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Canon Lens FD 400mm 1:4.5
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PostPosted: Sat May 30, 2020 2:39 am    Post subject: Canon Lens FD 400mm 1:4.5 Reply with quote

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Last edited by Blazer0ne on Tue Feb 22, 2022 4:31 pm; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Sat May 30, 2020 10:27 am    Post subject: Re: Canon Lens FD 400mm 1:4.5 Reply with quote

Blazer0ne wrote:
Canon Lens FD 400mm 1:4.5

Not a terrible lens if you can work it out in the end.


Not at all if you use it for what it was probably made: Animals and sports (and, to some extent, portraiture). Which means ...

1) Main subject in the central part of the image
2) Mostly green surroundings (the lens is quite well corrected for green colors)

However, lateral CAs can become quite hefty when shooting other subjects, such as this mountain landscape. Here's a 100% drop from the border (not even the corner!!) from an image taken in the central part of the Swiss Alps. First the entire image, taken with a Sony A7II 24 MP full frame camera and re-sized to 1000px:


Now the 100% crop from the above image (JPG out of camera)


Stephan


PostPosted: Sat May 30, 2020 2:42 pm    Post subject: Re: Canon Lens FD 400mm 1:4.5 Reply with quote

Blazer0ne wrote:
Canon Lens FD 400mm 1:4.5

Not a terrible lens if you can work it out in the end.



Not a bad lens at all. Like 1


PostPosted: Sat May 30, 2020 3:06 pm    Post subject: Re: Canon Lens FD 400mm 1:4.5 Reply with quote

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Last edited by Blazer0ne on Tue Feb 22, 2022 7:11 pm; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Sat May 30, 2020 3:10 pm    Post subject: Re: Canon Lens FD 400mm 1:4.5 Reply with quote

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PostPosted: Sat May 30, 2020 4:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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Last edited by Blazer0ne on Tue Feb 22, 2022 4:31 pm; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Sat May 30, 2020 4:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote



I used to own one of these lenses until it was stolen a few years ago. I used it mostly for taking pics of birds and other subjects at medium tele distances. I found it to be quite a good lens and, if chromatic aberrations sprang up, I was usually able to correct for them in software.

The following three photos were taken with a Canon XS using an FD to EOS adapter with the glass removed. Because the 400/4.5 focuses past infinity, I was able to focus with this lens and my EOS out to about 30 meters.







Here is a shot I took at my old house. There is a water kiosk about 400 meters away that I used to shoot pics of to evaluate the sharpness and color correction of my lenses. This is a shot I took with the Canon 400 f/4.5 at f/8, using a 10.1 mp Canon XS set to ISO 100. No processing was done to the image apart from reduction to fit in the forums. The white vanes on the windmill do a good job of revealing CAs. Note the vane on the right -- it's exhibiting a fair amount of magenta fringing. The script "We care about the water you drink" gives a good example of sharpness. Compared to my other telephotos, this lens scored above average.



PostPosted: Sat May 30, 2020 5:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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Last edited by Blazer0ne on Tue Feb 22, 2022 6:54 pm; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Sat May 30, 2020 6:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Blazer0ne wrote:

I'm sure we could rewrite the book on practical uses for this lens. However, had mine been stolen, I might replace. Not before looking into what would be the very next step up on the Canon front price / performance wise. Would it be some 300mm f2.8 with a 1.4x TC?


Probably not. Newer lenses such as the Canon EF 5.6/400 L would offer a much better performance, nearly perfect wide open using the 24MP Sony A7 II ... If it must be an nFD, i would go for the 4.5/500 L, though

S


PostPosted: Sat May 30, 2020 10:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

These are from 2017. Samsung NX20. Haven't used the lens much recently..

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PostPosted: Sun May 31, 2020 5:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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PostPosted: Sun May 31, 2020 5:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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PostPosted: Sun May 31, 2020 12:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's not that I don't appreciate what the lens can do. When I got my K3-ii that was a step up in class and meant I preferred to use that camera with K lenses.
Fot the price I paid I know I'm in a MMV position.
I may try taking the FD 400 for a spin attached to the K3 with a macro rail, and a rubber ring washer to prevent light leaks, I think I should get focus to a reasonable distance - 20m??


PostPosted: Sun May 31, 2020 1:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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Last edited by Blazer0ne on Tue Feb 22, 2022 6:54 pm; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Mon Jun 01, 2020 1:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Blazer0ne wrote:
stevemark wrote:
Blazer0ne wrote:

I'm sure we could rewrite the book on practical uses for this lens. However, had mine been stolen, I might replace. Not before looking into what would be the very next step up on the Canon front price / performance wise. Would it be some 300mm f2.8 with a 1.4x TC?


Probably not. Newer lenses such as the Canon EF 5.6/400 L would offer a much better performance, nearly perfect wide open using the 24MP Sony A7 II ... If it must be an nFD, i would go for the 4.5/500 L, though

S


S, That lens is a stretch in more than one way. It is very expensive and heavy. A totally different class. Is there anything in the middle? $250 vs $1200 USD? No way!


That's why i mentioned the EF 5.6/400L - excellent lens, I saw them being sold for about 600 CHF (USD) here in Switzerland ...

S


PostPosted: Tue Jun 02, 2020 7:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 02, 2020 7:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 12:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Blazer0ne wrote:
cooltouch wrote:


I used to own one of these lenses until it was stolen a few years ago. I used it mostly for taking pics of birds and other subjects at medium tele distances. I found it to be quite a good lens and, if chromatic aberrations sprang up, I was usually able to correct for them in software.

The following three photos were taken with a Canon XS using an FD to EOS adapter with the glass removed. Because the 400/4.5 focuses past infinity, I was able to focus with this lens and my EOS out to about 30 meters.


I'm sure we could rewrite the book on practical uses for this lens. However, had mine been stolen, I might replace. Not before looking into what would be the very next step up on the Canon front price / performance wise. Would it be some 300mm f2.8 with a 1.4x TC?


That's exactly why I haven't replaced it -- because I own a 300/2.8 and a 1.4x TC for it. Actually, I owned the 300/2.8 and TC when I bought the Canon 400, but I got it at such a good price, I couldn't pass it up. Oh well. I also recently bought a Pentax 400mm f/4 Takumar for the 6x7, a lens which has gotten glowing reviews. It was a recent purchase and I haven't used it yet. One of the things I'm thinking of doing with it is getting an adapter from 6x7 to Nikon so that I can use it with my digital. So anymore these days I'm covered when it comes to moderately fast 400s.


PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 1:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I dreamed at one point of springing for the Pentax 67 400mm ED IF but I couldn't justify it. I would love to see what it does on a modern sensor. This site had the fantastic SMC pentax 67 55mm f4 as an A and rated the 400 ED IF as "stellar"


PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 4:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 8:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Maybe not free, but cheap enough. I use Corel's Paint SHop Pro, which has aome features that Photoshop lacks. Typically, Corel offers deep discounts on its current version of the software within a couple months of its annual release. I didn't decide to jump on PSP v2020, cuz v2019 is still doing me just fine. But I picked up v2019 for around $30 last year. Tthat was a new download. I'f I'd wanted to have a box or physical CD, it would have cost more.

At any rate, I've had very good luck removing CAs with PSP. And I've had very good luck with it for the past -- I dunno -- last 10 years of versions or so? So chances are, you can pick up an older copy of PSP for next to nothing.

Good point about the nFD 400/4.5's lightness and nimbleness. Because it has internalf focusing, it also focuses very fast, which can be a big help.

Also, there's been a long-standing rumor that the 400/4.5 contains a low-dispersion element, one that Canon has never disclaimed, to my knowledge.


PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 9:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

cooltouch wrote:

Also, there's been a long-standing rumor that the 400/4.5 contains a low-dispersion element, one that Canon has never disclaimed, to my knowledge.



The two large convex lenses in the front group of the FD / nFD 4.5/400mm are in fact made of low dispersive (LD, v=70) glass.
The FD / nFD 4.5/400mm however does neither contain a "ultra low dispersive glass" (ULD, v=80) nor a fluorite (v=93) lens. Canon tele lenses got the "L" designation only if they had either ULD (nFD 4/300L, 2.8/400L, 5.6/800L) or fluorite elements (nFD 2.8/300L, 4.5/500L). The FD / nFD 4.5/400 never (neither at f4.5 nor stopped down) gets close to the resolution of the nFD 2.8/400mm, even though the latter does have visible CA and lack a fluorite element. In fact the difference between an nFD 2.8/400 @ f2.8 and the FD @ f11 is quite dramatic!

Many other "ordinary" lenses such as the nFD 4/200mm IF or the nFD 5.6/300 IF do also contain LD (v=70) glass. Other similar lenses such as the Hexanon AR 4/200mm however do not contain LD glass; its convex lenses in the front part have a dispersion of v=64.

In 1974 there was, however, a prototype for a Canon 4.5/400mm lens with one fluorite and one LD lens. It was a very early embodiment of rear focusing lens - basically a classical five element tele lens with a positive triplet in front and a negative doublet in the back. For focusing, simply the doublet in the back was moved.

It soon became obvious that such a simple "internal focusing" was not sufficient. Canon therefore did add a field flattener (the remarkable, strongly bent element found in the middle part of every FD IF tele lens) for better correction. This version - which was marketed as FD and nFD 4.5/400mm - did not have the fluorite lens, though.

I could get into more detail, but for time being that's probably enough ...

Stephan


PostPosted: Thu Jun 11, 2020 1:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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PostPosted: Sun Sep 20, 2020 4:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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