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Lenses for Canon FD mount
  • 188 Replies sorted by
  • meemee

    @allenswrench that's quite the offer.

    I suppose I should have mentioned some other facts about the videos. 1st, I was using a tripod 2nd in the big cat shot I was at near maximum zoom in Ex Tele, and was also probably at F8. Vimeo added a bunch of unpleasant noise to the big cat shot. With the Elephant I was also very zoomed in, though I can't remember if it was Ex Tele mode or not. With the elephant shot I started wide open at f5.6 and stopped it down to 11 I believe. I don't think I messed with the film speed while recording, though it is possible. Then with the Red Panda I was zoomed in, but I am guessing not on ex tele, at this point I had pretty decent light so was probably at F11 or greater. The film speeds I used throughout the day were 125 and 250 for some of the faster animals, but these were likely all 125.

    So now to answer your questions.

    I am happy with this lens. I chose this lens simply because it was available, it was lighter than other FD's available in my price range and I wanted a zoom lens so I could do a combination of wild life shooting, landmark spotting from hilltops, and candid crowd shots in Tokyo.

    I bought the GH2 because I have wanted to make films as far back as I can remember, but it was never within my reach to have the equipment to do this with. Being that the GH2 pretty much coincided with my move to Japan, and many things I wanted to film as a tourist it just made sense to make the leap now, since even if I don't achieve my dreams of making films I will have some wonderful images of Japan to remember for the rest of my life, as well as sharing them with friends and family.

    As for what type of filming I want to do with the GH2, it is a pretty wide spectrum. I am planning some documentary's, some short films, and a feature for when I am more comfortable using this camera adequately. I really love filming nature, and traditional life in Japan as well. I also have plans to start filming local car shows and skaters (skateboarders), and I have just started working on claymation. I am an atypical ADD case, so I need to be doing many things if I want to do anything.

  • meemee

    To elaborate a bit on my situation. I have chosen FD's because of a combination of money (lack of) and a desire to use some manual lenses to improve my skill. I know FD lenses aren't the best out there, but allot of different FD lenses are reasonable for my budget, meaning I can afford to get a few really cheap ones a month, or maybe one really nice one every three months, giving me a wide spectrum of lenses to experiment with. Hopefully in the near future I can actually get paid for my video skills a bit, and if that bit becomes a bit more I would like to invest in better newer lenses at some stage. That stage is just not in site at this moment.

    I really would like some comments related directly to what you don't like about the zoom lens, ie some pointers on what I should be looking at as good and bad. I literally have used this lens just 2 or 3 times now, so I am sure I can find its strengths and weaknesses with a bit of help and improve the way I use it. My next investment will be a wide angle fast lens. I am hoping very wide, very fast. I have two 50mm F1.8 FD's, one newer, one older, the older one I can't figure out how to get the aperture to work, and the newer one seems to have some light issues (like the light fluctuates)

  • allenswrenchallenswrench

    Hi @mee , first of all thanks for elaborating exactely along the lines. I will send you the lens regardless of what opinions are (please PM me for address etc). Please note also that I always write "exactely" in stead of exactly as it makes it easy to google my posts on different sites. I hope the 35 will help you in your storytelling - it sure is very special. There were 2 reasons why it was in the "egg basket"; first, it was an older breech FD, seeming more yellow and contrasty (contrast allegedly due to thorium), and secondly, since its huge focus ring was not made for follow focus and it would move while pulling focus. So, this one is going to Japan :) All my Fd's are my children, and although all being originally japanese, my final set came from all over :)

    24 f2 from Japan 28 f2 from @mimirsan (very nice forum member in the UK) 35 f2 from Canada 50 f1,2 from Germany 85 f1,8 from the UK and a non FD 12mm f1,6 from Netherlands (but actually from China)

    As I am getting rid of my "egg basket", another 2 lenses will be available... sorry no 35 f2 or so, but I have excellents nFD copies of 50mm 1,8 and nFD 28mm 2,8 . I kept these in case something happened to my fabulous 5 but now I will be giving them away.

  • TakumarTakumar

    As far as radioactive lenses is concerned, watch out for the FLs as well.

    28 3.5 50 1.8 And of course the beautiful 58 1.2 (couldn't let that one go... ;)

  • allenswrenchallenswrench

    Well, you can buy a small uplighter in Ikea, and leave the lens on it...that in a week or so gets rid of the yellow hue. Canon did measurements, and if they are to be trusted, the lifetime exposure to carrying this lens on your body is neglible. However, the breech and nFD lenses could not be more different. The breech FDs are very "dark and deep" looking as people tend to say, and after that, the nFDs tend to almost look "blue" or cold. Off course, this is nonsense, as the Samyangs look very "gray" and "sharpened" and they are way more extreme designs (but newer). Really, the old FDs are hit or miss.... most of them don't work with follow focus, but you have to admire the optics and heavy metal make. The nFDs are (from what I have seen) super matched to BCD RAW so many fans will jump onto it, making 70ties clips nobody wants to see. The most ridiculous was the appearance of the RED FD adapter that fried a couple of Epics and Scarlets...I GUESS it's not ready for primetime yet! However, the FDs shot up in price.....

  • allenswrenchallenswrench

    Directors who get big-ass commercial contracts don't even know how it works... I open my case and all my FD's have m43 adapter and a 77 step up rings... they are , what are these lenses???will it if hahah :) then you strip the lens for a RED and they are condescending a bit... Although, you can see as soon as you open my case 1 thing... all the ff rings are aligned. CP2s are also all same lenght but they are 10 times more expensive :)

  • meemee

    Thanks Allenswrench, I really appreciate it, and will put the lens to good use. I will PM you my address.

  • meemee

    One of the 50mm f1.8 lenses I picked up recently is an older breach lock design, and the aperture was set to wide open by the guy that helped me, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to adjust it now on this lens. I figured out the newer 50mm f1.8 lens (took a bit of time), but this one has me stumped. Can someone please guide me?

  • itimjimitimjim

    @mee it could be that the aperture is stuck. Is the aperture ring rotating?

  • meemee

    @itimjim, thanks for the response. The aperture is ring rotating very smoothly.

  • itimjimitimjim

    @mee but the aperture/iris doesn't actually move? If yes, then it's stuck.

  • meemee

    I'm willing to believe that, but on the newer FD lens I have, it also would not open and close until I messed with the levers and stuff, but it works flawlessly now. So assuming you are right, what steps do I need to take to fix it. I opened the newer one and succesfully declicked it with 3 days of trial and error, so I am pretty sure I can handle this one, but directions are always appreciated.

  • meemee

    So I guess I am on my own?

  • 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.

  • nomadnomad

    If the blades are oily, clean them with Isopropanol.

  • meemee

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

  • nomadnomad

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

  • 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

    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

    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.

  • 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

    @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

    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

    @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?

  • 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

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