Can you convert a film SLR to a DSLR?

[satans worm]

I've got a Canon EOS3 which i bought some time back before digital was the force it is now.
I have with it a Canon IS 28mm-135mm lens , a rather expensive 550EX flash gun and a remote control.

I havent used the kit in sometime but my immanent move to Slovakia for a year for work means i would like to dust off my old camera and take some shots of the country and my travels within and around it.

I would love a digital SLR but funds just wont stretch that far at the moment, I am also loathed to 'lose' the flash gun and IS lens if I change over, they are so good it seems a waste.

SO, is it possible to convert the camera from film to digital by removing the back and replace?

Or is buying a new set up the only way, if so, what is the digital equivalent of my camera body, or secondhand replacements that would be appropriate (ie how many pixels do you need to come up to film standard, say at 100 ISO? are these available secondhand now?)

I've been out the loop on all things cameras for quite sometime, and whilst normally would undertake the studying of the subject by buying every magazine out plus scouring the internet for hours im getting lazy in my old age and thought id just put it out on pistonheads instead!!

[sjg]

If you're on a budget, a secondhand Canon 300D or 350D would do the job. Your lens and flash should both work fine.

[satans worm]

sjg said:

If you're on a budget, a secondhand Canon 300D or 350D would do the job. Your lens and flash should both work fine.

Is their any functionality i would be missing from the '3 though? Or have things moved on and my spec is now just basic DSLR territory?

[Simpo Two]

There were moves afoot to produce such a thing years ago, but it would be horribly expensive and I guess the ever-decreasing prices of DSLRs made it a non-starter. So yes, get yourself a DSLR and either sell the EOS3 to a student or see how far it will go...

As well as the Canon 300D have a look at the Nikon D70 and D100.

[JohnS]

I think the EOS3 had eye control for autofocussing which hasn't yet appeared in a DSLR, and 7fps.

If you need that many frames per second, then something like a Canon 40D (around £400 2nd hand) would be the closest match if you are on a budget, or a much older 1D or 1D Mk II which would have few MP on the sensor, but offer similar performance autofocussing and metering.

If it's just for taking some landscape shots, then I'd recommend something like a 350D or 400D which you should be able to pick up for around £150 - £200 with some batteries and memory cards as well.

The lens you have already will work fine, as should the flash.

[satans worm]

OK, looks like i need to start camping to my wife on the need for a new camera (or at least secondhand)
Good to hear the lens will still work as would the flash.
I believe the conversion 1.6 X so my 28-135 becomes a 45 - 215 lens, kinda strange but i can live with that.
I would like to get a 11mm (digital size) lens, any recommendations, on the budget side of things of course
And just before i start scouring the ads, ANY canon DSLR will fit the lens and flash right?
And the amount of pixels I should be looking at is..

Edited by satans worm on Tuesday 28th September 18:14

[Thunderace]

I also have an EOS 3, it's still my favourite camera but doesn't get much use these days. I also have the 28-135 and 550EX, both will work on current Canon DSLR's. The 28-135 is in a drawer somewhere as it was replaced with a 24-70 a while back, the 550EX is the flash I normally use on DSLRs (even in preference to the 580EX2 which I also own).

[Nick M]

Alternatively....

Use the film camera and get a scanner (either film or flat bed), process the film but don't print it, and then scan the images to digitise them.

[satans worm]

This is a consideration, and I assume all the old lens for non digital are cheap too secondhand
Do you think it would be better to shoot transparancies rather than standard film for the negs?

Edited by satans worm on Wednesday 29th September 12:25

[Nick M]

Swings and roundabouts re transparencies vs. negatives.

It's likely to be a bit easier to just get the negative film developed at a local photo shop, by they may take longer / charge more for transparencies. Or you may need to send it away.

With either option you may be able to get a CD back with the images already scanned, but the quality is often not that stunning. With your own scanner you'd have more control over the quality of the scanned pictures.

[DiscoColin]

satans worm said:

... Canon IS 28mm-135mm lens , a rather expensive 550EX flash gun and a remote control.
...
I am also loathed to 'lose' the flash gun and IS lens if I change over, they are so good it seems a waste.

Simpo Two said:

As well as the Canon 300D have a look at the Nikon D70 and D100.

Erm - looking at Nikons would mean ditching and replacing all of the OP's current kit, which they don't want to do...

Fail?

[Nothing wrong with Nikon kit at all, but you can't share EOS bits with it so not terribly relevant...]

[-Pete-]

The lens and flash will work with any Canon DSLR. You could sell most of it on eBay, Canon stuff gets a good price 2nd hand, and start again. That said, you'd be best off sticking with Canon or Nikon IMO, unless you want to buy one of those all-in-one bridge cameras which many on here claim are almost as good. 6Mpix is enough for anything up to A3 sized prints.

[satans worm]

I think i will carry on with my kit and see how it goes, if i am happy with my kit then i will look to buy a 17/18mm wide angle lens secondhand and enjoy, if i find film too time consuming and cant dodge the lure of a DSLR then i guess i will investigate the canon range of secondhand bodies.

Thanks for info guys

[SamHH]

satans worm said:

This is a consideration, and I assume all the old lens for non digital are cheap too secondhand

Not EF lenses (the ones that fit your camera) because the non-digital ones are the same as the digital ones.

[Pints]

OP - what budget do you have available to work with?

[Kermit power]

satans worm said:

OK, looks like i need to start camping to my wife

Darling, let me explain just how simply wonderful a new camera would be!!!

[onomatopoeia]

JohnS said:

I think the EOS3 had eye control for autofocussing which hasn't yet appeared in a DSL

What is "eye control for autofocusing" ?

Presumably nothing so simple as it starts to autofocus when you put your eye to the eyepiece, if autofocus is enabled?

[SamHH]

onomatopoeia said:

JohnS said:

I think the EOS3 had eye control for autofocussing which hasn't yet appeared in a DSL

What is "eye control for autofocusing" ?

Presumably nothing so simple as it starts to autofocus when you put your eye to the eyepiece, if autofocus is enabled?

It means the camera will focus on the part of the scene you are looking at through the viewfinder.

[Dogsey]

SamHH said:

onomatopoeia said:

JohnS said:

I think the EOS3 had eye control for autofocussing which hasn't yet appeared in a DSL

What is "eye control for autofocusing" ?

Presumably nothing so simple as it starts to autofocus when you put your eye to the eyepiece, if autofocus is enabled?

It means the camera will focus on the part of the scene you are looking at through the viewfinder.

I can see why it was dropped then, my eye is usually all over the viewfinder as I'm composing the shot and I wouldn't want the lens hunting around while I'm doing it.

[Simpo Two]

DiscoColin said:

Erm - looking at Nikons would mean ditching and replacing all of the OP's current kit, which they don't want to do...

Fail?

[Nothing wrong with Nikon kit at all, but you can't share EOS bits with it so not terribly relevant...]

Stupid old me, eh?

Then again the OP might find that his favourite lens isn't really suitable on a crop sensor body, and so he's ended up with an unsatisfactory combo.

Many people try to hang on to their old gear with a DSLR, and then realise that actually it's not very suitable any more, and end up selling the lot and moving on. I was just trying to save him the middle bit, and now is a good time to cast the net wider.

BTW Did you have anything useful to contribute to the thread?

Edited by Simpo Two on Thursday 30th September 19:35