EdMika Tilt-Shift TS 35mm 2.8 FD – EOS brass adapter / conversion kit

They are finally here!  100% designed, developed, in-house computer machined and tested in Ontario Canada by Andrew Sajczyk, Renata and Ed Mika.  We bought and commissioned our own equipment (cutoff band saw, lathe, Tormach CNC vertical mill) because professional machining shops were not interested in the low volumes and high tolerances we required at the price points needed.  On top of this proper product development work could not easily be done before when you had just one day to get a fixture developed and all production completed.  For this new FD mount tilt shift EOS conversion we spent 3 weeks fine-tuning the design and I can honestly say it really is perfect.  THIS LISTING IS FOR THE EOS CONVERSION KIT ONLY, NO LENS OR CAMERA IS INCLUDED (I keep getting asked this question over and over so I've answered it in capital letters at the beginning of the listing now).

Released in 1973, the Canon TS 35mm 2.8 lens itself is a real gem, it was the first 35mm tilt-shift lens ever produced and built like a cross between a fine Swiss watch and a tank.  The all-metal body and compact size are a joy to use especially compared to the modern EOS mount TS L lenses that have plastic bodies, are twice the size of this lens, still only manual focus and cost over 2,500 dollars to buy.  Optically this fast 2.8 lens is as sharp in the corners as it is in the center because the image circle it throws is much larger than the 35mm full frame sensor area required for tilt shift function.

There are two slightly different generations of this lens and both work with this same mount replacement kit. The only difference between the two is the earlier one uses more orange lettering and has a slightly different bracket holding the shift knob, the newer one has more green lettering.

This was a very difficult design to engineer since both faces of the adapter are dynamic rather than static, meaning they both have to interface in a moving way driving extreme high tolerance requirements.  We had to use a formula 1 angled suspension inspired design for the spring and ball stop click feature since the new EOS side did not have space to copy the original FD design vertical spring orientation.  Also newly developed is the EdMika eye-on-the-target lens alignment system that allows you to see the red camera mount dot during the entire lens to body mounting operation.  You have never mounted a lens on an EOS body with as much ease as this.

The kit comes with a dedicated brass tool for mount swap and comes installed with the EdMika standard Gen4 Dandelion programmable AF-Confirm chip that reports a programmed focal length, aperture value, emulation for autofocus switch on/off, and lens focus point micro adjustment.  Please note, there have been issues with Dandelion chips with intermittent momentary signal loss that can cause metering problems when filming video, this can be overcome by metering in manual or taping over the chip for video.  If you would like to buy the adapter without a chip so that you can glue on your own favourite chip brand or use the adapter without one, please make a note on the paypal payment and I will refund 20 dollars and send the kit to you without a chip installed. Also included is a rear lens cap for the new EOS mount your lens will have after the easy and fully reversible conversion.  Unlike with some converted Canon FD/FL vintage manual focus lenses, this one is 100% compatible with all EOS bodies, film and digital.  The larger mirrors on the 5D series of bodies do not interfere with the rear most lens element and infinity focus is retained.

The mount swap takes just minutes from FD mount to EF and back again.  Use the included brass tool to unscrew the center ring, remove the FD mount, transfer the original ball and spring into the EdMika brass adapter and use the included tape to hold the ball and spring in to assist in new mount assembly but make sure you pull the tape out before fully tightening. Using the same center ring screw the EdMika EOS mount in by finger since the tool will interfere with the Dandelion chip. At the end of finger tightening, rotate the EdMika mount enough so that both holes in the tightening ring are visible and use the tool for the final tightening.  Please note, on some lenses the centre ring is screwed in really tight.  The best procedure we have found for this is to hold the brass tool with pliers or a vise, and have a second person using two hands, rotate the lens.  The thread loosens counter clockwise so make sure you are twisting it in the proper direction.  Here is a video of the conversion:

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