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the late great Canon nFD 20mm f/2.8
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 3:10 am    Post subject: the late great Canon nFD 20mm f/2.8 Reply with quote
When Canon switched mounts a whole line of lenses drifted off to history. They are not romantic, especially the last in the line. Yet these are superb lenses, like the nFD 24/2, perhaps the greatest MF 24 ever made, and this seldom discussed beauty: the Canon nFD 20mm f/2.8



Like most nFDs it's lighter than it looks,

here it is today, wide open:


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http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5062/5586925019_a6ccb89803_b.jpg
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http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5062/5586925019_ef4a2c8fa0_o.jpg

this sweet little girl was born with the rare apert syndrome. She is doing really well, speaks fine and runs around playing like any other child. Loved having her picture taken. Her normal twin sister is half out of the frame. To my eye the nFD does her some real justice here.

just a touch of NR, otherwise as shot.

Last edited by uhoh7 on Mon Apr 04, 2011 8:28 am; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 6:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Great looking lens, I have one in the post too! The girl looks very interested in the lens, as I am Laughing


PostPosted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 7:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
ManualFocus-G wrote:
Great looking lens, I have one in the post too! The girl looks very interested in the lens, as I am Laughing


I hope you post up some shots when you get it Smile


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http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5137/5587516310_c3f6184bbe_b.jpg


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http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5067/5586917621_6ff6cc6994_b.jpg


PostPosted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 7:36 pm    Post subject: Re: the late great Canon nFD 20mm f/2.8 Reply with quote
uhoh7 wrote:
When Canon switched mounts a whole line of lenses drifted off to history. They are not romantic, especially the last in the line. Yet these are superb lenses, like the nFD 24/2, perhaps the greatest MF 24 ever made, and this seldom discussed beauty: the Canon nFD 20mm f/2.8



Like most nFDs it's lighter than it looks,

here it is today, wide open:


bigger
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5062/5586925019_a6ccb89803_b.jpg
original
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5062/5586925019_ef4a2c8fa0_o.jpg

this sweet little girl was born with the rare apert syndrome. She is doing really well, speaks fine and runs around playing like any other child. Loved having her picture taken. Her normal twin sister is half out of the frame. To my eye the nFD does her some real justice here.

just a touch of NR, otherwise as shot.


Cuties, both Smile Almost tempted to look into getting an NEX-5 because of these lenses.

Almost Smile


PostPosted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 9:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
You just buy the lens and change the mount.


PostPosted: Tue Apr 05, 2011 4:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Himself wrote:
You just buy the lens and change the mount.

You do this often with FD? How much time involved?

Nex bodies are showing up for 250 now, and they take everything from c-mount, ltm, to nikon, or hassie for that matter. No surgery (aka butchery)involved. 20 bucks per mount for an adapter. Rez as good as any aps-c, better than most.

Easy to carry also.

Great second camera, or my case now, only camera. Smile



PostPosted: Tue Apr 05, 2011 5:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I suspect that Canon's thrust regarding lens construction changed somewhat with the advent of the EF mount. By the mid-90s they still weren't offering a fast 24 or 35 L lens, although they were making a 20-35 f/2.8L. It seems to me that Canon had become more interested in developing very good zoom lenses to cover most focal lengths, but that they did still concentrate their energies on certain high-profile primes, like the 85/1.2L and the fast telephotos. That's where the glamor was -- and is.

Of course, Canon was already building some nice L-series zooms during the FD days. So when they started ramping up their EF selections, I suspect their market research indicated that this was where they should spend their R&D money, and that's what they did.


PostPosted: Tue Apr 05, 2011 7:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
cooltouch wrote:
I suspect that Canon's thrust regarding lens construction changed somewhat with the advent of the EF mount. By the mid-90s they still weren't offering a fast 24 or 35 L lens, although they were making a 20-35 f/2.8L. It seems to me that Canon had become more interested in developing very good zoom lenses to cover most focal lengths, but that they did still concentrate their energies on certain high-profile primes, like the 85/1.2L and the fast telephotos. That's where the glamor was -- and is.

Of course, Canon was already building some nice L-series zooms during the FD days. So when they started ramping up their EF selections, I suspect their market research indicated that this was where they should spend their R&D money, and that's what they did.


zooms and auto focus--the very thought of it makes me cringe.

of course the original sin was leaving rangefinders.

my modernistic blindspot is shooting digital instead of film. If you suck like me, you have to shoot a bunch and check your results ASAP. Smile


PostPosted: Tue Apr 05, 2011 8:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
uhoh7 wrote:
Himself wrote:
You just buy the lens and change the mount.

You do this often with FD? How much time involved?


I make some FD mount conversions. Sometimes I need a very high amount of time. I suppose some 30 hours of work. But This is partly because I try to make no lens butchery, but a full reversible conversion - no FD parts are harmed - if interested, visit my homepage.

I have a nFD 20mm f/2.8 too.
I start to convert it, but have stoped after recognized that it would not work on a unshaved EOS 5D on infinity.
So I use it at the moment as a near field wideangle lens:


_MG_2073-0.5 von Time-4-Photos auf Flickr

Probably I have to shave my mirror for different lenses - and then I could use the FD 20 on my EOS 5D


PostPosted: Tue Apr 05, 2011 8:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I don't do that but Stan - Trifox - is doing it.


PostPosted: Tue Apr 05, 2011 8:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
ZoneV wrote:

I make some FD mount conversions. Sometimes I need a very high amount of time. I suppose some 30 hours of work. But This is partly because I try to make no lens butchery, but a full reversible conversion - no FD parts are harmed - if interested, visit my homepage.

I have a nFD 20mm f/2.8 too.
I start to convert it, but have stoped after recognized that it would not work on a unshaved EOS 5D on infinity.

Probably I have to shave my mirror for different lenses - and then I could use the FD 20 on my EOS 5D


Thanks for great post. I admire your dedication.

It's testimony to the quality of some of these late nFD lenses that their prices remain stable in spite of the more limited applications when compared with Nikon AIS lenses.

The 20 goes for 150-220, and 24/2 for around 300.

The coatings on both of these are extremely good. Another lens worthy of note, but not cheap is the nFD 50 1.2 L, which might be the sharpest superspeed MF 50.

The more run of the mill nFDs are alot cheaper, and good performers too--some of them anyway.

The are sometimes bashed for their more "plasticy" feel, but in fact the builds are good, and they are 20% lighter in general than the FDs.

This is a real consideration if the nex is your platform, because anything over about 380 grams and you switch to a "lens holding" technique.

Both the 20 and especially the diminutive 24/2 handle great with the sony.

20 dealing with some backlight:


bigger
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5057/5586919829_12e9653cb9_b.jpg
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