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Vivitar vs Canon FD lenses
  • phazedreality818phazedreality818

    hello all. i am very new to photography and videography. i have purchased a gh2 about 2 months ago and love it. my dad had some old school canon fd lenses laying around from when he was in the military in the early 80s. i bought the ciecio7 adapter and it works wonderfully. i love how the images are detailed, yet soft, and how the bokeh is incredibly nice.

    i have a 50mm f1.8 and a 135mm 3.5

    i am looking to buy a wider angle lens but i am caught between canon lenses and vivitar lenses for the fd mount. i am looking to get a fast (f2.0 or lower) 24 or 28mm lens, and the vivitar ones are much much much more affordable than their canon counterpart.

    my question is this. how much of a difference is there between the canon fd and vivitar fd lenses? is the difference in price worth it to go for the canon? how does the vivitar lens hold up on its own?

  • 14 Replies sorted by
  • stoneystoney

    Vivitar 28mm f2 Close Focus is ok on M43. Its corner sharpness sucks, but M43 crops it and gets the good center part. It'll be a good match to Canon FD 50mm. Just make sure to block the direct sunlight as it gets ugly flares.

  • phazedreality818phazedreality818

    So you would choose the vivitar over the canon? Is it a better option?

  • stoneystoney

    I never had Canon FD 24mm or 28mm. But Vivitar was good enough. If I were you, I wouldn't be too picky about vintage lenses.

  • DrDaveDrDave

    I'm a big fan of the Vivitar close Focus 28/2.8. You can read online the differences between that and the 2.0 in the very long thread with lots of image examples. However, the Panasonic 14mm is much wider, smaller, lighter and focuses very fast and silent. It is an amazing lens for really very little money. You can often find them on eBay for $165.

    I have boxes full of old lenses from years of photography. And although I like the Vintage look of the 28mm, the only old Vivitars I ever use are the 55 and 92 macros.

    Also consider the Sigma 24mm Ultra wide ii--extremely sharp edge to edge , and often very cheap. I have the AF version with an eBay adapter that allows me to change the aperture.

  • RRRRRRRR

    Canon 24mm f2.0 is great, but it´s not so easy to find. Canon 28mm f2.0 is pretty good (I´d go for 24mm if I had to choose) but I´m waiting to try out a vivitar 28mm f2.8..

    I´m getting a couple of vivitar series 1 zooms soon, I´ll let you know how that works out! (they´ve got a good reputation, or at least certain ones)

  • vicharrisvicharris

    I picked up one of those Vivitar 28mm 2.8 lenses off of ebay a few months ago for $30. Great deal and matches pretty well with my old Canon SSC 50mm and 85mm glass.

  • phazedreality818phazedreality818

    I just ordered a canon 28mm f2.8 for 30$. I'll see how well it does. I love my 50mm f1.8. It is amazing in low light. I hope this 2.8 isn't too far off. I wish I could afford the f1.4 right now. Maybe soon, god willing.

  • stoneystoney

    I heard FD 50mm 1.8 is sharper than 1.4. At 1.4, too much CA. Usually I use aperture at 2.8 or higher. Those vintage lenses are, I think, mainly for the unique look and feel (from imperfection... wabi-sabi). 2.8 or even 4.0 vintage zooms are good to collect.

  • phazedreality818phazedreality818

    i love the look from these old lenses. its soft yet detailed. thats the best way i can describe it. i wouldnt use it for run and gun video, but for photos, i prefer it. the 50mm 1.8 is my go to lens for the moment. it just zooms in too much in tight situations.

    i have the panasonic 14-42mm lens that came with the gh2 but i dont like it for photos. its way too sharp and is not good in low light at all.

    i see the vivitar lenses are half the price as the canon ones, i think maybe next week i will get my hands on one of them and compare.

  • balazerbalazer

    I have the Sigma 24-mm f/2.8 Ultra-Wide II. It's a fine lens, except for very bad flare resistance.

  • bostonmikebostonmike

    I have a Komine made Vivitar 28-90mm that is awesome. I love this lens all around. Can get some nice macro shots with a shallow depth of field..a nice bokeh with background lights. Just took it out with me on a rainy, dreary day and I love the way the shadows fall off in my clips..lots of contrast if that's what you're looking for...if someone tries to mug you, you can twist off the lens and knock the snot out of them with it, its heavy as shit!..the only drawback.

  • phazedreality818phazedreality818

    does anyone know what the crop factor is for using these old fd lenses on a gh2?

  • LC_Digital_ArtLC_Digital_Art

    I have an FD Vivitar 28mm f2.8 and the C.A of this lens is terrible at low apertures values. And it's very soft compared to my FD 50mm f1,8. I have regret that i have chosen this one over the 28mm f2.8 canon. The crop factor is the same ( X 1.86 ). It doesn't have to do anything with the lenses. It has to do with the gh2 sensor size related to the size of a 35mm stills sensor camera.

  • phazedreality818phazedreality818

    so to my understanding, the focal length is 86% larger when using a fd lens?

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