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Question: Will my digital camera lenses work on a film camera?

(Posted by: on 2011-08-01 17:25:55)

I have a Canon Digital Rebel XTi with the lens it came with as well as a zoom lens. I am taking a film photography class now, and I've noticed that I can buy a film camera body pretty inexpensively, but I want to know if my digital camera's lenses will be compatible. One of the film cameras I'm looking into is the Canon EOS Rebel X 35mm SLR. I have never used a film camera, so I have no idea if this is possible. They're both Canons, in the Rebel series, with single light reflex lenses... Could this work? Help!

Posted by: fhotoace on 2011-08-01, 17:29:10

Only Canon EF lenses will work with your possible purchase. Canon EF-S lenses can damage the mirror of 35 mm and full frame dSLR EOS cameras

Posted by: keerok on 2011-08-01, 20:07:50

EF-S lenses like the one that came with your digital Rebel were made for crop sensor dSLRs. They will fit a film Rebel but will not project an image large enough to fill a whole frame of film. That means the resulting picture be small and bordered by a large, dark and fuzzy background. EF lenses made for film and full frame dSLRs do not have that problem.

Posted by: Caoedhen on 2011-08-02, 05:44:37

You can NOT use EF-S lenses on a film body, period. the size of the image circle has nothing to do with it, the lens is physically longer, and sets further back into the body. When the mirror flips up in a film body, it will strike the rear of the lens. This is bad. Nikon doesn't have this problem, nor does Sony, when using crop frame lenses (DX or DT, respectively). Canon, however, does have this problem. You would need to get your Rebel film body with an EF lens, something like the 28-80 that was a standard kit with those bodies, or a 28-135 would be a better choice. Any lens you may have that is NOT EF-S will work, but you cannot use the EF-S models. The good news is that the market is flooded with film bodies and lenses, which normally sell at a fraction of what they cost new. There are always sellers that think they should get what they paid for a camera, or even make a profit, but reality is that a Rebel X with 28-80 lens is worth a blazing $50 in pristine condition.