Personal View site logo
Lenses for Canon FD mount
  • 188 Replies sorted by
  • @mee great, happy to see the good old 35 being put to some use!

  • allenswrench I am really loving the 35mm lens

  • anybody with experiences regarding the fd 20mm f2.8 on a gh2? cheers

  • Hi Everyone ,

    Great info this . Though I have been clicking for quite some time but never got used to the FD series and this info certainly helped me and Now I feel may be I can try my hand too. I have shifted to tokyo recently and I spend a lot of time exploring camera and equipments . Looking forward to exploring more about this series in tokyo specially the 35mm fd.

    Cheers

  • image

    FD to EF conversion service for 99 GBP, he also have converted lenses:

    http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/eddiehouston1545/m.html

  • Yeah that's Eddie (ex Thin Lizzy!) from Lens Doctor in Glasgow. He really cares about lenses. I'm sending up my FD 55mm 1.2 SSC and FD 85mm 1.2 for conversion to EF. Expert calibrator and probably the best FD to EF doctor for 5DMKIIIs in the UK (tight but no touching mirrors!). Allow 10 days to 3 weeks for job done.

    http://www.thelensdoctor.co.uk

  • Has anybody done a comparison between the Canon FD 80-200mm F4 L Lens and the Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm F2.8~4 Komine version?

    I wonder which one comes out on top!

  • @fosterchen

    I think Canon in good state is better. And it is more useful for video with constant F number across range.

  • @fosterchen Sorry I don't have the Canon, so can't compare. And though I also have not uploaded footage from the Komine, I still can tell you it's a very unpredictable being. It can produce strong CAs and depending from light source (almost always if backlighted) you may get this milky spill-flare; which sometimes (face close-ups) it's kinda nice, read dreamy

    I really like its bokeh, specially wide open


    and it's sharp

    but it's in close distance that this cold lady shows her teeth

    and at macro it's a killer (400mm f4 1:2.5 repro ratio)

  • About Canon, it has much less aberration than most zooms of its time. If you can get one in good state, get it instead of Vivitar.

  • Even the Minolta MD 70-210 f4 is better, you can see a test made with an NEX on artaphot.ch vs. the Vivitar/Kiron: http://artaphot.ch/sony-nex/altglas/326-nex-5n-und-100mm-objektive

  • I've read that the Canon is a monster... of goodness, photos corroborate those assessments and Vivitar can produce CA alright, but just to be fair @nomad, that link's comparison it's not with the vivi 70-210 S1 manufactured by Komine (3rd gen, serial starting in 28). http://www.robertstech.com/vivitar.htm

    The third edition was made by Komine, and like the first two, is very well built. It is a 2.8-4 variable aperture lens, and the sharpest of the bunch. It has 1:2.5 life size macro from 100-210mm's, with a working distance of about two feet. Which can be quite useful. Can you see a discernible difference in slides taken with either one of them? No! Don't get caught up in bench tests. Any of the first three editions will give you professional-publishable images. I really like this lens, and over time, has become my favorite of the line.

    Source: FM's Kiron Kid

  • better to look for the tokina atx 80-200 f2.8 constant

  • better to look for the tokina atx 80-200 f2.8 constant

    If you mean old AT-X F2.8. Never ever look at it.

  • jajaj he should always always look for it, it is hard to find on fd mount though

  • Ok, Canon 80-200mm L is coming! If curiosity gets the better of me, I may just get a Vivitar and compare them myself! If going by price alone, the Canon FD L goes for about 2x-3x more than the Vivitar.

  • Nikkor 80-200 f4 Ai costs less than half what FD L does and rocks as well. About the same in terms of IQ

  • Even cheaper and also parfocal nikkor Ais 75-150 f3.5 and Ai 80-200 f4.5, both push/pull ring... but guess that's not FD mount :P

    I have a question regarding Canon FL 58mm f1.2. In your opinion does this lens have too strong a personality? In the sense of how does it mingle with other non FD/FL glass (nikon/minolta/µFT)?
    Thanks from the past

  • Let the tests begin..

    From initial handling, the Canon is definitely lighter than the Vivitar, since it has some plastic parts to it, but still feels solidly built. And @Vitaliy is right about the constant F4 being very helpful in video shooting, great for push pull zooming on the fly. The Vivitar is a bit faster glass, but at a cost. The 9 blade aperture is a nice little bump up from Canon's 8.

    I'm looking at the footage now, and the Canon does have way less CA than the Vivitar, almost non-existent, and seems to be that much sharper.

    I'll upload the video soon.

    P1000507.JPG
    1920 x 1080 - 978K
    P1000509.JPG
    1920 x 1080 - 848K
  • Here are some photo examples at 200mm and 210mm, F4.

    It's quite easy to take a guess which photos are which camera!

    P1020454.JPG
    1920 x 1440 - 2M
    P1020452.jpg
    1920 x 1440 - 1000K
  • Love song music video with all manual lenses.
    Body: GH2
    Lenses:
    Canon FD 28mm f2.0 SSC
    Canon FD 50mm f1.8 SC
    SLR MAGIC 12mmt 1.6

  • whats the sharpest zoom lens approx 200mm at the long end and 300mm either canon or nikon would do just need pin sharp for wildlife ( mainly birds / mammals sat on a perch or reasonably still )

  • whats the sharpest zoom lens approx 200mm at the long end and 300mm

    What you mean? For 200mm it is Canon FD 80-200mm F4 L lens. It is very sharp right at F4.