm Link

Photographer

Jerry Nemeth

Posts: 33355

Dearborn, Michigan, US

I use non-Canon lenses with no problems.

Jun 15 20 09:39 pm Link

Photographer

Camera Buff

Posts: 924

Maryborough, Queensland, Australia

I’ve read and watched videos of older 3rd-party lenses that require chip upgrades before they will work properly on major brand name DSLRs.

I have not heard of any problems with any of the new 'digital era' lenses from 3rd-party brands.

Jun 16 20 05:40 am Link

Photographer

goofus

Posts: 808

Santa Barbara, California, US

rent the fisheye

they are cool..at first.. but very soon you'll get tired of it and it's an expensive paper weight

they are a one trick pony... and that trick gets old...fast

Jun 16 20 10:58 am Link

Photographer

Shadow Dancer

Posts: 9773

Bellingham, Washington, US

goofus  wrote:
rent the fisheye

they are cool..at first.. but very soon you'll get tired of it and it's an expensive paper weight

they are a one trick pony... and that trick gets old...fast

Truth.

2 or 3 hours and you will be over it.

Jun 16 20 11:17 am Link

Photographer

Vector One Photography

Posts: 3722

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US

I always buy the camera manufacturer's lenses. In the beginning I used Tamron and Vivitar and they worked fine but I soon realized they wore out faster and couldn't take any rough treatment or accidental bumps.  There are a few aftermarket lenses, like the Art series, that may be an exception but if my manufacturer makes one in the same size I'd still rather have theirs.

And they are right, rent first.  First to see if you like the lens but in your case to get it out of your system.  All those special purpose lenses (fish eye, PC, LensBaby ) are fun in the beginning but for most they lose their interest after a few uses.  Let's face it, if you've seen one fish eye image, you've seen them all.

Jun 16 20 12:21 pm Link

Photographer

Brooklyn Bridge Images

Posts: 13200

Brooklyn, New York, US

Shadow Dancer wrote:
I have a couple of Tamron lenses that perform well on my Canon T2i. I understand Sigma has upped their game over the past few years and are now a viable choice. Tokina has always made quality lenses (although some may be better than others).

Those are the big Three third party lens makers, I'm sure there are others.
The adapter market has evolved, I haven't kept up. That might be another direction. A super-wide won't need fast autofocus, you should be able to zone focus and fire away.

As always, read as many reviews as you can find and buy from a reliable dealer with a solid return policy.

Also consider KEH for used Canon lenses, their descriptions are beyond honest. They sent me a lens they rated "Ugly" once and there were minor cosmetic flaws, you really had to look for them. Great company.

2nd this
My 1st stop looking for gear is KEH
I can't praise this company enough and I am very harsh judge of cust service.

Jun 16 20 02:12 pm Link

Model

Shura

Posts: 1112

Jefferson City, Missouri, US

It really depends on the lens and what you want to do. Canon thankfully will accept vintage lenses with adapters. I actually just got a Takumar 50mm and Pentax 300mm that both do great with my 6d and are fun. I would do a lot of research on the lenses though before investing and whether the particular lens is any good and worth spending the money on.

Jun 21 20 09:34 pm Link

Photographer

Jerry Nemeth

Posts: 33355

Dearborn, Michigan, US

Shura wrote:
It really depends on the lens and what you want to do. Canon thankfully will accept vintage lenses with adapters. I actually just got a Takumar 50mm and Pentax 300mm that both do great with my 6d and are fun. I would do a lot of research on the lenses though before investing and whether the particular lens is any good and worth spending the money on.

I have used an old Spiratone 85mm f1.8 on my Canon with an adapter.  I already had the lens.

Jun 22 20 01:57 am Link

Photographer

Jerry Nemeth

Posts: 33355

Dearborn, Michigan, US

Brooklyn Bridge Images wrote:

2nd this
My 1st stop looking for gear is KEH
I can't praise this company enough and I am very harsh judge of cust service.

I've sold a few lenses to KEH.

Jun 22 20 02:01 am Link

Photographer

63fotos

Posts: 534

Flagstaff, Arizona, US

goofus  wrote:
rent the fisheye

they are cool..at first.. but very soon you'll get tired of it and it's an expensive paper weight

they are a one trick pony... and that trick gets old...fast

I tend to agree

Jun 22 20 09:10 am Link

Photographer

63fotos

Posts: 534

Flagstaff, Arizona, US

Jerry Nemeth wrote:

I've sold a few lenses to KEH.

I have too. My complaint about KEH is that they tend to undervalue the product you're selling.

Jun 22 20 09:12 am Link

Photographer

Shadow Dancer

Posts: 9773

Bellingham, Washington, US

63fotos wrote:

I have too. My complaint about KEH is that they tend to undervalue the product you're selling.

That is how a dealer in used goods makes money.
Typically they will offer around 1/3 of what they think they can sell it for, that's pretty standard.

KEH is a great place to buy but not to sell.
If you sell your lenses to end users you will get more for them.
I've done very well on eBay selling to customers in Japan and Singapore, as well as the United States.

I sold my 16-35 2.8L used for more than I paid for it new, the retail price went up and a bidder in Thailand won the auction.

Jun 22 20 12:56 pm Link

Photographer

Warren Leimbach

Posts: 3223

Tampa, Florida, US

Mad Hatter Imagery wrote:
This might be a dumb question but is it wise to use non-Canon lenses on Canon cameras? Are there good lens that are totally compatible? I want to get a 180 degree fisheye lens. Canon has like one of those, and it's $1,200. More than a bit outside my price range.

Nothing wrong with using non-Canon lenses.


If you like super sharp for landscape, etc,. check out the Zeiss manual focus fine art lenses.  "Otus" "Milvus" etc.   
https://www.zeiss.com/consumer-products … ilter.html



My fashion friend likes lots of flare.  He uses an old Yashica lens with an adapter.



etc.

Jun 22 20 01:29 pm Link