Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-10-05)

52 5 October 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113

Which lens

to use?

Ifyoualreadyowna DSLRwitha few
lenses,andprovidedthatthelenses
arecompatible,it makessensetobuy
justthebodyof yourchosenfilm
camera.If youstillownanoldermanual
focusfilmSLR,it’salsoworthknowing
whichof thelatermodelswillacceptits
lenses.Here’sa quick guide to which
fits whatandwhy.

Canon
EFlenses,introducedin 1987,are
compatiblewithallEOScameras,digital
orfilm.ThelaterEF-SandEF-Mlenses
arenotcompatiblewithfilm.Canon’s
oldermanual-focusFDlensesfrom
before 1987 willnot fi t EOS cameras.

Minolta
KonicamergedwithMinoltain 2003
andtheirtechnologieswereacquired
bySonyin 2006.SonyA-mount
lensesfit Minolta’sA-mount,but
manywillonlyfocusmanually.Thisis
duetoMinoltafilmSLRsusinga
screw-drivefocussystemfromthe
camerabody,ratherthaninternal
focuslensmotorsnowfoundin
Sony’sSSMandSAMlenses.Older
MDlensesfrommanual-focus
Minoltasarenot compatible.

Nikon
NikkorAF-Dlensesaresuitableforlate
filmcamerasbecausetheyhavea
conventionalmechanicalaperturering.
ModernAF-Glensescanonlybeused
in programorshutterprioritymodes.
Manualfocuslenseswiththetraditional
F mountdatingbackto 1959 will fi t, but
won’tallowallthefunctions.

Olympus
TheiS seriesof camerascoveredhere
donothaveinterchangeablelenses,and
afterOlympusintroduceditsFour
Thirdssystemin 2003allbetswereoff
forcompatibilitywithearliercameras.
ManualfocusOMlensescanbeused
withlaterfilmSLRs(obviouslynottheiS
series),butwithfunction limitations.

Pentax
TheD FAlensesfit andworkonlatefilm
cameras.ModernPentaxlenseswith
aperturessetelectronicallyratherthan
byanactualapertureringwillonly
workonfilmcamerasin programand
shutterprioritymodes.K-mountmanual
focuslensespost-1975willfit thelater
cameras, but won’t provide all functions.

Testbench FILM STARS

MinoltaDynax 7xi

Launched 1991

Guideprice£10-20(bodyonly)

Topof theMinoltarangeat thistime

wastheDynax7, whichis somewhat

elusive.Foraneasierentryintothe

Dynaxworld,stepbacka generation

to theDynax7xi.Atthetime,

Minoltaproclaimedit ‘oneof the

mostinnovativeAFSLRsavailable’.

Inprogrammode,assoonasthe

camerais raisedtotheeye,it locates

themainsubjectandfocusesonit.

Exposureis controlledby14-segment

metering,plusa choiceof averageandspot

modes.Thecameraacceptsa rangeof chipcardsto

pre-programtheautomationforthetypeof photographypreferred–

landscape,portraits,sport,etc.Outof programmode,thecamera

functions in shutter priority, aperture priority or manual modes.

PentaxMZ-5N

Launched 1997

Guideprice£15-20(bodyonly)

Ifretrois yourscene,thenhere’s

a camerathat,morethanany

other,looksandhandleslikean

oldmanualfocusmodel.It might

useanalogue-typecontrols,

butit offersthree-pointTTL

phase-matchingautofocusand

a choiceof six-segment,

centre-weightedorspotmetering

withtheusualfourexposuremodes.

Alsoonboardarea built-inflash,auto

bracketingandanelectronicdepth-of-field

previewfeature.Aswellastheconventional

24x36mmfilmformat,theMZ-5Ncanalso

be switched to a 13x36mm panoramic image.

Olympus iS-1000

Launched 1990

Guideprice£10-15(withfixedlens)

Intheearly1990s,Olympusproduceda series

of so-calledZoomLensReflexesthatbridged

a gapbetweenzoomcompactsandtraditional

SLRs.TheiS-1000wasthefirst,followedbythe

progressivelybetterspecifiediS-2000,iS-3000

andiS-5000.

TheiS-1000is a trueSLRwitha

big,brightviewfinderbutnon-

interchangeable35-135mm

f/4.5-5.6zoomlens.Allcontrols

arebypushbuttons.There’sa

choiceof autoormanualfocus,

whileexposureis handledby

a meteringcellbehindthe

semi-silveredreflexmirror,giving

a choiceof throughthelens(TTL)

multi-pattern,centre-weightedor

spotmetering.Aperturepriority,

program and manual modes are available.

MinoltaDynax7xiwith

MinoltaZoomxi

28-80mm f/4-5.6 lens

OlympusiS-1000withbuilt-in

35-135mm f/4.5-5.6 ED lens

Pentax MZ-5N with Pentax 28mm f/2.8 lens

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