3 decades of Backwards compatibility. It's a wonder, isn't it?

3 decades of Backwards compatibility. It's a wonder, isn't it? - Printable Version

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3 decades of Backwards compatibility. It's a wonder, isn't it? - Dartz - 02-16-2020

I own a Canon EOS650 - a film camera built in 1987, that uses an electronic communication protocol between itself and its lens. It was the very first of its type - the promogenitor for all modern Canon cameras.

I bought a brand-new lens made by Canon - a 24-70mm F4 - with ultrasonic focusing and image stabilisation. This lens was designed in 2013 - long after Canon had stopped making film cameras - and comes with a 2020 manufacturing serial number - one of the first built this year.

I did this with both of them:

*Everything* works.

33 year of near pefect backwards compatibility is a thing to behold. When it would've been so easy to flip a bit somewhere in the lens's microcontroller so it wouldn't work on something this old - it was never done. And while I doubt any engineer at Canon ever had it in their mind that someone would buy a brand new lens for a 3-decade old camera, it's still amusing that it works.

Of course, the camera itself is running into its own limitations - it struggles a little because the focus sensor hardware wasn't as good.

But the lens will probably work for another 2 decades - right up until 2D goes out of fashion and everything goes holographic.

As for why I did something this dumb? Someone bought be a voucher for Christmas and it was one of the few ways I could spend it.

RE: 3 decades of Backwards compatibility. It's a wonder, isn't it? - classicdrogn - 02-16-2020

On the one hand yes, that's really quite impressive. On the other hand,

* Have a thing
* Get a new accessory for the thing
* They make sweet, sweet love together
* Mostly live happily ever after despite a few rough patches

This is how the amazing, distant future of the 21st century was supposed to work. Do you think we can get Canon engineers into government positions?

RE: 3 decades of Backwards compatibility. It's a wonder, isn't it? - robkelk - 02-16-2020

(02-16-2020, 02:36 PM)Dartz Wrote: As for why I did something this dumb? Someone bought be a voucher for Christmas and it was one of the few ways I could spend it.

But the 24-70mm zoom lens is one of the basic tools of the trade - everybody with an SLR camera should have one! (IMHO, at least.)

RE: 3 decades of Backwards compatibility. It's a wonder, isn't it? - Dartz - 02-16-2020

(02-16-2020, 05:02 PM)classicdrogn Wrote: On the one hand yes, that's really quite impressive. On the other hand,

* Have a thing
* Get a new accessory for the thing
* They make sweet, sweet love together
* Mostly live happily ever after despite a few rough patches

This is how the amazing, distant future of the 21st century was supposed to work. Do you think we can get Canon engineers into government positions?

I'm pretty sure they didn't do it on purpose - and if they did it's likely to enable old lenses to work on new cameras, rather than the other way around. If you've dropped 15k on an 800mm glass bazooka and it didn't work on your new camera - you'd be miffed.

And people screamed when Canon broke backward compatibility with the old FD system to introduce an EF lens. Especially those professionals who'd invested 15k in those glass bazookas.

(02-16-2020, 05:19 PM)robkelk Wrote:
(02-16-2020, 02:36 PM)Dartz Wrote: As for why I did something this dumb? Someone bought be a voucher for Christmas and it was one of the few ways I could spend it.

But the 24-70mm zoom lens is one of the basic tools of the trade - everybody with an SLR camera should have one! (IMHO, at least.)

And there're plenty of second-hand ones from the 80's and early 90's out there - I even have one. It's definitely showing it's age and wear.

Buying a new one for a camera of this age would be - unusual. Like putting an SSD in an IBM PC or something similar.