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Latest photos added to the Canon Classics Flickr Group.
The AE finder FN allows for aperture priority on the New F-1 which is my preferred way of shooting film. I also own the Speed Finder and the Waist Level finder 6X, both of which I have used for macro work. Attaching a winder or motor drive allows for shutter priority too. This is the best all-around finder for the New F-1 since it also permits manual override. Very bright and shows appropriate information of aperture and shutter speed, shifting the aperture read out to the bottom of the screen while the shutter speeds remain on the right. Includes a hot shutter and shutter eyepiece built in.
Professional photographers seemed to always defame zoom lenses until the digital age. Zooms from the 1960s were immediately trashed as having poor image quality. Yet Canon made three very good to excellent FL zooms, with the best of the three being this 55-135mm f3.5 lens. All three lenses had an automatic diaphragm. Modern Photography published test results of the three zooms in January 1970 showing excellent performance of each in the middle and at the edges. This lens includes an aperture preview button which is very easy to access. It also has a rotating and lockable tripod mount, which is very handy due to the weight of the lens. It can be easily handheld, however. Focusing is done with a knurled ring while zooming is performed with a textured, rubberized (?) ring. The aperture ring is silver in color, probably to avoid confusion. The filter size is 58mm. It is also very handy that the metal hood for this lens is the same as the hood for the 50mm f1.4 and f1.8, the S-60. I found image quality to be very good wide open in the center with minimal drop off at the edges. At f5.6 IQ is excellent throughout, and at f8 and f11 equal to primes from the period. I like using the appropriate period lenses for the camera. FL lenses are used with my Canon FP and Pellix QL. For me, the only real negative is that the closest focusing distance is seven feet. But it seemed to be designed more for portrait photography, so the distance is appropriate. This lens has been noted for its excellent color balance, sharp focus and high resolving power, making it excellent for that purpose. With high quality film enlargements up to 16x20" turn out beautiful. Even with all the positives in this review I would only recommend it if you are shooting FL mount bodies. If you are using FD bodies look for the nFD 50-135mm f3.5 which is an excellent lens, lighter in weight, with better coating. This FL lens has amber coating whereas the newer "version" has SSC.
The Motor Drive MA was made for the A-1 and works on the AE-1P as well. It should not be used on other A series cameras. On both cameras you will need to remove the finger grip that covers the battery compartment. This drive features single and continuous shooting at both high and low speeds. You can also switch to high-speed continuous shooting by using your right pinky on the white button on the hand grip. Very handy for shooting sports. The five frames per second shooting was very fast for the period. The only drawback is the weight of the twelve AA batteries. At least with the New F-1 there as an optional four AA battery Power Winder that had the hand grip. Canon made a Ni-Cd pack for the MA drive but finding one today that holds a charge is nearly impossible. I surprisingly have one for the AE Power Winder FN that can still be charged. They are not interchangeable, however. This motor drive still commands a relatively high price for one in working condition.
Original Acros 100 is my favorite BW Fujifilm, but this is a close second. Excellent grain and good overall contrast. Less contrasty, in my opinion, to Acros but excellent nonetheless.
This is the last lens made for the T80, an autofocus camera, that could also use manual focus lenses. Canon made three AC lenses: 50mm, 35-70mm, and this 75-200mm. These AC lenses can only be used as autofocus with the T80, so they have limited appeal and generally cost very little. From what I can find, Canon made fewer of the 75-200mm than the other two (or any nFD lens for that matter). In bright sunlight, this lens performs well enough even with subjects moving parallel to the shooter. Subjects moving towards the shooter will not be in focus even though there is a Servo focusing mode. It has a "macro" mode for close focusing. As with the other two AC lenses it is easily confused by horizontal and vertical lines. In one shot mode image quality is good. The build quality is concerning--the lens seems very fragile even in comparison to other New FD lenses. I cannot imagine it surviving even a short fall or inadvertently bumping into something. I own multiple working copies as I assume one will fail at some point. Luckily, the T80 can use other nFD lenses too. I bought the T80 because it is an oddball, experimental type of body, that paved the way for EF lenses and EOS bodies. It was only made for about a year. The body and lenses are definitely worth playing around with for a cheap price. There is no reason to throw good money at it.
This is a sharp lens with good bokeh and overall solid build. I use with the Canon FP and Pellix QL. It is a fast lens that is comparable in IQ to the FD and nFD 50mm f 1.4. It slightly heavier than the FD and a lot heavier than the nFD. It takes the metal clamp on hood S-60.
The A2 was designed for use with A bodies accept the AT-1 apparently. It has 2fps speed and can be shot single frame or continuous. It takes four AA batteries, so it has weight, but not too much. I leave mine attached to the AL-1 to "fix" the battery door design flaw. It has a rewind button and a remote socket. The battery chamber is locked with a screw that is opened with a coin. There is also a trip mount socket. Simple but effective.
A really great lens. They've fixed all the chromatic aberration many of their other telephotos have, and it focuses internally. It has a tripod mount bracket and I recommend putting that on a gimbal for wildlife photography, it will make your life so much easier.
I use it with the Canon Extender 2X-A that it was designed for, it maintains very good sharpness because it gets such high marks there to begin with. That combination is probably as extreme as you can go into telephoto while still maintaining high quality and not breaking your back to carry around. It's so much fun trying to take pictures of things 1000 feet, or even a mile away! With the TC it focuses just about close enough for small animals like frogs.
It has a sliding lens hood which you can lock in place with a twist.
The focus throw can feel a little too short and sensitive when you are nearing infinity. It also takes 34mm rear filters, which have a poor selection (no polarizer) and can be a little rare and expensive. Small birds will be too fast for you unless you prefocus a branch and wait, but that's true of any manual focus long telephoto. Those are the only drawbacks.
Another film very similar to Sensia 100. Handles expiration well maintaining film speed with a bit of purple cast. Harder to find than Sensia though, and usually more expensive. I would buy whichever is cheaper.
A very underrated film which performs well in expiration. I have shot dozens of rolls of it, some made in 1994, none of which suffered much loss in film speed, just some color shift toward purple which can be corrected if desired. All had fine grain. The price is quite low compared to other slide film. It's a huge bargain if you like E-6.
Great film for moody atmosphere. Makes fog and rain look fantastic and melancholy. Don't expect it to behave like Tri-X or HP5. It's also not a technical film, I would consider it a film for artistic expression. It's nice that it's quite cheap (look for Flic Film and Arista rebrandings). I like it in HC-110. You'll find the occasional emulsion defect in Foma films, but usually nothing too bad.
Rollei Infrared 400 is a film with a nice tonality and poor quality control (scratches, emulsion damage, etc). For infrared, I rate it at 6. I prefer Adox Scala 50 since it can also be rated at 6 for infrared, has finer grain, and does not have Rollei's problems.
Rollei Infrared 400, Rollei Superpan 200, Rollei Retro 400S, Catlabs 320, JCH Streetpan 400 are all the same film - Agfa Aviphot 200. Just buy the cheaper one and don't be fooled by the marketing.
Scala 50 is an excellent film where detail is needed. Rodinal 1+25 semi-stand, 10 minutes at 22C with one gentle inversion at 5 minutes develops it quite well. May need image stabilized lenses or tripod due to slow speed.
Great infrared response, with a 720nm filter I had great results rating it at 6. That's the same speed I rate Rollei Infrared 400 (Aviphot 200) at, which is much grainier with poorer quality control.
Also a great film for reversal processing, but I've only developed it as negative so far.
Great film if you like no grain and high detail. Exposure must be pretty precise. You will need a tripod. With good technique and lenses, makes 35mm look like large format. Unfortunately it's being discontinued, Scala 50 could be a good alternative.
Solidly built lens with excellent image quality--sharp, good color reproduction, good contrast. Fairly fast for a zoom lens from this period and encompasses an excellent range covering 50, 85, 100, 135mm. Works well for portraits allowing the shooter to adjust the focal length rather than move closer or further away from the subject. I have not noticed vignetting but will take the other reviewer's word for it. It is heavy compared to modern lenses but is lighter than the FD version. In my opinion it is equal to the 35-105mm f3.5 in terms of IQ. Those are the best zooms that do not sport an L in their name.
I own over a dozen Canon SLRs but still decided to add the AL-1 to my collection for the focus assist and my failing eyesight. The focus assist works well for 1982 and seems to be the precursor design for autofocus lenses. Canon had already developed an autofocus point-and-shoot when this camera was released. This camera is easy to use in aperture priority, but also allows for complete manual operation. It looks exposure compensation, instead relying on a "backlit" button. It is hard to find a working model due to one of the dumbest battery door designs in history. It seems the compartment for the AAA batteries was designed too short, so the batteries press on the hinge and eventually break it. I purchased a black AL-1 with an intact door but use Winder A2 to relieve the pressure on the door hinge. If I want to lighten the load, I simply remove the four AA batteries in the winder. Designed for nFD lenses, it can still use FD and FL, but Super Canomatic R should be avoided as they might damage the function of the camera. Among the A series I own an AE-1, A-1, AE-1P, and now this AL-1. While the A-1 is superior in virtually every way, the AL-1 compares well with the other As I own, mostly because I prefer aperture priority to shutter priority. It seems a little flimsier compared to the earlier models--this was the last of the A-series cameras. The T-series were right around the corner. A working AL-1 in black can be pricey compared to a T70, which is better built with more features. The AL-1 seems to require a good CLA, more so than earlier A-series. All my shutter speeds were considerably off, so you should factor the cost of a CLA if purchasing one. Despite these issues I really enjoy shooting the AL-1 and the ease of the focus assist and bright viewfinder.
According to the Canon Musuem website, this was a groundbreaking lens that eliminated flaws/issues with the Gauss type lenses of the period. It looks like a piece of art and shoots like a dream. There may be some softness wide open, but I mostly shot it between f5.6-11 on a Canon 7. The IQ was excellent in general when I got the focus correct. (I find rangefinders challenging to focus compared to the bright screen of an F-1 or T90.) My version had been serviced and was largely dust free without any fungus, etc. Focusing takes some getting used to after many years of FL, FD, and nFD lenses. I only own three M39 lens so I cannot compare it to other lens manufacturers. To be fair, the exquisite beauty of the lens itself may be clouding my judgement a little. According to Canon "Based on the optical theory developed by this lens design, various high performance wide angle and telephoto lenses with large apertures were developed."
The "Guest" below is me--I guess I forgot to log in. However, I want to make a correction to what I wrote. You can see below that I noted that R lenses can be mounted on an FL or FD camera body. While that is true technically, make sure that you read the manual for your camera. Some of the R lenses should not be used on some of the other Canon bodies. The R 35mm f2.5 is one of the listed lenses prohibited for use on cameras such as the AE-1, AE-1P, New F-1. The manuals for those cameras also prohibit the use of some FL lenses too.
This lens is very solid as were generally most lenses from the early 1960s. lt focuses to about 14-18 inches which is useful in a wide-angle lens. I found in testing it that sharpness was pretty good at f2.5 although sharpness fall off at the corners. most of which was caused by curvature of field inherent in this lens. Thia affected sharpness at the corners only at close shooting distances—at distances over 20 ft. this lens corner sharpness was greatly improved. At f/8 sharpness was good throughout with only a little fall off in sharpness at the corners. There is no further improvement at f11 or f16. This 35mm was the widest lens available for the Flex series of cameras between 1959-1964. Super Canomatic R lenses fit on any R, FL, FD, nFD mount camera. However, FL, FD, nFD lenses cannot be mounted on Flex cameras without damaging the lens or camera or both. R lenses are coated. Coating on the 35mm is Magenta (on the 50mm f1.8 the coating is Amber). The filter size is 58mm, same as the 50mm, 85mm, 100mm and 135mm. It is a seven element lens. There are two aperture rings, one which presets that aperture, and the other for stop down viewing. I generally leave the second one wide open to aid focusing. Although the glass is very good on the R lenses, they tend not to hold up nearly as well as the FL and FD lenses. Mold/fungus/dust is commonplace. Image quality is better with my FL 35mm f3.5 or the nFD 35mm f2.8. There is no real reason to purchase one of these unless you own a Flex series camera or like to collect one of everything!
Best you can get for the price. This version has a metal mount, second version has a plastic mount. Never used the STM version, but it's probably a lot faster to focus.
This lens is very solid as were generally most lenses from the early 1960s. lt focuses to about 14-18 inches which is useful in a wide-angle lens. I found in testing it that sharpness was pretty good at f2.5 although sharpness fall off at the corners. most of which was caused by curvature of field inherent in this lens. Thia affected sharpness at the corners only at close shooting distances—at distances over 20 ft. this lens corner sharpness was greatly improved. At f/8 sharpness was good throughout with only a little fall off in sharpness at the corners. There is no further improvement at f11 or f16. This 35mm was the widest lens available for the Flex series of cameras between 1959-1964. Super Canomatic R lenses fit on any R, FL, FD, nFD mount camera. However, FL, FD, nFD lenses cannot be mounted on Flex cameras without damaging the lens or camera or both. R lenses are coated. Coating on the 35mm is Magenta (on the 50mm f1.8 the coating is Amber). The filter size is 58mm, same as the 50mm, 85mm, 100mm and 135mm. It is a seven element lens. There are two aperture rings, one which presets that aperture, and the other for stop down viewing. I generally leave the second one wide open to aid focusing. Although the glass is very good on the R lenses, they tend not to hold up nearly as well as the FL and FD lenses. Mold/fungus/dust is commonplace. Image quality is better with my FL 35mm f3.5 or the nFD 35mm f2.8. There is no real reason to purchase one of these unless you own a Flex series camera or like to collect one of everything!
The Canon 7 is a beautiful camera that is very well made with excellent ergonomics and bright frame lines and focus patch. It is a weighty camera for those assuming that a rangefinder would be lighter. My copy has a working selenium meter that can have its sensitivity set for light and dark conditions. It seems quite accurate after all these years. The one glaring omission is the lack of a cold or hot shoe, which they fixed with the Canon 7S. It would be nice to be able to mount a flash easily or a modern light meter such as the SEKs meter I use on a meter less Nikkormat FS. Early Canon Rangefinders had the film advance on the bottom which interfered with using a tripod. The 7 has a single stroke lever on top, that can also advance the film with several small strokes instead. I found it somewhat difficult to load the film, but that could be a me problem! The 7 is well laid out with the front timer and minimal clutter on top. The shutter speed is easily adjusted from B to 1/1000th and a push button on the back of the camera allows for easy ISO adjustments. It is interesting to note that this body was contemporaneous with the Flex series of SLRs from Canon. It is certainly less bulky than those. It takes LTM mount lenses also referred to as M39 or Leica mount. This means that lenses are not cheap. The Canon 50mm f1.8 that came with the camera is full of fungus and haze. I purchased a beautiful Serenar 50mm f1.8 from 1951 to replace it. Many Soviet era M39s are available at a somewhat reduced cost, but the quality can be hit or miss. Jupiter and Helios lens seem to be the best according to aficionados. This is the only exchangeable lens RF I own so I have nothing to compare it to in that regard. It is more solidly built than the Canonets I own or the Yashica Electo. The Canon 7 has jumped in price recently with the revival of film. It is still vastly cheaper than a Leica or Minolta CLE or Voightlander Bessa, all of which use the same lens mount. I also firmly believe that the glass and film are more important that the body in film cameras. If you want to get into RFs Canon provides many less expensive options, including the beautiful 7. All the specs for this camera are on Canon Museum website.
Just bought this for a commercial shoot and holy shite is this thing sharp. I've been a prime guy my entire life, but this is the first lens I pulled the trigger on because I thought it would be worth it and frick is the ROI high. I worked with the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L, and optically this was like that--except two focal lengths greater, a stop slower, and without auto-focus.
Build: large filter diameter that fits 6x4 Tiffen glass just fine. Zoom ring is silky smooth. Focus ring twists freely while telescoping with the front elements. The aperture ring is still clicky-clacky. Despite being a 'lighter' nFD, it still feels as heavy as an old mostly metal FD. However, I do not see this as a drawback but more of a testament to its rugged well-built quality. The focus ring is slightly stiff with attached gears for wireless follow-focus systems.
Optics: the IQ is stupidly sharp across the entire range from 50mm-300mm at f/5.6. Extremely light vignette all the way open on a full-frame Sony a7III but non-existent on a super-35 Arri Alexa Classic. Lens breath can be jarring (or awesome) if rack-focusing from a subject 4ft away to 100ft away. Zooming with it was so much fun as the light and silky zoom ring made it buttery smooth which made for dope vertigo shots.
Cost: $3800. Worth every penny. Its modern equivalent is the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6, which is half the price, lighter, auto-focusing, and faster... but it's not a Canon FD lens. Which has a specific look, and is probably why you're here.
Based on research it seems that I have the mkiii version as the lens has 1:1.8 instead of f1.8 on the two earlier versions. The Super Canomatic R lenses have a reputation for not aging as well as the FL and early FD models. My copy has some light haze but nothing major. The R lenses have two aperture rings--one to preset the aperture and the other to view depth of field. This is a neat feature of these lenses. The manual for R lenses state that all are SC coated, with the 50mm 1.8 having an amber coating (the 58mm 1.2 has magenta). The lens barrel has a DOF scale, distance scale, and infrared scale as one would expect. While the R mount will work on FL/FD bodies the reverse is not true. I now own 50mm f 1.8 lenses in R, FL, FD and nFD, and f1.4 in FL and nFD. The R version IQ is less sharp and color reproduction is more muted. Interestingly, at the moment they are often more expensive than the nFD f1.8. Unless one is collecting there is really no reason to own this lens as a shooter. It is built like a tank, however.
This was Canon's first attempt at auto focus. It is a point and shoot camera that takes convenient AA batteries. The lens is fast and sharp-40mm f1.9. The auto focus technology was primitive, and shots can be hit or miss. Pre-focus requires being a contortionist and pressing multiple buttons and switches with both hands. The film advance motor is loud by any comparison to any camera. It is not a great shooter, but it is pretty. Prices have been high since some bloggers wrote about it and film newbies jumped on it. I also own several of the ML model that replaced it, which is a nicer camera to use ergonomically speaking. Keep in mind that both the A35F and AF35ML have late 70s early 80s electronics, fairly cheesy battery doors, and are subject to failure. If you are looking for a good Canon point and shoot, go with the Sure Shot Supreme which is phenomenal. The Ace is also excellent in that category of camera.
According to reports from Canon, 14,000 units of the R2000 were built but only 8721 were available for sale. Serial numbers started at 50001. Even though the Internet Directory of Camera Collectors claims that serial numbers began with 50646 mine is 50488, so clearly that is incorrect. They also claim that the last serial number was 59281, but other R2000 owners have numbers over 59400. I imagine that some had flaws and were destroyed. But Canon is clear that only 8721 were put up for sale. The Canon Museum website can give you all the specs on the camera so I will not bother with those details. The R2000 is arguably the first commercially available camera with a top speed of 1/2000th, thus its name. It is the second to last of the four Canonflex cameras built and mark Canon's entry into SLRs. The first three models do not have a built-in light meter, but an attachable external selenium meter was available for the Canonflex and Canonflex RP. That meter maxed at 1/1000th. The external selenium meter for the R2000 maxed at 1/2000th although the other meters would work. The Canonflex RM has a built-in selenium meter and was the last of the line. The RM replaced the R2000 in 1962 before being replaced by the FX in 1964. The R2000 is extremely well built and was produced to compete with the Nikon F as professional camera. An eye-level and waist-level finder were both available and attaching and detaching the finder is quite simple. A lever is depressed on the left side of the camera face and the finder slides out. The layout of the camera is simple, too. The top right-hand side has the shutter speed, frame counter, and shutter button. The frame counter counts up from zero. The left-hand side has a rewind lever. Pulling up the lever gives access to set the ASA/DIN and to set another dial for BW, Color, or Tungsten film. The front of the camera has a self-timer. The bottom has the rewind button, tripod mount on the right, and lever to open the back of the camera. which is folded out and turned to unlock (or lock) the back. Film advance is on the bottom of the camera too. A small metal flap is unfolded allowing one to advance the film with the pinky finger of the right hand. Super Canomatic R lenses are used and are the only lenses that fit on the Canonflex bodies. FL and FD lenses can damage the body--and probably the lens. The R lenses have SC coating. The widest angle is 35mm and the narrowest is 1000mm. Three zoom lenses were available. The lenses have two aperture rings--one is to preset the aperture while the other allows for viewing depth of field. That ring needs to be set back to the widest aperture before firing the shutter. I only own the 50mm f1.8 mark III. While the lenses seem to be very well built, some claim they are more prone to failure than the FL and FD lenses. That might just be age. My lens works great although at first I thought the preset ring was stiff. I now think that is normal to prevent accidental movement. My copy looks as though it was never used although the light seals were replaced. This is not a TTL camera/lens combo so using filters requires knowledge of the filter factor. I leave a Y1 on the lens for protection which has a 1.5X factor equivalent to about 2/3rds of a stop. I am looking for a working meter but now simply use the sunny 16 method. Since lenses are hard to find and often suspect, I would not recommend this camera unless you are a collector or stumble across one cheap. Nonetheless, I love it.
I own and use the T70, T80, and T90 cameras. The T70 is nice but I am not as enthralled with it as other reviewers appear to be. I do not like the top of the camera layout, but hey that's me. Its features are compatible with the AE-1P in my opinion, but with the addition of a built-in motor drive, which might make it more attractive to some users. Personally, I like manually advancing the film in my A and F series cameras. Basically, you choose shooting modes which best represent the scene in front of you. My concern with all of the T series cameras is that the more electronics there are in the camera the more likely the failure over time. Given a choice of buying the AE-1P or A-1, those A series cameras would be my choice, especially as both were still be made when the T70 was available. I today's market, however, the T70 is less expensive if you are just starting out. Other reviewers give all the technical specs below so I will not rehash those. Nice camera but does not make my heart beat faster like the T90 and New F-1.
This is one of my favorite lenses, probably second to the 15mm f2.8 in the wide to ultra-wide range. It is my third favorite with the 200mm f4 macro taking the prize (which should be called L glass). As with all my reviews, this one is based on using the lens for film with the T90, New F-1, and EF bodies. This lens is very sharp, with excellent contrast, and overall image quality. As I use it mostly for landscapes it is almost always shot stopped down to f8-16. I have shot a few images at 2.8 and 4 and they are more than acceptable for 4x6 and even 8x10 prints. My only negative is that the hood for this 72mm front end is unsightly and unwieldy. It's not heavy but it just gets in the way. My other negative is really unfair, but I wish it had built in filters like the 15mm f2.8 which would save me from lugging around a bunch of 72mm filters. I know, first-world problems... I think the contrast and color rendering is better than the 24mm f2.8, but I shoot far more BW film than color. Super-wide lenses are cool to use with color shifting film such as Lomocrhrome Purple and Lomochrome Turquoise.
The Pellix QL is a beautiful camera featuring a pellicle mirror which means that it does not move. It is a thin membrane which allows light to pass through to the film for exposure. There are much better explanations of the mirror on the web for those of you more mechanically inclined. The pellicle mirror allows for more frames per second and (I believe) faster shutter speeds, even though the Pellix fastest shutter speed was 1/1000. The Pellicle mirror was used on later cameras such as the New F-1 High Speed Motor Drive, EOS RT, and EOS-1N RS where a stationary mirror was taken full advantage of. This camera features Canon's Quick Loading system which most of you are familiar with. Film from 25-1600 ISO can be shot at list speed. Shutter speeds range from 1/1-1/1000 and work mechanically, plus bulb. There is an X for flash synchronization. Flash needs to be tethered as the camera sports a cold shoe. Canon made a booster for low light. The booster needs two batteries and attaches to the cold shoe and then to the battery terminal. The light meter requires a battery (1.35v) and works only in stop down mode. This is the part that takes getting used to. The meter one must push the stop down/timer lever to the left to get a reading. The lever can be locked in place. With my index finger on the shutter button I use my middle finger to push the shot down lever to the left (pulling to the right sets the timer). It is not rocket science, but it takes some getting used to. The light meter is the typical matchstick variety. R, FL, FD, and nFD can generally be used, with a few exceptions based on whether the lens extends into the body of the camera (the FL 19 f3.5 cannot be used. Instead Canon made a 19mm F3.5 R for the Pellix). FD and nFD lenses cannot be set on A to attach them to the body You need to set any other aperture and then the lens can attach. FL lenses can be set on A. I do not own any R lenses but those must be shot in full manual mode only, no automatic exposure. Double exposures can be made by depressing the rewind button on the bottom of the camera and then use the film advance lever. The camera also has a eyepiece shutter to keep out light when using the timer. The other nice feature is that the release for the back is on the bottom of the camera and must be intentionally used--no accidental opening of the back of the camera can occur.
I bought the copy I own because it was inexpensive and had an FL 50mm f1.4 version ii attached. This lens is fantastic. I got lucky that the camera was in remarkably good condition. As the body is almost 60 years old silvering on the mirror is common, but mine has none. Make sure you can see the condition of the mirror if you intend to buy a Pellix or Pellix QL. This camera is more of an historical artifact or novelty due to the pellicle mirror. I will shoot mine because it is in such remarkable condition, but I would not encourage anyone to buy this camera over an F-1, EF, A-1, or AE-1P (or T90 or T70 for that matter).
The build of this camera is typically solid for its day. I knocked the "features" down to an 8 since it is clumsy to use and should have been able to have a higher shutter speed or should have had a motor drive since it should be able to shoot several frames per second.
The Pellix QL is a beautiful camera featuring a pellicle mirror which means that it does not move. It is a thin membrane which allows light to pass through to the film for exposure. There are much better explanations of the mirror on the web for those of you more mechanically inclined. The pellicle mirror allows for more frames per second and (I believe) faster shutter speeds, even though the Pellix fastest shutter speed was 1/1000. The Pellicle mirror was used on later cameras such as the New F-1 High Speed Motor Drive, EOS RT, and EOS-1N RS where a stationary mirror was taken full advantage of. This camera features Canon's Quick Loading system which most of you are familiar with. Film from 25-1600 ISO can be shot at list speed. Shutter speeds range from 1/1-1/1000 and work mechanically, plus bulb. There is an X for flash synchronization. Flash needs to be tethered as the camera sports a cold shoe. Canon made a booster for low light. The booster needs two batteries and attaches to the cold shoe and then to the battery terminal. The light meter requires a battery (1.35v) and works only in stop down mode. This is the part that takes getting used to. The meter one must push the stop down/timer lever to the left to get a reading. The lever can be locked in place. With my index finger on the shutter button I use my middle finger to push the shot down lever to the left (pulling to the right sets the timer). It is not rocket science, but it takes some getting used to. The light meter is the typical matchstick variety. R, FL, FD, and nFD can generally be used, with a few exceptions based on whether the lens extends into the body of the camera (the FL 19 f3.5 cannot be used. Instead Canon made a 19mm F3.5 R for the Pellix). FD and nFD lenses cannot be set on A to attach them to the body You need to set any other aperture and then the lens can attach. FL lenses can be set on A. I do not own any R lenses but those must be shot in full manual mode only, no automatic exposure. Double exposures can be made by depressing the rewind button on the bottom of the camera and then use the film advance lever. The camera also has a eyepiece shutter to keep out light when using the timer. The other nice feature is that the release for the back is on the bottom of the camera and must be intentionally used--no accidental opening of the back of the camera can occur.
I bought the copy I own because it was inexpensive and had an FL 50mm f1.4 version ii attached. This lens is fantastic. I got lucky that the camera was in remarkably good condition. As the body is almost 60 years old silvering on the mirror is common, but mine has none. Make sure you can see the condition of the mirror if you intend to buy a Pellix or Pellix QL. This camera is more of an historical artifact or novelty due to the pellicle mirror. I will shoot mine because it is in such remarkable condition, but I would not encourage anyone to buy this camera over an F-1, EF, A-1, or AE-1P (or T90 or T70 for that matter).
The build of this camera is typically solid for its day. I knocked the "features" down to an 8 since it is clumsy to use and should have been able to have a higher shutter speed or should have had a motor drive since it should be able to shoot several frames per second.
I would shoot more Fomapan if it didn't curl up like it does. The look lends a lot of atmosphere to an image. It's a good film with some quirks. The real film speed of Foma films is a little less than what's on the box.
It's a classic, but depending on how you develop it the grain can get big and crunchy. Especially after expiration. It has a nice tonality. I prefer the similar HP5+.
You can push this to 1600 nicely if it's fresh.
Has a 70s/80s look. Looks more recent than HP5+.
I prefer Superia to Gold. I also think ColorPlus is better than Gold. But I'd use Gold over UltraMax.
Now that consumer color negative is so similar in price to professional, there isn't much reason to buy it.
I used to buy this for $2 a roll for general photography. I think it's the best of the cheap 400 speed color negatives.
At the prices it goes for now, I'd use Portra or Ektar instead.
Picks up the colors nicely, low grain. A good slide film. Better in soft lighting situations.
This film is the opposite of Reala. It makes images into a fantasy - which can be a dream or a nightmare. As with most slide film the grain is barely there. It is incredibly critical to expose it properly - the multi-spot metering of the T90 may help you there. Many people also use graduated ND filters with it.
Not a film to use for portraits, though it might work for African skin tones.
Soft lighting works best for this film, because it is so contrasty already. You get very little exposure latitude.
But when you hit it with Velvia, it's incredible.
Half-stop exposure bracketing is recommended, along with a dedicated light meter.
Just a great color film for everything. I wish they still made it. Gave an absolutely fantastic look.
10 year expired Delta 100 performed well. It's a little pricey and requires you to hit the exposure more accurately than HP5+ or FP4+, so it's less good for beginners. It doesn't give as much nostalgia in the look it imparts to images, more of an 80s than a 50s vibe.
I have shot this fresh as well as 10 years expired. The colors are always great and grain is mild. However the 10 year expired roll had tiny black specks all over the images.
Renders skin tones well and can handle being off on exposure - making it good for beginners. These days, it's similar in price to budget options like Gold, Ultramax and ColorPlus, so it's a no brainer. It can resolve a high level of detail.
For landscape I usually prefer Ektar. Portra is of course the king of portraits, although Ektachrome can be nice there too.
Light meter is pretty accurate but harder to use than the T90's readout. The focusing screen also seems a little dimmer than the T90.
Mine scratches the film a little bit, even though I got it CLA'd. Not sure what's going on there but I'd definitely use it more if it didn't do that. I keep it around as a backup.
It is built super strong. I like the metal feel of it. It's really good looking.
It's pretty heavy for its size. Something like a Pentax Spotmatic is much lighter. I like that the viewfinder prism detaches.
The lens is sharp, but it's not impeccable wide open. I'd put it in the same class as the FD 50mm f/1.4. However, the 50mm has more characterful (busier, less creamy) bokeh. The 35mm will also flare slightly more. Radioactive which means yellowing over time, solved with a UV light. The out of focus area from this lens in the foreground when focused at infinity does have a slight swirl.
At f/4 and narrower the image quality will be unimpeachable.
It is a little expensive, but not too crazy. A little big and heavy.
One of the best lenses in the FD lineup, but not my absolute favorite.
This film handled being underexposed one stop okay. I have heard it doesn't like overexposure, though.
The blacks come out very rich and in general it has a lot of contrast and pop. This makes it great for dull lighting. Perhaps not the best choice for a harshly lit scene. Use Acros for that.
The resolution is very high.
It's a little expensive compared to other black and white films, especially in 35mm.
Handles expiration very well.
This review is for the original version, not II.
Acros is the master of B&W tripod long exposure photography. No reciprocity compensation up to 2 minutes.
The grain is extremely fine. The tonality stunned me when I first saw it. It's a good performer in contrasty lighting situations. Resolution is high.
I can't speak for the 2nd version, but I'm glad it's still available in some form.
At first I didn't care for the color of this film, but that changed after I used it for some landscape work. It records a very high level of detail with astonishingly low grain for 400 speed, even long after its expiration date. Wish they still made it.
This film was called Neopan 400 Professional outside of Japan, where it was called Presto.
My all-time favorite 400 speed black and white negative film.
Gives your images a shimmery, silvery look that is hard to describe. Its style does not look old or nostalgic like Tri-X or HP5+.
Incredible exposure latitude and shadow detail. Look at this shot. It was accidentally shot at 3200 and developed at 400. And that's with being expired 10 years.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/61055661@N08/52751298530
The tonality is somewhat similar to Acros. Develops great in HC-110.
I have been able to get about 40 megapixels of detail from it by printing it with an enlarger.
I think it looks best when pushed 1/2 to 1 stop.
Shoot it if you find it.
This is the widest lens I own. It needs to be stopped down at least to 5.6 and it can get a somewhat strong flare from the sun. Wouldn't buy it again - the 28mm f/2.8 is better.
This is just one of the best 50mm f/1.4s ever made. It's similar in sharpness to the equivalent Takumar. Out of focus areas are nice and characterful, not completely creamy, though creamier than the Takumar. Sharper than the equivalent Minolta. This lens is a very good value.
The coating is excellent and it's hard to make it flare. If I don't want to take a lens hood, this is the normal lens I choose.
Unlike the Takumar or FL 58mm, this lens is not radioactive and will not yellow.
Great for portraits as well as general photography. But sometimes a touch too sharp for portraits! Count the eyelashes.
The lens for when you want a telephoto without the size and weight.
I might have had a bad copy, but something broke inside mine and it's stuck wide open. It didn't come that way and it's been lightly used. I may buy another because I enjoy using it.
Was always a tack sharp lens stopped down, and good wide open too.
I slightly prefer the image quality of the FD 135mm f/2.5, but it's big and heavy.
The coating is good and the lens does not flare much. Contrast is good.
Classic emulsion. I prefer it to Tri-X 400. Might be Ilford's best all around film. You can push it, you can over and under expose it. This makes it great for beginners. Tons of nostalgia in any shot you take with it. Works well in HC-110.
It does have more grain and less contrast than Delta 100/400.
Think of this as a slower HP5+. It's a good film and I like the look of it. It is also one of the best films to reverse into black and white slide.
Similarly to HP5+, it will lend an old, nostalgic look to your images. Works well in 510-pyro developer.
Someone got this film for me as a present, I would not use it again. The colors are just wild, and not in a good Velvia way. You'll probably enjoy it if you're into the cross-processing look.
Might be my favorite focal length. This lens takes great portraits. And it can do some landscape too. It has excellent optical quality. I use it instead of the nFD 100mm f/2.8 when size and weight is not an issue, though that is also a good lens. Here is a portrait example.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/61055661@N08/52765372699
If you want a color slide look but prefer the ease of C-41 processing or like a little more exposure latitude, this film in the best affordable alternative. I didn't like it at first due to the redness, but you just have to know how to use it. Works well in softer light and for landscapes. The grain is very fine.
I picked up my T90 for $60 in 2011 after investigating all the FD mount cameras, because it had the richest features. The low price was due to cosmetic scuffs. Spent $125 for a CLA at Camera Clinic. I left it in a box completely unused from 2013-2023, with the AA batteries removed. After loading it with new batteries, it had no problem coming back to life after its storage. People say the internal battery and LCD screen don't last long, but I haven't found that to be the case. I've put 20 or 30 rolls through it since the storage and the shutter is accurate at all speeds.
It has the most accurate and versatile light metering system of any camera I own. Extremely ahead of its time for 1986. Shooting difficult film like Velvia is no problem with this thing. Multi-spot metering is really cool.
The 1/4000 shutter speed comes in handy when you desire shallow depth of field in bright light. It's rare to find film cameras with speeds this high.
It's hard plastic on the outside, and heavy, with an excellent grip.
It can only shoot 36 exposures, so you'll spend slightly more on film. I consider it a small sacrifice for everything else the camera gives you.
The AA batteries last for around 100 rolls of film at normal temperatures in single shot mode. I've almost never needed rapid fire mode, only once using a 500mm lens on some birds, but it's cool that it's available. Extremely good battery life because they designed it with this in mind.
The only real drawback is its loud winder, everyone will know when you shoot with it, and definitely if you reach the end of a roll. A slower, silent mode would have been cool.
It is my all-time favorite of around 20 cameras I have owned.
The icing on the cake - you can use FL lenses on it with no adapter, M42 and others adapted! The short flange distance gives you access to so many lenses in other mounts. You will need to use it in stop-down mode for the non-FD lenses.
If it stopped working I would get a repair or buy another. If that one stopped working I would buy another again. But for me this camera just works!
I am using this on a Canon T90. The manual says that the mk1 version of this lens will not mount to the camera, and the mk2 will not work with the metering. My serial is 64322, which is higher than most of the others I saw, so it's a mk2.
My lens has no problem mounting to the T90. When using it wide open, I put the camera in stop down mode and -2 exposure compensation, and it seems to meter accurately enough for negative film. But I recommend carrying a light meter when using any non-FD lens if it's not bright enough for the sunny 16 method.
Here is an example, approximately 30% removed from the 35mm frame: https://www.flickr.com/photos/61055661@N08/52823643992/
Skin pores and eyelashes are visible, along with individual eyebrow hairs. It's quite easy to miss focus for 1.2 portraits, so plan on taking several shots while refocusing each time.
This lens flares a lot more when the sun hits it than a newer lens like the FD 50mm f/1.4. Getting a lens hood for it is a good idea. It is relatively compact and doesn't feel that heavy to me. The metal construction seems solid. Yes, this lens is mildly radioactive. My copy did not have any yellowing, but if yours does, buy a UV LED light, wrap it in tin foil, and expose both sides for a few days.
If I was traveling and only had room for 1 lens on a Canon FD mount camera, it would be a toss up between the FD 35mm f/2.0, FD 50mm f/1.4, and this. All of those lenses are sharp, but the 35mm has a little less character in the bokeh. I don't know if the 1.4 or 1.2 is sharper wide open, but I expect the difference to be slight. User focusing error is likely to have a bigger impact.
At the time of this writing, this is possibly the most affordable f/1.2 that you can get, and largely unknown. A definite sleeper pick.
I have had much enjoyment from this lens. It is soft, but quite usable wide open and decently sharp when stopped down. It is worth noting that it has good low contrast detail even wide open, so it responds well to sharpening in post. Anyone looking to create dreamy portraits should look at this lens. It does have a fair bit of green/red LOCA on high contrast edges, but the overall contrast of the lens is low enough at f/1.2 that the LOCA is not very noticable at normal viewing distances and some care in lighting mostly eliminates the issue. AFAIK, there is no percevable difference between the mk I and mk II versions. My lens has a higher serial number than the image of the mk II in the Canon Museum, so I am assuming it is a mk II. For those who take lenses on airplanes, be aware that this lens (as well as the mk I) is radioactive. The design includes a Thorium glass element which does add some weight and it will wake up your geiger counter. A side effect is that the radiation will eventually yellow the glass in several elements, but if you place the lens over a UV lamp for a couple of weeks, the yellowing will clear up. I used an off-the-shelf UV LED lamp successfully, so short wave UV is not required, but may work faster. this lens has a protrusion on the mounting flange that interferes with the stop-down pin on virtually all adapters, so you have to dedicate an adapter and remove the pin. The lens has a DOF preview ring that allows the lens to be stopped down without the pin being moved, so other than dedicating an adapter, the protrusion does not cause any problems and this is a lens that most will want to use wide open anyway. Just remember that at f/1.2 neither the camera nor the subject can move between focus aquisition and the shot (particularly with close shots).
I have had much enjoyment from this lens. It is soft, but quite usable wide open and decently sharp when stopped down. It is worth noting that it has good low contrast detail even wide open, so it responds well to sharpening in post. Anyone looking to create dreamy portraits should look at this lens. It does have a fair bit of green/red LOCA on high contrast edges, but the overall contrast of the lens is low enough at f/1.2 that the LOCA is not very noticable at normal viewing distances and some care in lighting mostly eliminates the issue. AFAIK, there is no percevable difference between the mk I and mk II versions. My lens has a higher serial number than the image of the mk II in the Canon Museum, so I am assuming it is a mk II. For those who take lenses on airplanes, be aware that this lens (as well as the mk I) is radioactive. The design includes a Thorium glass element which does add some weight and it will wake up your geiger counter. A side effect is that the radiation will eventually yellow the glass in several elements, but if you place the lens over a UV lamp for a couple of weeks, the yellowing will clear up. I used an off-the-shelf UV LED lamp successfully, so short wave UV is not required, but may work faster. this lens has a protrusion on the mounting flange that interferes with the stop-down pin on virtually all adapters, so you have to dedicate an adapter and remove the pin. The lens has a DOF preview ring that allows the lens to be stopped down without the pin being moved, so other than dedicating an adapter, the protrusion does not cause any problems and this is a lens that most will want to use wide open anyway. Just remember that at f/1.2 neither the camera nor the subject can move between focus aquisition and the shot (particularly with close shots).
Absolutely stunning colors and fine grain make this a remarkable color film and worth the extra cost of mounting them. Shot this in the 90s with an AE-1P but now use a T90.
I love the look of a full-frame fisheye more so than the circular fisheye. The image quality is excellent wide open and super sharp at f5.6-16. It can focus very close to the subject--just inches away. It has four built in filters: Sky, Y3, Orange and Red making it perfect for black and white film photography. I have only used this lens with film cameras (New F-1, T90, T70). The permanent hood helps to protect the lens but does little to stop light flares. But with a 180-degree diagonal view any other hood would interfere with the image. One needs to be careful with tuck in the elbows when shooting as the field of view is so wide. The angle that the camera is held determines if there is any distortion at the edges or across the horizontal. You can choose to bend the horizon convex or concave or not at all. I chose this lens over the 17mm f4 for the extra stop. I also have the 20mm f2.8 if I am concerned about distortion. It has some weight to it because it is well built. Minimum aperture is f22.
Given its place as one of the first Canon autofocus lenses, this lens does a decent job, on par with the FDn 35-70mm f3.5-4.5 (a lens I really like for travel). One shot autofocus works very well on sunny days with contrasty subjects. Servo struggles with objects moving towards the shooter, although is pretty good for subjects moving horizontally. Any series of vertical or horizontal lines gives it fits. Manual focus works well in these situations. Obviously, this is not a fast lens and dark spaces render the autofocus lens than ideal. Images are sharp (ish) when the T80 is set for greater depth of field. This is the easiest lens to find for the T80 among the three that were produced as it was sold as the kit lens for the camera. I also own the AC 75-200 f4.5 but have yet to test it. As the AC lenses cannot be used on any other camera it would not be wise to spend money on them unless you find a cheap T80. I got a T80 with AC 50mm f1.8 for $20US so it was worth it to have some fun.
I use it with my Fujifilm X-T1. It's easy to focus (smooth focus ring), I love that it's so small and light. Sharpness is pretty good at f1.4, very sharp stopped down at f2.8. It's a lot sharper at 1.4 than the Canon 50mm 1.4 EF mount that I used to own.
I actually like the build, I don't mind that it's not full metal. I prefer a lighter and smaller lens. Camera/Lens feels well balanced when adapted to a system camera.
There is some vignetting and a tiny bit of CA when shooting wide open, but that can be fixed when post-processing the images.
Great lens for doing portraits on an APS-C camera or for low light photography or filming. You can still easily find it for less than 100 Euro/Dollar.
This lens... wow. This was the first serious lens I have ever bought for my FD cameras. I had some fun with the common 50mm 1.8 and a 28mm 2.5. But looking into the options for an upgrade from the 50mm, I stumbled across this. THIS IS THE BEST KEPT SECRET OF FL LENSES period. It's super well built, an absolute tank of steel and glass, it has a crazy aperture of 1.2, the closest you can get to the .95 dream lens for the money. I picked mine up for $150 on eBay and I don't regret it at all. This lens gives a golden glow to everything it shoots, whether that's on my Canon EF or A-1, or on my mirrorless m50 with an adapter. This lens has buttery smooth focusing, a clicked aperture, a massive front element that not only works well, but looks great too. Speaking of the glass, this lens flares unlike anything I've seen, sublty, but beautifully. My only complaints are that it's a little heavy. which I guess can be explained by the stelar build (with this and my EF it comes in just over 6 pounds), and the minimum aperture is 16, which is enough, but leaves something to be desired. All in all, amazing lens
This was the first of many nFD series lenses I've bought, both adapted for modern mirrorless bodies as well as it's original A series film bodies. This lens is very affordable, I bought it for around $120 USD in mint condition, but can be found for less. It's very sharp and straight forward to use, the focusing mechanism is buttery smooth and it can be adapted to modern mirrorless cameras with a cheap $15 USD adapter which makes this a lens still relevant to this day. It's great for beginners looking for a nice low-light lens, the f/1.4 aperture makes it great for night-time photography, and I think you should opt for this one as opposed to the f/1.8 version since the price difference isn't that drastic. Bokeh is silky smooth but with enough character to make it unique, and the size and weight is very small and manageable for travel and for carrying around in a small bag. If you're lucky enough to buy it with the hood, it doesn't add that much more weight or size to it although it needs to be said that the nFD series hoods were held in place by a rubber wedge that melts and degrades over time causing many of the old hoods to slide off easily (if the camera or lens is rotated quickly) and you're better off buying a screw-on collapsible hood that attaches directly to the filter thread to make sure it doesn't come off and protects the beautifully coated front element.
I should also mention that if using with some mirrorless cameras you need to enable something along the lines of 'allow shutter release without lens' since the lens is mechanical and has no electric contacts to let your camera know there is a lens attached. Also if using with Canon's old film cameras like the A-1 or AE-1 Program you can set the lens to automatic aperture by moving the aperture ring to the green 'A' symbol while pressing the little black button on said ring.
Overall a very good lens for casual photography, portraits, film, and just about anything else you can think of.
Keep in mind if used with a crop sensor mirrorless camera the focal length will round up to about 80mm making it great for portraits but perhaps too tight for group photos or some street photography. If you want something wider for crop sensor cameras I highly advise you check out the Canon FD 28mm 2.8 which is also affordable and has a much wider angle although it's a full stop slower but still a nice little lens that goes well side by side the Canon nFD 50mm f/1.4
And last but not least, there is an older FD version of the lens with a silver ring mount and yellow lettering and the title S.S.C. that stands for 'Super Spectra Coating'. This version came before and I do not personally own it but from what I've heard it's build quality is heavier but the optics are almost identical of not the same but they are more or less the same size and dimensions however if you want to compare both lenses or don't know which to buy I suggest you do some research online or check out reviews from the FD 50mm f/1.4 S.S.C on this website
This lens only works with the Canon T80, more or less Canon's first autofocus SLR. Canon had already put out some autofocus point and shoots in the late 70s and an autofocus lens (Canon's first entry into autofocus was the AF 35-70mm f/4 zoom lens which had a focus button on the lens). The lens being reviewed has an FD-AC mount that enables autofocus by slightly depressing the shutter button (as one does on the EOS line and various digital models). Setting the lens to "one shot" it is fast, sharp, and focuses well considering it was such an early autofocus model. It only struggles to autofocus with low contrast subjects or series of vertical or horizontal lines, but Canon EF lenses today often struggle with low contrast subjects. The lens can be set to One Shot, Servo, or Manual focus. As mentioned, One Shot is accurate and fast to focus on most subjects. Servo was a nice idea that needed a lot of refinement. It works fairly well when the subject is moving either left to right or right to left in front of you with slight variations in distance. It works okay when the subject is moving away from you. It rarely works well when the subject is moving quickly towards you. Again, that should not come as a surprise as modern EF lens have difficulty with that as well. Manual focus is controlled with a knurled wheel at the front of the lens. Even with manual focus the T80 offers focus assist. This is a strange looking lens as the autofocus mechanism is on the side of the lens. But it is still fairly lightweight as it is built with similar polycarbonate materials as the nFD lenses. I put this at least on par optically with the nFD 50mm f1.8 and maybe even the f1.4 (a lens I love). I recently bought the FD 35-70mm f3.5-4.5 AC for under $12US. I will review that one once I put it through its paces.
This is a fun camera that should get a little more love. It is not in the same area code as the T90 in terms of features, but it is solidly built and fairly compact. In many ways it is a considerable jump up from a T50. Certainly, a lower prosumer model. Creative control only so far as choosing one of five shooting modes and no ability to set the aperture or shutter speed. Basically, there is program, shallow depth of field, greater depth of field, movement blur, and movement no blur. The 50mm f1.8 focuses well and fairly fast for an early autofocus model. Cannot handle multiple vertical or horizontal lines but can be manually focused. Also has a Servo function but not good for fast objects moving towards the shooter. I like using it as a snapshot camera for dogs and people. Would you be better off buying a cheaper EOS model and using EF lenses? Absolutely, but for $20 US with the lens, I could not walk away.
Incredibly sharp 1:1 macro lens. It serves as a very nice telephoto lens too with its relatively fast f4. Built in lens hood is very convenient and it comes with the tripod mount which is easily attached or detached (something that Canon does not always do with EF or R lenses). I have primarily shot professional slide film with this lens with either the T90 or New F-1 and there is no vignetting at 1:1. There was no vignetting when used with my Canon 7Dii and the Canon FD-EOS macro adapter. It is one of my favorite FD lenses, the other being the nFD 20mm f2.8. This is an expensive used lens, but still cheaper than an equivalent modern macro lens. I found that it performs much better with the Canon adapter for digital than an aftermarket one. That said, it will perform well with any glassless adapter for macro work.
This lens is surprisingly sharp and lovely to use. It's normally quite undervalued and not widely known, so it's usually a great bargain on the second hand market. I have two equally good samples.
Solid building, very reliable.
Renders very nice colors and gives images a special character.
I don't want to give a technical review of the lens. Those are ten a penny and can be found elsewhere. What interests me - having owned hundreds of various lenses (from FD to Zeiss to no-brand Russian oddities) is the character of a lens, the usability, how enticing it is to pick-up and ultimately if the resulting pictures help to capture magic.
For me, my taste, and my use: this lens is magical, I'm drawn to it, I use it for stills photography (variously t90, FTb, A7riii) and for cinema (bmpcc4k [with speedbooster] and Alexa Mini LF) and of all the 85mm I've used this lens renders almost every shot with a stunning depth and beauty that I've rarely found elsewhere. The perfect balance of softness and sharpness it catches light and holds it just the right way to soften highlights without losing depth in the shadows.
For stills: its large and heavy, but even if I'm going somewhere involving a long walk, squeezing through public transport or risking damage or theft, I frequently prefer to grab a bag for the camera - rather than grabbing a smaller lens, or a smaller camera - and struggle my way through the day because I know that I'll come home with a picture that I love rather than many that are so so.
For cinema/video: get a copy
Did I mention that when I bought mine, I thought I was being ripped off because when it arrived the front element was covered in scratches and plenty of internal dust (which wasnt listed on the advert, and the f***ers wouldn't grace me with a partial refund to have the camera CLA'd?) [Carmarthen cameras: avoid] - well having begrudgingly used it, immediately, on a short film set I quickly realised it didn't matter at all! My copy of this lens is a total beauty. I'd buy another if I could afford it.
There are several really good reviews of this camera below, so I won't rehash what was already said. However, I do want to make a correction. One reviewer stated that a motor drive was necessary for aperture priority. This is not true. A motor drive or winder is needed for shutter priority. All that is needed for aperture priority is the AE Finder. Of the five available finders I own two--the two I think are most important: the AE Finder and the Speed Finder (I have three speed finders). As note above the AE finder allows for aperture priority. The speed finder swivels allowing it to be used as a waist level finder or to be used with googles or other eye coverings. One can see the full screen from 60mm away using the speed finder. The camera with just the eye level finder is an excellent all mechanical camera akin to an Olympus OM-1 MD for example. The shutter fires electronically from 1/60th and slower, or mechanically from 1/90th to 1/2000th. That means it can run without a battery at those shutter speeds (although there cannot be any battery in the battery compartment). The 1/2000th speed is faster than any of the A series cameras (and not surpassed, I believe for FD, until the T90, which is 1/4000th). My copy is from 1984 with the gold lettering for the LA Olympics--this adds a "cool" factor in my opinion, but nothing more than that. Although instructions state not to add or subtract a motor drive or winder while film is in the camera, I believe that is "recommended" rather than vital. I have done it without fogging the film. I have both the winder and motor drive. For the motor drive I have the NiCd super speed pack, the NiCd slower speed pack, and the 12 AA battery pack. But for my needs the 4AA winder is perfect for its weight and adding shutter priority to aperture priority with the AE finder. One of the best things about the New F-1 is that it won't work if you are using it incorrectly. In other words, with AE finder and no winder/motor drive it will not allow the user to try to shutter priority. The film won't advance, and the shutter won't work. Brilliant!
If you are reading this review you might wonder if the camera is for you. Maybe. If you want an advanced camera that you do not need to add equipment for, buy an A-1. If you want a program camera for days that you don't want to "think" photography, get an AE-1P. If you want an all-manual mechanical camera, you can get one of the F-1s with just an eye-level viewfinder (older F-1 and F-1n take mercury cells). If you want a true system camera that is competitive with Nikon's professional film cameras than the New F-1 with an AE finder, Speed Finder, motor drive or winder is the way to go. I adore this system camera. It is a tank that just keeps pushing on even after more than 100,000 shutter movements. I own five FD bodies (New F-1, A-1, two AE-1Ps, and T90) and four EOS film bodies (EOS 3, Elan, Elan IIe, and the 10s), and three Olympus bodies (OM-1 MD, OM-2n, OM-2Sp) and if I could only keep one it would be the New F-1.
I will confess that I shoot black and white film three times more than color. I "see" in black and white. But, in order to grow as a photographer I have been trying to shoot more color. Ektar 100 is very nice. The "grain" is tiny and color saturation is good. It is, however, high on the red side. The high red factor makes portraits challenging for me so I use it for architectural and landscape photography. I shot it using an EOS 3 simply because I wanted to see the results from a professional Canon camera and my A series are considered more "prosumer". (Although I think the A-1 is superior to the F-1.) I have only shot 35mm with this film.
I like big grain and I cannot lie! I have shot many rolls of this film, usually indoors at dog shows where flash cannot/should not be used. I have blown up these to 13 x 19" and they look amazing. I am not taken aback by grain when shoot 3200. Maybe a little too "contrasty" considering the grain size causing a little loss of shadow sharpness. If you need to shoot 3200 this is the film to use.
For me this is the sharpest 400 iso film on the market. Very sharp for its speed with excellent grain structure and contrast. I have shot it in 35mm and 120 format.
This is my favorite black and white film emulsion. Super fine grain allows for large prints--I have printed up to 13 x 19" in studio, which is the biggest enlargement I can currently make. I love the contrast since I tend to add more contrast during the enlarging process to other films. If you prefer to add contrast during printing Tri-X might be the better pick. I have shot this film in 35mm and 120, but not in large format. It is amazingly sharp in both formats.
My least favourite FD camera of all. I've owned 2 of these unwieldy beasts. Yes, you can use the EF without batteries, yada yada, but for most users that really is moot as they probably won't know how to get a correct exposure anyway. It's other big win is a nice viewfinder with a good level of information, although it's not as bright as the later A-1 or T90, for examples. The problem is that - for these small gains - there is a lot of metal here yet it, in general use it's like a heavier like an AE-1 in most ways. Personally, I'd always pick up the latter unless I was using a heavy bit of glass like a 55/1.2 or a bigger telephoto.
For me this is the best manual Canon 85mm. I also own the famous FD 85mm f/1.2 L, the FD 85mm f/1.8 S.S.C. and the new FD 85mm f/1.8 but still prefer the old FL for it's buttery smooth bokeh and flattering rendering of skin, wide open. The lens is a direct descendant of the highly regarded Canon rangefinder 85mm f/1.8 and shares the same optical formula. You don't see them much but if you get a chance, grab it.
I like this lens a lot. I have owned its slightly bigger brother (35-70mm f3.5-4.5) for 35 years and used it extensively as it was once the only lens I owned. The focal length of 28-55mm is very useful for travel and street photography and its light weight build makes it great for portability. Yes, it's slow and the image quality is good rather than great, but it does the job on either my A1 or AE1P. I have even gotten some good indoor, low light images at slow shutter speeds without a tripod because it is so light weight. I can travel easily with this lens and the 100mm f2.8 in case I want a portrait or need a short/medium telephoto lens. The bokeh is okay and it is better shot at 5.6 or 8 like most other non L-glasses lenses. This lens along with the 35-70mm have jumped up in price recently. I was fortunate enough to find a new old stock lens hood making it more practical in bright sun. Are you better off with a 28mm f.2.8 and a 50mm f1.4? Yes. But buying both of those now will set you back at least twice as much if not more. It is more flexible than having the two lenses since you don't have to change lenses. As always, know what you are buying and don't expect lenses to do more than they were made for.
I should first point out that all of the lens reviews I have written involve using the lens on a Canon film camera--an A-1 or an AE-1 Program. I mention this because a lot of reviews are understandably written about the lens being used for digital work. I do own a Bower FD lens to EOS body converter by find it to be pretty lousy overall and none of the lenses function well. I am glad to hear they perform better on other digital cameras.
That all said, I like the image quality of this lens. As with most lenses it seems to peak its performance from 5.6-11 with sharpness drop-off at f4 and beyond f11. It is light due to the use of polycarb materials instead of metal which makes it easy to add to the camera bag. It is a fairly obtrusive lens and would not be ideal for street photography if you are worried about the subject knowing what's going on. The zoom range does make it ideal for street work nonetheless. If you use the lens hood you might as well where a bell around your neck to announce your arrival. The hood is huge--bigger than the opening of a coffee mug. I love using hoods for protection of the lens and to cut down on flare, but this one is hard to pack into a walk around camera bag--yes it's that big. I'm sure there is a perfectly acceptable reason for this, but I cannot currently think of one. I put the build at 8.5 because I am concerned about plastic and age. Alsatian makes some good points about this in their review. All my FD lenses look great and work great, while the nFD worry me due to build. On the other hand, the older I get the happier I am with lighter weight lenses and the nFD have far better coatings on them--normally multiple coatings. Definitely worth buying for film use if you can get it reasonably ($50-70 US). I sold my 35-105 once I got this lens--I think it has much better image quality.
There are a lot of reviews online referring to this camera as the :poor man's Leica". I've never owned a Leica so I cannot really say that. What I can say is that this is a beautifully designed and functioning rangefinder camera, perfect for street photography. The lens is a 40mm f1.7, which is fast and within close range of the film's diagonal measurement of slightly more than 43mm. It is closer to the human eye than the "normal" 50mm. The lens is very sharp. The filer size is 48mm, allowing a range of black and white filters for those inclined. The camera accepts film from 25-800 ISO and it has a hot shoe for a pretty good little flash--Canonlite D. The f-stop range is 1,7 to 16. Shutter speeds range from B-500. This is the drawback for me--I wish it went up to 1/1000th at least. The maximum shutter speed and aperture combination makes choosing film speed tricky. On a beautiful sunny day even 400 ISO can be too much. Metering is not TTL so use of filters requires knowledge of how much to adjust/compensate exposure, It is a Quick Load camera so loading film is easy. It is set for a 1.35v mercury battery. I use Wein cells with a rubber O ring or 1.55v A625 battery. I do not know if this negatively impacts the circuitry, but it does not seem to impact exposure. Matchstick or needle reading for exposure is large and easy to read. Aperture can be set to A for automatic exposure. I also own a Yashica GSN which many feel is a superior rangefinder. It, however, has two problems not found in the GIII. One is the electronic shutter--it is difficult to find a working model today. The other is the clumsy focus ring--my fingers are always in the way. The GIII has a lovely focus lever that pairs beautifully with the bright viewfinder and focus screen. It is also smaller and lighter than the Yashica. If you want a rangefinder the GIII is a "must have".
Really not much to write about. Winder A allows you to take photos more quickly since the film advances automatically. It works very well but adds considerable weight to the camera using multiple double A batteries. As I get older I have removed winders and film advancers from my cameras to lighten the load. Having to manually advance the film makes me slow down and compose the shot. I also find that manually advancing the film is very soothing. But the winder works very well and is quite inexpensive to find today if you want to use one.
The famous Tamron SP 350mm f/5.6 mirror lens delivers in the resolution and contrast department, with very crisp shots at other than minimal focal distances. Up close, the sharpness drops to a mediocre level. Vignetting is pronounced, distortion negligible. Build quality is very high but the lens has a tendency to develop a separation between two rear elements so you should take care when buying. Note as well that presently price tags are very (unreasonably...) high for this lens. If you're looking for a good closeup tele lens, please consider the SP 300 mm f/5.6 lens which offers even better sharpness throughout and much nicer background rendering or alternatively the Sigma Apo Tele Macro 300 mm f/4.
This is a very nice tele macro lens that offers very good resolution and contrast from 1.3 m to infinity. Light and compact for a 300 mm lens, the Tamron SP Adaptall-2 300mm handles very well and offers great and smooth bokeh f/5.6 at closer distances. Very useable for macro photography of shy animals, the lens is very much at ease at longer distances. There are hardly any weak spots and even wide open IQ is high, with low-contrast but high resolution throughout the frame (tested with Sony A7 and A7R).
This is a very rare and thus hard to find zoom lens with a quite weird but very useful zoom range from standard to moderate tele lens. With f/3.5 at all focal lengths and an eight bladed diaphragm, the Canon New FD 50-135mm f/3.5 can produce nice bokeh at longer focal lengths, resolution, and contrast are extraordinarily high at all apertures and focal lengths, rivaling fixed focal length lenses throughout the range. On the other hand, chromatic aberrations are visible but easily manageable in a good Raw converter, vignetting is pronounced wide open and distortion only disappears in the middle of the range. Images have a very modern rendering, crisp with high contrast and sharpness. The construction is as sound as the optical performance: heavy but very smooth. Unfortunately, the minimum focal distance is at 1.5 m only and the"macro" setting only reestablishes "normal" conditions (0,6 m) at the 50 mm setting. All in all, the Canon New FD 50-135mm f/3.5 is a real gem, overlooked because of its rarety and the strange focal range. It would be worthy of a Leica or Zeiss label!
Mine is the 67mm version mentioned in a previous review. Quality optics and metal construction. I have only used it outside in good light. I prefer the Canon FDn 70-210 f4 although some argue that the Vivitar has better IQ, and is slightly faster. Mine has a bit of an issue with lens creep despite the "locking" mechanism, but I find this less annoying in manual focus lenses. But I imagine it is an issue with more than just my copy, thus the "8.0" on build. I haven't checked prices in a while, but it is definitely worth owning if it is significantly cheaper than the FDn.
This is a really nice all purpose zoom lens. It is very well built, a bit of tank actually, compared to the Canon FDn 28-85 mm f4. This is a faster lens than the Canon and the optics are fantastic. Both B/W and color images turn out true with virtually no flare. I don't want to repeat with others have written, which is spot on. It's quirky, "heavy-ish" but a great performer. The filter size is 67mm.
I was given this lens by a friend. I already owned the Canon FDn 35-70 f3.5-4.5 which I really like due to its portability and overall image quality. Some complain that it is cheaply built. If you want a tank that has a continuous f4 than the Tokina fits the bill. It is very well built, has a 55mm ring and features an excellent macro focus. The image quality is very good, at least equal to that of the Canon mentioned above. Very inexpensive to buy used even today (2020), compared to the Canon equivalent. Overall a nice all-around "normal" zoom lens. Some slight vignetting wide open around the edges.
Picked up a pristine, hardly used copy from 1980. Fast lens at f2.8, lightweight and great for portraits (when one cannot afford an 85mm 1.8). Cannot comment too much on edge to edge sharpness since most images taken with this did not require edge to edge sharpness. Fairly pleasing bokeh. The only real limit is the camera body only shooting at 1/1000 when using 400 iso film. My DSLR bodies are Canons and I have not found a really good adapter to shoot FD lenses. I use a Bower adapter. Would be happy to learn if there are better ones that members have used. I have found the lens hood to be very helpful.
The "new" Canonet QL17 sports a very fast 40mm f1.7 lens. The QL 17 and QL17 G-III are often referred to as the "poor man's Leica." A silent shooter, it incorporates many of the best rangefinder qualities but without interchangeable lenses. Shutter speeds range from Bulb to 1/500th and the aperture range is f1.7 to 16. It has a hotshoe which takes a very functional small flash which is great for fill light. The QL stands for quick loading, which is true. It was designed to use a 1.35 mercury cell which is no longer available. Many shooters will use a 1.4v Wein cell made for hearing aids that fits in the chamber. Some put a small rubber o-ring around the battery for a better fit. The downside of the Wein cell is that it lasts only about 3-4 months and is activated by air, so removing the battery does not extend its life. I have found that a 1.5v px625 works perfectly fine in the camera and does not affect the image or the camera. These batteries are cheaper and easier to find than the Wein cell and last a lot longer. I have shot positive film using this battery and get correct exposure every time. There is a handy check battery light and the aperture in camera display uses a simple needle. Basically the camera is either shot in aperture priority, automatic or manual. Due to age, most of these cameras have gummed up light seals which need to be removed and replaced. Kits are available for around $10 but there are plenty of videos for those that want to buy a "foamy" sheet and do it themselves. I replaced mine myself and it works great. If the internet is to be trusted many prefer the GIII version but the battery is harder to replace in my opinion as the px625 simply does not fit. I recently acquired a GIII model in great shape but have yet to shoot it. It is smaller and lighter than the excellent Yashica Electra 35 that many swear by. However, I find the viewfinder brighter in the QL17 and the focus lever keeps your hands out of the picture better. The Yashica takes a lot of practice whereas the Canonet does not. You can shoot film from 25-800 iso. I generally shoot 100 iso since the aperture range is very fast. The QL17 is cheaper to find online than the GIII and since the battery is easier to find I would purchase it before the GIII, Both have a self-timer if that is a requirement. It seems to be a 10 second timer. It makes for a nice little travel camera too.
This was the first camera that I bought and owned. Purchased around 1985 with the kit lens (35-70 mm f3.5-4.5). This camera has traveled with me throughout the US, UK, Africa and a little bit of Asia. Shot mostly color position film (slide film) for class use (history professor). Usually shot aperture priority, although I'm sure there were some "program" shots along the way. Captures great images in all kinds of light using unforgiving film and a pretty cheap and slow lens. Amazing camera for a photography student, too. I wish it had a easy way to do exposure compensation (such as the A-1 dial). You cannot go wrong with this camera. Mine has taken a little abuse as a few dents show, although I am generally very careful with my gear. I have to own one in all black at some point in my life, just because it looks cooler in my opinion. I've been adding lenses over the past 15 years, but all of my early work was with the one kit lens. Sometimes less is more!
A lot of reviews on the camera already so I will try not to be redundant. Love the ability to do multiple exposures and extensive latitude in exposure compensation. The in-camera "read out" was well designed and easy to see in all conditions, even bright light. It is a light-weight tank, meaning excellent build quality but can be carried around with ease even with the 70-200 f4 attached. Easy to focus. Would have it as a complete "10" all around with a higher maximum shutter speed. An earlier comment suggested difficult to find batteries but it takes a lovely 6v (no mercury issues!) such as the Duracell 28A which I find in most drugstores, Walmart, CVS, Walmart, etc. I have a slight issue moving between shutter and aperture priority as the switch is a little inconvenient for thick fingers. I will invest in another one of these when funds permit. This is my favorite analog camera (even though I own a gorgeous EOS-3). Cheaper than any of the F1 versions. As mentioned in a previous review the F1 has 1/2000 which is great and can work without a battery. That said, I'm unconvinced that the F1 is worth the extra cost.
This is the first lens I owned. Bought it along with the AE-1P in 1985 (or so). It has traveled throughout the world with me and never failed to produce nice images using predominately slide film. F5.6 and f8 seems to be the sweet spot for mine so I normally shoot it in aperture priority. Generally cheap to find now and worth it for $20-30. I agree with an earlier reviewer that you need to know what you are buying. Do not think this will perform at L glass level. It is plastic and fairly slow, but the results are overall pleasing as long as you do not intend to make massive prints.
Very often, the perceived value of a lens follows either a certain "hype" or simply reflects the verdict of one or several Internet reviews. Born as a low-cost standard lens for cheap entry-level bodies such as the Canon T50, the FD 50 mm f/2 doesn't have a decent reputation and furthermore one website writer even claims that it would be one of the three worst lenses of the FD system. In reality, the FD 50 mm f/2 is just a copy of the FD 50 mm f/1.8 which sports an additional ring in front of the aperture reducing the original speed by one-third of an f-stop. Thus, the mechanical and optical construction, as well as the performances of the two lenses, are strictly identical even though the f/2 version might show slightly better sharpness wide open thanks to the "bottleneck " . If You can find one (they are quite rare...), don't hesitate since its optical qualities are very good.
Very Sturdy and reliable SLR from Canon, a worthy challenger to Nikon at the time. It's very well featured for a prosumer model of the time, between the spot meter, mirror lockup, ASA range 25-1600, and Innovative film loading that allows up to 39-40 Frames if loaded in the dark. Highly recommend to those who need a workhorse standard SLR, with no crazy gimmicks, just a metal body with a reliable meter.
Speaking of the meter, one will need to send their model to be updated to accept 1.5 volts, as opposed to the 1.5 mercury cell it was designed for, in addition to oiling the shutter mechanism. However after a basic CLA any FTb should be working fine.
The Gold Standard of the FD lineup. Reasonably sharp for the standard 50 1.4, Bokeh is pleasing, very well built, not too heavy or light, focus is easy with its fast speed.
All in all 100/100 must buy for FD collection.
This lens is very rare. I bought it more as a collectors item than for practical reasons while i already own a 50mm 1.4, a 1.8 and the 3.5 macro prime.
Very little is known online about this lens, but the main info is that is was sold as a cheaper version of the 1.8 and was a kitlens for the Av-1 en later van de T50. It was only sold in some countries like the US and UK.
Basicly it's identical to the 1.8 but with a limited aperture on both ends. So the range is 2.0 - 16 instead of 1.8 - 22.
Size, weight and lensconstruction are the same.
I've owned this lens for a while now, and I can say it is really good even by today's standarts. I have compared it to sony fe 28mm. Distorsion is way more controled on the canon, sharpness is always better in center and midframe, but the sony is better on the extreme corners, is less prone to flare, and has a softer bokeh.
This lens is great for the concertphotography I do. I never leave for a concertshoot without it. More than sharp enough wide open at f2.5.
It also makes fantastic portraits. The build-in hoods prevents I have to struggle with loose screw or clamp hoods. I think the only better 135mm lens is the nFD 135 2.0 but is do not know if the difference is worth the amount of money.
What a totally remarkable lens. Cheap and cheerful, yet the bottom line is that this 1981 zoom is better wide open than my Zeiss Contax 35-70mm f/3.3. Tested on a Sony A6300, the results were indistinguishable from my EF 24-70mm f/4 IS. I will happily use this lens at f/4 at 35 and 50mm - 70mm at f/4 is not so good, but is excellent at f/8.
I recently found one of those olf FL tele lenses in a bad state. After repairing it, I was highly impressed by the sharpness throughout the frame and the superb mechanical construction. Unlike the Mark II version which sports an integrated sunshade while keeping the same optical formula, this version needs an additional sunshade to avoid flare, contrast loss and reflections, given the lens is only single coated. Like any other lens without special glass, the Canon FL 200mm f/3.5 suffers from slight chromatic aberrations which are easily corrected nowadays in postproduction. Vignetting and distortion are negligible while sharpness and contrast are just excellent from wide open (tested with a Sony A7).
First of all I like to mention that the A-1 always has to compete with the (New) F-1. Which seems fair on the first look but when you think about it, hardly any of the F-1's advantages really impact your daily use of an anlog camera. You are going to Siberia and the camera mustn't be battery dependant? Go with F-1, no doubt. An A-1 should do the trick for all the other photographers that remain. The F-1's 1/2000s shutter speed is its only real advantage, though. Having used an A-1 for a long time now, I have to say that it is delightfully easy to work around that shutter speed limitation.
The A-1 has been by far the most advanced camera of its time when it was relased in 1978. Featuring program ae mode, shutter speed-priority ae mode, aperture-priority ae mode, preset aperture-priority ae mode and Speedlite ae mode it can do basically everything you could wish for. A bright and easy to focus viewfinder with a 7-segment LED readout that adapts to the brightness is a pleasure to look through. Ergonomics also have been improved with a grip over the battery hatch, the same grip would later also be installed at the AE-1 Program, which inherited many of the technological advancements of the A-1.
Furthermore, the A-1 features a designated multi-exposure lever and two extra buttons around the lens mount housing, one for activating the metering like a half-pressed shutter release button and the other one for saving metered settings for the nextt shot. A high ISO range and the possibility for back-light-compensation are also featured. In case you got four Speedlites you can control all of them with the A-1, if you have the cables to connect them to the camera of course.
In addition to a smooth film advance lever there is also the possibility to have the Power Winder A or A2 for an automatic film advance speed of approx. 2fps or the hefty Motor Drive A (specifically built for the A-1 but can also be used with the AE-1 Program since its basically the same camera internally) which manages a film advance speed of 5 fps and also delivers two additional shutter release buttons.
In the end, there is nothing more to say.
The A-1 remains until today one of the best film cameras and claims undoubtedly the throne of Canon's famous A-Series.
Very cheap price, got mines for about $20 and produces great quality pictures. Great for a sunny day but when the sun goes down or indoors its a pain to use. Love the low weight and slim compact design. Zooming is sticky on mines but manageable and build-in hood is a great feature to have. 70-150 range is very practical and also the constant f4.5 aperture.
The Tamron Adaptall-2 SP 80-200MM F2.8 LD Model 30A is truly quite a lens to behold. On the Exterior, the moment you pick it up the thick metal barrel and solid dense weight, it feels very substantial like a tank. Even the lens hood is very thick metal and heavy. The Push-pull zoom and focusing ring is very wide and focuses buttery smooth, essential for focusing precision. Zooming with the ring doesn't creep on my example and it is old school compared to modern separated two touch designs. I don't mind at all but some may find the old Push-pull a finicky proposition. The large 77mm front barrel rotates which can pose a problem for polarizing filters and extend when focusing. The barrel does't extend when zooming. The MFD is 1.5m, which is generous for this type of zoom but don't expect pseudo-macro capabilities or a dedicated macro mode on this lens. The Adaptall quick mount system works well and permits the use of other lens mounts with a simple quick adapter swap at the rear of the lens. A truly ingenious idea of Tamron. Find one with the tripod collard ring to use it on a tripod of monopod because this lens is heavy but it is definitely worth it for the optical quality alone.
Optically, this lens is where it excels. Very, very sharp and contrasty wide open at f2.8. From 80, 135, and even 200mm the images are extremely consistent and holds well for an early f2.8 zoom. One look at the front element holds that light sucking f2.8 glass and the special glass used to make that all possible. This lens uses one Low-Dispersion element designed by Tamron to compete against the big guns at Canon and Nikon at the time. Color and contrast pops out and sharpness excels on this lens signifying where the "SP" or Super Performance designation came from. The LD element to help control lens deficiencies and increase image quality but one area of concern in this particular model is the tendency of introducing purple fringing in high contrast areas at f2.8. Sometimes the purple fringing appears and depends on the shooting angle and light intensity of the subject. Best to stop it down to f4 and it almost disappears completely. If you need f2.8 then the fringing is a slight trade-off otherwise using this lens at f4 is still excellent and can beat other lenses at this aperture. The fringing can easily be corrected in Lightroom but it proves how far lens designs had mature since then with newer designs and more exotic glass elements. Utilizing 9 aperture blades, the bokeh is very smooth when stopping down and it is a great portrait lens for stationary, composed subjects.
For the excellent performance for the time and even today, universal adaptall mount system, build and image quality, this lens has become a true gem in the Tamron's history. The great price of this fast telephoto glass also comes into consideration because they go from $150-$300. These lenses are not getting any younger and they're becoming rarer.
I got a mint condition copy of this lens for only € 50,- but it dissapoints me. Of course, it was produced as an affordable, entry level, large FL zoomlens but the range between 200 aan 300 mm does degrade in sharpness quickly while that extra range is just the reason it exists. If you are looking for an affordable zoomlens the 70-210 f/4 is a much better alternative.
This lens is a piece of art. It produces crystal clear images with almost unnoticeable CA even at it's largest focal length. The possibility of zooming is useful to find a distant subject like birds etc. and than zooming in to enlarge it. I use this lens for video mostly. In a theatre you can zoom from a full bodyshot to a close-up.
The weight of 1.6 Kg is a downside during transport but an advantage during shooting on a tripod. It makes your setup more steady and stable.
The lens has a built in hood and uses the rare IX series screw-in filters. It also has a tripodcollar.
NOTE: I don't do still images, I only do cinematography so that's where this is coming from...
Overall: If you don't need perfection, then for the price it's the most versatile lens I've found.... I'm pairing this lens with an a7Sii for location scouts and small crew travel/interview documentary shoots.
- Minimum focusing distance is real and shockingly hard to get used to.
- As sharp as it needs to be while still looking "organic."
- Focus pull almost as smooth and as long as a cinema prime (BEST feature for me personally). Really good with a follow focus.
- Parfocal! Lovely... never takes you out of the moment.
- Macro is very usable, but not good enough if the majority of your important shots needed to be macro.
- It barely warms the image up compared to the newer L-series glass.
- De-clicked aperture is very useful, but the aperture pull could be much longer.
- Unexciting flares.
- Can't bokeh on command, which is good so you don't fall back on lazy images, but bad if you want to be lazy.
- I've gotten used to (lazy with) the sony 24-70 2.8 and going up to a 3.5 was an adjustment and I have to remind myself I can't bring this lens to *any* situation and expect to make something pretty while still being lazy.
My copy of this lens just came in. Feels much nicer on a Sony A7 II than a lot of other 300mm lenses. Okay: not a wonder in 'light sucking', but what a delight that the lens feels immediately appropriate on the A7 body (with Novoflex adapter). Color rendering seems to be much more genuine than with some new (expensive) lenses. Rather sharp in the focus area.
As others have stated, this is another fabulous lens in Canon's old stable. Even for today, this lens delivers sharp and contrasty shots wide-open. It also has fantastic colors and bokeh that is really creamy. The lens is a bit long, particularly with its build-in lens hood (which is actually well constructed), but considering this is a 2/135, its actually not nearly as big as its current EF counterpart nor the Zeiss offerings. This makes a great portrait lens on the Sony A7 cameras and is about half the price one would pay for an nFD 85mm f/1.2L - both are beautiful lenses and would serve you well. I have a Flickr album dedicated to this lens as well as other classic Canon lenses, please enjoy!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/83792268@N03/albums/72157660868030108
I own both of the FD 1.2/85mm variants as well as previously owning the second EF successor - I had sold the latter to fund the manual lenses and couldn't be happier. Both of these lenses are sharp wide-open, particularly in the center of frame and get very sharp when stopped down - amazingly, the EF wasn't any sharper even though it was released decades later. There have been definite improvements in coatings in the EF versions, but all the 1.2/85mm's still have their fair share of fringing. Some say the bokeh is legendary on these 85's, I wouldn't disagree. Many people have said the FD 85's share the same lens design, possibly, but there is definitely a difference in how the lenses were polished as the out-of-focus points of lights on the nFD contain concentric rings (similar to the EF versions) while the original breach-lock does not have these rings. The nFD also seems to have a warmer look versus a bluer/cooler tone about it. Other differences include the number of aperture blades, the nFD has 8 where the breach-lock has 9, not that they get used that often. The breach-lock version is heavier and feels more sturdy, but I wouldn't say either of them are light, both are well built. The nFD 85 has plastic hood that is easily worn and no longer fits tightly. The nFD version is definitely the more-affordable of the two, but one could expect to pay $600 or more for a good copy. The older version is rarer and has seemingly picked up a cult status as of late and I've seen prices exceed $2000 on eBay, nuts. I have dedicated Flickr albums to both of these and other classic Canon lenses. Enjoy!
Canon nFD 85mm f/1.2L
https://www.flickr.com/photos/83792268@N03/albums/72157674189782574
Canon FD 85mm f/1.2 S.S.C.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/83792268@N03/albums/72157677998805186
I own both of the FD 1.2/85mm variants as well as previously owning the second EF successor - I had sold the latter to fund the manual lenses and couldn't be happier. Both of these lenses are sharp wide-open, particularly in the center of frame and get very sharp when stopped down - amazingly, the EF wasn't any sharper even though it was released decades later. There have been definite improvements in coatings in the EF versions, but all the 1.2/85mm's still have their fair share of fringing. Some say the bokeh is legendary on these 85's, I wouldn't disagree. Many people have said the FD 85's share the same lens design, possibly, but there is definitely a difference in how the lenses were polished as the out-of-focus points of lights on the nFD contain concentric rings (similar to the EF versions) while the original breach-lock does not have these rings. The nFD also seems to have a warmer look versus a bluer/cooler tone about it. Other differences include the number of aperture blades, the nFD has 8 where the breach-lock has 9, not that they get used that often. The breach-lock version is heavier and feels more sturdy, but I wouldn't say either of them are light, both are well built. The nFD 85 has plastic hood that is easily worn and no longer fits tightly. The nFD version is definitely the more-affordable of the two, but one could expect to pay $600 or more for a good copy. The older version is rarer and has seemingly picked up a cult status as of late and I've seen prices exceed $2000 on eBay, nuts. I have dedicated Flickr albums to both of these and other classic Canon lenses. Enjoy!
Canon nFD 85mm f/1.2L
https://www.flickr.com/photos/83792268@N03/albums/72157674189782574
Canon FD 85mm f/1.2 S.S.C.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/83792268@N03/albums/72157677998805186
This one has been in my collection of classic 50's for a couple of years and is a favorite. While it doesn't capture the same level of attention as some of the other more renown 50's, it's still a ton of fun to use. The build quality is beyond reproach, nothing buy metal and glass, the thing just feels solid. Wide open, there is a glow due to low contrast and resolution or some other aberrations I'm not really qualified to talk about - this definitely gives the photos a vintage look to them. Stop the lens down a bit and image will become sharp and contrasty enough for most - actually kind of fun to have this much variability in a lens. Colors are fantastic and saturated, but the lens does B&W quite well too. Bokeh is of the bubble variety and can be distracting at times if there is a busy out-of-focus background (like a bunch of trees) when you are focusing on something at mid or longer distance. For closer distances, the bokeh is quite buttery particularly when using a close-focus adaptor or extension tube. If you're looking at getting into these old manual lenses and want that fast aperture this one won't disappoint, at around $350 for a good copy, this might be your ticket. I have several Flickr albums dedicated to Canon's old lenses - here is the location for this beauty!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/83792268@N03/albums/72157662474029203
This is the newest addition to my collection of classic 50's. Relative to the other f1.2 lenses, this is probably the best value out there. The build quality is beyond reproach, nothing buy metal and glass, the thing just feels solid. I would say the only true weakness is resistance to flare as it seems any direct light source really washes out the contrast. Resolution is surprisingly strong across the frame, even wide-open, but the contrast is not as notable until stopped down. There is barrel distortion that is noticeable if you're shooting anything with straight lines in your frame - a +6 correction in LR seems to counteract this nicely however. Bokeh is of the bubble variety and can be distracting at times if there is a busy out-of-focus background (like a bunch of trees) when you are focusing on something at mid or longer distance. For closer distances, the bokeh is quite buttery particularly when using a close-focus adaptor or extension tube. If you're looking at getting into these old manual lenses and want that fast aperture without breaking your bank, at around $150 for a good copy, this might be your ticket. I have several Flickr albums dedicated to Canon's old lenses - here is the location for this beauty!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/83792268@N03/albums/72157704504236591
I have several copies of this lens. Not any of them really is a friend. They have all been serviced, but all stay mediocre.
The build for me is just acceptable, but in terms of 'influence' on image quality there is something wrong with the design. Every copy that I have is too loose in build (shake it, and you feel it). Just think about that: lens groups that aren't stiff calibrated.
In my humble opinion: mostly over-rated by Canon FD-lovers.
This really is my best friend for certain purposes. Not only portrait, but in this respect I did not find a better lens.
Like most older lenses: get it cleaned inside and you will be amazed. And again like most older lenses: not weatherproof at all.
For me this might be called the real photographer's 50 mm lens. I have used it extensively for film in the 1980's and 1990's. Now it's one of my best companions on a Sony A7 II (with Novoflex adapter). In some respects it can produce nicer pictures than the amazing Sony/Zeiss 55mm f1.8, which is sometimes too sharp and a bit harsh (I also do use this lens). Almost any normal good picture taken with this lens gets selected for the EyeEm-market !
Very important: in my humble opinion this lens needs service (especially cleaning inside) to get the best results. Like most older lenses: not weatherproof at all.
This is a very, very underrated lens. It was one of the latest designed FD lenses (1985) and was build on experiences from the popular 20-35 f/4L and 35-105 f/3,5.
It's versatile zoomrange still allows close focussing up to 0,5 mtr over the entire range without the need to pull a switch to 'macro'.
Ofcourse it is an all plastic build, but focussing and zooming feels almost like the older FD's.
This lens is perfect for video because it's fixed aperture and focus over the entire zoomrange.
There is a clear range overlap with the smaller 35-105 f/3,5-4,5 from the same year but this one is much better.
For an "L", this lens is a great versatile, modest speed optic that will provide great wide angle Landscapes and interiors. It is sharp even wide open but with a bit of visible vignetting but stopped down it becomes less noticeable. 98% of the time, this lens is going to be stopped down to at least F5.6+ anyway. Expect very little bokeh and less than ideal close-ups as this lens minimum focusing distance isn't the greatest. Due to it's odd numbered 5 bladed aperture, sunstars are nice 10 point sunstars unlike the ugly 6 bladed sunstars of the older 24-35L. Distortion is pretty much unavoidable in wide zoom lenses so this one is no surprise. The aspherical lens does help with controlling the amount of barrel and pincushion distortion but it can all go away with a click of button if using on digital mirrorless. Chromatic aberrations are also present. Don't expect prime levels of correction overall but for a zoom, it's not that bad.
Some copies of this lens has seem to get used quite a bit and so the zoom bushings can get worn out over time. The front barrel and zoom ring can develop a rough or loose resistance so look for a copy that doesn't rattle as this is a good sign of the plastic bushings still intact. If it's shaken and something's really loose, then the bushings will have to be replaced. If you don't, the front group will not align allowing proper focus and the lens image quality will be very soft and useless.
For an "L" this one is pricey and it's worth depends on the lens condition ultimately.
This lens truly lives up to its iconic status. Excellent product. SUPER SHARP!
Very light, Good sharpness at F 1.4 , Extremely Sharp stop down to F 2.8, I use it for video, at night its excellent, nice shallow depth of field, for the price its worth it.
If ever you manage to find a solid specimen without rotten slide bearings the New FD 35-105 mm f/3.5 might be one of the best bargains in Canon FD land. I had to sample a few before finding a good one and I'm very happy with it: IQ is very good throughout the full frame (Sony A7) and operation is smooth and nice. The standard sunshade BW-72B might be difficult to find and rather costly but the expense might be worth it since the lens is quite prone to reflections and flare.
Sharp, sharp, sharp...It hurts! Read alot of forums/users and finally can see why there's a cult following of this lens. Simply, the most sharpest FD lens ever. Even wide open at F2 it's remarkable. The detail on trees, fences, people portraits, landscapes, objects...Pretty much anything is in good crispy, contrasty goodness. This truly deserves the Canon "L" name if it did.
There's one issue though...
The yellow thoriated glass can is quite noticeable and some photographers leave it on for B/W photos. Others said to reduce the yellow tint with either weeks in the sunshine or the IKEA Jansjö LED lamp for a couple of days. There's a bit of an debate on which is "right" for this one special lens as the yellowing is a feature to some. I removed mine for primarily color photography but a small bit of that yellow radioactive character still remains. I don't mind a bit of warmer photos, not just yellow photos. It would eventually come back after a couple of decades anyway...due to the decay of Thorium.
Speaking of which, the Thorium element is reportedly safe as if you don't sleep next to it every night, give it to your pets/kids or smash it to pieces. The magic is in the radioactive element.
I have a Sony a6300 with a speedbooster, I can't say much that everyone else has already said. It's sharp, it's fun to use, it's been on my camera 100% of the time since I purchased it from ebay. The f2 aperture is amazing and has a very shallow depth of field. The bokeh is awesome and really makes the subject in the photo or the video pop. 10 out of 10 Highly Recommended !
It's so sharp , Excellent for video and photo, get this lens now! this is such a bargain lens for the price($250) as of 2018
Very sharp wide open with impressive corner to corner performance. Color and contrast holds up well and pops out. Tessar formula gives it that really great 3D look and characteristic bokeh rendering at close distances. Smooth precise focusing throw for close-ups and combined with the additional life size adapter, it can get to 1:1 macro magnification compared to just 1:2 without. Even though the front element is fairly recessed deep, this lens is prone to flare easily when pointing at bright sources of light which is the only negative about this stellar lens.
This is a good entrant into the world of f1.2 lenses. Not so expensive and also very good build quality. Find a good one in good condition and this lens is gold. This lens is heavy. Metal and large glass combined to make such a beast. The front metal aperture ring is miles better than nFD lenses and it clicks with such satisfaction. The dot next to f1.2 is f1.4, to note ;) Image quality is good albeit a bit of spherical aberration at open apertures but quickly goes away at around f2.8. Sharpness is usable at f1.2 and really stirs up at f2.
F1.2 produces the most characteristic aspect of this lens. What's the point of an f1.2 lens than!? Dreamy and creamy with a bit of glow with just enough sharpness for portraits that extrudes a vintage look wide open. Bokeh is not the strongest showing a slight noticable field curvature and cat eye effect but it's flare and low contrast can be a issue due to the lack of advanced multi coatings but it's okay because this lens has a sort of old charm to it. Colors are good still with a bit of old character. The front element is yellow but this one is not radioactive like the 58mm f1.2. It's clear inside so no UV treatment necessary. Stopped down and this monster can get quite sharp and picks up in contrast and sharpness impressively.
For what's it's worth, this lens is remarkable especially for the value today. Find/buy them while they're still in good condition and prices.
Similar to the Canon New FD 50mm F1.4, this lens shows good performance. Sharp wide open @f2.8 and very vibrant, punchy colors. Contrast is very good, surpassing the 50 f1.4 even. Minimum focusing distance is at a close 0.3 meters and it can get quite close to objects given it a 3-D pop to them. 7 floating elements gives this a great close-up qualities.
The downside is the flaring due to the bulbous front element and the 5 blade aperture giving stopped down bokeh a very define pentagon shape.
Due to its weight, This lens is the second lightest nFD lens and it balances well with small mirrorless cameras.
The prices of these old lens are going up especially with more Full Frame Mirrorless cameras now. I used this with the Zhongyi lens turbo II with a mirrorless Aps-c camera.
The lens is lightweight and sturdy mostly constructed with thinly stamped metal and plastic. Great color and contrast even wide open @ f1.4 but with a bit of chromatic aberrations. Flare performance is OK, and a good hood is probably a great idea. SSC coatings retains good microcontrast even wide open.
This is a very underrated lens. I got it for only € 25,- but it turned out to be very valuable lens for video. I use it a lot. It's sharp, contrasty, zooms butter smooth and is easy to operate due to the push-pull focus/zoom ring.
I use it with an EF 58mm lenshood wich fits perfectly and gives the lens a contemporary look.
There is no visible distortion at all focallengths wich is nice for architecture.
At 70mm it has an MOD of only 44 cm, in other focal lengths it's 1,5 mtr.
I found a really pretty copy. The donut shaped rings appear much less than i expected in normal use. It's pretty sharp, contrasty and can compete with regular FD lenses. Crank the ISO a bit and you will end up with shutterspeeds that allow for handheld shooting but a tripod is needed for the best handling. Feels good in your hands during handheld.
Don't know the purpose of the drop in type 'regular 1x' filter at the rear. Can't find othe filters for it.
Nice lens for candid shots.
Bought for 180 on eBay Uk ... love this lens it’s fanatic , wide , good results , sharpe at 5.6 , nice colours .. normal imperfections in the images as expected from a vintage lens .. other than that is really really good ... worth the cash
Normal imperfections in the images from a lense 30-40 years old , other than that it’s very good , Sharpe , contrastie, nice results , build is great ,nice balance , tested on a Sony A7 .. it’s fine Bought for 80 quid on eBay UK ...
Very surprised at this Len s it’s build quality , results and dof .. this is as good as or better than the ef50mm 1.8m.. can see any negatives. , of course their is the normal imperfections in the images , but., That is why we are buying them surely , that will be expected from a lens this old but other than this , nothing else can be faulted ..
Good range in the zoom , seems to be a Sharpe across the range .. I paid about £70 for my copy with hood from Uk eBay ... it’s mint .. not scratch or mark anywhere . All controls are tight and work well .. the blacks in the images are very inky dark ... love the look it produces ... it’s a very good solid lens .. macro function is useful as well , not at the same level as the 100mm but if u have nothing else it will get you some interesting images ... nothing bad to say about it ...
Images quality of excellent for its age .. have had some really good images from this ... paid less than £70 on UK eBay for this and had my doubts about if from the start for some reason .. however the Lens has shown me to wrong .. it is incredibly Sharpe and has a great vintage feel to ts images .. starting to love it ... my copy has slightly loose focus ring , but other that .. it’s awesome /... IMAGES can be found on 500px guy Butterworth .. tested on Sony A7 ..
Images are Sharpe , dof is great , Bokeh is good , macro and 1-1 with 50mm extension tube is achievable.. great and Sharp as long lens. Really good alrounder .. paid about £140 feb 2018 UK eBay for Lens , 50mm extension tube and hood ... love this lens tested on both 6d and a7 ...IMAGES can be found on 500px guy Butterworth
I have adapted declicked ef mount copy done by the lens doctor up in Scotland .. bought for £240 of a bbc camera guy .. this lens is awesome , sharp , solid , contrasty images ... totally in ore of how well this lens does at 200mm handheld .. for the money it bets the newer ones hands down ... the only negative is , that it is slightly dark for a f4 . Which require high iso and slow shutter speeds in some situations compared with other lenses .. other than that it’s nuts ,, tested on both a 6d and a7 ...
IMAGES can be found on 500px guy Butterworth
Solid lens.. Sharpe for its age .. nice dof ... I like the softest in the corners and edges , but that night be for everyone ... good build , pretty light weight .. a fine wide lens... this has been used on a 6d and A7 ... IMAGES can be found on 500px guy Butterworth ..
Brilliant 35mm lens .. Sharpe and lovely image feel and look .. build quality is fantastic , the lens is a hefty for its size and comes with a yellow tinge to the images until you get to post .. tested on a 6d and Sony A7 ... the a7 produces some incredible images with it ... a true legend of a lense and getting rare really... get one if u can .. mine came from eBay UK for £270 April 2018 .. a classic in evey sense of the word ... images are on 500 px guy Butterworth .. if u want to see what it can do.
Another sleeper in Canon land ! Even though this lens and the "Luxury" version with UD glass showed similar MTF performance in an 80's Modern Tests comparison, the standard version shares the lack of popularity with other 300 mm lenses without low dispersion special glass. Nethertheless, you shouldn't discount the Canon New FD 300mm f/4 since most chromatic aberrations can be easily corrected (and sometimes even automatically) in modern Raw converters - aside from the aformentioned color flare, my lens offers a solid performance on a 24 megapixel full frame Sony A7, with very good sharpness at all apertures, miles ahead of its Minolta equivalent and similar to its slower sibling (300 mm f/5,6 FDn). Construction quality is top notch, with smooth and precise internal focusing. While the integrated lens shade is quite short, it can be blocked to prevent it from sliding down the lens barrel. The tripod ring (don't buy the lens without...) is very well made and the lens accepts custom 34 mm drop-in filters. On the other hand, there's no front filter thread, even though the front ring is threaded. The MFD of 3 meters is nothing special by modern standards but you can add an extension tube like the FD 50 in order to get closer to your subject. Furthermore, in adding an extender FD 2x-A or FD 1,4x-A , you will get a focal length of 420 or 600 mm - IQ will be lower and chromatic aberrations more pronounced but the result will be still quite acceptable, even with the doubler.
This is one of the oldest Canon zoom lens designs and it shows in its weight (790 g). On the other hand, construction is very solid, with very smooth separated rings for focal length and focus distance variation. The filter ring doesn't turn when focussing and the lens hood is built - in but a little bit short. The Canon New FD 80-200mm f/4 is a real sleeper, hiding in the shadow of the mighty New FD 80-200mm f/4 L lens. Its production numbers are much lower than those of the more popular New FD 70-210mm f/4 push and pull zoom lens. Still, the forgotten one has a lot going for it : image quality is competitive with prime lenses of its time, yet not as spectacular as the one of its L sibling but better than that of the 70-210 variant ; images are sharp and contrasty from wide open even though it's wise to close to f/5.6 (at 80 and 135 mm) or f/8 (at 200 mm) in order to obtain perfectly defined image borders and corners. Distorsion is well controlled and vignetting disappears by f/5.6. The lack of extra low dispersion glass produces (a still manageable amount of) chromatic aberration and purple fringing at the longer focal lengths but that is easily corrected in a Raw converter. The image quality doesn't falter at lower focus distances - the lens is near perfect for close focus (1 meter) and macro shots, with or without an achromatic close-up lens. Even nowadays, it is easy to understand why this lens was very expensive throughout its production time - it still holds its own if you're willing to correct its only shortcomings (chromatic aberrations) in postproduction.
Note that this lens exists in two versions : the nFD is slightly heavier and has a 58 mm filter diameter while the SSC version is slightly lighter with a 55 mm filter thread. Both share the same robust and solid built and optical construction. The antireflex coating seems to be slightly improved in the newer version but it shows mainly in the colours of the light reflections.
The Canon New FD 70-150mm f/4.5 is a compact and lightweight, push-pull zoom lens which was meant to be a reasonably priced alternative to the more popular and versatile 80-200 or 70-210 mm zoom lenses. Limited by a mediocre luminosity (f/4.5), a minimum focal distance of 1.5 meters and a limited focal range, the lens doesn't seem of much interest for nowadays photographers. Nethertheless, it has its strong points as well : a very low market price (well below 50 euros), a very appealing optical performance with excellent resolution and contrast even wide open, lack of chromatic aberrations and vignetting and a small filter diameter of 52 mm. Construction is just as solid and robust as you would expect from other Canon nFD lenses and the hood is built-in. Note that the lens gets longer as you zoom from 70 to 150 mm - thus, on my Sony A7, i use an adapter with a built-in tripod collar to obtain better balance. All in all, the Canon New FD 70-150mm f/4.5 is a interesting lens, especially given the very low prices compared to other FD lenses. But i have to admit that i use my 80-200 much more frequently, even though its performance may be slightly inferior...
A lens which offers astonishingly good optical performance from wide open on a "full frame" Sony A7 camera. Note that there are two versions of this lens : a first (Sonnar type, 4 elements in 3 groups) and a second (Ernestar type, 4 elements in 4 groups), the latter supposed to better than the former. Chromatic aberrations and distorsion are very well controlled and the heavy vignetting wide open is, with the weight, the only shortcoming of this very economic and largely underrated lens.
solid construction and image quality, integrated lens hood, MFD 1 m
This is one of the oldest Canon zoom lens designs and it shows in its weight (790 g). On the other hand, construction is very solid, with very smooth separated rings for focal length and focus distance variation. The filter ring doesn't turn when focussing and the lens hood is built - in but a little bit short. The Canon New FD 80-200mm f/4 is a real sleeper since it hides in the shadow of the mighty New FD 80-200mm f/4 L lens. Its production numbers are much lower than those of the more popular New FD 70-210mm f/4 push and pull zoom lens. Still, the forgotten one has a lot going for it : image quality is competitive with prime lenses of its time, yet not as spectacular as the one of its L sibling but better than that of the 70-210 variant ; images are sharp and contrasty from wide open even though it's wise to close to f/5.6 or f/8 in order to obtain perfectly defined image borders and corners. Distorsion is well controlled and vignetting disappears by f/5.6. The lack of extra low dispersion glass produces (a still manageable amount of) chromatic aberration and purple fringing at the longer focal lengths but that is easily corrected in a Raw converter. The image quality doesn't falter at lower focus distances - the lens is perfect for close focus (1 meter) and macro shots , with or without an achromatic close-up lens. Even nowadays, it is easy to understand why this lens was very expensive throughout its production time - it still holds its own if you're willing to correct its only shortcomings (chromatic aberrations) in postproduction.
This is one of the oldest Canon zoom lens designs and it shows in its weight (790 g). On the other hand, construction is very solid, with very smooth separated rings for focal length and focus distance variation. The filter ring doesn't turn when focussing and the lens hood is built- in but a little bit short. The Canon New FD 80-200mm f/4 is a real sleeper since it hides in the shadow projected by the mighty New FD 80-200mm f/4 L lens. Its production numbers are much lower than those of the popular New FD 70-210mm f/4 push and pull zoom lens. Still, the forgotten one has a lot going for it : image quality is competitive with prime lenses of its time yet not as spectacular as the one of its L sibling but better than that of the 70-210 variant ; images are sharp and contrasty from wide open even though it's wise to close to f/5.6 or f/8 in order to obtain perfectly defined image borders and corners. Distorsion is well controlled and vignetting disappears by f/5.6. The lack of extra low dispersion glass produces (a still manageable amount of) chromatic aberration and purple fringing at the longer focal lengths but that is easily corrected in a Raw converter. The image quality doesn't falter at lower focus distances - the lens is perfect for close focus (1 meter) and macro shots , with or without an achromatic close-up lens. Even nowadays, it is easy to understand why this lens was very expensive throughout its production time - it still holds its own if you're willing to correct its only shortcomings (chromatic aberrations)in postproduction.
This is one of the latest zoom lenses of the FD line and it show in its construction quality : while older zoom lenses use a mix of metal and plastic parts for the outer barrels, the Canon New FD 28-85mm f/4 is entirely clad in plastic parts. While this lowers the weight of the lens, it reduces the haptics. Furthermore, the lens uses the typical bearings for the zoom and focus rings which causes some problems with age - even though my lens looks like new, the zoom ring makes some grinding noise and it tends to move by itself when set to 85 mm. Otherwise, handling is great, thanks to a low weight and a low minimum focus distance. At 85 mm and wide open, it is possible to produce great close-up shots with very nice bokeh. In terms of sharpness, the lens holds up very well once the aperture reduced to f/5,6 - nethertheless, you will have to go to f/11 to assure a very good border sharpness at 28 mm with a Sony A7 "full frame" camera ( the outer corners stay a litt bit fuzzy). Distorsion is pronounced at 28 mm but basically non existant at longer focal lengths, vignetting ceases to be a problem at f/5.6. Against the light, the lens shows a pretty mediocre performance which is hardly surprising given the number of elements used - a lens hood is highly recommended.
The A-1 was the first slr i owned. It thought me photography and awoke my love for creating images. I took it around the world, it captured my kids growing up and i spend many hours with it trying to make art.
It is still some sexy camera. I love to look at it and sometimes i buy some film and shoot it for fun.
Nowadays using an A7Sii professionally feels like returning to the eightties. With the ability to use my old FD glass the circle is round again. Old optical excellence meets a contemporary hightech body with more or less the same formfactor.
This (kit) lens came with my A-1 when bought it in the late eightties and shot half of my slides with it. (The other 35% with an nFD 50 f1.8 and 15% on a vivitar 70-210 zoom.)
It zooms and focusses not as butterly smooth as most nFD primes, but that never bothered me. It is lightweight, affordable and has a practical range. MOD is only 50 cm, so close-ups are possible. My version has a metal hood wich has to be mounted with a small screw. An ideal holiday lens.
I don't know why i have never used this lens on my A7Sii.
This is an underrated lens. It's sharp, has very little vignetting fully open, it's lightweigt and it's got that practical built-in hood and almost no CA.
The most common 52 mm filter thread makes it usable with most of my filters.
However it's great IQ, i do not use it that much because the focal length feels like a compromise between a portrait lens and a tele. In situations where i need some telephoto i usually mount the 70-210 f4 zoom, but i guess the 135 prime produces a slightly better image.
Don't let yourself be fooled by some of the other comments of users who seem to approach this lens with expectations which are highly exaggerated - this was a cheap kit lens which a its time mostly equipped mostly entry level bodies like the T50, so don't expect stellar optical performances on par with fixed focal length lenses and high grade zoom lenses ! Nethertheless, the New FD 35-70mm f/3.5-4.5 is not a bad lens, quite the contrary : sharpness is always ok in the center, once the aperture closed to f/8 (35 mm) or f/11 (70 mm), sharpness improves even more and reaches the corners, vignetting and distorsion are kept at manageable levels. If the barrels are made of hard plastic, the latter is thick and durable and operation hardly suffers because of it.
Given the hype around its older sibling with constant aperture, this little zoom doesn't seem to garner a lot of interest which is reflected by the reasonably prices second hand. Yet, the Canon New FD 35-105mm f/3.5-4.5 was the first photo lens equipped with a molded aspherical lens and this fact certainly helps for image quality and compacity. Optical performance on full frame (Sony A7) is very good and perfectly useable down to the image borders at f/8 and smaller apertures, the outmost corners stay a little bit fuzzy. For landscape this lens is perfect (vignetting is very well controlled) but architecture is not part of its best photography genres given that distorsion increases with focal length (note that the latter is practically zero at 35 mm, which is very useful for landscape and architecture, but quite heavy pincushion shaped at longer focal lengths). The performance against the light is quite OK for a zoom with that many optical elements, much better than that of the older fixed aperture lens). So, i think in real life (and not in the mind of photographers who only compare specs and alleged use of plastic parts...), the Canon New FD 35-105mm f/3.5-4.5 is a much more useful lens than the Canon New FD 35-105mm f/3.5, at least for me (i have both).
This lens is on my A7Sii most of the time. Usable in various situations from portraits to landscape or lowlight.
I had one of these years ago and loved it. I sold it when I went digital. Now that I am back to shooting film, I had to get another copy. This lens produces outstanding
image quality and the Bokeh is awesome. This is one of my favorite FD lenses.
Given its average specifications, this lens doesn't seem to garner interest on the part of mirror less digital camera users. Thus the very low prices on the second hand market. But it would be wrong to discount it since it has quite a lot of qualities in the field and especially for photography genres with "patient" subjects such as architecture and landscape photography. The Canon nFD 300 mm f/5,6 is very light (635 g) and short (200 mm) for its focal length and it even could be operated without tripod or monopod. The use of a tripod adapter is not yet necessary and focusing is surprisingly light and smooth, thanks to the rear group focusing system. The lens doesn't change its length when focusing and at the minimum focussing distance of 3meters the optical performance is not altered.
In terms of optical performance, the lens performs very well, with good sharpness obtained thoughout the entire image area even at f/5,6. Closing the aperture helps to ccontrol vignetting and depth of field while resolution and contrast only benefits slightly. Since the lens doesn't integrate low dispersion glass, there is some chromatic aberration and purple fringing, but it can be easily hold at bay during raw conversion. Personnally, i often use this lens with very good results for landscape and urban photography and i appreciate its small size and weight.
This is a lens with astonishing properties when used with a Sony A7 full frame camera : sharpness and contrast are already very satisfying even in the far corners of the image and wide open and the lens is very light and compact. Vignetting is low while distorsion is a little bit high for a fixed focal lens of this type. The multi coating is pretty efficient against the light. This lens feels a little bit plasticky but this is a caracteristic it shares with most lenses of the New FD line. Nethertheless it seems quite sturdy.
I was lucky to find this guy at a garage sale at 500$ and I immediately had to jump before someone else did. It was worth it. I had my first great white. It was super heavy, but what is expected when you see a long focal length paired with an aperture of "2.8". Immediately, I loved the IQ. DOR is sublime and it is tack sharp. Surprisingly good at portraiture, great for nature, but very difficult to use in sports due to MF. However, when photographing the eclipse, I experienced very harsh CA along the edges of the moon.
Was it worth the 500? Heck yes! But I would not buy any listings that are above 1250$. It is good, but not that good.
Hardly biggerand heavier than a standard lens, this little "portrait " tele lens delivers sharp and aberration free images (distorsion, vignetting and chromatic aberration) at all apertures, with just a tiny hint of softness fully open. Even though the minimal focussing distance is only 1 metre, it is possible to add an achromatic macro lens like the Canon 500D to get closer - with good to very good results.
In terms of build quality, this lens is, like most New FD lenses, nothing special but nethertheless perfectly adequate.
In its time, this lens was considered one of the best 500 mm mirror lenses. It still impresses today with its image quality (lack of chromatic aberrations, good sharpness in the image center and periphery, quite good contrast for a mirror lens) and construction (integrated lens hood, tripod mount and filter holder, smooth focusing ring). While the NEW FD 500 mm f/8 is longer and heavier than other contemporary mirror lenses (Tamron SP, Tokina, etc.), it is extremely solid and well made. The results are better then i expected, sharpness wise, better than the first generation Tamron SP, even though vignetting is a little bit more pronounced and the minimum close up focus distance is at a mere 4 meters - the Tamron lens thus is better suited to closeup photography.
This lens produces very sharp images on both the Sony A7s and a6500, especially in the centre. The edges aren't as good, but for macro work shot at f8 and smaller that's not a problem as the lens is sharp across the frame at that aperture. It's a versatile lens as it can be used as both a macro and a standard walk-around lens. It's bulky but pretty light.
My biggest gripe is usability at 1:1. At that magnification the front of the lens is so close to the subject that it's really only good for static objects. I might actually prefer shooting this lens at 1:2 because of that.
Check out my review of the lens with lots of image samples at http://www.theweekendlens.com/vivitar-55-f28-macro.html
This must be one of the most underrrated lenses in the nFD lineup. Yet, it has a lot going for it : image quality is stellar, resolution and contrast are already very good wide open and this even with a full frame body like the Sony A7 - i compared it to the latest version of the Minolta MD 35-70 f/3,5 Macro and the FD offers better sharpness at all focal lenghts while the Minolta seems to be much more popular around buyers. In a nutshell, the nFD 35-70 f/4 offers prime lens quality in a small and lightweight package, the MFD of 0,5 m enough leeway for nice close-ups.
On the flip side, the mechanical consruction of the FD is pretty flimsy - the bearings inside the lens degrade with time, introducing play and and rendering the operation of the focus and zoom rings much less precise. While the lens presents a sort of integrated (short) lens hood (a inner barrel with the lenses moves inside a outer barrel offering protection against stray light), it makes the handling of filters very difficult and sometimes even impossible (polarizers).
One of the best "traditionnal" standard macro lenses. Sharpness and contrast are perfectly uniform wide open and close up while it is necessary to close the diaphragm to f/8 to achieve perfect sharpness in the extreme corners at greater distances. Comparing the Canon FD 50 mm f/3,5 SSC to the Nikon Micro-Nikkor 55 mm f/3,5, the latter has better corner sharpness at infinity, while the former has less vignetting wide open and less distorsion.
While rediscovering some images taken with this lens in the nineties, i was flabbergasted by the sharpness and constrast of these color prints. So i decided to try out a second copy of this lens, found locally for a very decent price, on a Sony A7 body. With equally satisfying results - given that resolution and constrast are on par with fixed focal lenses between 24 and about 40 mm. Above 40 mm, contrast suffers a bit but closing the lens a few stops controls coma and residual spherical aberration. On a full frame sensor, uniform sharpness in 99 % of the frame is achieved by closing the lens to f/8, for extended depth of field it is possible to stop down to f/16, the visible impact on sharpness staying minimal. Distorsion is visible and distracting at 24 mm but it decreases at longer focal lengths. Vignetting is only visible at f/3,5 (24 mm) or f/3,8 (48 mm). Due to the number of elements ( 10 in 9 groups), flare is noticeable in backlight situations - unfortunately, the lens hood is seldom supplied with the lens and often sold at prices which are barely lower than those of the lens ! Furthermore, without the lens hood, there's no "official" way to place a filter in front of the lens. While a slightly modified Canon EW-63 II lens hood can be used to protect the front lens from stray light, it doesn't solve the annoying filter problem...
Mecanically, this is one of the finest lenses i've ever owned - while having a small and compact size, the body is made of metal, with very smooth operation focusing and zoom rings. The aperture ring, only piece made of plastic, sports clic stops at full values between 3,5 and 4 as well as 16 and 32, and half values between 4 and 16.
The Tamron SP 24-48 mm is a very good alternative to the two Canon FD-L wide angle zoom lenses - at a very interesting price !
Shot two rolls with different cameras and lenses, both not very sharp (compared to Kodak UltraMax 400). Maybe FP4 degrades fast after expiration date. Still have three rolls to shoot, will update score when needed.
I got this lens some years after acquiring the EF version with the hope that I can use it without the fear of damaging the AF function and focusing system since it's focused by wire. If the lens stop working, I can't even use manual focus. On Canon DSLR, while the EF version can easily misses the focus point since it's very shallow and it can change during the shooting process, I need to do manual focus to ensure the critical sharpness and it's not that pleasure to do manual focus on the EF lens.
This FD lens is basically the same, with just a bit different in the outfit. It comes with a trunk and it even looks cooler than the one for the EF lens. I highly recommend using this FD lens on a mirrorless system, especially Sony A7. With some A7 camera, you can even autofocus the lens using Techart Pro adapter, as long as you have a tripod to support the lens from below.
The sharpness of this lens may be less than some high quality modern lenses but still exceed my need that a cropped photo is still enough for printing. I also didn't find any considerable trace of chromatic aberration even at f/1.8. However, this lens suffers from flare if a strong light gets into the lens view so it's recommend to use the hood in daylight shootings.
It's definitely the king of portrait!
For high resolution photo samples and comparison, you can check out my Flickr albums https://www.flickr.com/photos/langstrum/albums/72157679027880160
This is a great little lens and the sharpest affordable vintage 50 I've used on mirrorless (of about 10 lenses from different manufacturers). I prefer it over the Canon FD 50mm f1.4 SSC because it's smaller and optically slightly better in my opinion, with better contrast, clarity, and smoother bokeh.
Downsides are CA wide open (especially on APS-C), noticeable vignetting, average flare resistance, average build quality.
Check out my site for a detailed review with many image samples: http://www.theweekendlens.com/canon-nfd-50-f14.html
This is a great lens that is on par or slightly sharper than the 80-200 F4L with a true macro capability.
It is razor sharp, at F4 but with heavy CA on the high contrast areas as typical. Stopped down to F5.6 it is greatly reduced but is still present. It is great compared to other macro lenses in the FD series because it does not require an extention tube to work at 1:1. It is also built very well, and you can feel it too. It is very heavy and because of that they have a nice compact tripod foot.
However, despite how great this lens is optically, it does suffer from vignetteing when at 1:1 or close to 1:1 focus. The helicoid focus also brings the problem of focus breathing for video use. Also it is very expensive, even on ebay as they can be easily found for around or over 300 USD. Some examples can be bought a little less. I got mine in a Japanese used camera store in Kyoto for precisely 25000 JPY, or around 240 USD.
This is a great macro and convention lens, but it is heavy and usually expensive. Vignetting and CA can turn off some people as well, but stopped down performance improves greatly.
The 85 1.8 is a great starter portrait lens who can't afford the 1.2L.
It's attractive entry price for around 250-350 makes this an excellent fast portrait to start with, especially if one is a big fan of large bokeh. It is quite easy to find on ebay and KEH. Stopping down to 5.6 seems to be the best in terms of sharpness. The size is quite good and accepts the small 52mm filter as with other prime lenses from 24-135 with the exception of the 24 1.4, 85 1.2L, and the 135 2 of course. This makes it an attractive lens for compact setups.
It does suffer from very noticeable CA wide open in high contrast areas. It is also not very sharp wide open. Sharpness and CA greatly improves after stopping down to 2.8.
For those on a budget looking for a portrait lens, the 85 1.8 is an excellent choice with a great balance of price and quality.
This is a great zoom, although it is a variable aperture.
It has good image quality built on a fast aperture. It is great for general photography and covers a good focal range. This is great for full or upper body portraiture. The zooming to the long side makes the front element go deeper in acting as a built in lens hood. It does have a detachable clamp on lens hood, but it can leave some cosmetic issues.
Most of the time, you will find this lens with a dented front due to the clamping down of the lens hood by previous owners which is done by twisting a single knob to fasten itself to the lens. Also, my copy is very noisy when zooming creating this zipping noise, especially when zooming from wide to tele.
This is a great zoom lens for photography but not very good for video due to it's variable aperture. It can be useful, but accommodate for the change in brightness.
This was my first starter UWA and I can say like the 17, it is a great wide to start with.
It is quite affordable ranging between 250 and 350 for buy it now or bidding. It is very lightweight and fast at 2.8 for low light photography. This is the minimum focal length for UWA photography such as landscapes and architectural. Astrophotography may need to stop down due to coma and very minor smear.
It does have minor moustache distortion and an unnecessarily large filter. For that size, one could make it wider or F2. ;) They could have made the filter thread maybe around 58mm to keep it smaller.
This is a great starter UWA for people just getting into this style photography, but just note the minor distortion and large filter thread.
This is a very unique FD lens that it uses AF on any lens it works on.
It has a nice metal build and has the "Canon Telephoto" White paint. It's AF system works well for stationary objects and in bright light. Itt's a very simple AF system: Push the button and it will autofocus. It's also a constant aperture which is surprising. The lens is actually quite sharp and good performing. But in the end, it's not a very practical lens. It does make a good collectible though.
The AF system suffers in low light and can take a while to focus. If you want to manual focus it, you have to turn a hefty tiny ring at the front of the lens. It almost feels like you are going to break the AF motor manually focusing this. It is also awkward in weight distribution because the AF motor is pretty big and lopsided to one side. Also due to the metal build and heavy motor system, it is very heavy to handle.
If you get this, It is fun to use occasionally, but not for very serious photography or video. It does make a fun to look at collectible and you can brag about having Canon's first interchangeable AF lens.
This is sentimental for me as my first lens I bought at a thrift store while adapting to my E mount camera.
For the price, it is a great lens in terms of IQ and it even has a constant aperture. It is pretty small but long and has a built in filter.
Even though I like this lens because it was my first, I have to admit it's faults. It's not a big focal range and it's more flimsy feel may discourage serious photographers for tougher assignments. Also it's a push pull which can be an issue for video.
It's a great lens and I don't want to say it because it's my first, but because for the cheap price it makes good photos.
This smaller sibling of the 35-105 is a great lens and slightly better performing in terms of IQ compared to it's brother, but has some hard things for it to live up to.
The 3.5-4.5 is a great lens in terms of general sharpness and especially size. It is almost half the size of the 3.5 constant version and has an molded aspherical element inside. Looking through the glass in a photo, there is a noticeable difference wide open, but very similar stopped down. It is also quite affordable.
The Push pull is not very useful for video unless one wants to do a zoom whip while calculating the parfocal nature of it's focus. It is also a very sensitive zooming mechanism as it is very easy to change from 35 to 50 without meaning to. It also has a variable aperture which is probably why this lens is so small.
If you want an aspherical non-L, this is your lens. It is affordable and good at wide open image quality while keeping a compact size.
This is a great entry level Macro lens that is affordable and common.
This is very sharp at most settings. Macro is a bit tough at F4 though as the difference in focus is great. It does have a hidden feature most people do not know about and that is the hard and loose focus modes on the focus ring. Pulling it back will cause a yellow ring to appear. This means it is on the hard focus mode which makes the focusing stiffer for better macro photography. Pushing it forward makes this line disappear making it on the loose mode. This makes it easier to focus for conventional use.
It does require a tube for the 1:1 ratio and it is hard to clean the front element as it is buried deep inside the body.
This is a great macro lens to keep a distance from and is quite affordable for most people to acquire.
This is a unique lens for specific portraiture situations.
The unique soft focus effect is different than the simulated as it keeps most of the in focus subjects "sharp" as per say and the general image not exactally blurrd or out of focus, but "softened". This is great for photographers and cinematographers trying to achieve the 40s and 50's romance film look without the Vaseline. At setting 0, it's a tack sharp 85mm 2.8 lens at most aperture settings with F 11 starting to diffuse.
This does have a lack of sharpness at the soft focus settings. I don't know why I am saying this, it's a soft focus lens! It is quite rare. I got a boxed set at a very lucky bid for 202 USD but expect to see this pop up occasionally around 350-400 USD. Setting 3 is very overkill for the softfocus look as it is very hard to manually focus to the "sharpest" point.
If you do find this and you need to get a 40's-50's look, buy this for your film or photo project.
Many people say ditch this lens and go for the 24 F2, but I beg to differ.
The 24 1.4L is one of the most underrated L lenses in the series. If you buy this lens, you buy it for the speed it utilizes. At 1.4, one can creat unique portraiture opportunities by creating a sharp subject and a out of focus background and foreground which not many wide angle lenses can do. This is also perfect for video as the sharpness is not an issue when shooting wide open. Using this for long distance landscapes or architecture is possible as long as one does not have a notable foreground object that creates an out of focus artifact. Be wary of using this for astrophotography as it will have coma at 1.4.
However, this is a pretty rare and overpriced lens. I bought this on ebay for 450, the typical going rate is up to 500. Expect this lens to be around 750 or higher when listed at a buy it now or bidding. It does have a magenta cast at 1.4 that is noticeably different when switching between 1.4 and slower. At F2 it's virtually gone. It's not very sharp at 1.4 though and this is usually the primary reason to buy the F2 version.
This lens is magnificent for creating unique wide angle images and is highly underappreciated for it's lack of sharpness at 1.4. This is a lens of character, not performance. But it does pack big guns when stopped down to F2 to F8.
This is a nice UWA with some flaws
It is an affordable UWA, usually priced around the 20mm 2.8 but harder to find. It is also quite lightweight for it's class. It is pretty good in terns of sharpness.
However, It is pretty slow at F4 so low light can be an issue. It has some mild moustache distortion as well. I don't know why they gave this a 72mm filter size. For that size, one can make this a 2.8 aperture or wider focal length. Most importantly, if you are like me and don't use filters for the sake of ghosting: Do NOT use an inward lens cap! If you do, it will create a nice perfect circular scratch on the front element. Stick with the old Canon FD lens caps for this guy. This is also the only lens I would invest in a multicoated filter to prevent this issue. Using an old filter will create ghosts that are annoying in low light.
Aside from the cons, this can be a very useful lens for the budding landscaper or architectural photographer as it is quite affordable.
This is one of Canon's best nFD lenses.
It's tack sharp at almost all aperture levels, but suffers a bit of diffraction around F22 and F32. It has very similar performance to the 100 F2, just a bit longer and much heavier and wider. It's also quite affordable, usually between 290-350 dollars. This makes it a bit cheaper than the 100 F2. It is also easier to find than the 100 F2.
However, it is bigger and heavier than the 100 F2. This dramatic size and weight difference for just 35mm extra focal length may not be worth it for some.
If you find this cheap, grab it right away. If you lift weights often, this lens won't be a problem.
I find it hard to believe that a Push Pull, F4, 80-200mm is canon's best nFD lens.
At all apertures it is the sharpest FD lens I have ever tested, even at F22. Very little diffraction at F32. I even have slight haze and scratches and it beats other lenses. It is highly affordable, my copy bought in Japan for around 200 USD, 22000 JPY, and goes around at ebay for somewhere between 280 and 350 USD. Even though it is not fast, it is surprisingly compact for it's aperture size. Just a bit long.
However, it is a thinly stamped barrel, so it feels like it's gonna snap at any time you apply great force. Rubber ring feels nice though. The push pull nature makes this pretty hard for slow zooms for video and using a follow focus.
If you want a good quality lens from Canon, buy this lens.
This is the lens every FD owner or adapter must start with.
This is a highly affordable lens, usually not costing more than 120 and as low as 50 USD, and very common on eBay or even thrift stores. It is lightweight and very fast to focus. Nice 1.4 aperture makes this a great affordable low light or min DOF lens. Very good image quality, with some CA wide open.
However, the thinly stamped metal (Yes metal, not plastic. I scratched paint off this and it is metal) makes this feel like a flimsy lens. The Only plastic is the focus and aperture ring.
If you are starting to adapt lenses for photo or video, this is a must go to lens to start with.
This is simply put Canon's best FD Fast portrait lens.
This is very small for an F2 100mm lens and accepts 52mm filters. It is very sharp at ALL aperture settings. Minor diffraction at F22 and lower but hardly noticeable.. The 135 F2 is just as sharp and well performing, but with a slightly longer Focal Length and much bigger. It is also more affordable than the 85 1.2L. A bit more expensive than the 135 F2, but the reasons why are stated above. It is also a bit harder to find than the 135 F2 as well. This has the size and weight edge over the 135 F2 which is probably why there are less people giving these guys up.
The only complaint is CA wide open, but it's expected of lenses from this era to have CA wide open.
This is a surprisingly great zoom for its price.
The 20-35 is pretty fast considering it's age. 3.5 is only almost half a stop slower than 2.8 and challenges the 20 2.8 for sharpness. It also covers a pretty large range from the longer Ultra Wide Angle at 20mms to the longest wide at 35mm. It is also quite an affordable L lens for those who care about the red ring. Expect it somewhere between 350-450 buy it now or starting bid.
It does have noticeable distortion below 24mm, even in practical use. Wall-ceiling edges can have a noticeable moustache curve near the top and bottom.
This is a great L Zoom that is on par with the 80-200 F4L and greatly compliments it.
The Canon FD 14 2.8L is a treat. It's a nice quality Ultra Wide with quite a few hiccups.
Starting off bad, the 14 suffers from some smear and CA at the extreme edges when adapted to my Sony A6300 with a metabones focal reducer. This is obviously worst at 2.8, but the smear decreases at F4, but CA remains through the aperture range at the edges. To top it off, the whole image is not extremely sharp at all aperture levels, even at F11 where it seems the sharpest. Got it for $850 on ebay which is cheap, but most of the time expect it to cost over $1000 as a buy it now or starting bid.
On the plus side, it is a nice fast UWA for video use where sharpness and edge quality is less important. It's quite small for it's type. Maybe not as small as the Voightlander 10mm 5.6, but not a massive sphere like the 13 5.6 made by Nikon. It also has a nice build quality, not like the more thinly stamped metal nFDs but a bit thicker metal like the "old" FDs.
This lens is perfect for videos and okay to good for photos unless you do not care too much for the edges. It is also a nice collectible as well. Just don't drop the metal hood or the lens in general.
Check out my full review (comparison) against the 1.8 : http://www.jeroenterlingen.com/blog/2015/8/24/canon-nfd-85mm-lens-comparison
I tested this lens with the nFD 50/1.4 and FD 55 SSC Aspherical;
Read part 1 of my full review here: http://www.jeroenterlingen.com/blog/2015/7/19/canon-fd-50mm-lens-comparison
And part 2: http://www.jeroenterlingen.com/blog/2015/8/26/canon-fd-5055mm-lens-comparison-part-2
I tested this lens with the nFD 50/1.4 and nFD 50/1.2L;
Read part 1 of my full review here: http://www.jeroenterlingen.com/blog/2015/7/19/canon-fd-50mm-lens-comparison
And part 2: http://www.jeroenterlingen.com/blog/2015/8/26/canon-fd-5055mm-lens-comparison-part-2
The 85 f/1.2 L holds up amazingly well compared to new lenses when mounted on a Sony A7II. At f/1.2 there just a little loss in sharpness. Stopping down to f/2.0 it is super sharp. I love the build quality and smooth focusing action. It's heavy, but I don't count that against it because that's just physics.
Nice lens -adapted with the Sony A7. Sharp and easy to focus
I've been shooting with this lens on both the A7s and a6000 and it's an excellent performer. Sharpness is its biggest strength. Portability, lack of vignetting, good CA resistance, minimal distortion are other positives. Flare resistance and build quality could be better.
Check out my review of this lens with loads of sample images here:
http://www.theweekendlens.com/canon-fd-35-f2.html
Excellent 1:2 macro lens. I love the rendering on both Sony mirrorless and on film (Canon AE-1). Works well as a short telephoto lens as well. You can see my review of the lens by following the link below:
http://www.theweekendlens.com/tokina-at-x-90-f25-macro.html
Very nice 35mm SLR Camera. Great for someone who wishes to begin using film. Easy to use, very cooperative. Sports a sleek and elegant design. Comfortable to hold with the palm grip. Accesories are easy to attach, as well as the battery being simple to change, although it is somewhat expensive. Overall a great camera.
I've tested this lens a few days ago in our local Zoo. The 400mm is a fantastic, well built, lens. The sharpness is very good but my 80-200 f/4 L is a bit sharper.
Great all manual mechanical camera from Canon made in 1966, able to withstand the test of time, working even at the age of 50, took some of my favourite shots using it paired with the Canon FDn 50mm F1.8. The camera has more advanced features compared some other models made later on even though it was older, it had mirror lock up, which can be handy, a self timer, the great canon quick load system, really helps out in making the whole reloading process easier and even allowed for the occasional extra 1 or 2 shots if loaded properly. Wasn't able to test the light meter simply due to mine dying out.
Overall, this is a pretty nifty camera, if you can find one with a working light meter, no shutter capping/bounce, and no light leaks for under $30 USD, it would be a great purchase.
Who times a F-1 or F-1 n had in hand understands the fascination. It is on one side of a tank and on the other side a precision instrument. Because it works purely mechanically, it does so if necessary even without a battery. The F-1 is very good in the hand, all controls are logically laid out and has a bright viewfinder. It is the most robust camera that I know, it worked at 47 ° C in Twentynine Palms just like at -35 ° C in the ice laboratory, whether 100% humidity in the tropics or in the dusty Sahara. I own three F1n and F1, in some cases for more than 30 years. Meanwhile all cameras got a CLA, new seals and mirror dampers and I've still the same it rebuilt and adjust the meter to 1.5V. Now I can use the successor 625U instead of mercury battery.
She's my favorite camera. Who times a F-1 or F-1 n had in hand understands the fascination. It is on one side of a tank and on the other side a precision instrument. Because it works purely mechanically, it does so if necessary even without a battery. The F-1 is very good in the hand, all controls are logically laid out and has a bright viewfinder. It is the most robust camera that I know, it worked at 47 ° C in Twentynine Palms just like at -35 ° C in the ice laboratory, whether 100% humidity in the tropics or in the dusty Sahara. I own three F1n and F1, in some cases for more than 30 years. Meanwhile all cameras got a CLA, new seals and mirror dampers and I've still the same it rebuilt and adjust the meter to 1.5V. Now I can use the successor 625U instead of mercury battery.
The T90 is the most technologically advanced MF camera from Canon. Except for the autofocus, it is the later EOS 1 par. The wealth of features requires concentrated work and longer training. It is a brilliant camera for extreme shots and is very robust. But it should be used regularly or they will get problems.
This lens has a lot of reserve for low-light shooting.
Interestingly focal range but unfortunately vignetting and low image quality.
Stunning wide in combination with fantastic sharpness and very low distortion. I know of no better lens in this class.
The best portrait lens Canon has ever made. Light intensity, sharpness and a wonderful Bokeh, absolutely incredible. Overall, better than the successor and the current AF lenses. Mechanically a dream, everything goes easily and precisely. After twenty-five years still perfect in use, built for centuries. This lens was made by Canon without lens hood as available light lens on the market, but there is a well-fitting Canon lens hood, namely the screw lens hood from the EX 125 F3.5.
This has been for many years my all around zoom. I have owned quite a few zooms over the years and the image quality of this lens has always stood out above the rest. The only exception to that would be my FD 80-200 4.0L The build quality is excellent, although it is a bit heavy. I have always thought that this could have been an "L" lens. Nice focal range, fairly fast and I love the separate zoom and focus rings (I'm not a big fan of push/pull zooms) The macro feature is also a nice feature of this lens. Image quality and color rendition are excellent. I will continue to use this lens for many more years on both my AE-1 and A1.
I bought an A1 in 1990 to replace my well used AE1. What a great camera the A1 is! In its day this was a very advanced camera. Accurate exposure meter. Bright viewfinder with led readout. Multiple exposure modes, and of course those classic looks that make it one of the best looking cameras of its day. The A1 is a joy to use. It just feels good in my hands and the controls are easy to use. The A1 is the main reason I cannot to totally digital. I just love shooting with it so much! The only fault I can give it is that it would be nice if it had a faster top shutter speed of at least 2000/sec. Also a mirror lock up would be nice. But even though its not perfect, this is a camera I will continue to use as long as they keep producing film.
This was my first "real" camera. I bought it new in 1978. I took thousands of pictures with it for the 12 years I used it. It took a beating from many backpacking trips, but always worked perfectly. The AE-1 has a very accurate exposure meter. The viewfinder is bright and focusing is easy. This is a basic SLR with limited features, but that's what makes it such a fun camera to use. It does not have an AE Lock like the AE-1P, but instead it has a backlight button that opens the aperture 1 and a half stops for back lite scenes.
I would prefer an AE Lock instead, but other than that this basic SLR had all I ever needed to take some great pictures. I currently have one in mint condition that I use for black and white. Its just a fun camera to use and the classic looks really stand out. I will continue to shoot with my current AE-1 until I can no longer get film!
The Canon 7 is probably the best body ever made for L39 (Barnack) lenses, outside Leitz, especially because they go for reasonable prices. It is very ease to use, although if you use the light meter, you will need to learn how the two ranges of light metering work. It is not worse than the equivalent Leica M3 meter.
The light meter sensor is selenium, so no batteries, but also risk of a dead sensor and low sensitivity. The shutter curtains are metallic and wrink easily (which does not affect function).
The very nice viewfinder has framelines for commonly used focal distances, with 35mm being the full frame.
This camera can use the famous 0.95 normal lens, which is too expensive for my hobby. It goes on an external mount.
I have been using this RF for about one year now - it has become my favorite platform for L39 lenses.
I used one of these for a few years before giving it to a friend. I had gotten the matching hood and a yellow filter with this Canonet.
The Canonet is the first item of the series. It has a selenium meter around a 1:1.9 aperture lens, which is very decent and gives very sharp images at f/4 and below. The film advance lever is in the bottom of the body, with an articulated end.
Autoexposure mode is shutter priority, with aperture is shown in the viewfinder. It has a flashmatic feature in which you set the guide number of flash and aperture is automatically set depending on the focusing distance. It may be operated in fully manual mode, which is good insurance in case the selenium meter goes dead.
The camera is relatively large but it has very good handling. It is excellent for general use and street. A very convenient RF, which usually goes for much less than later models.
Small lighter weight 85mm.
At 1.8 it's about equal to the 1.2L wide open. Gets sharp at around 2.8. Corners on the other hand are way sharper than the 1.2L.
Check out my full review (comparison) against the 1.2L : http://www.jeroenterlingen.com/blog/2015/8/24/canon-nfd-85mm-lens-comparison
When I needed a 50/55 lens I always took the 50L with me. This way I had the extra speed over the 50/1.4 and not the weight and size of the 55/1.2 Aspherical. And it's an L-lens, you gotta love the red ring :)
But now I've seen my own test I think I'll pick the 50/1.4 over the 50L unless I really really really need the f/1.2. The corners of the 50/1.4 are so much better and I really like the cleaner bokeh. The other two are sharper at the center, but the 50/1.4 is good enough for me. Stop it down to f/2.8 and it's about as sharp as the other two. And it's about 1/10 of the price!
Read part 1 of my full review here: http://www.jeroenterlingen.com/blog/2015/7/19/canon-fd-50mm-lens-comparison
And part 2: http://www.jeroenterlingen.com/blog/2015/8/26/canon-fd-5055mm-lens-comparison-part-2
One of my favourite FD lenses! You can find some images on my Flickr account: https://www.flickr.com/search/?tags=14mm&user_id=90612971%40N00
https://www.flickr.com/photos/30353875@N00/25724814993/in/pool-1046833@N24/
I use this on both the Sony A7s and a6000 and it performs great, but better on the A7s. The ability to isolate your subject and flatten the field of view is impressive and bokeh is some of the smoothest I've seen. Good value - I don't think there's a cheaper lens out there that offers comparable dof control.
Here's a video shot entirely with this lens:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmVkhoVdIvY
Also, check out my review for lots of image samples:
http://www.theweekendlens.com/canon-fd-135-f2.html
I had three examples of this lens and not one of them was good. Its a higly overrated lens. I compared the 28-85 - its much better Image quality. The 35-70 2.8-3.5 is much better too. The only good thing on the 35-105 is its sturdy construction. But that alone helps nothing. Front lens can easy be damaged. Prone to flare. Low contrast. Boring colors...
This lens is very good. It�s much better than the 35-105 3.5. The flares are well controlled, sharpness is good and it good quite nice color rendition. The only thing i do not like is the rotating front element which makes using a polarizer not very comfortable. Despite it�s plastic body, the lens and its shell"has a very good build quality. It�s a rare to find lens. The price of it ranges between 25 and 150 $. The design of the lens is more modern and it has not that all-metal-feel the older fd lenses had. Because it�s a newer fd lens all the problems with optics are much better controlled than with older lenses."""
The IQ of this vivitar is phenomenal for zoom lenses of its age. It is packed with an impressive 28-90mm zoom range and a fast f/2.8~3.5 aperture, making it very useful for event coverage or general walkaround. More importantly, it has done so without sacrificing IQ: it is very sharp wide-open in the center, only starting to show some softness at the extreme edges. It is also relatively inexpensive: good copies can usually be found for around $60 or less.rnrnThe lens is however pretty heavy at 600g, so it is kinda unbalanced if you mount it on mirrorless cameras. It also suffers from very severe vignetting at the wide-end, making it quite unsuitable for landscape photography, though stopping down helps that somewhat. The vivitar is also not a true zoom: it is vari-focal design, meaning that you need to re-focus every time you change the focal length. Another minor annoyance is that the focus throw is very short (only about 90 degrees), so nailing focus can be a bit difficult.rnrnAs an added bonus, this lens can also focus down to 3.3x magnification ratio at 28mm. Being at wide-angle, the working distance is very short though. This lens is also said to suffer from oily aperture blades easily, though mine does not have such a problem.rnrnOverall, this lens is an excellent performer, if you can accept its quirkiness and weight.
This lens is soft wide-open with lots of CAs at f/1.8, but stopping down to f/2.2 eliminates most of the problems. It becomes very sharp after f/2.8 and offers very nice smooth bokeh.rnrnOverall, it is an excellent and affordable portrait lens.
For some reason, this lens is rarely discussed (perhaps shadowed by the legendary Minolta 35-70/3.5). As a result of this, it is very cheap on the market. I got mine in near pristine condition for $40.rnrnThe image quality is excellent starting from wide-open: sharp across most of the frame except slight softness at the corners. As others have pointed out, the build quality of this lens is quite bad and seem to suffer from mechanical failure over time. My copy has a somewhat loose and wobbly zoom ring.rnrnThe aperture is only f/4, so it is not very usable in low-light setting. I find the bokeh produced by this lens to be quite nervous, and the slow aperture and 6-blade diaphragm isn't helping at all.
I bought this lens to use on a Sony A7R and A7R2. I really wanted to like this lens, but after trying three copies I have to give up on it. First, the positives: build quality is excellent and the lens is pin-sharp in the center, just as good as the legendary Contax/Yashica 35-70. The negative: edge sharpness on these cameras is woeful. At this point, I don't know if I've just had bad luck and tried three defective lenses, if the sensor is too much"for this lens"
Pleasantly surprised at the quality of this older lens which can be found for about $40 or less online. Image quality is good and still slightly competitive with modern offerings. At f/4 the image quality does suffer a bit, but is still usable if needed. Didn't get the dreamy bokeh effect I was hoping for at f/4 here for me. Stop it down a few clicks and the image is pretty sharp and usable. Nifty macro focusing is actually pretty nice, but only available at the minimum focusing distance of 70mm, darn. Great starter zoom for folks trying to learn photography.
Not much for me to like with my copy. Image quality isn't great at 300mm compared to any modern lens. Focus and zoom ring is mushy with zoom and focus creep when holding. Even the divots on the grip are kind of sharp and prickly feeling on my hands making it uncomfortable to hold. Even at F5.6 it's not a lot of light for a lens of this class.
Great and affordable 1.2 lens. Sharp enough wide open. Bokeh can be a bit wild at times, but I like it. For image samples, see http://www.theweekendlens.com/canon-fl-55-f12.html for a video shot with the lens, check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LT4pbGJsEh8
Amazing lens! Probably my favorite FD lens so far. Great size/performance ratio. I prefer it to my fd 135 f2 (unless I'm going for ultra thin dof). For a detailed review and image samples, check out (http://www.theweekendlens.com/canon-fd-100-f2.html) and for a video sample (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq9-6gC7TZc)
Decent lens for the price and definitely much cheaper than most other legacy offerings at this focal length. Visit (http://www.theweekendlens.com/canon-fd-24-f28.html) for a detailed review and image samples and (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UY7XTfSlx8) for a video sample.
I use this on the Sony A7s and a6000 and it delivers great image quality. It's pretty sharp wide open and super sharp by f4 on both cameras.
The lens vignettes a lot at f1.4 and the bokeh isn't always the smoothest. It's all metal, so the mechanical quality is great, but it does mean that the lens is a little too heavy for my cameras. (there are lighter 50/1.4 lenses out there)
Still, it's a good value, and a good choice for video shooting, too.
To see a more detailed review of the lens and lots of sample shots, please go to:
http://www.theweekendlens.com/canon-fd-50-f14-ssc.html
To see a sample video shot with the lens, check out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vlklHrxVUk
Very nice prime. Very sharp from 1.8 and up. Good built quality and light weight. Prices are super for a 'mint condition' version. Still using it on Sony A7
One of the sharpest lenses I've ever had. Comparable sharpness with the Nikon 105mm macro!!! Wide open soft, but from f4 and up supersharp. Downside is sensor flare with digital, which is not acceptable for me. I've used it on Sony A7, but sold it due to sensor flare.
It's an awesome piece of metal. I have the PJ screen in it which I just love. Love the partial metering so much more the centre weighted... I actually know what its exposing for. Love the J screen, so bright and clear. There's really no going back. Which is a pain because theres a few gotchas. Like, um... why, why WHY is there no Shutter Priority unless you attach a bulky winder to it? Is there a single good reason for this?? I really miss that feature because I'm not a big fan of Aperture Priority. Theres also no exposure lock. That's also dumb. I guess at heart it's really an all manual camera, and if you use it as such its simply the best. I've not used the winders but I understand you can't take them on or off with film loaded which also seems like a pretty poor design too...
It's an awesome piece of metal. I have the PJ screen in it which I just love. Love the partial metering so much more the centre weighted... I actually know what its exposing for. Love the J screen, so bright and clear. There's really no going back. Which is a pain because theres a few gotchas. Like, um... why, why WHY is there no Shutter Priority unless you attach a bulky winder to it? Is there a single good reason for this?? I really miss that feature because I'm not a big fan of Aperture Priority. Theres also no exposure lock. That's also dumb. I guess at heart it's really an all manual camera, and if you use it as such its simply the best. I've not used the winders but I understand you can't take them on or off with film loaded which also seems like a pretty poor design too...
Canon A-1 was a ground breaking camera for its day and age. Purchased my first A-1 May of 1979 and I’m still using these bodies today. Sleek and sexy in all black, It was more camera than I knew how to operate but it provided a good base to learn and grow with. A real ground breaker that it was the first SLR to offer electronically-controlled programmed auto exposure. Today this feature is found on virtually every camera in production. Marketed for the photo enthusiast it moved a lot of rank amateurs such as myself up to learning how to take better photos. Not to mention it worked with all of Canon’s FD lens. My favorite set up is still the A-1 with an original breech mount 50mm F 1.4.
Okay... so I know this is a feature packed top of the line SLR that can do just about anything. I know it was a greatly innovative camera in its day. But I just don't like it that much. The program modes are great, and the viewfinder is a thing of beauty: bright, clear and easy to focus. I like the design of the multiple exposure lever. But their are so many features crammed into its tiny body that it feels cluttered and many of those features feel poorly implemented. Especially the depth of field lever, which must be the worst design on any camera ever. There are so many buttons I keep forgetting what they all do. Whenever I want to use the AE lock I have to try no less than three buttons to find the one that works. It's also prone to failures in its electronics, and the famous 'cough', or 'asthma' that effects its shutter and can ruin exposure. Also, its fully electronic shutter is not good for long exposures. It runs the battery down very quickly having the shutter open. There is no mirror lock up. I just find it all a bit gimmicky and awkward to use.
The FTb is an underrated classic. Its a really well thought out, full featured SLR design that is a real joy to use. Open aperture metering is great. I love the metering, which spot meters within a small central frame in the viewfinder. So you know exactly what you're metering, you can aim it around and really think about your exposure. The depth of field/self-timer/mirror lock up lever is a genius piece of design that in my opinion is really lacking on the New F1, and a distant dream compared to the fiddly and awkward controls on the A1. This is a great camera to take your time with, think about the image you're making and enjoy the craft of this very beautifully made machine. The only thing I don't like is the noise the shutter makes. It sounds like a rifle going off. Not great for candid street shots until you want to attract a lot of attention. But otherwise, its close to the perfect manual SLR.
Neat camera, I love using mine. I find TV AE soooo much more useful than AV AE, so in many ways this is my ideal camera. It a solid, all metal slab, great metering, has the best DOF preview of any Canon SLR (along with the FTb) and mirror lock-up. The shutter sounds great when you fire the thing off too, makes you want to keep taking photos. The camera is so easy to use I can just think about taking pictures.rnrnNothing is perfect though: The AE Lock button is in the most ridiculous place. I challenge anyone to think of a worse place to put it. My other gripe is that its not such a joy to use in manual mode. The meter in the viewfinder continues to show what its auto settings would be with no indicator of the current aperture setting. Not sure if its just my copy either, but the advance lever on mine is quite loose and rattly... thats kind of annoying. rnrnBut all in all, this is one of my favourite SLR's.
This is a lens I really love. It is very versatile and I use it a lot for textural work as it has excellent sharpness and very nice blur textures. Its a lightweight lens and I use it on canon eos m so it makes for a very compact system and gives me a 160mm lens equivalent at 2.8 and as a very light equivalent. Manual focus is very smooth and love the IQ and color rendition
This lens is AMAZING! It is as sharp as my FE 55mm 1.8 when compared both at 2.8 and that is no easy task as the 55mm is one of the sharpest lenses around.rnCA is superbly controlled as well. The quality is so insanely good that even when using it as a 840mm lens (1.4x-a + 2x-a) , CA is barely noticeable at all without any corrections and sharpness remains very usable! rnHere is an image at 600mm and one at 420mm to show you how sharp it is:rn600mmrnhttps://farm6.staticflickr.com/5644/20943449929_2b8b6e098d_o.jpgrnrn400mmrnhttps://farm6.staticflickr.com/5666/20916193770_5eae47848f_o.jpgrnrn
I'm using this lens on the Sony a7II where the IBIS is quite handy. Can be used hand-held with some effort but I prefer a shoulder stock + monopod. Specular highlights in the background show some double-ring bokeh and the color quality isn't as rich as a newer APO lens but with additional clarity & saturation can often perform quite well. All things considered a bargain at a 2015 price of about $1,000.
The optical quality was disappointing for an L lens. Very little if any CA but color quality is weak, I'd call it 'pastel' on a good day.
I bought this lens for my sony nex-3, as a modest telephoto lens, after reading the praise it got on the internet. It really lives up to its reputation. Portraits come out especially beautiful thanks to its pleasant bokeh. Used wide open, it needs a hood to prevent flare & I don't find the Canon hoods very handy.
This is a solid lens. I've only used it on digital (Sony A7), so can't comment on performance on film. I was using the FD 35mm f/2 SSC (concave thorium) and liked the performance, but not the size and weight. When the opportunity to get the FDn came up, I went for it. The FDn is ahead in in terms of sharpness per aperture and the bokeh is a bit nicer in my opinion. rnrnUnlike some, I welcome the plastic build, if only because it saves weight. I'm not a big fan of the FDn aperture rings, but that's not specific to this lens. My copy has a bit of play in the otherwise smooth focus ring. rnrnCompared to the other ~28-50mm lenses I use, the FDn 35/2 seems to be a bit more prone to veiling flare. I don't have the hood, but I do intend to get one. Shading with my hand doesn't always eliminate it, so I wouldn't be surprised if it was still a problem at times with the hood.rnrnWhen considering price, I'd give this lens a 10.0. It's an excellent value.
This really is a very nice lens. The problems it has are easy to clean up when used on a digital camera. I can see them being a much more serious concern for someone who shoots slide film. My review is based on my experience with this lens on a full frame digital camera (Sony A7).rnrnThe lens is solid and well built, yet relatively light. It can be soft in the corners, that's true. But I use it stopped down to at least f11 most of the time, and it's plenty sharp at those apertures. The purple fringing is strongest in the corners, and it will be a bother if you're shooting slides. It's fairly easy to clean up in digital images. There's remarkably little distortion across the image. I also use the Canon FD L 20-35, which has pronounced moustache and barrel distortion, especially at 20mm. In comparison, there's almost no distortion using the 17mm lens. The Canon FD 17mm f4 vignette quite heavily. However, I created a profile in Lightroom for the lens that makes dealing with the vignetting straightforward. rnrnBottom-line: if you need a 17mm lens and you're a Canon FD shooter, this is a nice choice. I also used to own the Tokina RMC 17mm lens, which was OK, but not nearly as good as this lens.
This is one of my all time favorite lenses to shoot with, incredibly versatile and tack sharp. The light weight can be seen as a pro or con, it's very well constructed but the actual glass only takes up maybe 1/3 of the length of the lens so you're getting a lot of hollow space. That being said, you can't go wrong with this spectacular lens.
I use this excellent lens on a Sony A7. It's wonderfully sharp and distortion free from f/5.6 through f/11, and it's even usable at f/16 and f/22 if you can live with some loss of sharpness due to diffraction. You can easily use this as a standard 50mm lens and as your walk-around macro lens. rnrnBecause it's a macro lens, the focus throw is really huge. Be prepared to crank it! As such, for walking-around, street shooting, etc., you're better off with a non-macro 50mm (like the FDn 50mm f/1.4).rnrnAnother plus: you can use a lens hood... but due to the design, the lens is so far back inside the body that you don't need a lens hood.
As everyone, everywhere, has said, this lens is unbelievable. From the largest aperture to f/16 it's amazing, at all focal lengths. It's also not so heavy that carrying it around is a major problem. But... I just don't love the push-pull design. I use it on a Sony A7 and I find it awkward to work with, and easy to loose focus by accidentally moving the focus/zoom ring. If you can live with that limitation, it's an unbeatable lens (if you like manual focus of course!)
I used this lens on a Sony A7. It was dirt cheap to buy. Image quality was amazingly good -- not just good for a cheap lens, but good (sharp across the zoom range, good colour and contrast). The only problem is the zoom and focus mechanisms degrade over time (as others have noted), so they get sloppy and loose. It's not fixable (or worth fixing) unless you have the parts on hand. It still worked, but focusing accurately was hard.
This is an excellent lens -- well worth what it costs these days. I use it on a Sony A7, where it shines. I use it mostly when I need a 20mm lens, but it's handy to have the other wide angle choices. I have not compared it directly to the Canon FDn 20mm prime, but people who have usually say the Canon FDn 20-35mm f/3.5 L is better; I can believe it.rnrnThe lens is compact, sturdy, and well balanced on the camera. The lens hood is very shallow (which it has to be). rnrnAt 20mm it suffers from a noticeable "moustache" distortion, which eases up at 24mm through 35mm. Correcting for this distortion on film may well be impossible. However, I created some custom profiles in Lightroom 5, and they work great. rnrnIf you need something wider on a full frame digital camera, I highly recommend this lens.
This lens was a real disappointment. It might just be my copy... but the one I tested was disappointing. Whether close, against a flat board with ISO lens test charts, medium distance or focused to infinity, it was only "OK". I compared it head-to-head with a Canon FDn 50mm f/1.4. The f/1.2 L was better (colour, contrast, resolution) at f1.4 through f/4. However, from f/5.6 on the Canon FDn 50mm 1.4 was as good, and even better than the "L" by f/11. Don't buy this lens for its performance at f/1.2 (soft, lower contrast).
This is a superb 50mm lens. It's soft and loses a lot of contrast at f/1.4, but starts to get better at f/2 and is on its way at f/2.8. Colours are excellent. It's also fairly light. I use it on a Sony A7 and it's just terrific. rnrnI also own the Canon FDn 50mm 3.5 macro, which is a bit sharper (but slower). I compared the 50mm f/1.4 to a Canon 50mm f/1.2 "L" lens (see my review) and the f/1.4 was better from f/4 up. I returned the L lens and kept the 1.4.
This is an excellent way to have some view camera movements (tilt/wing and shift) with an SLR or mirrorless digital. I use it on a Sony A7. It's more than up to the job. The lens is compact for a tilt shift, but it still produces a large enough image circle to allow considerable tilting and shifting. Even though it's a very old lens, it works extremely well on my A7.rnrnYou need to know that it has a slight yellow colour cast (very easy to clean up in Photoshop or Lightroom). You also have to decide if you want to use it "landscape" or "Real Estate" style. The base comes apart so you that you can choose. In "landscape" style you can tilt down or up, and shift up and down. In "Real Estate" style, you can tilt up and down and shift side-to-side, or you can swing (side-to-side) and shift up and down. It's easy to remove the four screws and change the orientation, but you need a proper screwdriver (or you'll damage the screws), and it's not something you should do in the field. If you absolutely have to be able to tilt/swing and shift independently, you'll have to get yourself a Canon 25mmm TS-E Mark II.rnrnAnother quirk of this lens is that it has the old FD style mounting system minus the aperture controls.
These camera bodies, F1 & EF represented the pinnacle of SLR technology during the 1970s. Many opine that Nikon was top and Canon an 'also-ran.' Not true. The Nikon F and F2 metering heads 'Photomic' have not stood the test of time. So few can be found working now. Not so the Canon F1 or the EF. My F1 was bought secondhand in 1990. A 1976 F1n with film reminder slot and padded wind-on lever plus extended film speeds, it work for 15 years at a local newspaper before being PX for autofocus ones. I bought it and shortly after took it to Yugo when the fighting started. Just the F1 and 28/35/50/135 lenses. Sold my shots around the world. Always use the meter with PX625 1.5v cells and set film speed as it is. Difference in exposure is negligible though it is possibly reading 1/3 stop under. I cannot praise this camera enough. Will never part with mine. Finish? Unlike black Nikons, the black paint of an F1 is much much tougher. Ivor Matanle of Amateur Photographer magazine refers to the finish in a review of Canon many years ago.rnThe Breechlock lenses are amazing. Few realise that the chrome ring is spring loaded. Move the ring round so the red dot is at the top. Place the lens on the lens mount and apply slight pressure, the ring will turn by itself. At that point the lens is properly aligned for use and will not come off! This can save vital seconds in a rapidly changing scenario. When time permits, just tighten by slight twist. Compare this with the gaffing about you had to do with the Nikkormats first turning aperture ring one way, then the other. The first 'mat the FT and the first through the lens F Photomic required you to set film speed on a scale for lens max opening. Then, changing lens, you had to reset: 50mm F2 set 100 asa opposite f2, change to 200mm f4, reset f4 to asa 100
My example came from a classic film shooter. The zoom+focus rings move way too easily compared to my other FD lenses. Albeit, they move super super super smoothly, which is trademark of FD lenses. The lens portrays a very usable zoom range when mounted to a full frame camera, such as my Sony A7. CA can be present wide open, as expected with almost all lenses, but retreats when stopped down. Weight can be an issue for the girls, but I don't mind it if it means it's because it's solidly built.rnrnThe lens is great value; I bought mine for about $80 and it is mint w/box and 3 Hoya filters, so these can be found easily for less than $80 on ebay, as of 2015.rnrnVignetting is obvious at 35mm F3.5 on a full frame camera and grows when zoomed to 105mm.rnrn"Macro" mode is activated by zooming down to 35 and pushing a switch on the lens forward and rotating the zoom ring down further into the "Macro" range. From there, you release the macro switch and you are now locked in macro mode, which allows you to focus quite close (within a foot if i recall). rnrnThe lens is actually quite sharp even at f/3.5, but f/5.6 would prob provide the best overall IQ, all things considered.rnrnI bought this lens along with a 24-35 3.5L to [mockingly] replace my 24-105 F4L because I sold my 7D for the A7, and wasn't fully committed to mounting an EF lens to it yet. Still getting used to dealing with two rings on a lens, as opposed to my FD primes., so if speed is a concern, that's something to consider.rnrnAll in all, definitely a lens I wouldn't want to do without. A good walkaround lens, though it is fairly long.
Yet another jewel from the Canon FD Line up. I use this on my Sony A7 series cameras and it has so far never let me down. This lens is an amazing portrait lens and its great to make tight portraits, especially of headshots. But it can also be a very useful telephoto portrait lens, where the subject can be captured in sharp focus and the background disappears magically in the form of a very creamy bokeh. Often this gives an effect of an almost 3D effect for the main subject. Focusing using the Sony A7 series is very easy, thanks to the focus peaking. The build quality is almost perfect, while the image quality is definitely perfect. A used one in MINT condition can be found for about US$ 1000, which is a bargain for the quality this lens offers. rnrnSample photo can be found here - https://instagram.com/p/3ZI_4GHttw/
I have recently had the honour to acquire this lens from a photographer who had used it. I now use it on the Sony A7 series (both A7r and A7II). I absolutely love this lens. The focusing is a bit tough as it has a razor thin DOF...but if you can manage it, the images are outstanding in its dreamy appearance. rnrnThe build quality is superb and its an all metal body. So its definitely a tad heavier than most 50mm lenses available in the market. Those searching for a sharp lens from edge-to-edge may find it disappointing. But those who consider Photography as an art form, and consider a picture as a painting of light will find delight with this masterpiece. rnrnThe lens comes in two versions a TV version and a non-TV version. I own the TV version, and have heard from other fellow photographers that this is the better version to own. rnrnVisit here for a sample image- https://instagram.com/p/2afb5rHtoK/
I'm using this on a Sony A7. rnrnI haven't done any formal tests and I'm not much of a pixel peeper but in real world shooting this lens performs admirably on the A7. Excellent sharpness into the corners when stopped down a bit. I like the way it renders, colors and rendering have a bit of a vintage feel. Haven't noticed any bothersome amounts of fringing. Bokeh is quite nice for an ultra wide. Especially if the background is not too busy bokeh can be quite pleasing. Handling is nice too, not too heavy and well built.rnrnIn short an excellent wide angle lens, even on full frame digital.rnrn
ho questa ottica da qualche mese e la uso per video. Qualità immagine ottima, bel boke, sono molto soddisfatto nella qualità di quest'ottica in grado di rivaleggiare col mio Canon FD 28mm f2.8 fisso. Ottima la funzione MACRO. Unica nota dolente la costruzione, che è solida ma l'ottica in mio possesso ha qualche difficoltà nella ghiera. Scomoda la regolazione dello zoom "a pompa" avrei preferito per i video una ghiera come quella del mio Canon FD 35-105mm f3.5
A superb lens! Sharp, great bokeh, great to focus, excellent built quality. Compared it on my Fuji XE 1 to the Nikon 70 200, 2.8VR (new version, 2013)...was gobsmacked! Just marvelous. And not heavy, easy to handle!rnCareful with the front glass as this lens takes no front protection filter.
After the first 20 shots or so I thought I put it back on eBay. But now, after a few months? Favorite lens, with the Fuji XE1 I am able to produce crisp shots from f1.2 on. Not easy wide open but it never was. Overall a very good lens, very happy with it, also great for black and white... rnGreat deal for a 1.2! See as well: www.flickr.com/photos:jensaddis
Love it so much,only it has no af. I used it on sony a7 olympus ep5 and eos 5d iii. IS is very good with micro 4/3 camera body.
Lightweight and compact. Image distortion is noticeable in some cases in the border of the image. Hood falls down incredibly easy.
Consistent and versatile. Good for day or night since it's so fast, and it's a fraction of the price of its EOS counterparts. Manual focus becomes challenging once you have gotten so accustomed to AF. I would say great for landscapes, but not so much for street photography.
I've started using this lens again on my full frame Sony A7 and I'm loving it. I end up using it more than I expected (more than my 50mm Nikkor lenses, for example, which were my primary gear).
So I got the FDn 35mm f/2 with my Canon A-1, as my first FD lens ever... And have been falling in love with it, over and over again. It's a good lens to carry around, as it is pretty compact and does not weigh much. That's one of the good things about the new FD lenses. Nowadays I also use it on a Sony NEX-6 (with adapter) and even on this small body, it is well balanced and does not feel lumpy, even when carrying it around the entire day. The picture quality is brilliantly sharp, which really shows if you shoot in black&white. When shooting in colour it really pops and this works especially well for nature photography. If you are into taking close-ups, you'll love the 35mm f/2, as it can get 30cm close to the subject. It's not macro, but when a lens is this sharp, this is a great feature! Overall this is my favourite FD lens and I will be using it for a long time to come. If you can find it cheap, I highly recommend getting it! Here's a simple sample of a close up, fully opened at f/2: https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7373/16484398391_6a9dce5f7d_k.jpg
I took this lens (1966) for my Panasonic G6 for making videos. I took it for one reason only: the price (30 Euros). Not being equipped with anti reflective coating, and being very old I did not expect a quality as is this lens is able to give. Really do not understand why Canon has stopped making lenses so beautiful. Well-made construction.
I got this for my Panasonic zoom G6 (MFT) for use with SpeedBooster. In my case it's like having a 50-150mm f2.8 about to, both as optical fantastic build quality, both as image quality. In the video is fantastic. A bit too heavy. I noticed that the lens hood is insufficient for this lens, suffers a lot of flares. Many say that quality is lower as compared to his brother "minor" F3.5-4.5, but the beauty of having a video in f3.5 (f2.8 with SpeedBooster) constant, in my opinion is better. Very useful the macro function.
I got this lens for my Panasonic G6 (MFT). With Speedbooster I become like a 40mm f2.0 lens, the image quality good, nice lens, perhaps not very bright.
I took this lens for about 30 euro for my Panasonic MFT G6. In my case it becomes a 100mm f1.8 about to and I must say that the quality is excellent. The only use for video but it really is a fantastic lens. With SpeedBooster is like having a 72mm f1.2 to about !!!!
The sharpness is ok...The handling is very good!Use not in full sunlight than you have good results...rni think a good lens for a digital sensor which master very high iso
exellent Fisheye, with verygood sharpness overall.
Best microlens from Canon!Uncredible sharp!
very good microlens, almost good as the photars or the luminars.Best handling of all microlenses!
This lens has stunning optical performance. I use it on a Sony A7 and it is sharp and contrasty across the frame at all apertures and all focal lengths. Colours are great. It is better than my EF 17-40 f4 L and 24-105 f4 L. It is an old push/pull zoom with the zoom ring also doing the focussing. I don't mind it but some may.
This lens is the latest member in my FD collection alongside with canon 35 f2 SSC and 85 1.2 FDL.rnIt is not razor sharp wide open compared to the FDL version, however, richer in details. The color is slightly muted and leaned to the warm side. rnBokeh is very smooth even for close background. It can easily turn fuzzy distractions, even at 30 cm range into a creamy wall. rnSkin tone is nice, a lil bit yellower compared to the FDL. rnI take back 0.5 for the lack of hood. Canon designed it this way, I guess they were confident that this lens is Flare Free LoLrn
This lens is a must-have on vacation and other situations, where you just don't like to carry (or can not carry) two or more lenses with you. Therefore, this lens is always on my A-1, and any other lenses I leave at home unless I know for sure that I need them. rnrnAs a previous reviewer already wrote: this lens is life time limited, and mine has exceeded it's time, unfortunately. While the outer focus-ring is still accurate, I can vary focussing by moving the focus ring in an axial movement, but once I got used to that, the lens is still useable, though unrepairable. Nonetheless, this issue means only 7/10 regarding build quality. rnrnBefore the zoom-group went loose, I was able to maintain focus while zooming and vice versa. With a slide-zoom, any shot needs to be refocused and rezoomed, since lowering the camera hat influence on the lens due to its weight. The unbeatable advantage of a slider is swiftness, so look at the glass half full or empty, as you wish. rnrnThis lens comes with a protective cap that is down right useless. It will come off, as soon as you look at it. Fortunately, the "barrel" is deep enough to protect the outmost lense, even when that cap is off.rnrnImage quality is equivalent to prime lenses, though f/4 is quite dark and can be anoying at dawn or in the night. Then I rather take a 50/1.4 with me. But, as wise Mick Jagger said: "You can't always get what you want, but if you try, sometimes, you get what you need", and that's the thing with this lense: Not everything one may want, but everything one may need.
This lens is SHARP!....Sharpest ever in the FD line-up I have used wide open at f4.The Good Thing is it is also Sharp at infinity even after being a macro lens.The sharpness Falls down after f11.f16 is good enough but anything higher is not good due to defraction.This lens also requires the FD50 extension tube for 1:1 macro.The aperture ring is SPRINGY....I don't know how to define it but maybe it's just my copy.This lens can also be used for portraits if you want which may require you to soften things up in post as the lens is Sharp and will show you the Skin pores if kept in focus well.... :D ...rnrnThe Extension tube can be very hard to find.Plus the length of the lens with extension and at 1:1 focus distance is more than 10 inches.....something to keep in mind....This lens does not have a tripod mount which it requires badly due to that length as it makes the camera unbalanced when on tripod.
Excellent manual wide angle lens. Gives very detailed images. rnFlare can be a problem. Distortion and CA can be corrected in software. rnParticularly useful for landscape shooters.
This is an excellent lens. I used with Sony A7. My lens is a SSC old version. I used in a Nex 7 and AE1 P. I like it a lot and I am using since the 80s. Distortion, lens flare, CA are common for this focal lengh. I have samples in my Flickr/fjordan I will create an album for you for this lens.
This is a phenomenally good lens! Arguably, it's the sharpest lens in the FD series. If "10" is as good as it gets, this lens deserves 11. It should be used on a tripod, though press photographers have pretty good luck with a monopod. Image quality is just sumptuous, even with 1.4x and 2x teleconverters (for 420mm f/4 and 600mm f/5.6 conversions). FD lenses are not easily adapted to EF series cameras, but it will work with the Canon EOS "M" mirrorless digital rig, which has an APS-C size 18 MP sensor. With the M body, you get a lens equivalent to 480mm f/2.8 and razor sharp images.
I use this to shoot film, but find it works very well with the EOS-M, a mirrorless digital rig that has an APS-C size sensor. This is quite a lens optically speaking, better than it's big brother the 100-300mm f/5.6L, though the longer zoom is a nice sports lens. This is a very light lens, enabling artists to work fast and the f/4 aperture is bright enough for most situations. rnrnAt eBay prices, it might be the best deal in photography!
This is an excellent lens. Some copies may have lens creep. I have several 16 x 20 Cibachrome prints made with this lens, hanging in my living room. Light construction and simple design make it easy to use--a steady hand or tripod helps at the 300mm end. Optics are superb for this lens and also the 80-200 f/4 little brother.
I was very surprised with this Zoom. I was able even to do several Rodeo photos that turned out great. The speed is slow but for this type of zoom is normal and with a Speed Booster it makes it more manageable. It can be shot handheld unless you need some GYM work.
Recommended!
As it does not have the same coatings as FD lenses, it gets a bit duller under bright sunlight but wow, I got this lens as a test on a local shop and was shocked on how sharp it is wide open. Payed $25 for it, including case and metal hood so it was a no brainer. Totally love it!
Super and useful lens. Best macro I have used. Got mine on ebay for $20 as part of a broken pentax camera and will never part with it. It is my favorite lens and it produces stunning photos. Too sharp for portraits. Some flare in sunlight. Love this lens.
I have tried a lot of legacy primes and some modern zooms. This lens tops them all except the Canon fd 100th f2. But is so useful. I use it for macro and even at 1:3 it is excellent. The colors are gorgeous and it is sharp at every focus and every aperture. I never believed a zoom could be this good and the lack of auto focus is more than made up in the image quality. A top canon lens for all time.
I have had this wonderful lens for a year and it is my favorite portrait lens. I use it on an Olympus OMD EM1 and it provides beautiful sharp portraits at f2 with wonderful bokeh and image separation. The colors are natural and micro contrast is excellent. No need to stop down for sharpness. Build quality is fantastic. A real gem.
This one makes very good n sharp pictures. Love the output. Sold it for 135mm 3.5 fd mark 2 because it was so not comfortable with my camera. Loved the pictures though. Recommend to anyone who wants to flex their muscles.
Awesome lens for nex5n! Has a unique signature being very creamy wide open! Awesome for artistic photography! I love this lens!
An amazing and cheap lens. Supersharp! Light! Works beautifully with nex5n. Perfect for travelling. Tried the 2.5 version but its sooooooo huge n heavy. I find that the more comfy the lens is the more ull use it and this lens gives a really high quality images! Recommended!
This is a good
Sample pictures:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.695682370472750.1073741890.352915654749425&type=1
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.683621838345470.1073741884.352915654749425&type=1
This one is my favourite. The match needle operation never gets in the way. No shutter locks, smooth and quiet shutter, bright viewfinder, well sized, durable and well weighted body, makes it an ideal companion that will serve you faithfully for many years.
Highly recommendes.
I love this one. When going out for some landscape photos this is the one to carry with you. For street candids it is even better. Focus at infinity and everything beyond 3-4 meters will be tack sharp.
The polycarbonate make is durable. Not quite as the older FD lenses, but providing you will not hammer any nails with it, it will serve you more than enough.
A great normal lens. You can find it dirty cheap. It is a great normal lens that nobody gets disappointed with. It adds quite a bit to your old heavy Canon camera, but the results are quite pleasing.
I owned this one back in the film days used extensively. Finest IQ of any lens I ever owned. Wish EdMika was around in 2000 would still have her today! oh,well. Best of the best!
The best supper wide L zoom made. A1 IQ and handling. never a problem!
great lens great operation great IQ! buy it its great
had this 30 yrs. ago 1st zoom YUK! horrible IQ what a dog!
I bought this lens new and used it for many years as my main lens for film photography. I recently tried this on a NEX APC camera and the results were still very good for a legacy lens.
By modern standards, the lens shows more than average reflections when shooting against light, but this is nicely controlled and can be used for artistic effect.
It is a great lens. I have it on my New Canon F-1, and it had replaced my 1.4 SSC for just two reasons, it is more compact and lighter than the SSC and I can see the aperture value in my viewfinder.
Many people state that it is of a lesser build quality than the SSC, but that is far from true. Polycarbonates are quite durable. It will take a lot of abuse without any complaints, but hit it hard and it is mostly possible that you will damage your camera along with it.
Two secrets for using that lens:
1. Use speeds of 1/250 or faster when handheld to really show off the sharpness of it.
2. In B&W photography, use an orange filter on it. It will make your photos ultra sharp. It must have to do somewhat with the chromatic aberrations of that lens that their color is being reflected by the orange filter and thus provide a sharper result.
Currently I have my SSC on my old F-1 and this on my New F-1.
Sample pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99033028@N04/sets/72157635015221034/
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.605091119531876.1073741873.352915654749425&type=3
Overall, I love this lens and it hardly ever parts from my AE-1P :)
It has lovely image quality and nice bokeh. However, if you want to use this lens in low light conditions I would recommend looking around for something different because the viewfinder can get pretty dark when shooting indoors.
The Vietnam War, whatever the nature of that conflict, proved to be one of the last great events covered by the still camera photojournalist. Given that our involvement in it lasted from JFK to Gerald Ford, there was plenty of opportunity for print coverage and pictures. However, the men who took those pictures were a new generation, inspired by such past greats as W. Eugene Smith, Alfred Eisenstadt, David Douglas Duncan and Henri Cartier-Bresson, men who even if they were living, were no longer as active as they were in WW II and Korea. Still, even the new generation, in many cases, used the same tools as their predecessors. Thus many a photojournalist would enter a combat zone armed with black and white film, the Leica rangefinder camera (several, in fact) and assorted lenses. The Leica M was used for its quick responses and rugged construction, while black and white (usually an ASA 400 type such as Tri-X) was a media standard. However, it was quite common for many a photojournalist to supplement their Leicas with an SLR with a longer than 135mm telephoto lens. Usually this was a Nikon F with a 180mm Nikkor. This changed in 1971 when some combat ready photographers used a Canon F-1 with a 200mm f4. Now this may seem like trivia, but for Canon it was the breakthrough they needed. After all why spend 5 years developing a professional system that no professional would ever use? No, that did not happen to Canon for several reasons. The Canon F-1 body, with its good ergonomics, its built in meter, and sheer ruggedness was one. But why the 200mm f4. Well, it did offer another 20mm of reach, though that was not a compelling reason. As for the "slow" aperture, that was common for many a 200mm lens of that time. Yet there was one other reason as to why the Leica users would choose Canon as a companion, and that is that Canon FD lenses focus in the Leica direction. This alone would have mattered to a hard pressed photographer who was trying to get a good in focus shot that might be printed in Time, Newsweek or Life. In short, the camera man didn't have to change directions to get the picture. As for optical quality, well, they wouldn't have used it if it was a clunker. Also, the 200mm f4 was hand-holdable, at least in daylight. So, it did the job, and helped Canon establish a reputation with the "pros." As for finding one today - well mine showed up under a Christmas tree, much to my surprise. However, like any lense parts will wear out, though the brass double helical which focuses the lens is more durable than some others because brass is a better bearing surface. Still, it's worth holding one just to make sure it's not too loose. Finally, it comes with it's own lens hood, so make sure yours will have one also. Now, I well realize Canon made other, more valuable ( and pricey) 200mm lenses; first the 200 f2.8 and eventually the 200mm f1.8. Yet if you have an F-1, you should have this lens as part of your collection. For without an F-1 with a 200mm f4 slung over a photographer's shoulder, all the other Canon lenses might never have existed. End of story.
It's hard for us to realize these days that there was a time when a wide angle lens was an optical marvel. The first were short focal length lenses that naturally gave a wide angle view. Of course the real trick is to produce such a lens with a minimum of aberrations, distortion, and still have color fidelity and flatness of field. No easy trick, thus for quit a long time 35mm was the practical limit for a wide angle lens. After WW II, and the coming of coated lenses, Zeiss astounded the optical world with the 21mm f4.5 Biogon, the first "ultra" wide angle lens. Made for the Contax IIa - IIIa rangefinder camera, this lens remained a bench mark for many years, and was available until recently for the Contax G series cameras. However, making true, short focal length wide angles was not a problem for the rangefinder camera because there was no mirror between the rear element of the lens and shutter. Things were different for the emerging single lens reflex camera. While the mirror was great for normal, telephoto, and close up photography, it was a barrier for the wide angle lenses of the time. So, what to do?
One solution was to get the mirror out of the way so you could mount a true wide angle on the camera and a finder on the accessory shoe. This was the real reason for mirror lockup. Canon did this with the 19mm f4.5. So did Nikon, especially with their extreme fisheye lenses. However, mounting a lens in such fashion negated the superior viewing offered by the SLR. So, there had to be a better way. Ultimately it was the Angenieux Company of Paris who developing the first retro-focus, or reverse telephoto wide angle lens. This solved the problem of the mirror, and while more complex to make than a true wide angle, virtually all SLR wide angle lenses use the retrofocus concept. This fact alone helped the SLR supersede the rangefinder camera as THE 35mm camera. However, most camera companies would offer 35mm and 28mm wide angles, and then leap frog to an extra wide lens such as Canon's 19mm. However, wide angle photography was becoming more common, and ultimately a solution was found for the gap. Thus, Canon introduced the 24mm f2.8 wide angle, the first 24mm wide angle in the industry. Now a photographer could work in a tight space, take a wide angle picture, yet not have to worry about the extremes of perspective and "distortion" presented by say, a 20 or 17mm lens. It quickly became a part of many a Canon professional's camera bag. Eventually this lens became a S.S.C. model, and was ultimately joined by a high speed version. Also, some advocated it as part of a 24-50-100-200mm group of lenses, with each lens of the series doubling in focal length. While that arrangement never quite worked for me, the 24 mm focal lengt is still a part of the Canon system either as as a zoom lens, or as a single focal length. It's a good, solid, useful lens both then and now. Enjoy.
perfect stuff
Back when the Canon FL lenses were top of the line, Canon advertized that in the family there were both "professional" lenses, and less expensive, slower, "amateur" lenses. They dropped this when the FD lens line came out, I suspect because whether you were a pro or an amateur you didn't want to admit that a given lens was somehow inferior to others.
Still, Canon did include an "economy" group of lenses along with professional optics because they wanted to sell something to every one. Thus our compact, f3.5 aperture 28mm wide angle. Now, f3.5 really isn't that slow, and it helps the designers make a quality optic since they don't have to worry about making something from large lens blanks. Also, 28mm was a popular focal length because it was a true wide angle, but not so wide angle that you would have to worry about distortions or aberations like you would with a wider wide angle lens. In short it was regarded as a general purpose wide angle. This was especially true back when John Hedgecoe and others were advising people to equip there SLR camera's with a 28mm wide angle, the 50mm normal, a 100 mm short telephoto and a telephoto zoom lens with a range between 70-210mm. Consequently, a lot of 28mm lenses were sold. I have one of these myself, which like the picture, has a chrome ring on the front. That makes it a certifiable original FD lens. Also, though there is no S.C. or S.S.C on the filter ring, this lens does have Canon's standard single layer coating. Still, perhaps because of manufacturing developments, Canon eventually replaced this lens with an f2.8 model. And when the New FD lenses were introduced, all standard model lenses were f2.8 models, zoom lenses excepting. As it is, a surviving FD 28mm f3.5 is a good lens for a collector, especially if it is a chrome ring model. Just keep it clean, and use it when you can and you will still get good pictures. ENjoy
2
Up to 1995 I had not owned a zoom lens of any kind, of any make, of any set of focal lengths. It wasn't because I was some single focal length purist. Rather it was, well, other things such as home, family, children, the mortgage - those kind of obligations which used my available funds. So, I used the collection of single focal length lenses had, which did a good job for me both then and now. Then in 1995 a friend gave me a Canon zoom lens he bought at a photo swap. It mounted on the camera, the aperture worked just fine, and it zoomed from 35-105 smoothly. However, it had a fungus on about a third of the front element, and the filter/lens hood ring was banged up. I got it fixed, and while they couldn't do anything for the filter ring, they did clean off the fungus, which resulted in much improved pictures. Though a "a new" style FD lens, I used it primarily on my Canon EF - where it balanced nicely. The high point with this lens was my son's cub scout trip to the Gettysburg Battlefield. The first day was a 3 mile route that took us to Culp's Hill and it's observation tower. I my all my equipment with me, which turned the walk up the tower into a veritable cardiac stress test. The next day which was a 9 mile route that took us to Eisenhower's home, Little Round top and across to Seminary Ridge where we followed the route of Pickett's charge to the clump of trees; well I didn't take all my stuff. Instead it was just my Canon EF with the repaired 35-105 f.3.5. The two of them together did every thing I needed. 35mm was fine for the scenery, while any focal length between 45 to 105mm was fine for portraits, small group shots and demonstrations. The pictures themselves were some of the best I had taken. Sadly, the lens along with my Canon AE-1 were stolen about the same time time I was going through a divorce. Insurance did pay for it, and eventually I collected new gear to replace the old outfit, and, the first new lens I got was, you guessed it a Canon FDn 35-105 f.3.5, which I still have to this day. This one was like new, and is still like new. And, one of these days I'm going to get out my A-1, with motor drive MA, put this lens on it,and take some more "walk around pictures." I bet they will come out just as well as the ones I took at Gettysburg those many years ago. End of story.
Sample Pictures: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=556450037729318&set=a.556448264396162.1073741841.352915654749425&type=1&theater
I've been in the network tv business for over 10 years and to be able to use these 30 year old lenses on my Sony FS100 or any of the DSLR cameras is amazing. The depth of field you can achieve will blow you away. You have to give up auto focus but that is a small price to pay. For an example you can check out this video.... the only lens used was the Canon FD 50mm lens.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXE3WF1Ff9I
More examples on our website: http://www.AtlantaVideo360.com
Thanks for letting me contribute,
Jim
I started out with a Canon FTb with a 50mm f1.8, an FD 35mm f3.5 and a Canon FD 135 f2.5. Of the three I like the normal the best (I still have it, in part because it's a chrome ring model). Second was the mild wide angle, which I liked, though I did with it was an f2.8 instead of a 3.5. The one I liked the least was the 135 f2.5, and this lens was supposed to have the best reputation of them all. I found it big, heavy and awkward to use, largely because I wanted to take portraits. A carry over in FD form from the previous FL model, it was a good solid sharp lens, that well I didn't like it much. So one day I asked a professor of mine who was also an amateur photography what I could do to get rid of it. "Give it to me," he said, when I explained what lens I really wanted. So, I did and soon there after he gave me a nearly new Canon FD 100mm f2.8. I gave him twenty-five dollars and I've had that lens until I gave it and several other lenses from my collection to my son. However, I still have another 100 f2.8 which I use with the EF I have, so I've never really done without one for over 40 years. Why have I kept it. Well, for one thing it isn't that much bigger than my 50mm. Secondly the f2.8 aperture is big enough to produce a good out of focus background to isolate the subject. Finally, it is sharp. Add it's sturdy build and good looks and that is more than enough for me. Over the years, I've used it for countless head to shoulders portraits. It was also my macro lens when I would use an extension tube to help it focus closer. What more can I say, small, but not too small, versatile and sharp, it's no wonder I've had an affection for this lens all these years. Good shooting to all.
The line I wrote for positive characteristics is from a description of the EF written by someone at KEH camera brokers. By and large that is true. However, the EF also has some interesting characteristics not found on other Canon models. The Copal Square shutter with its dual mechanical/electronic control has been noted. This was a first for Canon, since the Copal Square shutter had been around for a while, but not with dual controls. Another innovation was the "silicon blue" cell, center weighted meter. Most cameras used a cadmium disulphide cell, which was essentially a photo resistor. While sensitive, it could be very slow at low light levels. However, CDs meters were easy to engineer and the few components fit easily inside the confines of a camera body. Because a silicon cell generated its own electricity, a silicon meter required different and more complex circuitry. Also silicon cells are sensitive to the red end of the spectrum. This was corrected by a blue coating. Still, Canon went ahead with a silicon cell meter because there was and is no meter lag regardless of the light level. As for room for these innovations, well, that problem was solved by using the F-1 body, making the EF the only other Canon F series camera to use the pro body. However, despite these innovations, the Canon EF uses an already old technology, one found on many a shutter priority cameras of the time. In short, the Canon EF is a highly refined "trap needle" camera. The trap needle mechanism was used by most auto exposure cameras since it uses the position of the camera meter needle to set the aperture of the lens by pressing the needle against a multi step "anvil." This limited the opening of the aperture of the lens. So, if you ever wondered why the A on the aperture ring of an FD lens is beyond the minimum aperture, that's why. Now if you have wondered where the camera would get to he mechanical energy to do this, look no farther than the finger that fires the shutter. Auto exposure cameras back then typically had a shutter button with a lot of travel. Thus it was your finger which provided the power to set the exposure, stop down the aperture and fire the shutter. This is not true of the Canon EF. Its shutter release button requires no more energy than required on an F-1. So where does get the mechanical energy do all these things? The answer is your thumb. When you wind the film with the non ratcheted film advance lever, you are charging up a spring loaded mechanism inside the camera which does all the trap needling -aperture setting work for you. This refined trap needle system was likely the reason the Canon EF was not offered with a winder or motor drive. The back of an EF is removable, but nothing was ever offered for it. Most likely this was intended for a data back. which would provide a day, date and time function for the photographer. If there was a down side to all of this, it has to be with repair and maintanance. Every camera technician who has worked on it will tell you that internally, the EF was a complicated device. Given that it was designed before the IC or EPROM and featured dual controls, it could be a real problem to fix. Stil, I get the feeling that while the EF was not a commercial success, being a top seller was never its purpose. Indeed, one can regard it as a "test bed" of new concepts and technologies which would appear in later cameras. Though Canon went back to a cloth focal plane shutter in the A series, it adopted metal vertical focal plane shutters with the T series and onward. Silicon cell in-camera meters became the norm for everyone after the EF. The one thing that many people regarded as odd was shutter priority. Starting with the EF, Canon stuck with shutter priority even though it's competitor's were producing a sea of aperture priority cameras (Minolta XE-7, Nikkormat EF and others). However, Canon had their reasons. One was that shutter priority often gave the amatuer photographer a greater number of usable prints. The other reason was realized with the Canon A-1, the first camera offered with program exposure. No SLR camera today is found without it. That is when we realized that it was a lot easier to engineer a program exposure camera using shutter priority than the other way around. Granted, the EF didn't have program exposure, but it did provide a technological basis for it which was applied to succeeding cameras. As for the trap needle system, it was replaced by "computer" chip control, a method which also allowed for motorized cameras such as the A series, T series, and every Canon SLR ever since.
I have owned and operated several Canon F series cameras over the years. My first "good" camera was and is my Canon FTb. I owned an F-1 which I gave to my son. My current heavy duty Canon is my EF, which I retained for my own use. I still have my FTb, which could definitely use a CLA. However, of all the Canon F series camera I own, my favorite is the TX.
Why? You ask. The TX, as we know, is a stripped down economy model FTb, with a shutter that goes to 1/500 of a second, no self timer, though it does have a depth of field preview lever, no meter switch, and for flash, a PC socket and a standard hot shoe, both for X sync only. Oh yes, no mirror lockup either. One important difference is that the TX uses center weighted TTL metering, not the semi-spot metering of the F-1 and FTb. So why do I like this camera so much?
Well, for starters, it has that same sturdy F series body that was introduced with the Canon FX/FP cameras of 1964. This means it feels the same as the Canon FTb's I've used over the years. Secondly, with a few exceptions it takes all Canon FL and FD lenses, from fisheye to super telephoto. Thus it makes a good companion camera to a FTb or even an F-1. As for the deficiencies, well, they are not as deficient as one might think. for example the 1/1000 shutter speed. Popular Photography tested an FTb when they were introduced and found that the 1/1000 sec. shutter speed tested out at about 1/750, about 1/2 stop slower than specified. So the 1/500th speed of the TX looks good in comparison. Also in very truth, accurate higher shutter speeds such as we have now are the result of motorized cameras, vertical traveling shutters and electronic control, none of which existed when the TX was made. As for the lack of a mirror lockup,nearly all wide angle lenses were retrofocus designs, which meant all Canon wide angles would fit on the TX. As for reducing vibrations with mirror lock up, research has shown that a camera mirror causes the most vibration as it comes back down, after the shutter has fired and exposed the film. As X sync only, by 1975 flash bulbs were on their way out as they were being replaced by variable exposure electronic flash units. All one had to do was set the shutter speed to 1/60th, set the lens aperture according to the scale on the flash unit, and fire away. Regular daylight and available light exposure was the same ring and needle match up as the FTb or F-1. However, the TX used center weighted metering, which gave priority to the center of the frame. This was compromise between
semi-spot metering, and full averaging metering with his problems with back lighting. It also means that the TX could use a standard linear polarizer, which was much cheaper in 1975. As for being a disadvantage, center weighted metering is now the standard, used even by cameras that have several metering patterns. So, then is the TX perfect.
Well, I do wish it had a meter switch. The intention was that you could shut off your meter with a lens cap on your lens. After all, CDS cells are essentially photoresistors, and the lower the light level the more resistance they give. Also, the TX used 1.35v mercury cells, which had a long life, even under load. Still, a switch is a switch, and assuming no defects, when the switch is off there is no current flowing from the battery. This would be helpful in these mercury less battery times.
Still, a discussion of the features of the TX doesn't quite explain why I'm so enchanted with mine. After all, this was a camera which, like the Pentax K-1000, was used for beginning photography classes in high school or college. However, mine is a good clean example, though it does have a few shallow dings on the base plate as well as the usual residue around the wind lever and shutter speed dial, which can be removed with lens cleaner. Still, it's due for a CLA, which I hope will happen soon. But, is this enough merit a special place among all my cameras?
My guess is that it's the sheer simplicity of the camera. In short, the TX is nothing more or nothing less than what it is. However, it's still a pleasure to use and I have taken many a family picture with it over the years. Finally, for some unexplained reason, this camera triggers a fantasy factor. In this case , it's the summer of 1976, and I'm hitch hiking through Europe with nothing more than what's in my back pack. Occasionally I get a ride, and for sleep I usually stay a youth hostel. And around my neck is my Canon TX with a Canon FD 50mm 1.8. In my backpack are several rolls of Kodachrome 64, a small electronic flash, and a Canon FD 28 2.8, a Canon FD 100mm f2.8 a. That's it, because what I wanted was scenics, portraits, and with 100mm and the extension tube, some close focusing details. Rather than lug the Kodachrome back home in my backpack, I bought prepaid mailers so I could send each roll back to the US and then to PO Box near my home. Finally, since all the lenses have the same filter size, I would also take a 55mm polarizer. I never took that trip, but given the amount of fantasy factor involved in photograph, I'm sure lots of people may have, or wish they had taken the same trip. End of story.
For the collector, Canon TX's are common, but not too common. The king of all Canon F series cameras is the F-1, followed by the EF, and the FTb. The two bargain basement Canons were the TX and the TLb. The TLb differs from the TX only in that it lacks a hot shoe, and for my money, I would prefer the TX to round out a collection. One detail, the TX was never offered with a black body. Which means it would match your chrome FTb. As per usual, conditon is everything, so make sure you're getting one from a reputable dealer or private individual. Here again, oftentimes a CLA would help whatever problems it may have. Of course the best thing to do is get froms someone who can put it in your hands, that way, you'll have a much better idea of what you are getting. Enjoy.
The Canon FP was introduced in the same year as the FX, but though they shared many things, there was one clear difference between it and all other succeeding Canon cameras. Simply said, the Canon FP had no built in meter. Everything else the Canon FX had, it had, except that one singular feature. The Canon FP had a shutter from 1 second to 1/1000, interchangeable, variable aperture lenses, and other standard features such as a mirror lock up, and PC flash sockets for FP and X sync flashes. That made it a high quality, near professional camera in 1964. So what was the reasoning behind the left out exposure meter.
Simply said, in 1964 experienced professionals and amateurs would look down their noses at a camera with a built in meter. A built in meter was a sign of a neophyte, an inexperienced bumbler who did not know an f-stop from a g-string. Canon knew this, and since it too wanted to offer a "professional" camera, deleting a built in meter was an inexpensive way of doing making one. Did it help? No, for Canon eventually realized that it took a lot more than a meterless camera to attract the professional market. Consequently, you find very few Canon FP's on the market, even on eBay. That makes the Canon FP highly desireable collectors camera - if you can find one. Like any nearly 50 year old camera, it could use a good CLA. The one thing the camera repair man won't have to adjust is the meter.
Permit me to say something in general about Canon FL lenses, which were introduced with Canon FX/FP. Canon FL lenses start at 19mm and ended with a whopping 1200mm super telephoto. However, the majority of Canon FL lenses are within the 28 to 200mm range. I once saw a Canon add which said that Canon made two groups of lenses, Canon professional lenses which were fast and sharp, and Canon amateur lenses, which weren't quite as fast, but just as sharp. Thus you could by a Canon 200mm f2.5 or a 200mm f3.5. With exception of 85 f1.8 and the two 50mm normals, a pro lens was an f2.5 while the amateur model was an f3.5: approximately 1 stop difference between the two lenses. One other item is that the FL lens line stops at 28mm and leaps to a monster 19mm 4.5 wide angle. This lens existed in two forms, a pure wide angle, and a retrofocus model. The pure wide angle came first. While all Canon lenses used the chrome breech lock ring, the "pure" wide angle 19mm projected so far into the mirror chamber that you had to raise the mirror with the mirror lock up lever, then mount the lens. To see what the lens was seeing Canon provided a 19mm finder that was mounted on the accessory shoe. Focusing was done by scale, though the depth of field of the 19mm made guess focusing accurate enough. Eventually, however, Canon brought out a retrofocus version of the 19mm which didn't need the mirror lockup, and could be viewed and metered through the lens. Either lens is difficult to find, and a good on commands a good price. As for the super telephotos Canon made a rear focusing element, which also governed the aperture as well. This started at 300 mm. If you wanted something longer, you changed the front element, starting at 400mm and went all the way up to a 1200mm f.11! Finally, the FL series offered three zoom lenses, a rare thing in those days, when many a zoom lens was an after market item. As we know, Canon replaced the Canon FL lenses with Canon FD lenses in 1971. However, some of the FL optical formulas survived in the new lenses, such as the Canon 50mm f1.4 and 85 f1.8. Also the FL super telephotos remained for a while, since the original Canon FD lenses didn't go beyond 300mm. Also, the FL series includes the famed FL-F telephotos, which used crystal flourite lenses, the first in the industry.
If you a Canon FL lens, rest assured that you can mount it on most every Canon breech mount camera from the Canon FX all the way down to the T 90. However you will only be able to use it at shooting aperture. That is you have to stop down the lens with the self timer lever to measure the light coming though the lens. Assuming it is in good condition, you should get good sharp images. FL lenses have a more "machined" look, largely because the don't use rubberized focusing rings. Also, one of the two distinguishing features is that FL lenses have a chrome aperture ring in the front of the lens, while FD lenses have an aperture ring at the back of the lens, just before the breech lock ring. Finally, the single pin at the back of the lens is the aperture lever. FD lenses, as many know have more pins and bumps to connect to the meter and the camera. Basically, Canon FL lenses were meant for the original Canon F cameras, specifically the FX, FP, FT and Pellix, They can also be used as intended on the F-1, FTb, FX and TLB, and with care, the EF. A series cameras are another problem, with the possible exception of the AT-1. IMHO the loose their usefulness with the later breech lock Canons. Also FL lenses are single coated, which is fine with B&W but less so with color films, or digital. Still there are photographers who like the older lenses, and use them to achieve the image they want. If you're one of those, or a collector who wants to enlarge your collections, the Canon FP/FX cameras and the FL lenses would make a fine addition.
The Canon FX, along with it's companion, the Canon FP was introduced in 1964; an interesting time in the photographic world. First however, let's have a look at the photographic world in 1964. First, the Nikon F was well into its long reign as the "professionals" choice. However, few people used a Nikon F, that was reserved for pro photographers and well off people. Most people used Kodak film, and most people use Kodak cameras, especially the Kodak Instamatic, with its drop in square negative cartridge. Finally, most people were shooting color print film, specifically Kodacolor X. 35mm cameras and film were in a distinct minoriity, confined to professionals and the well off. If somebody did use a 35mm camera, it usually had a European pedigree. However, by 1964 Japan Inc. had stolen the lead from the Germans. Granted there were German cameras, notably Leica and Zeiss, but the Leica rangefinder was gradually becoming a niche product, while Zeiss was slowing going out of business in cameras.
So where does that leave the Canon FX? Well, the FX/FP twins introduced a sturdy, well made camera body that would serve Canon well for the next ten years. Secondly, the FX/FP line corrected the design flaws that sank the Canonflex models. Finally, the were accompanied by a new line of lenses, the Canon Lens FL series, which was last until 1971. Sharp and study, they would produce many good images in the hand of as skilled photographer. However, of the two, the FX was clearly designed for an amateur market. Why, because of the built in meter, which read the amount of light from an outside sensor on the rewind knob side of the camera (left being from the camera operators point of view). Even though it was built into the camera body, I remember that the operator had to read the meter scale, located in front of the rewind knob, thsuen transfer the setting to the camera lens. This was cumbersome, but about as good as any other metered camera you could by in 1964. After all, the idea was to market a camera that would help the struggling amateur to get more precise exposure, and more good prints or slides per roll. Finally, the Canon FX was sold not only in camera stores, but in select department stores as well. If you have one in reasonably good condition, given that the Canon FX was introduced almost 50 years ago, it will probably still take pictures, but it may also have the dreaded Canon shutter "gritch." Assuming no other problems a good CLA would likely restore it to working condition. However, be careful with the meter, which was designed for a 1.35 volt mercury cell. It may be possible to make adjustments so it use the A-625 1.5 volt alkaline cell. However, a good clean Canon FX, with a 50mm f1.8 lens, (which uses a hard to find 48mm filter) would be a good collector's camera. Still, if you have one in your drawer, closet or wherever, it would be a good idea to get a roll of 35mm and give your FX some exercise. Finally, though all film cameras except for Leicas and Rollei TLRs have lost a lot of value in the digital years, Canon F series cameras, especially the older models have increased in value largely because of the collector's market. Still, let the buyer beware especially if you get one from eBay. Better to pay more and get one from a reputable online camera seller. However, a Canon FX is not likely to bring as good a price as its partner. I'll explain the reason for that in a review for that camera Good shooting to all.
I'm new to DSLR shooting, but love the look of good bokeh. As I've found more about what good bokeh looks like, the less I liked this lens. Its still a solid lens with good IQ for cheap, but the bokeh is not increadibly smooth. For example if you are trying to isolate a flower on a tree or bush from all the branches in the background, the result can be somewhat busy and distracting. Will probably trade it in for the 1.4 version.
Packed with features and quality built, it offers all an amateur and an advanced amateur would ever need.
It has features encountered in pro cameras, all put in an easy to use camera with a durable body.
It may develop the famous "cough", but that would just mean it needs lubricating. It is not a fault.
Thousands of these were made so you can get one for almost nothing.
Very light due to use of plastic in construction of the lens.
Good buy if you are on a very tight budget.
Needs a filter to improve contrast and color.
The sharpest Canon FD lens i ever owned; perfect for birding photography. Best around f/8 due to shallow DOF. Useful built-in locking/rotating mechanism for horizontal/portrait photo. Built like a tank; very durable.Complete original kit: shade,case,filter holder,caps.
Best when used with tripod and remote shutter control.
Amazing results when used with digital EOS body via a no-glass adapter(no infinity).
had this lans for years and still use it in the digital age. I have it mounted on a Canon AT-1 and use it when on vacation. It offers good wide angle and short telephoto coverage in a single lens and Canon quality says it all.
Note this review is for the thorium-coated chrome-nose version that stops down to f/16.
Extremely sharp, fast, heavy lens. Good contrast. Moderately prone to flare. Usually needs to be treated under UV light to remove the yellow cast (and loss in light transmission) caused by a radioactive coating. Versatile lens in that it's wide enough for some indoor use, fast enough for handheld night use, low-DOF enough for portraits, and sharp enough for landscape. Wide but not too wide - and fast.
If you know you are only going to use a 35mm for high-DOF, then consider the 35mm f/3.5. It is much cheaper and lighter. If handheld indoor photography or portraits are something you do, then you'll find this f/2.0 lens much more versatile.
Optical Test (using tripod, infinity focus):
Note: the following test was done on an APS-C sensor so corners are not considered.
At f/2.0: A little chromatic abberation. Good sharpness.
At f/2.8: Very good sharpness, at f/2.8 it's matching the 35mm f/3.5 at f/5.6. CA is completely gone.
At f/4.0: Extreme sharpness. No need to stop it down further unless more DOF is required. Equally sharp as the 50mm f/1.4 when both are at f/4.0. A bit sharper than the 35mm f/3.5 ever gets, and better contrast, too.
This is an extremely light weight lens, definitely one of the lightest I've come across. Optical quality is good at f/5.6 and above. It actually holds its own against the thorium coated 35mm f/2.0, which I also tested. It is just slightly less sharp - just barely perceptible. The downside vs. that lens is that it is slower and harder to focus in low light. The upside is that it's tiny and almost too light to feel on your camera. It also flares less than the f/2.0.
Overall, this lens performs great if you stop it down slightly. Definitely worth looking at as an alternative to the 35mm f/2.0 if weight is an issue and big aperture is not.
Optical Test (using tripod, infinity focus):
Note: the following test was done on an APS-C sensor so corners are not considered.
At f/3.5: Chromatic abberation and less sharp.
At f/5.6 and above: Quite good sharpness, CA almost completely gone. Does not further sharpen past f/5.6 (at least in center).
I bought this great lens for just under $200 on eBay, which I found to be a great deal.
Granted, at first, I had only a cheap FD adapter with (image-destroying) glass for my 7D; I now have a temporary remedy (for IQ-sake), a cheap adapter without glass. Until, of course, Ed Mika finishes development on the mount conversion.
Having said that, the lens performs well in all areas, just stop it down to kill the CA.
Perfect with edmika on the Canon 5D MK II, colours and contrast can be correctet in Lightroom, very recomanded (sorry for my bad english) but also hard to focus on DSLR!
Sample pictures using Sony NEX 5:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.441038345937155.102419.352915654749425&type=3
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.501662646541391.117457.352915654749425&type=3
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.364274183613572.87272.352915654749425&type=3
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.356072244433766.85540.352915654749425&type=3
Sample pictures using SONY NEX 5:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.417671128273877.97054.352915654749425&type=3
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.417671128273877.97054.352915654749425&type=3
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.417205401653783.96993.352915654749425&type=3
Sample pictures:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.158817450938031.36105.158815954271514&type=3
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.507901272584195.118496.352915654749425&type=3
Sample pictures using SONY NEX 5N:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.508594432514879.118646.352915654749425&type=3
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.509153059125683.118744.352915654749425&type=3
Sample pictures using SONY NEX 5N, hand held:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=531762416864747&set=a.531761000198222.121694.352915654749425&type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.526684754039180.120864.352915654749425&type=3
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.526727197368269.120880.352915654749425&type=3
Sample pictures using Sony NEX 5N:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.538594369514885.1073741828.352915654749425&type=1
You will love this one! It is fast and the fastest that many can afford next to 1.2. It looks cool with that red lettering on its face and it produces results of high resolution, high contrast and great sharpness.
My only complain (not really) is that I cannot have readout of the aperture value being used on my F-1N (not that I cannot live without it).
A great lens. Great optics, great results, but in a heavy weight body. No matter, I still consider its heavy build of a great quality.
Note that:
1. It has a 55mm filter diam as stated.
2. In cameras like Canon F-1N you will not be able to see the aperture value in your viewfinder (you need the FDn for that).
Plastic look, but solidly build this lens offers quite a bit for its price. It may be a bit soft when used wide open, and you may get a bit of flares, but it produces sharp and contrasty results.
Just because it has plastic parts it does not mean that it lacks quality.
I recently purchased this lens on ebay to use it with my Fuji X-Pro1. So far I'm very much surprised how good this old lens is. If you are looking vor an 35mm equivalent for a Fuji X camera, go for the f/2 canon. It is great!
Some test shots on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexanderkurz/
First i want to tell you the easiest way to distinguishe this model from the newer version:
The film rewind crank on the new version has a plastic tip for better ergonomics , the metering lever on the new version is made of plastic instead of metal an canon added a shutterspead window to the viewfinder. With those details given, it's easy to tell which one is which.
The FTb QL offers a very precise exposure metering system which works with open aperture metering (FD and FDn). The exposure-needle has to match the ring on top of the aperture needle.
To get the right exposure for FL lenses, you have to use stop down metering (Push the metering lever towards the lens and lock it by ringing the little lever beneath it to "L". the aperture needle in the viewfinder disappears and the metering needle has to match the nozzle).
A problem you might have with the camera is to find a batery for the TTL. The original batteries contain lead (PB) so they are banned. instead you can use 1,4v zinc-air hearing aid bateries (ZA675PR44) with a mecanical adapter (some sort of rubber around them-they have a smaller diameter).
The best feature of the camera is the quickload system: you just lay the film in, pull it over the film rewind wheel and close the door. the flap attached tho the door will press he film on to the teeth. it takes about 2 seconds from the empty camera fo be ready to shoot.
if the shutter doesn work, there are two easy ways to find out what it is and ow to fix it:
-the window with the picture-counter dislocated---unscrew the top and place it where it belongs
-the mecanism is blocked---unscrew the bottom, hen wathch this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PAV40hCl6A) then push evry thing you can see moving in the video :D
Im sorry for my lousy english :/
If there ever was any doubt that Canon was engineering a true camera SYSTEM when they designed the F-1 and its accessories, one need only look at their motorized and automated, unmanned photography layout to be completely convinced otherwise. The center of this system is a Canon F-1 with the Motor Drive MF. To the F-1 yo can attach the Booster T or Servo EE finder and you can power the latter via a special cord. You can also attach the Film chamber 250 (although you have to separate the Grip MF and use a connecting cord MF). To the Motor Drive MF, you can attach the Interval timer L (and later the Interval Timer TM-1 Quartz) for timed photography. For shooting at a distance, you can use the Remote Switch 60MD, and the extension cords, or you can use the Wireless Controller LC-1. You can also attach just about any D, A, or G series flash, including the 533G & 577G , and you can fit almost all of these together! There is a limit of one item plugged into the Motor Drive' remote control socket, but the possibilities are breathtaking, and the fact that many of these items were manufactured and introduced over a more then 12 year span makes it truly amazing. The MF does have its faults. It's heavy, though not for its time. It's also slower than most at 3.5FPS, but it's comparable to other MDs of its time, and considerably more flexible. And there is no vertical hold shutter release, as in on other later motor drives and winders, but this is one very flexible motor drive system. I have several including a couple new in the box (both the original blue & white and the later red & gold boxes), and i use them.
Ratings are based on what was out there during its time (1971-74). This was the original Motor Drive for the F-1, it is often referred to incorrectly as the Motor Drive MD, probably because everything that went with it had MD at the end of its name, i.e. Battery Checker MD, Remote Switch MD, etc. I have 2 of these, one is used - lightly, and the other is essentially new in the box with everything including the hard to find Battery Case D!. This was Canon's first attempt at a motor drive and it while it appealed to the scientific user, with its built in intervalometer, it was not compact even for its time, and in its original rendition, the battery case was a separate corded affair, not all that useful for action / sports photography. The speed at 3FPS was not that great either. The Battery Case D came out shortly after and allowed the power source to be directly attached, but it didn't help the overall bulkiness of the whole affair. On the plus side, it was very rugged, and flexible. Further, it could mount to ANY F-1, you didn't have to send the body for custom modifications like nikon F users had to if they wanted to use the almost equally bulky original motor drive for that camera. The external battery case could also supply power to the Booster T or Servo EE Finder this saving a small amount of bulk, however, the arrival of the Motor Drive MF relegated the Motor Drive Unit to the scientific community and those who really liked to load themselves up with gear!
some additions/corrections to the information of this lens:
Filter size: 62mm
No. of Diaphragm Blades: 9
Weight: 860g
Closest Focusing Distance: 0.8m at 210mm, 1.6m at 70mm
14 elements in 10 groups
Minimum Aperture: f/2.8 at 70mm - f/4.0 at 210mm
Really excellent portrait lens, often overlooked because of the 85mm f1.2, which is very fast, but not really actually better in any other way in my view. Maybe the f1.2 L is sharper at f2 - that would be my expectation. This offers significantly better bang for buck though and at this focal length, anything faster than f2.8 is plenty fast enough with plenty sufficient short dof possibilities for even the most demanding environments.
Image quality is very good for a zoom. I like the colors it renders.
Build quality is nice, but the lettering is prone to fading away (this is not a problem with the smaller FDn lenses as their lettering is etched/engraved).
It's hard to handle with a small camera like my NEX 5n. Because of it's weight/size I have to balance by holding the lens and when rotating the zoom or focus ring I accidentally rotate the other ring.
Superb all round lens for 35mm camera's, but not so practical for small (system) camera's.
Used it on NEX7, As good as any Leica lens (I have one R and three M-mount in this range) but none of them have f1.2. I use the Leica 90mm f2.8 for travelling because it is super small. But this Canon is much more powerful especially when it's cloudy. Otherwise, use a polorizer to keep it wide open.
Extremly reasonable price and available anywhere.
A while ago I bought a Tokina 24mm f2.8 FD mount, but I was not happy with it: bad contrast, bright spots smeared out, lack of sharpness, cold colors.
I recently bought the FDn 24mm and the difference is huge compared to the Tokina, in a positive way.
I use it with my NEX 5N so it's actually a 36mm lens. The color, warmth and contrast is comparable with my Canon FDn 28mm and 35mm lenses, rather nice.
It's a little heavy compared to the standard NEX lenses, but not too heavy.
Build quality is very good as most older lenses.
I'm using this lens on NEX 5N with an OM adapter. This lens is very well built, though heavy and big. It's a one touch varifocal zoom, meaning the focusing changes when you zoom. Some people hate it, I love it. One of the advantages of varifocal lens, it can focus from a distance of couple inches. I like smooth and precise focus/zoom ring.
Unfortunately, this lens is noticeably softer and has less contrast wide open than my other manual zooms in this range (I'm comparing to Minolta 35-70/3.5 and Canon 35-105/3.5). It also has softer corners. It gets better at F/5.6-8, but never catches up with the other. The bottom line - a very convenient lens, but the image quality is just average.
Used this lens on NEX 5N camera. It's a very sharp lens with low distortions, very useable at F2.0, though the difference between 2.8 and 2.0 is quite noticeable -- it loses contrast and resolution and more prone to flare with some CA when fully open. At 2.8 this lens is already perfect. Good and even resolution the corners. This lens is noticeably better than FD 24/2.8 or FD 28/2.8 at every F stop.
Used this lens on NEX 5N camera, this is a one perfect 100mm. It has very good resolution and contrast right from the start @2.8, no noticeable distortions or abberations, no color casts. Very good for portrait work. The lens is also light and small. Highly recommended.
I used this lens on Sony NEX 5N via an adapter. The lens is very good in 100-200mm range, good resolution and contrast, very low CA, very smooth focus/zoom ring. Unfortunately, at 300mm this lens loses sharpness significantly, you may as well take picture at 200mm and crop it 1.5x and get similar results.
This is possibly the best wide angle FD lens I own (among 17/4, 20/2.8, 24/2.8, 35/2.0, 35/2.8). It has beautiful IQ, colours, barely any CA. This is the only FD wide angle lens besides my 24/2.8 which performs awsome even when wide open.
This lens is made for film cameras, but it performs great also on the m4/3 bodies. I didn't try it on the NEX. This was state-of-art optics in its time, compared to such lenses of 2012 its overall performance still reachs nearly 90%, what is quite impressive.
I really like this lens, though it was more impressive to use it on the Canon AE-1 than on the modern digital bodies with smaller sensors.
Its old coating renders on digital cameras of our time (m4/3, NEX) just a bit weaker colours than many modern lenses- although for my eyes it feels quite natural.
Its biggest problem issues are flare and ghosts which get easily produced even under quite common light conditions. The image contrast suffers then as well. Using of the proper lens hood (considering camera's crop factor) can improve the IQ very much.
All else I can say about this lens that I otherwise just love it and I can recommend its use.
I'm using this zoom on Sony NEX 5N camera, it works very well. In my measurements this zoom surpassed 60 l/mm already fully open, and it has a very good contrast, it's as good as the best FD primes in this range. Mechanically the lens is very well built, with smooth rings, and due to good contrast, it's easy to focus. Be careful using protective filters on this lens, they may noticeably reduce its resolution and contrast.
The worst thing about this length is the minimal focusing distance of just 1.5m. The macro mode allows to shoot from ~0.3 m and there is nothing in between.
This lens belongs in my opinion to the very best Canon lenses ever made. Even wide open this lens beats the performance of many fast, expensive lenses when stopped down. At f/8 there is no more IQ one could wish. My example has no weaknesses at all, it is just joy using it. Tack sharp, crispy shots combined with high contrasts and vivid colours (its green is stunning). If I was constructing it, I would just give its diaphragm 9 blades instead of 6. One buys today this lens for almost nothing and it beats the performance of most "L" Canon lenses. Its barell is done by solid plastics, but it lasts perfectly for over 30 years and compared with cheaply done EF lenses of today, it just looks solid like tank.
Wonderful old piece of glass, all-metal barell so very solid. This lens is well-known for its IQ and sharpness on the film cameras like AE-1 (24 x 36 mm) but its coating is in my opinion not so superior for modern digital cameras. There are also meanwhile many other 35mm lenses which are significantly sharper than this one and also with better contrasts. Yet, this lens works still very well on NEX or micro four thirds system cameras. Slightly radioactive thorium glass tends to get yellow layer within the years, but it is easy to bleach it exposing it to UV-rays for at least several days. No big deal, let your lens to catch some sun in the beautifull winter days, exposing it straight as possible. Protect all black parts of the barell by aluminium foil so it doesn't get warm! (diaphragm oil) Longer one does it, yellow layer disappears better.
A well constructed lens and possibly reasonable in it's day. Image quality is let down by very poor contrast which requires significant work in photo editing software to get any where near usable. Not the sharpest either. After stripping mine down to investigate further I've found one of the inner reflectors to be misty, which could explain the poor contrast. Not sure if this a common issue. I'll see if it is possible to clear this misting and if so post a further review.
Possible the sharpest lens I own at both macro and telephoto end. Built like a brick with smooth focusing. The only negative is with very contrasty macro images some sensor reflection can be seen in the high's. Review based with the Sony Nex5n.
Really a very nice 35mm. Perfectly usable at f/2 with good bokeh that can be a little nervous (similar to my SMC Takumar 35mm f/2), but are usually quite smooth. Sharpness is very good to the edges on APS-C. Colors seem pleasant too. Like many FD/FDn lenses, contrast is fairly high, and that really helps IQ of this lens.
Physically, it's the usual FDn story. The lens body is obviously plastic, but that makes it lightweight and it's also pretty small. Balances well on a NEX-7, where the adapter makes this lens behave like a preset.
This is one of the sharpest FD lenses I've encountered in the FD range. I'm finding image quality to be on par with my FDn50mm f1.4, and at least good as the latest EF version of this lens which I owned previously.
Using it currently with the Sony Nex 5n as a short throw portrait lens.
As is common with such lenses, IQ drops visibly approaching 300mm, but is quite good overall. Sharpness is very good, with pixel-level detail on my 24MP APS-C NEX-7 even wide open, although contrast isn't great and PF and glow show around 300mm. Color is both very good and consistent across focal lengths and apertures. The relative lack of CA is impressive, but the harder-to-correct PF largely removes that advantage. In summary, what this lens gains in sharpness and color are largely lost by the PF around 300mm, but if you can avoid NIR-heavy bright lighting....
This lens is 8" long and still perfectly smooth and free of play, which is very impressive, but lack of a tripod collar brings it down to 8.5 build. Length doesn't change during zoom, but does during focus.
Excellent lens. Mine has a big scratch on the rear element and it's still very sharp wide open. Beautiful bokeh too.
What I love about this lens is that it's the size of a normal lens, but gives you twice the reach. It doesn't make your camera look intimidating, and you can do street photography without having to get super close, and without being noticed.
It's probably not the lens you'd reach for for artificial lighting. You would probably want a 50mm f/1.4 for that, for the extra speed. And it's not something you'd use indoors, unless the room is very large. But most of my shooting does not fall into those categories, and this is one of my favorites.
My ideal cheap/compact 3 lens FD kit is a 24mm f/2.8, a 50mm f/1.4 and this lens.
This is the Komine made version of the Series 1 70-210 and many think it is the best of the bunch. I can attest that mine is truly excellent. Sharpness is on par with some of my EF L lenses. Only optical drawbacks are some fringing wide open and it is not as contrary wide open as it could be.
This is a good lens for when you want a bit of reach but don't want to put something long on your camera. It looks like a large normal lens, it's quite short. I find this focal length a bit awkward compared to 135mm, which I'm more comfortable with. Maybe it's just me though.
This lens is decent. Image quality seems to be not quite as good as my other 200mm zoom lens, and this is a prime. Still pretty good though. What it has going for it is extreme compactness, and light weight, while still letting in a relatively large amount of light. It's just not quite up to the image quality standards of some of the other FD lenses.
In addition, my model seems to lose infinity focus slightly if I tilt the camera down then back up, even without touching the lens. This is a bit annoying. Not sure if they all do this, it might just be a mechanical problem with mine.
Excellent lens with beautiful rendering and incredibly useful control over shallow depth of field. Reasonably sharp wide open, and completely usable (just a touch of softness, less softness than most 50mms wide open), sharpens further at f/4, no reason to stop it down further unless you want more depth of field. Useful built in lens hood.
I find this focal length to be very close to what my eye sees, so framing up shots is very natural-feeling with this lens. Has a long reach but not too long, and can be used in lower light.
One of my favorite lenses, out of about 20 I've tried. Probably the best inexpensive FD lens.
It does have 55mm filter, or at least mine does
A great wide angle lens that is sharp across its aperture range, with excellent color quality and contrast. The lens is sturdy with very smooth focus. The only downside really is that the front element is rather bulbous and protruding, making it vulnerable to lens flare. So a lens hood is a must for shooting into the sun.
This is an exceptional lens, and beats out the nFD 1.4 and the 1.4 USM due to its use of oversize optics. The lens is sharp even wide open, and stays decently sharp into the corners (something usually only seen in much more expensive lenses). Vignetting is minimal and it practically free of chromatic aberration. An 8 blade aperture delivers excellent bokeh up to around f/5.6. Almost nothing bad I can say about this lens, other than the focusing it at wider apertures can take a bit to learn, especially when coming from an autofocus system.
This is the camera to get if you want to make extremely high quality videos. Digital film is really what we're talking about. This camera has been hacked by the geniuses at personal-view.com and the quality when hacked is beyond amazing. Very well tuned settings have taken the stock bit rates (17 mega bits per second) as high as 170 mega bits per second, depending on the hack. There are conservative hacks, and extreme hacks. The bottom like is that this camera is no being used by pros around the world. If you'd like to see some of my personal videos taken with the hacked GH2 here is my vimeo https://vimeo.com/user5236865/videos
For under 1K there is no better option for video.
Like Sigourney Weaver in 1986's "Aliens" - the T90 is tall, sexy, super tough and can empty a whole mag in 9 seconds - not to mention being intelligent AND caring. Yes, the T90 is still an enormously enjoyable "bitch" of a camera - but you have to love her to keep her fighting - she's no spring chicken now...
THE GOOD:
+ Spot metering so accurate and pleasurable to use you can "paint" the exposure of your scene as if it were a histogram. Get those shadowy areas or highlights exactly as you want them.
+A body that looks and feels like it was forged in the fires of Mount Doom - smooth and muscular (only 1D Canons compare - even a 5D feels like a toy compared to a T90).
+ Not just spot but MULTI-spot metering.
Body handles well with all lenses - old and new - long and short.
+ Viewfinder and LCD can be lit in darkness.
4000th/sec shutter.
+ Safety Shift - awesome feature - your aperture or shutter priority preference will be automatically shifted to within the camera's range for a given lighting situation. 4000th/sec will go to 1000th/sec if your aperture can't open enough.
+ Kick ass flash options.
+ Variable Program AE - Program mode but you can favour shutter or aperture to different degrees.
+ Takes old FD lenses whose optical quality is often way better than later FDn or EF lenses.
THE BAD:
- Practically too many paths to take a picture - you can often stop to think "now how shall I....?"
- Potentially sticky shutter (washer can melt or magnets closed for too long)
- Needs regular exercise to keep it going (not necessarily a bad thing)
- Base can warp if don't loosen it from a tripod before changing batteries.
- Control dial can get dusty and unresponsive - just blow into it regularly.
- No exposure lock on centre-weighted metering mode (why?).
- No correct exposure information when using manual non-stopped down mode (yet there is on stopped down mode - why?)
- Heavy complex internals - even without the 4 batteries - how often do you need 4.5fps?
- Yes, a loud gun-like shutter, those sleeping beasts are always startled.
- Some UI confusions, live and pre-set spot metering indicators becoming confused (as they are the same colour).
FINAL WORD:
Think long and hard if you want to go into the FD world - the later 1D series and the EOS 3 are T90s but take all today's EF lenses as well as manual Zeiss's etc. But goddamn I love my T90!
Perhaps its just my copy - but at certain apertures it doesn't seem to do that great (tiny patches of CA). My girlfriend's old FD 50mm 1.4 has a richer bokeh, richer colours, richer contrast. My 50mm f1.2 L gives an incredibly even image across the frame at all distances - perfect for copying schematics(!) or something like that. But while a joy to use - the results just never seem exciting like you might expect if you've used an 85mm 1.2...
Good build, smooth focusing, looks fab on the outside, sharp results --- but not strikingly sharp. At 1.2 it is a tad soft of course - if say an eye is in focus then its eyelashes aren't - so I don't use it wide open much.
Could be a good lens for astronomy or similar but otherwise I'm not sure its worth the money.
Might be just my copy though...
This is surprisingly different from the FDn version of this lens.
The build is slightly coarse and plastic compared to the FL lenses, but still quite solid and less plastic than the FDn. Sharpness is at least on par with the FDn version, and maybe a tad better. Colors are very snappy and contrast is high. SA was less obvious than on the FDn. Overall, way better than the f/1.8 versions and a touch better than the FDn f/1.4. It does flare fairly easily, and can completely lose contrast when that happens.
Although bokeh are generally quite smooth, there is a thin bright line on the PSF that makes out-of-focus points of light look like circles as opposed to discs. It is more like the bokeh on my FL 55mm f/1.2 than the FDn 50mm f/1.4. It also suffers from red/cyan bokeh CA.
Overall, it's a pleasant lens to use on a NEX.
This lens is a work of art. Sharper than my 35mm F2.o S.S.C. and my FDn 28mm F2.8. And easier to attain perfect focus on this lens than my others. Excellent build quality and image quality. I use the BW-72 hood.
DAS zweitbeste Objektiv, dass ich je hatte . . .
SCHARF !
HOCHAUFLÖSEND !
. . . eigentlich ein "L" . . . !!!!
Hallo.
Das 1,2/85 L ist scharf, ja . . .
Aber die Unschärfekreise sind schon ganz leicht abgeblendet dahin . . .
Ich halte es für überbewertet . . . !
DAS ist das BESTE Objektiv, das ich je besessen habe . . .
Das 1,2/85 ist scharf, aber die Unschärfekreise sind bereits leicht abgeblendet dahin . . .
Das 2/135 kann man bis Blende 4 suuuper nutzen und die Unschärfekreise sind auch da noch rund . . . !!!
Suuuper Schärfe bei Blende 2, Referenz ab Blemde 2,8 . . . . !!!!!
Ich hatte bisher kein hochauflösenderes Objektiv . . . . auch nicht das EF 70-200 IS 2,8 II . . .
I bought this lens 2 years ago & replaced the newFD mount with a chipped EF mount that I made & now use it on my 1d4 for portraiture. Just fabulous results.
You can see the conversion here. Also mount converted a newFD 50 f1.2L.
nFD 85L pics here: http://goo.gl/Qah7Y
nFD 50L pics here: http://goo.gl/KE7oy
Ross Becker
New Zealand
This lens is widely described as though it is the standard by which all other lenses should be judged, so I got one to test. The one I got was advertised as "clean," but has fungus on every internal element... which seems to be much more common for this lens than most -- about 1/4 of those I've seen advertised admitted to having fungus. In any case, the fungus has very little impact on image quality, so taking appropriate precautions against infecting my other equipment, I did some quick tests.
First off, this lens is reasonably small and balances exceptionally well on a NEX. The build is not really good, but nothing is loose and plastics make it lighter than most f/1.4 lenses -- which is a real benefit. I can see why people want this to be a winner optically.
Around f/5.6, this lens is a winner: perfectly sharp with high contrast across the APS-C frame. At wider apertures, bokeh are better than average (MUCH better than its f/1.8 siblings), but that seems to come from undercorrected SA, which also gives glow and low contrast wide open. Overall, it's a bit below average in IQ wide open. Of course, a bit below average is still darn good when talking about fast 50s.
Colors are typical Canon FD, a touch warm. This lens also seems to have a slight color shift upon stopping down, probably due to the SA. I've only seen such shifts in longer telephotos before, but arguably this brings color closer to neutral for this lens.
In summary, this is a very smart f/1.4 design for a film SLR. Under normal circumstances, this would give a very bright viewfinder with great IQ at the most common taking apertures. In low light, the soft rendering helps minimize the evils of typically high-contrast lighting; portraits also might benefit from the softness. For digital, the IQ around f/5.6 is competing with kit zooms that also do quite well around 50mm f/5.6 and viewfinder brightness isn't an issue for an EVF or rear live view. Wide open is where kit lenses can't compete, and this lens does fine, but many competitors do a little better despite usually selling for a much lower price: e.g., Minolta Rokkor and Pentax Takumar (after UV cleaning).
Solid all metal build with an unusually wide filter thread (58mm) the Panagor 35mm f2.0 has a meaty feel to it with smooth creamy focusing.
While not an earth shattering lens by any means it seems perfectly sharp stopped down beyond f4 where it gives well saturated colours.
At f2 very bright highlight areas take on a fluffy diffused appearance typical of lenses of this age. It's a more appealing look in black and white.
Other than the build quality the main appeal for me is the bokeh which has deep liquidy look to it, markedly different from Canon's new FD 35mm semi-wides (this is more "romantic" perhaps with lower distortion). Without an aperture locking pin/button, the lens can be switched to manual mode without taking your eye from the viewfinder.
Nothing at all spectacular in terms of IQ, just a reasonably smooth and solid 35mm f2. It may be that the Panagor 35mm f2 was originally or later made by Kiron and/or Vivitar, I'm not sure.
It's well above a budget lens but also well below Canon's amazing old FD 35mm f2 versions.
This lens is excellent on my AE1-P and OM40. The build quality is flawless,as good as my FL19 R. The colours are amazing - seriously, I could not believe just how great those corny pictures of bright flowers on a sunny day are! The focal length makes for a nice portrait/shortish telephoto, and the fast aperture makes it ideal for low light situations. The focus seems to snap into place - it's so obvious when it is. My one big reservation is the requirement of an adapter to make it 1:1 macro. This recalculates the aperture for you, and obviously, you lose light. Also, the front element is almost exposed. A hood is a very good idea if you want to use this lens - I've only used it without the once, and experienced some flare. I'm looking forward to using this lens a lot more.
After a few years of using digital cameras I dug out my old analog gear (AE-1 and Oly XA) and shot a few rolls of Film just for fun. Then I stumbeled across an EF and was instantly hooked again.The EF feels just right. All the controls (except the exposure-lock on top) just fall under my fingers. The body ist a wonderful piece of engineering. The winder feels like a swiss clockwork and the shutter sounds like ... like... dunno but wonderful. Everything I missed with digital cameras that feel like electronic toys (expensive toys). That brougt me back to analog photography, even for my (part-time) commercial photography . Instead of buying a new DSLR I now own three EF-bodies (plus one slightly damaged one as organdonor, just in case) and a filmscanner.
Since I don't miss features like a motor or spot metering, the EF is all I ever wanted a camera to be.
AWD8.ZENFOLIO.COM
Here are some sample pictures from this lens with SONY NEX5N. I think the bokeh is decent for the price compare to $300+ new digital lenses....
If you need a T/S-Lens theres no real alternative, but its a wonderful lens anyway. Tack sharp, and very well built.
A nice and heavy piece of optical hardware which will add two more degrees of freedom to your photography.
Shifting is piece of cake, just align your camera and dial in the rise (or drop) you need.
Tilting (as always) requires some skill and experience. Outdoor use would be easier with a slower gear for the tilt along with a vernier-scale for the angle. At 35mm focal length even small changes in angle have a big influence.
Using a T/S-lens is so much fun, even (or because) it slows down your workflow. Forget about handheld shooting when you're using tilt. A tripod and some patience is mandatory to get the focus right.
about 3 months ago I spoted this F! in a used case at the local camera store I had loaned my Canon QIII "shooter" to a co-worker for his daugter's photography class. This F1 was in primo condition it previous owner had a great deal of respect for it. I need another camera like a whole in the head , but it was love at first touch. The bulk of my "gear " is Nikon but this gem had to be mine. I have been using the "shiped with " 50mm f/1.4 lens -- picked up a 50mm f/3.5 macro and the mellow-yellow 35mm f/2.0 .... I am rediscovering the world of film once more .. more to follow.. !!!
Great lens ! Its small,light,super sharp,wonderful bokeh ....... not cheap though ! Given 8 for build as I prefer B/L build quality,but its still sturdy.
One of my top 5 lenses EVER (out of about 50-70).
I realise that 10 out of 10 will anger some people,as nothing in this world is perfect ! Never-the-less : this lens is amazingly wide,amazingly sharp,has lively colours and very little distotion for such a lens ! I can`t fault it.And to top it all its cheap !
Excellent sharpness and micro-contrast; wonderful colour. Its image quality is on par with my EF 70-200 f/4 IS, but the latter does not focus any closer than 1.2 m (i.e. no real macro capabilities). By the way I'm planning a mini comparison between the two.
I found focusing ring to be really well designed: you can swiftly focus between 1.5 m and infinity with 1/4 turn, when you use this lens as a standard 200 mm tele and with a 1 1/4 turn between 1.5 and .6 m for accurate focusing when in macro mode.
The construction is all metal and very well built, including the "embedded" hood.
The only thing I really miss, in comarison to the EF 70-200, is the image stabilization, but of course, this is not something I can complain about. I just need to purchase a monopod.
Mine is a 28 serial number, built by Komine. Actually, I own several.
Common and really cheap on eBay, under $20 including shipping. Slightly soft (low contrast) wide open, but IQ typical of a good 135mm f/2.8 -- and most 135mm lenses are pretty good. My favorite lens to use on tubes/bellows, IQ that way is better than some macro lenses. Built-in shade is nice. Not light, but compact and very well-built solid metal body.
Only annoyance is that lens cap fits over built-in shade, which makes it bump into any filter when the shade is pushed back.
This is really just a nice flexible light snapshot lens. Take it on holidays and catch some snaps. Keep around the middle of the aperture range for best results, and enjoy it. I find that this lens can be a little soft, but gives excellent colour.
I really love this zoom and althought it's big, an 100 mm, 135mm and 200 mm are bigger to carry around. And the IQ of the zoom is better.
Great, rugged, simple. Takes the miriad of FD lenses available, and a few nice add on's like remote shutter & a good speedlight flash. Put it in program, focus & shoot. There is no manual mode, and changing the aperture causes the shutter to default to 1/60, so you can't tweak exposures this way. That said it does exactly what it was designed for, and with good consistency. Its nice to use and handles really well.
Just the right amount of tech for an old-schooler... You can leave it in one of three program modes which give pretty good & consistent results, or have it totally manual (as long as you click the aperture ring away from 'a'). The simple LCD screen allows easy selection of shutter speeds & modes, and the camera itself is very straightforward. Film loading etc a breeze.
An inexperienced photographer can use one of these and get some pretty good shots, and someone who knows their way about can 'free it up' and use it in manual - which I think is really good for the era. It also handles really nicely, is pretty light but doesnt feel fragile.
Proper metal construction as fits the era, slightly heavy but you'll get used to it, and a wonderful shutter sound. The shutter speed wheel is perfectly positioned to adjust when looking in the viewfinder, as is the advance lever. Very consistent & good results on Shutter priority, full control in manual. Nice range of shutter speeds & ASA settings, although a 1/2000 shutter speed would make it perfect... I love it.
A very nice little lens with good bokeh, much better then the FDn 50 mm F1.4. There is nothing that spoils the fun. I use the 24, 28, 35 mm with a adaptor on a digital Sony nex (* 1.5) . I can use the same suncap on these lenses. F2.8 is fast if you compare it with zooms and for these lenses fast enough.
I use this lens now on a Sony Nex and with its smaller angle it is not that overall 50 mm on film or FF. Nicely build, the fringing is correcteble, the bad bokeh is my main complaint. But a joy to use.
This lens is my personal FD favorite. I've owned and used it for 25+ years. It has seen thousands of miles of travel all over the world and thousands of images.
I began using the Nikkor 24mm 2.8 in the late 60s, and got this lens when I shifted from Nikon to Canon in the late 70s and early 80s. Together with the 35-70 and 85-200 zooms and an AE-1, it has been part of my standard travel kit for film, and I have probably taken more images with this lens than any other.
After all this time, it still works great, although the rubber focus ring slips - came unglued from the barrel. Despite all the miles and bumps, it's never needed service.
I have owned this lens for 25+ years, traveled all over the world with it, thousands of images. It is the perfect travel lens.
Mine wore out -- a first for me -- and found out from the repairman that the zoom and focus followers or guides use a sort of semi-elastic ring to maintain friction in the zoom and focus helicals. New followers are no longer available from Canon, so the lens can't be repaired. Too bad -- it's a winner otherwise.
I had only limited experience with this lens. Owned it (used) for about three weeks until a short drop (18") while sailing broke the internal mount attachments inside the barrel. The AE-1 attached was unharmed.
After taking apart the mount to see if it could be repaired, it was obvious the mount to main lens barrel attachment (four screws into small polycarbonate tabs) was under-engineered given the weight of the front lens barrel and lever arm.
This failure makes me nervous about the 35-105mm zoom I acquired around the same time.
This was the kit lens for the AE-1 Program. Originally it came with a 52mm rubber hood, but also has a bayonet mount for other lens hoods. It is a great lens to hone your skills. Unfortunately, I started to notice its flairs as I improved my skills.
As a prime, this lens is one you will use a f/1.8 often. Unfortunately, the corners of the frame are extremely soft on f/1.8 to f/3.5, even if you focus on a subject in the corner area. Even if the corners are in the same DOF, they will be soft. Separating the back/fore-ground exasperates the problem. This is its weakest flaw. This lens is also not ideal for sun bursts or flare, as it has 5 blade aperture, and the berst at f/16 - f/22 soften due to diffraction more so then Canon's midrange prime lenses like 28mm or the Macro 50mm.
To its benefit, there it little chromatic aberration, and the focusing from 0.6m to infinity is very short and fast. Its 52mm filter is small enough to fit filters and the small size and weight allow an easy lens to bring around. This is little distortion, lens then 1% off axis of lines.
I am a proud owner of this lens for almost 6 weeks and I have given this lens the nickname "my little monster", because it weighs almost 1.5 kg, it is large, heavy and looks very professional. The only reason such a lens to lug is high speed and the play with focus and blur, and I use this in full, because I never take pictures with smaller apertures than F 2.8 or 4. In situations of spontaneous portraits of people at events and festivals images are not only incredibly sharp, contrasty, but also with an incomparable style and fantastic bokeh. The high speed of 2.8 makes it easy to focus and gives the pictures a great depth. Compared with the Canon FD 80-200 zoom L, which I had before, this zoom weighs twice, but this lens does not need a comparison, it is pure magic, what it is performing on the film. It's an old scool lens, for people with old style to use such a lens!
I wasn't intending to get this lens... it was bundled with some others that I was surprised to win on eBay. This copy is in excellent condition and effectively cost me well under $10 including shipping.
Wide open, this lens is still sharp enough, but it has low contrast and some classic fast-old-lens glow. It is a very appealing softness that works well for portraits and generally is more character than defect. Bokeh are generally nice, although there is a thin bright ring visible in the PSF.
Stopped down, it gets perfectly sharp. Contrast is still relatively low.
On film, the low contrast would be the issue, and 8/10 would be about as good as the IQ gets. That's assuming that the full-frame edges hold up, which I haven't tested. However, on my 14MP APS-C digital, the contrast is not low enough to be harmful and image quality is about 9/10. Low contrast is one of the least harmful issues for digital, easily fixed in PP.
Mechanically, aside from being a little large, it is competitive with Takumars of the same period. Build is easily at least 9/10.
Which brings me to the obvious comparison: this vs. my 35mm f/2.0 S-M-C Takumar. First, let me say that the Tak is better. In fact, it is technically much better wide open and contrast is consistently better in just about any circumstances. However, the images from this Vivitar are just as pleasant to look at, perhaps more romantic as opposed to the documentary look of the Tak. The Vivitar bokeh are better. Did I mention that the Tak cost over 12X as much!
This vs. my 35mm f/3.5 Super Takumar: these lenses are opposites. The Tak has great contrast, making appealing images by overly intense colors. These two lenses almost define the boundaries for how different IQ can be and yet both be quite good. This Tak is tiny.
This vs. my Canon FDn 35mm f/2.8: the Canon has better contrast (but not even close to the f/3.5 Tak) and thus would be better on film. Typical FDn build doesn't compete with this Vivitar.
In summary, despite the price, this Vivitar is really viable as a "fast normal" for APS-C. It is nothing short of stunning for the price I paid....
got this lens a few week before and I´m fascinated from the carakter - very interessing lens with a creamy bokeh.
loved this lens on my A-bodies for portrait and now love it for nature pictures on my Nikon D70.
Couldn´t find anything wrong at this lens.
Wow! This is the first Canon FD lens that has really impressed me with its IQ. This might be the best IQ of any <=28mm old lens I've used. On my Sony NEX APS-C, there is absolutely nothing to complain about for this lens: it's a 10/10. It easily outperforms modern zooms covering this focal range and even has a good close focus.
The lens is a breech mount, but feels a bit plastic -- not as much as either of the two 50mm f/1.8 S.C. lenses I own, so I'll guess that it has a little better tolerance (or I have a good copy) and hence give it 8/10 for build. I also wish it were better sealed, and this copy seems to have a tiny bit of crystaline marks at the inside edge of the rear element. I don't think it's fungus, but cleaning fluid that seeped in and dried. Anyway, that doesn't seem to hurt anything.
As for the 50mm FD lenses (which this looks a lot like), this lens feels very good on my Sony NEX-5. I just wish it were a little faster. For the speed, I'll still use my Vivitar/Kiron 24mm f/2.0, but it is definitely not as good IQ at f/2.8 as this lens.
Wow! This is the first Canon FD lens that has really impressed me with its IQ. This might be the best IQ of any <=28mm old lens I've used. On my Sony NEX APS-C, there is absolutely nothing to complain about for this lens: it's a 10/10. It easily outperforms modern zooms covering this focal range and even has a good close focus.
The lens is a breech mount, but feels a bit plastic -- not as much as either of the two 50mm f/1.8 S.C. lenses I own, so I'll guess that it has a little better tolerance (or I have a good copy) and hence give it 8/10 for build. I also wish it were better sealed, and this copy seems to have a tiny bit of crystaline marks at the inside edge of the rear element. I don't think it's fungus, but cleaning fluid that seeped in and dried. Anyway, that doesn't seem to hurt anything.
As for the 50mm FD lenses (which this looks a lot like), this lens feels very good on my Sony NEX-5. I just wish it were a little faster. For the speed, I'll still use my Vivitar/Kiron 24mm f/2.0, but it is definitely not as good IQ at f/2.8 as this lens.
I recently got two of these in a batch of Canon equipment off eBay. I've got lots of normals, so I didn't need these, and I figured they'd be a lot like the 50mm f/1.8 new FD I have, but I tried them and they're not.
The one thing that is similar is build quality. The breech lock is more solid than the bayonet, but otherwise this feels as plastic as the new FD. I'm really starting to appreciate how well-built my 55mm f/1.2 FL is (it is a 10/10 on both build and image quality).
This lens doesn't seem quite as sharp as the new FD, but it doesn't seem to be as glowy either. Contrast is fairly low, but the IQ is pretty consistent across the APS-C frame. Most normal lenses are slightly undercorrected, but these seem to be overcorrected; the result is a PSF with a slightly bright edge for things past the focus point, and the bokeh show a lot of this type of artifact. Overall, IQ is not bad, but this is definitely near the bottom among all the normals I own.
However, as for the new FD version but slightly less so, this is a lens that feels right on a Sony NEX body....
Great (relatively) small lens and very fast, almost a stop faster than the modern EF 100-400 5.6L. Sharper than the EF zoom as well. I use it on my New F1 and SONY NEX-5 and can focus to about 250 meters using my self developed EdMika EF-FD 0.75mm thick glassless adapter on an EF body.
I sold a 600 and 800 copy to a film production company. A year later they are selling one of them and they chose to keep the 600. I personally kept an 800 copy myself for the absolute best in far detail resolving power. That said I find when shooting little critters in my backyard they often venture closer to me than I can focus and I miss the 600. More info on these two lenses can be found in this set on my flickr photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ontarian/sets/72157623884845990/
This amazing lens along with its little sister the 600 f/4.5 are the reasons I developed the EdMika EF-FD 0.75mm thickness glassless adapter for my own personal use and then later for others who wanted to do the same as me. There is a lot of info on this and the 600 lens on my flickr photostream in this set for anyone interested: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ontarian/sets/72157623884845990/
If you find a both the MA and an A1 in great condition, you will discover that the MA has a nice fit with the A1, with a secure and comfortable grip. The drive speed is respectable, actually quite good back in 1980. Not as comfortable or easy to hold vertically as the newer drives are for the newer digital cameras. I really wish they had the nice rechargeable eneloops back when I had to use one of these for wedding and event work. I am not sure how practical these drives are now, being that film (at least for me) is more of a deliberate picture taking form, and there is digital for when I need to cover an event and shoot lots and lots of frames. But if you have a nice A1 that you would like to keep and enjoy using, then I think it is worth the experience to find a good condition MA for it.
The Canon T-90 was the last model that uses FD-mount prior to the shift to the autofocus EF EOS system. It hardly lasted a year since its inception but what an impact it has created on the design of future SLR. Every inch a classic, despite after more than 15 years, this camera is still hard to replicate even by today's standard. It was also widely acclaimed as one of the true Classic camera of modern times. The T-90 influenced Canon's future designs of cameras as a whole more than any other camera within their line-up. It was a great camera by any standard, featuring some revolutionary innovations as well as practical and very functional human engineering factors in its design. Thus, five years after the Canon flagship model, the Canon New F-1 was launched (1981), the T90 became the bridging model between the first full AF model, the Canon 650, that was brought out by Canon barely a year later in March, 1987 and the older manual focus Canons. The life span of the Canon T-90 was the shortest and can also be considered the last of the true professional FD-based manual focus SLR camera from Canon** but it is also the most sophisticated automatic exposure 35mm SLR that Canon has ever produced. It was first marketed in 1978 before being discontinued in 1982 while the T90 has barely a year to survive due to the market changes to the AF arena where the Minolta Maxxam 7000 was rocking the whole photographic world by storm and Canon has to make the most drastic decision in its camera history by dropping the famed FD breech-lock mount and replaced it with the new EF mount for the new EOS series AF cameras).
** (An FD Canon, the T60 was subcontracted 1990 - but had little relationship to the T series)
The Canon T90's birth was a little untimely and its full potential was never truly realized - one tends to remember the A1 more clearly than the T90 when associating Canon with the multimode automatic cameras, even though the former fares poorly in comparison with the latter in all aspects. This is primarily due to the fact the T90 has never had the longer life cycle that A1 enjoyed.
The Canon T90's appearance is designed by German industrial designer Luigi Colani, and was the third model from the T series, after the T50 in 1983 and the T70 in 1984 (In total, there were five T-series models including the T80, which was an autofocus camera that was launched in 1985. But the T90 has cast more influences to Canon's future designs of cameras as a whole than any other camera within their line-up. It was a great camera by any standard, featuring some revolutionary innovations as well as practical and very functional human engineering factors in its design. Thus, five years after the Canon flagship model, the Canon New F-1 was launched (1981), the T90 became the bridging model between the first full AF model, the Canon 650, that was brought out by Canon barely a year later in March, 1987 and the older manual focus Canons. The life span of the Canon T90 was the shortest and can also be considered the last of 's e r i o u s' FD-based manual focus SLR camera from Canon (The Canon T60 was launched in 1990) - but it is also the most sophisticated automatic exposure 35mm SLR that Canon has ever produced prior to the new EF mounted EOS AF SLR cameras, and was also affectionately nicknamed as the 'Tank" in Japan.
The FD-mount Canon T80 can be considered as as Canon's first auto focus 35mm SLR camera. The AF system in the T80 uses a linear CCD array for TTL image contrast detection (Compared with earlier Canon AL-1 with electronic rangefinder). The picture-taking mode can be selected with the pictographs on the external LCD panel. You can select to shot either in One Shot AF, Servo or reverting back to use manual focus (on each of the AC lens, there is a setting for you to alter any of this shooting preference.
Marketed: April 1985
Discontinued: June 1986
For metering and exposure control, TTL multi-program AE and preset aperture AE with centerweighted averaging metering are provided. Lenses for autofocusing with the T80 were called AC lenses. These lenses had the FD mount and signal transmission capability. Three such "L" lenses were available: AC 50mm f/1.8, AC 35-70mm f/3.5-4.5, and AC 75-200mm f/4.5 (these original FD-mount AF lenses are scarce in numbers).
The new computer age into SLR camera design
In 1984, a revolutionary new Canon camera was launched, changing the way we look at camera and photography. This camera is the Canon T70 model. A sleek profile, superb balance and handling. Power-saving design. Reliability-enhancing features. System accessories including multipurpose Command Back 70 and programmed Speedlite 277T.
Programmed Versatility The T70 is programmed for every conceivable photographic situation. A great improvement over the earlier versions used in the multimode Canon A-1 or the simpler AE-1 Program, as it has more options to fine tune exposures.
Data input into the T70's microprocessor brain give not one but three daylight programmed exposure modes. These select the most appropriate aperture/shutter speed combination for the lighting and the lens in use: wide-angle, standard or telephoto. Flash photography is also fully programmed. For fast-paced action, there's Shutter-Priority AE and when the situation demands, Manual override.
The second T-series camera.
The camera kit included an FD 35-70mm f/3.5-4.5 lens or an FD 28-55mm f/3.5-4.5.
The large LCD panel and key-touch buttons had a major impact on 35mm SLR cameras that followed. The T70 features shutter speed-priority TTL AE, TTL multi-program AE, and preset aperture AE. The dual metering system gives a choice of center-weighted averaging metering and partial metering at the center. In 1984, the camera won the Good Design Award (from the Ministry of International Trade and Industry) and once again, the European Camera of the Year Award.
Type
35mm focal-plane shutter SLR camera with built-in winder and multi-mode AE
Normal Lens
FD 35-70mm f/3.5-4.5
Lens Mount FD mount
Shutter
Vertical-travel, focal-plane electronic shutter. With multi-program AE: 2, 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000 sec. With shutter speed-priority AE or preset aperture AE: 2 sec. to 1/1000 sec. For manual: B. X-sync at 1/90 sec. (hot shoe). Built-in electronic self-timer (with beeper).
Viewfinder
Fixed eye-level pentaprism. 0.85x magnification and 92% coverage. Laser Matte with microprism/new split combination rangefinder.
Viewfinder
Information Four LEDs and 7-segment LED for double-digit readout. Correct exposure, camera-shake warning, flash ready, aperture, shutter speed, safety shift, and manual.
Metering &
Exposure Control
Composite SPC for TTL full-aperture metering with multi-program AE, shutter speed-priority AE, program flash AE, manual, and TTL preset aperture AE. Centerweighted averaging or partial metering at center. AE lock provided. Metering range at ISO 100 and f/1.4: EV 1 - 19. Film speed range from ISO 12 to 1600.
External LCD Film speed (ISO), shutter speed, picture-taking mode, program mode, frame counter, battery check, film-loaded indicator.
Power Source
Two 1.5 V size-AA batteries
Film Loading &
Advance
After aligning film leader at mark, close camera back for auto loading. Auto film advance with built-in motor. Continuous shooting at 0.7 fps.
Film Rewind Power rewind with built-in motor.
Dimensions &
Weight
151 x 89 x 48 mm, 580 g (with batteries)
The Canon T series models were a new breed of SLR cameras introduced by Canon to replaced the A Series model. The Canon T-50 was the first model within the T Series. It was built with the concept of everything convenient and easy to use, packed in a light weight body with a built-in integral winder to handle loading, remote control capability ready, offering automatic film advancing except for automatic rewinding and DX coding features from the high-end T-90 model - all sound too luxurious for a bare-bone A series model which may require the attachment of accessories like motor drive or power winder to perform similar tasks. And on its own, the T-50 stands between simplicity and sophistication. It is a simple to operate, inviting and user friendly SLR camera. It shares with most of the system accessories in the huge Canon FD lenses photographic system. It also patches some of the key weaknesses found in the A series model. The silk fabric shutter curtain was replaced with a newly developed vertically travelled metal curtain, which result in a higher achievable sync speed (varies with individual models) as compared with the standard 1/60 sec among all the A series models. The T50 featured here, was almost designed to handle like a P&S camera - other than the film rewind knob, other confusing knobs and switches
Additional information on Canon T-Series Camera
The T-50
Have you noticed how most cameras can be placed in one of two categories? First, there's the "snapshot" division, with cameras which are easy to use, but limited in terms of what they can "see". Then there are the single-lens reflex models. These are more sophisticated, with their ability to change lenses, but they are also generally more complicated and more expensive. Bridging this gap between simplicity and sophistication is the Canon T50. This remarkable camera is as easy to use as the simplest pocket model and is the least expensive of the Canon SLRs, but will give you professional results -- provided you know a thing or two about basic photography, that is. If none, don't worry, the T50 will still give you good results.
Mode selector Normally, the mode selector remains on PROGRAM, giving fully automatic exposure (AE) control. However, if you want to put yourself in the picture, just set the dial to SELF, press the shutter release, and take your place in front of the camera. The shutter will fire after a 10-second delay.
Viewfinder display P indicates that all is ready for an exposure. The symbol blinks slowly if the use of a tripod or flash would help and blinks rapidly when flash is essential. The flash symbol lights up when the Canon Speedlite 244T is ready to fire. If the subject is too far away for correct flash exposure, the "P" symbol will blink rapidly
M blinks when the lens aperture ring is not locked on "A". Manual exposure control and Aperture-priority AE are not possible with the T50.
Auto film loading Just line up the film with an orange mark inside the camera and close the back. Pressing the shutter release will automatically advance the film to the first frame And after each exposure, the built-in micromotor will automatically advance the film to the next frame
Shutter release The soft-release shutter button switches on the viewfinder display when pressed lightly Further pressure fires the shutter. Once the correct film speed is set and the mode selector positioned for PROGRAM, no other adjustments are needed for perfect exposure.*
*The T50 uses centre-weighted average as its exposure metering control and there are no exposure compensation options or AE Lock available to alter the camera's settings.
Battery check Unlike many simple cameras, the T50 lets you check the condition of the two AA-size alkaline battenes which power all the camera functions. Turning the mode selector to "BC" provides an audible indication of the energy level
Flash facility The T50 has its own special flashgun, the Canon Speedlite 244T. Fit this to the camera accessory shoe, switch it on, and start shooting The Speedlite automatically sets all the camera controls for you It's foolproof flash photography. The Speedlites 277T and 299T can also be used.
Remote control A socket on the side of the camera accepts a remote release accessory or, via an adaptor cable, a quartz timer or infrared remote control unit. And the automatic film advance means that you can shoot a sequence of pictures without having to go near the camera. Remote photography has never been simpler.
Interchangeable lenses Like all SLR cameras, the T50 accepts interchangeable lenses. There is a wide range of Canon FD lenses to choose from, including many zoom lenses The FD 35-70mm f/3.5-4.5 zoom is an ideal "standard" lens for this camera, giving freedom and flexibility at low cost and was specially made for the T50 when it was launched in 1983.
The AL-1 is not an autofocus camera, but rather an SLR with an electronic rangefinder to provide focus assistance. The first AF camera from Canon was the short-lived FD mount Canon T-80 introduced in April, 1985 ('Short-lived' because it was discontinued slightly over a year later in June, 1986 - because for AF it needed special lenses - only 3 were made)
The AL-1's in-focus indicator was quite appealing to the consumers who have eyesight problems or need further assurances regarding in-focus confirmation.
The QF feature provides an electronic rangefinder system which has easy-to-see arrows that points the direction of the focusing ring of the mounted FD lens. A green spot lights up when the subject is in sharpest focus. And because the Quick Focus employed a TTL (through-the-lens) system using three CCD line sensors, virtually all of Canon's interchangeable FD lenses can take advantage of the focus assist feature found in this model.
Main features of Canon AL-1 Quick Focus SLR camera is a quite accurate Quick Focus System for focus assist
-QF indicators inside the viewfinder eliminate guesswork
-A fairly bright viewfinder - using clear laser matte focusing screen
-It functions with any of the FD Lenses - wide-angle, telephoto, zooms, or macro lenses
- Aperture-priority AE + manual mode
-Simple to use, easy to command - light weight and compact in size.
The Canon AE-1 Program was a 135 film single-lens reflex camera that used Canon's FD mount lenses. It was introduced in 1981 as the successor to the Canon AE-1, five years after that camera's introduction. The major difference was the addition of the Program AE mode first seen in the A-1. This mode sets both the shutter speed and aperture automatically—albeit with a slight bias towards the shutter speed setting. The user simply had to focus the camera and then press the shutter button. For those desiring more control, the AE-1's shutter priority auto-exposure and full manual modes were still available.
Like the A-1, the AE-1 Program sported a right-hand "Action Grip" on the front of the camera. It also supported the A-1's Motor Drive MA; this required another electrical contact on the base plate. The AE-1's Power Winder A, and a new, faster Power Winder A2, were also supported. The viewfinder used LEDs to show information to the user.
Also like the A-1, the AE-1 Program supported interchangeable focusing screens. Unlike the A-1, though, which specified that screens only be changed by the factory or experienced service technicians, those on the AE-1 Program could be user changed. The camera came standard with the new split/m