[junkbench]

Hey everyone,

I apparently have an addiction to aged DSLR's and am interested in the Canon 5D Classic, I was curious if anyone here used one with Pentax/Nikon/M42 lenses and if you could tell me if there are any odd snags or quirks I should know about?. I routinely shoot pre-ais lenses on a Nikon D5300 so handling everything manually is second nature to me and I'm looking for a similar experience but with FF in an old pro-body camera, any input/advice would be much welcome.

Thanks in advance!.

[boriscleto]

The mirror will hit the aperture guard / aperture lever on K-mount lenses.

[junkbench]

The mirror will hit the aperture guard / aperture lever on K-mount lenses.

Thanks for that, and here I was blissfully ignorant of such.

[ChristianRock]

Yes, the Canon full frame DSLRs will work well with the M42 lenses, but the K mount lenses will cause problems with the mirror hitting them. In the past some people have permanently handicapped their K mount lenses by cutting off the aperture lever. That was when they were super cheap and nobody cared about their resale value.

If I recall correctly there's no issues with the APS-C Canon bodies, which of course have a smaller mirror.

[junkbench]

My main interest is in shooting the wide variety of lenses they say are compatible or adaptable to the 5D, namely older FD lenses, M42, etc I thought K would be, but if not, not really a deal killer, they are super cheap cameras after all. Still, I keep vacillating between a 5D and a K5, namely because most of my lens collection are M42 and with Pentax we get SR - which I've found to be very helpful. I wonder if theres anyone here who has both or has had both and could give me some perspective? Either way, not a huge deal, they are both cheap cameras these days.

Thank you both for your input, I genuinely appreciate it. This forums is great reading.

[UncleVanya]

You can potentially remove the aperture lever from K mount lenses rather than cut it off. This requires more work but it is reversible.

[boriscleto]

FD is not directly compatible with EF mount, the focal flange of FD is shorter. Any FD-EOS adapter needs optical correction for infinity focus. I bit the bulletin and bought a Fuji mirrorless to adapt manual lenses. I actually prefer to keep everything APS-C…I’ve noticed that the Sony A7 sells for about the same as the 5D Mk II on evilBay…

[junkbench]

FD is not directly compatible with EF mount, the focal flange of FD is shorter. Any FD-EOS adapter needs optical correction for infinity focus. I bit the bulletin and bought a Fuji mirrorless to adapt manual lenses. I actually prefer to keep everything APS-C…I’ve noticed that the Sony A7 sells for about the same as the 5D Mk II on evilBay…

I've been eyeing fuji gear for a long time, it's just, I have this woman who says shes married to me who threatens various torments if I spend anymore than a tightly rationed amount on camera nonsense

The more I think about it the more I may just get a K5 and forget the 5D, it sounds as bad to adapt as Nikon.

[pepperberry farm]

i went the Fuji route for adapted lenses and love it - with the X-H2S being released recently, you may be able to find a steal on an X-H1....

[boriscleto]

I bought a X-T20 last year for about $430, but prices seem to have gone up…

[junkbench]

I love photography, but its not how I make money, it's hard for me to mentally justify another 24MP camera when I already own two of them (D7100, D5300) and realistically the KS2 is 20mp but not far off. Every time I get 700 in the bank to spend on nonsense I go and look at the XH1 or such and I think "I could get X Y AND Z Glass for that!" and wind up going that route, plus, lets be honest, its fun to play with old junk!. I love the X series fuji's though, awesome build quality as well. I think I'm going to snag a K5 iis for my M42 glass, the diff FF/APS-C isnt that big to me and I gotta say owning a K7 sold me on Pentax as a brand, that build quality is super and SR with M42 really did help me.

I had a bunch of misperceptions about adapting glass to the 5D, thank you guys here for clearing that up for me, glad I didnt buy one.

[jslifoaw]

For adapting lenses, a FF mirrorless might be your best bet. Maybe an older Sony A7 II?

-You get live view and focusing aids - it will be very difficult to focus lenses accurately or quickly with a 5D whose stock focusing screen is not designed for manual focus. Live view is also more effective with stop down metering which is how you'll shoot manual lenses - the 5D OVF will get very dark which requires manual focusing wide open (already challenging), then adjusting the aperture ring after focusing to stop down
-You get IBIS - pretty much any manual lens won't have stabilization in the lens and IBIS affords you more shooting flexibility
-You get more options - mirrorless cameras are universal recipients for SLR lenses because their registration distance is very short. For DSLRs, only certain combinations worked, and as you have heard, there might still be issues such as mirror clearance.
-You get access to movie mode on the offhand chance you ever need it

The Pentax K-1 is a great (but more expensive) solution for adapting old Pentax lenses either in K mount or M42. I wouldn't recommend a 5D for adapting lenses now that there are multiple mirrorless options, or more modern DSLRs with features that benefit adapting lenses (aside from more restrictive mechanical compatibility).

[junkbench]

Oh I understand the mirrorless advantage in this department, I have no interest in live view shooting really, I like modding focus screens I guess - or else I'm a masochist. I'm only specifically interested in M42 glass because I've built up quite a few of them but I also happen to have some FD's kicking around and of course a bunch of pre-ais Nikon glass - I got into vintage shooting using the D5K series Nikons and pre-ais lenses being cheaper, I eventually got about 20 or 30 of them, its a bad habit!. I was interested in the 5D classic because of the price mostly and from what the buzz is about them being good cameras. My plan was to shoot full manual the same way I do with the D5L's, no metering at all, I dont find it very hard to do for the kind of slow shooting and macro stuff I do. I'm going to go for something else as a dedicated M42 platform, probably just going to get a K10D for that, I dont care about its AF speed, it has IBIS and if works anything like my 7D did my KS2, it will be just fine for me.

Thanks for your replies. I'm surprised noone who owns a 5D classic has chimed in though, maybe not as popular as YT makes them out to be?

[UncleVanya]

The Nikon lenses can be semi mounted directly on k mount cameras. If you are careful they work fine. I wouldn’t try with heavy lenses as they only turn about 1/4 to 1/3 of a rotation - but I’ve done it and it does work.

Nikon 50 mm f/2 on Pentax K3 by -vanya_42nd-

IMGP1217 by -vanya_42nd-