Thread: Best Camera for Legacy Glass?

I've been using an Olympus EP2 for a while now and using some Canon FD lenses which I've really enjoyed using but I find the manual focus zooming a pain on the EP2 as there is no dedicated zoom button :(

I'm just wondering what peoples favourite setup is for manual glass as I'm currently reviewing my kit as its dwindled to just the EP2, VF2, 17mm and a Canon 50 f1.8 and I'm not sure which direction to take!

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A NEX since it has peaking would be best. Once you try peaking, you can never go back.

I use the Sony NEX-5 too, not because I think it's the best but because it's what I've got! I enjoy using the Canon FD lenses on it and LOVE that I can pick up new bits for under £20 off ebay rather than paying hundreds of pounds every time I want a new lens to play with. I don't have enough money to do the sort of horse trading I hear other folk talking about so this allows me to have GAS on a budget. So far I have Canon FD 50mm, 28mm, 35-70mm (two of those), 135mm and a Vivitar 70-210mm. I also have Sony's own 16mm and 18-55mm.

The great thing about legacy glass on NEX is the peaking feature - it highlights the area which is in focus in a colour of your choice, white red or yellow by showing the outlines and sharp edges. Don talks about it's great demonstration of depth of field - as you turn the focus you can see the area of focus coming nearer or further away very clearly. Then once you are in the right ball park, you can use the magnification feature for fine tuning. I usually check at 7x magnification to see that the thing I want is sharp as can be. If I'm picky, pressing the same button makes it 14x. To exit that I just half press the shutter. The peaking is so good that you can get away without the fine tuning once you are used to it, so street etc becomes easier.

I can't speak for any of the other camera's as so far I have been faithful to my girl. I just wish she had a viewfinder!

I use nex-5n with touch screen to zoom and/or peaking for other times to use without magnification. Nex-7 might be better for holding fd lenses but it doesn't have touch screen.

Originally Posted by chrism_scotland

I've been using an Olympus EP2 for a while now and using some Canon FD lenses which I've really enjoyed using but I find the manual focus zooming a pain on the EP2 as there is no dedicated zoom button :(

I'm just wondering what peoples favourite setup is for manual glass as I'm currently reviewing my kit as its dwindled to just the EP2, VF2, 17mm and a Canon 50 f1.8 and I'm not sure which direction to take!

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Another vote for NEX. I can only repeat what Heather said. It can accept almost any kind of lens, there's adapter for all of the mounts out there and especially with M39 glass it can be a compact yet powerful combo.

Thanks folks, I might see if I can source a NEX5N to try, I was very close to buying a NEX before but was put off by the lack of native lenses as I'd like to have one or two to go along with the legacy glass.

That said the larger sensor looks very good although having IBIS in the Pen is a benefit.

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Originally Posted by chrism_scotland

Thanks folks, I might see if I can source a NEX5N to try, I was very close to buying a NEX before but was put off by the lack of native lenses as I'd like to have one or two to go along with the legacy glass.

That said the larger sensor looks very good although having IBIS in the Pen is a benefit.

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My vote goes to the NEX as well. As far as native mount AF lenses are concerned have a look at the Sigma 19 and 30mm primes. The USD 200 priced 30mm outperformed pretty much everything in a recent test, including Leica's USD 4000 50mm asph Summilux. LensRentals.com - NEX-7 Lens Imatest Results

there is always the option to use legacy glass on the cameras for which it was designed (and I'm not being sarcastic)

Good point pdh, there was a Canon t50 on ebay yesterday for a fiver which I nearly bought, especially as it had a macro lens attached. Cheap as chips!

Cheers folks, I'm actually considering getting rid of my EP2 and getting either a Fuji X10 or X100.
Would then put my FD lenses to use on my FD film body I picked up as I'd fancied trying film!