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Lenses for Canon FD mount
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  • maxrmaxr

    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

  • nomadnomad

    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

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    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.

  • maxrmaxr

    @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)

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @fosterchen

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

  • fosterchenfosterchen

    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!

  • driftwooddriftwood

    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

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    image

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

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

  • himoohimoo

    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

  • MirrorkisserMirrorkisser

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

  • meemee

    allenswrench I am really loving the 35mm lens

  • nemvannemvan

    Panasonic GH2

    Canon FD 55mm f1.2 at f2 http://picturepush.com/showformat.php?format=1024&image=8333252

    Canon FD 20mm f2.8 at f4 http://picturepush.com/showformat.php?format=1024&image=8334994

  • allenswrenchallenswrench

    @mee great, happy to see the good old 35 being put to some use!

  • meemee

    @Allenswrench Here are is a link to some short test shots I shot with the 35mm F2 lens you sent me !

    http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/3056

  • meemee

    @lenuisible I am not sure what I am missing, but even using the diagram, I can't figure out how to get to the aperture assembly.. ie I can't remove the rear lens element. I removed everything but, which resulted in a nice declicking, but still have a sticky aperature = P Any suggestions?

  • lenuisiblelenuisible

    but it seems you have to open it from the front?

    I don't think so (I did it from the back on my nFD zoom), you should start with this drawing :

    http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/canonlens4.gif

  • meemee

    @lensuisible, thank you. I've been stumbling around the rick Oleson site for the last couple of weeks, and have seen that diagram, maybe I am looking at it wrong, but it seems you have to open it from the front? If so, don't I need a spanner? Also I tried to find youtube videos, but the ones you just linked me to are the first that look promising, so I will go watch them now, and maybe, just maybe have my lens fixed before I sleep.

  • lenuisiblelenuisible

    @mee you should google more. About cleaning aperture blades, it's not risky if you have a good screw driver, time, a clean desk, and patience. For example, for a breech lock FD, this site can be helpful:

    http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-161.html

    And looking on youtube is also a good way to understand how the 2 different mounts (FD and nFD) work : http://www.youtube.com/results?q=convert+canon+fd&hl=fr&oe=utf-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=w1

    I cleaned a 80-200 L nFD, and did it the wrong way : I didn't take notes of the different positions of the different screws. But Canon guys seem to know how to design lenses for guys like me : it was literally impossible to re-assemble it the wrong way ! You always have a clue somewhere, and never equidistant screw holes (so no way to reassemble with a 120° error between two parts with 3 holes for example).

    For a cheap 50 F1.8 lens, I advise you to do it yourself, it's kind of fun and rewarding

  • meemee

    I just unboxed the 50mm 2.0 lens, and did a check on front and back. I was pretty astonished by the readings out of the box. My cameras battery's need charging before I can upload the videos I made of the test, and I want to make one more with the misses camera from behind the GH2 with the lens mounted. The lens feels very nice, and I am blown away by how close I can get and focus. This aspect alone Definitely blows my 50mm 1.8 lenses out of the water. I am sure once I upload the tests using the lens it will look much better too.

  • nomadnomad

    I can't detect radioactivity with my beautiful old Rokkor 58mm 1.2. Even my Russian Jupiter 9 (quite yellow from decay) shows only minimal levels.

  • meemee

    @Allenswrench I received the lens today! I am surprised it came so quickly. It literally just came so I haven't even unboxed it, and have to run out the door, but I look forward to testing it. On side note, I threw the dosimeter on top of the box, and it is definitely more radioactive than the surrounding air of Tokyo ;)

    Thanks, I will pm you a bit later.

  • nomadnomad

    Rather give it to a specialist. If you've never done this, you may end up with a mess of spare parts …

  • meemee

    @nomad Can I go in through the back to do this? Do I need any special tools?

  • nomadnomad

    If the blades are oily, clean them with Isopropanol.

  • meemee

    @itimjim Ok, so I cracked it open and indeed you were right it was indeed stuck, or rather sticky. It also seemed it may have been tinkered with before and put back together wrong. I believe I have it back together right now, as the movements match that of my other lens, however the aperture is still stuck. How do I un stick it, I am apprehensive about going further into the lens, but again with some guidance I would feel allot better.

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