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.

testing my lenses part 139 - Canon FD 70-210mm/4
Post new topic Reply to topic
View previous topic :: View next topic  


Post
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 7:02 pm
Post subject: testing my lenses part 139 - Canon FD 70-210mm/4
Reply
Post
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 7:02 pm
Post subject: testing my lenses part 139 - Canon FD 70-210mm/4
Reply
samples taken with Olympus E-M5













Post
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 7:38 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 7:38 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Do you have similar zooms like Rokkor , Pentax or Vivitar ?
I would be interested to know how does it compare to them .
I read somewhere that this zoom lacks colour saturation . I cannot see that in your nice shots.


Post
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 7:46 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 7:46 pm
Post subject:
Reply
memetph wrote:
Do you have similar zooms like Rokkor , Pentax or Vivitar ?
I would be interested to know how does it compare to them .
I read somewhere that this zoom lacks colour saturation . I cannot see that in your nice shots.


other 70-210 that i have are Minolta MD , Tamron, and 2 vivitars (one with broken aperture control so it's wide open)
you can see samples with them in my other testing my lenses threads.

after the thread comparing Canon FD 55mm/1.2 and Olympus OM 55mm/1.2 and responses i got there about my comparison, i prefer not making other comparisons like that.

color saturation was just fine in sun lit shots, didn't have to correct it in PP


Post
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 8:15 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 8:15 pm
Post subject:
Reply
I have the MD 70/210 . Which one do you prefer ?


Post
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 8:18 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 8:18 pm
Post subject:
Reply
vivitar 70-210mm/3.5, but it's heavier than others


Post
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 8:44 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 8:44 pm
Post subject:
Reply
That looks like a very capable lens, the colours are good, it's sharp. What else do we want? But....we also expect Canon and the other major manufacturers to make decent consumer lenses. It's a hotly contested range, everyone bought a 70-210 as their long lens back in the day so competition was keen. Years ago I had the FD 80-200 f4 which was excellent, but I think the Vivitar Series 1's and the Tamron 19AH were nearly as good as the major manufacturers lenses, they were certainly the best value.
I like this Canon though.


Post
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 10:13 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 10:13 pm
Post subject:
Reply
In the past, I have compared quite a few legacy tele zooms on the A7II (results not published), among them the following:

Minolta MC 4.5/80-200mm
Minolta MD 4.5/75-200mm
Minolta MD 4/70-210mm
Canon nFD 4/70-210mm
Canon nFD 4/80-200mm
Pentax-A 4/70-210mm
Nikkor AiS 4/70-210mm
Konica Hexanon AR 3.5/80-200mm
Konica UD Hexanon AR 4/80-200mm

Most lenses, especially the 4/70-210mm items, perform VERY similar. There are diferences, yes, but nothing significant for everyday work.

Slightly better than the others was the MD 4/70-210mm, distinctively worse than the others was the Konica AR 3.5/80-200mm.

Please be aware that a fixed lens such as a Minolta MD 2/85mm or a Minolta MD-I 4/200mm gives significantly better detail resolution than the mentioned zooms, especially wide open.

Please be also aware, that even zooms like the old Minolta AF 2.8/80-200mm APO are clearly better than all MF tele zooms mentioned above.

Stephan


Post
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 10:38 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 10:38 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Great vivid colors, sharpness!


Post
Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2015 1:47 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2015 1:47 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Thank you Stevemark.
I shall stay by my MD 70/210 . There are some cheap offers for the Canon nFD but I buy lenses to use and not to collect them .


Post
Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2015 4:50 pm
Post subject:
Reply
Post
Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2015 4:50 pm
Post subject:
Reply
I own a nFD 70-210, but I've seldom used it. I got it as part of a kit I bought a couple years ago. The nFD 70-210 is an iconic lens in the Canon FD line. It was probably the most popular Canon zoom sold in the 1980s. Interestingly enough, though, Canon kept the 80-200 two-ring zoom, which was originally an SSC lens, in production. The 80-200 always sold for more than the 70-210, and was quite expensive by comparison.

I'm glad to see such excellent photos. They tell me I should take out my nFD 70-210 more often.
Post new topic Reply to topic
Page 1 of 1