Nifty fifties and Canon EOS cameras

An un-scientific comparison of 50mm lenses.

There are available a plethora of lens mount adapters that allow one to mount almost any lens onto a Canon EOS digital camera.
It is possible to mount lenses using the Nikon F mount, Olympus OM and M42 lens mounts (among others) by the use of a mechanical adapter. The Canon FD mount is not usable for general photography unless an adapter with optical elements is used to maintain infinity focus.
So... what's the point of mounting an older or off brand lens on a modern digital SLR camera?
Only one way to find out, let's take some pictures!
First, here's the selection of 50mm lenses that were tried.

Selection of nifty 50mm lenses
(click image for a larger view)

Below are examples of the same photo, or as near as can be, taken with these lenses and the appropriate lens mount adapters. (Click on the pictures to view a larger version)

A Global "Camera Style"

Global Camera Style - Yahoo Pipe

A number of "Camera Style" blogs have popped up on the web in recent times. These sites document some fantastic, often vintage cameras and the people that use them.
It seems to have begun with John Sypal's Tokyo camera style.
From Ottowa to Jakarta and Oslo to Tokyo, courtesy of Yahoo pipes (please be patient, it may take a little time to load), here’s a mashup of the feeds from 30 or so similar sites to produce a "Global Camera Style".
If you’re a fan of any of the camera style sites and love browsing photos of vintage cameras, subscribe to the RSS feed here,  or view on NetVibes.

"The Edit" by Ed Wargin

I can relate to this quote from photographer Ed Wargin,

"Waiting for film to come back from the lab is the closest thing to being a kid again, kind of like waiting for Christmas so you can rip open that one special present to see what is inside..."

This quote accompanies the short video "The Edit" at the Fresh coast project blog.

Sadly, it doesn't matter how long I wait, my pictures don't look as great as those in his Fresh Coast Project.


The Edit from Ed Wargin on Vimeo.
(to view, type in "coast" for the password)