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Lenses for Canon FD mount
  • 188 Replies sorted by
  • We will start using alien's alphabet.
  • @lolo

    I tried the Canon FD 35-70mm this year, and sold it back to the second hand dealer. I discovered that unless you are shooting stills, zoom lenses are not optimised for video. The DOF and bokeh effects are different from fixed primes, so at 35mm for instance, if you put a fixed lens and a zoom side by side, obviously the images will not be 100% the same.

    What's your purpose of trying out the zoom? Why not try a fixed 35mm, and a 85mm? And in between you have 40mm, 50mm, 55mm lenses to play with?
  • @kazuo
    thank you for answering but...
    hahahha damn it i already bough it, is coming to my house tomorrow :p

    my purpose in using a zoom is being able to frame more comfortable,
    but is it still good enough to be usable for video????
  • Zoom is better for event shooting.
  • @lolo

    How much did you have to pay for the lens? If it's below $150, then no worries. See it as a useful tool that allows you flexibility on the run. Like stonebat says, shoot event coverage, or news gathering.

    What will you be using the lens for? For sure, you can still use it for video. Pls dun get me wrong. Any FD lens imho is by far sharper than alot of the plastic lenses they put out there for sale these days.
    But if you are into nice images, dramatic kind of stuff, then you'd need time to find the right piece of glass to give you the effect you want: nice bokeh, dof etc.
  • @kazuo
    i end up payng CLP 85000, wich is like USD 160, i will be using it for stop motion animations, and shootings on the fly

    but :), well let see.. it hasn´t arrive yet,
    i hope that is not that far of my 50mm 1.4,
    because i didn´t know that the look of a zoom lens differs from a prime
  • Just picked up a cheap (£30!!) Vivatar Series 1 35-85mm 1:2.8 'Auto Variable Focussing' which seems great for an A-B style focus setup. Anyone else tried / used this lens? Seems fab.
    For me my current fav FD lens is my Canon FD 55mm 1:1.2 S.S.C. Aspherical -Ive got the Oly Zuiko 50mm and 55mm 1.2's but the FD just seems to have the edge. Plus, its widely reknown as one of the best lenses in its class of all time.
  • Love the FD 50mm 1.4. Razorsharp.
  • @AmandaNL Isn't the 55mm 1.2 SSC Aspherical just wonderful! Beautiful pictures.
  • well it has arrived, i would never buy a zoom again if i´m buying from a non local area, the mechanical parts are quite defficient in my unit

    but in the optics side, it is in good state, i kind of like it, looks oldish, it is different than the prime i have, but it has like a photographic look (specially with the nostalgic setting) instead of a cinematic look (i seriously don´t know if anyone would understand that statement, but :) ), i´ll keep it, it´s a pretty big and heavy lens

    i only regret to have paid that much, probably not the best buy,
    softer at higher focals, sharper as it gets wide

    the pics are in-camera jpeg from a video (look at the name to know what it is)
    35mm f2.8.JPG
    1920 x 1080 - 374K
    35mm.JPG
    1920 x 1080 - 307K
    macro.JPG
    1920 x 1080 - 234K
    50mm f3.5 zoom.JPG
    1920 x 1080 - 320K
    50mm f3.5 prime.JPG
    1920 x 1080 - 325K
    macro3.JPG
    1920 x 1080 - 346K
    70mm.JPG
    1920 x 1080 - 292K
    macro2.JPG
    1920 x 1080 - 329K
    macro4.JPG
    1920 x 1080 - 276K
  • Yeah, it has that old look from Polish TV, not unlike Kiewslowski's Decalog
  • hahah you say that kiewslowski should have used this lens, hahah that makes me :D

    hahah

    ouh!, and i manage to get a parcial refund, because the seller didn´t state correctly the mechanical defectiveness, so i end up paying U$120, wich is better :)

    and is better, because i also just make a deep clean of the lens and improve the smoothness :)
  • @driftwood
    It certainty is!
  • Hi,
    Anybody knows what m43 adapter I can use for AT-X TOKINA 24-40mm /2.8 FD mount?
    I tried this one, but it doesn't fit.

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/Canon-FD-lens-PANASONIC-G1-GF1-GH1-micro-4-3-Adapter-/150659006175?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2313f9fedf
  • Do you have other FD lenses that do fit? I may ask because it sounds like either you've received the wrong adapter, or you're not doing something right.

    When you say it doesn't fit, do you mean it won't couple at all, or it will couple but not twist into a locked position?
  • The others FD lenses fit fine, but on the AT-X TOKINA 24-40mm /2.8 FD mount it slightly couples, but the adapter is sticking out a bit; there's no way to fit the adapter and lock it into position.
  • some FD lenses have a little pin that gets in the way if it is stiff . . . just lean in with some elbow grease.
  • Thanks for the suggestion, but I got an FD adapter from a friend; it couples and locks fine.
  • I made a small and quick comparison between the 45mm f1.8 Oly and the FD 55mm 1.2 ssc aspherical.

    At 1.2 the FD 55mm lens glows and is unsharp.
    Stopped down one click (I think it's F 1.4 or F1.6) the FD 55mm comes to live, it has nice sharpness in the centre, actually it is sharper then the 45mm @ 1.8..... In the corners the 45mm Oly wins
    Stopped down to f2.8 both lenses are very sharp in the centre but the Oly has a slight edge. In the corners the Oly is sharper.
    Stopped down further to f5.6 it's the same story Oly is slightly sharper in the centre and sharper on the far corners, although the FD 55mm sharpened up a bit in the far corners...
    At f16 there's almost no difference.
  • the 20mm/2.8 is great.
    this and the50mm/1.4 make a perfect combo.
  • For comparison, here the Canon FD 1.2 SSC Aspherical @ 1.4
    P1000094-FD-55mm-1.2Aspherical-1.5.JPG
    4592 x 3448 - 4M
  • And here the Oly 45mm 1.8 @ f1.8

    For both, focus on manual, 2second shutter delay and AWB
    P1000082-OLY-45mm-1.8-1.8.JPG
    4592 x 3448 - 4M
  • Took also a shot with the FD 200mm f2.8
    Same settings as above but further away....
    Actually it doesn't look so nice, what do think?

    But it's quite sharp wide open!
    It doesn't become really sharper when you stop down but picture looks cleaner.
    P1000102-FD200mm-2.8-2.8.JPG
    4592 x 3448 - 4M
  • I have a set of FD lenses (85mm 1.8, 50mm 1.4, 17mm 4) adapt with ciecio7. Here happens SOMETHING STRANGE:
    Sometime I could change the aperture directly in the lens ring, sometime it still remains on the maximum aperture. It seems that if I put the lens on the old Canon T90 body an then on the adapter i will be able to change the aperture. If i put the lens another time to the adapter it will not still works.
    Any suggestions? I would be happy to could everytime control exposere on the lens ring..
  • @Kihlian

    Put your C7 adapter on your GH2. Now . . . place the lens up to the adapter, with the lens's red dot matching up with the LEFTMOST dot on the C7 adapter (as viewed from above when standing behind the camera). Next, rotate the lens to match dots with the ONTHER dot on the adapter, keeping the lens snug up to the adapter. The lens should seat down onto the adapter at this point. Finally, turn the FT lock ring (or the lens if a "new" FD lens).

    There is a spring-loaded aperture control lever on the back of every FD lens. this MUST be caught and pulled back by the protrusions on the inside of your C7 adapter. Otherwise, you will not have aperture control. It may sound complex but it really is very easy. I just wanted to be sure you got detailed instructions. Try it a few times and you'll understand.