AboutKent Staubus Expertise I am an experienced outdoor photographer that sometimes sells photo`s on a free lance basis. My knowledge base includes 35mm, medium format, landscapes, wildlife photo`s, and rural subjects such as country churches and farmers/ranchers/ hunters.
Expert: Kent Staubus Date: 5/6/2008 Subject: Film lenses on DSLR
Question I am being lead to believe that "legacy" lenses - those made for film cameras can often be used on DSLRs as long as you don't mind losing the AF....
I am looking at long lenses with a 4-5.6f and at least 250mm....
I also understand that there are no longer adapters available for lenses intended for use on Minolta to my Olympus, but that Nikon,Pentax, Leica and Contax/Zeiss are fine....
Am I even close to understanding this ?? I can't afford the thousands of dollars the "right" lens would cost....
Thank you VERY much for any advise you might choose to give me...
Beth (a fellow "expert" over in Terriers)
Answer I'm not real familiar with Olympus mounts. I do know that Minolta and Canon changed their mounts when they began making autofocus (all electronic) lenses and cameras back in the 80s. Nikon cameras use the "F" mount and will mount on all Nikon cameras regardless of age. If you want to continue using the Olympus and film, I'd suggest just buying Olympus lenses. They are plentiful on eBay, and I also recommend www.MPEX.com and www.KEH.com for used gear. Both are highly reliable, know their stuff, and have decent prices. A 70-300mm f5.6 lens should only cost a few hundred. Hope this helps.
