MFlenses - A new life in a digital age
MFLenses 2026

Manual Focus Lenses Forum

Explore the world of vintage lenses through repair notes, real test shots, and detailed archive threads packed with images.

Explore the world of vintage lenses through repair notes, real test shots, and detailed archive threads packed with images.
logovectorizer.com
Spotlight

Featured partner placement for the forum front page.

Canon FD 80-200 f/4 L
Post new topic Reply to topic
View previous topic :: View next topic  


Post
Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 10:34 pm
Post subject: Canon FD 80-200 f/4 L
Reply
Post
Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 10:34 pm
Post subject: Canon FD 80-200 f/4 L
Reply
Irregular shooting again .. because the lens has still got its native mount Smile

Just holding the lens with my hand and .. aargh -- it;s so hard ! ..

You can get blurry or dark corners very easily .. .

all shots wide open - I can not close the aperture at all

Focusing to infinity impossible, of course ..

#1


#2


#3


#4


#5


#6


#7


tf


Post
Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 12:19 am
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 12:19 am
Post subject:
Reply
Stunning colors, great pictures!


Post
Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 1:06 am
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 1:06 am
Post subject:
Reply
Great results. It must be fun trying to hold the camera and lense and focus.


Post
Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 4:06 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 4:06 pm
Post subject:
Reply
I think it was a good decision with the conversation !!! Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy


Post
Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 4:44 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 4:44 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Thanks for comments.

@ Rolf -- yes, Smile

the lens is amazing ..

tf


Post
Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 4:53 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 4:53 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Hi Stan,

I know you are a CZ fan. Do you know the Vario-Sonnar 4/80-200mm ?

If yes, what do you think. Is the FD better or equal or ...... ?

Wink


Post
Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 5:18 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 5:18 pm
Post subject:
Reply
no need of conversion with yours steady hands!

Rolf, the Canon is not cheap, with 1 fluorine & 1 UD it is better than the Zeiss


Post
Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 5:25 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 5:25 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Looks like a super lens, #1 is the best photo for me.


Post
Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 7:03 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 7:03 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Orio wrote:
Looks like a super lens, #1 is the best photo for me.


Smile Stan makes every lens to super one , ask him to make test with a Domiplan or something well known low quality lens and let we see Wink


Post
Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 9:07 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 9:07 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Oh!

Thanks for your comments again Smile

@ poilu -- I am thinking about the same -- why not try the lens in first and then get it converted Smile

@ Rolf - CZ 80-200 f/4 is a great lens and it has unique character -- it's hard to say -- I would have to do some tests but I think they won't be relevant .

Canon FD 80-200 f/4 L has not been reissued anymore -- it's also unique .. and considering the fact that this lens won't be out again -- same as Vario-Sonnar 4/80-200.. sounds strange ..

Both these guys just exist but they have no successors ( Shocked )

tf


Post
Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 11:53 am
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 11:53 am
Post subject:
Reply
Super samples, simply stunning results.

love the colors of #1, #3

Cheers
Tobias


Post
Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 9:12 am
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 9:12 am
Post subject:
Reply
Simply superb. Great lense, great photographer. Astonishing!

Thomas


Post
Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 9:14 am
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 9:14 am
Post subject:
Reply
Never mind the lens. Superb photographer! Laughing


Post
Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 10:53 am
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 10:53 am
Post subject:
Reply
Great photos! I've got the same lens and will need to work on getting a lot more good shots out of it. At least I can't blame the lens now Wink


Post
Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2010 10:56 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2010 10:56 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Rolf wrote:
I think it was a good decision with the conversation !!! Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy


The conversion of this lens is everytime a good decision.

So i decided to convert this lens also after getting a cheap copy some days ago..

Now its a manual Canon EF 4/80-200L.. Very Happy



And these are the first shots with the lens @f4 before reconstructing the aperture mechanism. In the meantime the work is done completely..

#1



+2



#3



#4 Infinity @f4



crop...


#5




This is a fantastic lens.. and no problems @infinity on EOS 5D !!




Cheers
Henry


Post
Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 6:31 am
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 6:31 am
Post subject:
Reply
Wow Henry !

You must be a very well repairman. I sent my lens few month ago to the partner of Stan and he have had a lot of work and problems with my lens (in terms of very very small tolerances during calibration to get infinity etc)

For the conversion we decided to use a chinese adapter with AF confirm chip.

If you have this lens within your arsenal there is no need to buy a new EF 70-200 L.

Congrats !

Wink


Post
Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 7:18 am
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 7:18 am
Post subject:
Reply
Hi Rolf,

i do have both in my collection, the 4/80-200L and the successor EF 4/70-200L USM and in the next days i will start a comparison for our german DCC Forum between both lenses.

The conversion can be done easily, but to set up the apterture mechanic is a bit tricky. Also to get a 100% limited infinity (lens goes a little bit beyond infinity without spacer to correct) takes a bit of time...

But this doesnt bother me.. i have a perfect viewfinder and if i need the absolut exact infinity... i do use the LiveView Feature of my 5D MKII.

Converted, this is a phantstic lens for each system.

Grab this beauty for 70 Euro from a Pro - Seller, who didnt know what he is selling. Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy

To place an EMF Chip on the simple Elox M42 Adapter is easy.. but i do not like the Chip, its not exactly enough for my needs..

Cheers
Henry

Last edited by hinnerker on Sat Sep 04, 2010 1:26 pm; edited 1 time in total


Post
Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 7:49 am
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 7:49 am
Post subject:
Reply
Hi Henry,

70 € are too much !

I paid 40 € at my dealer - he didn´t know what he was selling - thought that this lens was the standard FD 70-210mm zoom not seeing the red line at the top. The sun hood was in the wrong direction at the lens and I bought it without unscrewing it or any other test - just right out of the window Laughing Laughing Laughing Laughing

Now I´m looking from time to time for the big brother 100-300mm L hoping to find another seller not knowing what he has in his hand.

What is DCC ? Digicamclub ?

Wink


Post
Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 8:25 am
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 8:25 am
Post subject:
Reply
Rolf wrote:
Hi Henry,

70 € are too much !

I paid 40 € at my dealer - he didn´t know what he was selling - thought that this lens was the standard FD 70-210mm zoom not seeing the red line at the top. The sun hood was in the wrong direction at the lens and I bought it without unscrewing it or any other test - just right out of the window Laughing Laughing Laughing Laughing

Now I´m looking from time to time for the big brother 100-300mm L hoping to find another seller not knowing what he has in his hand.

What is DCC ? Digicamclub ?

Wink


Yes Rolf, DCC = Digicamclub..

congrats for getting this beauty for a better price then i have paid for.. Very Happy

This lens is really a very nice one... after shooting some pictures with this lens, i am in love with piece of glas. maybe a bit more vignetting on a fullframe as the successor, but nice and warm colours and a creamy bokeh as far as i can see after some the first test shots..

The lens came with a stuck aperture, but to service that lens is also very, very easy to do.. some screws and you can clean the aperture, because the whole back element of the optical group (including the aperture) can remove.. on DCC i will write a documentation of the conversion and the way to service the lens if someone found a copy with oily blades..

Some further pic, open aperture..

a crop..




out of this ..




and another crop.. open ! very strong light conditions.. you can see the very good behavior .. its a stress-test.. the UD and Fluorite Element works great..



the crop was taken out of this.. about 10-15 meter distance at F=200mm



In my eyes, this Zoom is maybe the best Canon Lens in this focal range from older days. It was introduced in 1985, a short time before Canon did change the mount to EF in 1987.. so not much people realized the introduction of this really good lens.. (including myself)

Cheers
Henry


Post
Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 10:02 am
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 10:02 am
Post subject:
Reply
This is very useful info for me, Henry.

Your samples are fantastic and show the capability of the lens!!!

Your conversion looks GREAT

The infinity GOES beyond with ORIGINAL FD camera AS WELL ..

So, if you mount this lens on FD camera with his original mount, you can not get 100 per cent infinity anyway

In other words - it's not worth of effort to tune the ACCURATE infinity. So, don't worry.

(Whereas, Contax 4/80-200 has the infinity ACCURATE on Contax camera system)

Henry -- well done.


Canon FD 80-200 f/4 L -- affordable APO zoom Smile - this lens has not been re-issued anymore.

Optical performance is simply great -- yes, vignetting is visible when fully open but bokeh of this lens is AMAZING.
Colours are WARMER than Lanthar 90 f3.5 Smile ....

.... this is example is strong light condition Smile - f/4




@ Rolf -- I have got its 'BRO' Canon FD 100-300 f5.6 L -- it is also GREAT -- the bokeh is EVEN better

It's hard to say which one is better Smile

Stan


Post
Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 1:47 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 1:47 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Hi Stan,

this is not a parfocal working lens like the Angenieux Zoom lenses, so it has no fixed infinity.. its different and depending from focal lenght. So fine tuning this is not really an issue .. there you are right. IMHO the best way is to take the nearest focus distance at a given focal lenght to bring the lens in the correct working condition/distance..

On my copy, the nearest focus distance is 0.90 meter to the sensor plane at F=200mm and .96 meter at 80mm.

Infinity was reached @200mm at this point..




@F=80mm the point is earlier... near 6-7 meter...

In macro mode, the difference is much smaller in total.

So you can not find a correct infinity because this is not a fixed parfocal lens.

Cheers
Henry


Post
Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 3:20 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 3:20 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Thanks Henry.

Robert was trying to get the best infinity perfomarmance at BOTH ends - which is - IMPOSSIBLE Smile

this is ONLY one 'disadvantage' of this lens.

The 100-300 is even worse Smile in this.

So

Last edited by trifox on Sat Sep 04, 2010 5:19 pm; edited 1 time in total


Post
Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 4:48 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 4:48 pm
Post subject:
Reply
This afternoon with Canon 1DsMkIII



Wink


Post
Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2011 12:59 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2011 12:59 pm
Post subject:
Reply
thankyou Henry for these wonderful shots!

I have the chance to pick one of these rare lenses up at the moment.

I am just wondering how it will go on my 7d. do i need a certain adapter to allow infinity focus of should the fd to eos be fine?

i also want to use it for filming with my 7d and GH1, but am just wondering if it will be fast enough?


Post
Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2011 6:06 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2011 6:06 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Stan

I do not know how you do it. Handheld in a very literal sense! Quite the demo for that lens too.


patrickh
Post new topic Reply to topic
Goto pagePrevious 1 2 Next
Page 1 of 2