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Canon FD 80-200mm f/4 S.S.C. on Canon EOS R
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 3:01 pm    Post subject: Canon FD 80-200mm f/4 S.S.C. on Canon EOS R Reply with quote

A lens that was raved about when it was listed, for having the reputation of being one of the best zooms ever. Bought it a few weeks ago for little money, and quickly tested it in the park in front of my studio. Still a good performer, especially considering that the shots, all at maximum aperture, were untouched at all, JPG as gouged out of the camera, and as we all know, this does not apply to modern lenses that receive a lot of corrections already in the JPG, particularly in mirrorless cameras.

_A1A9792 by sante.castignani, su Flickr

_A1A9785 by sante.castignani, su Flickr

_A1A9790 by sante.castignani, su Flickr

_A1A9789 by sante.castignani, su Flickr

_A1A9782 by sante.castignani, su Flickr

_A1A9776 by sante.castignani, su Flickr

_A1A9775 by sante.castignani, su Flickr

_A1A9774 by sante.castignani, su Flickr


PostPosted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 4:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Back in the days when I used FD cameras, the Canon FD 80-200mm, whether the older breechlock or the newer New FD mount, this lens was always considered by Canon to be their "professional" tele zoom. The 70-210 was priced a lot cheaper and considered an amateur optic. These days, you can find both for pretty cheap prices on the used market. I picked up a 70-210 several years ago for a cheap price -- don't recall anymore what I paid for it. But last year, I picked up a mint 80-200 in New FD mount for $20. I just couldn't say no at that price, especially recalling what they sold for when new.

One reason why I picked it up was to see for myself just how good it was, and I found it to be an excellent optic when used with my Sony NEX 7. But I was also curious to see just how big of a difference there is between the 80-200 and the "amateur" 70-210. I haven't performed any testing between the two yet. Another project I haven't gotten around to yet.


PostPosted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 5:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

cooltouch wrote:
Back in the days when I used FD cameras, the Canon FD 80-200mm, whether the older breechlock or the newer New FD mount, this lens was always considered by Canon to be their "professional" tele zoom. The 70-210 was priced a lot cheaper and considered an amateur optic. These days, you can find both for pretty cheap prices on the used market. I picked up a 70-210 several years ago for a cheap price -- don't recall anymore what I paid for it. But last year, I picked up a mint 80-200 in New FD mount for $20. I just couldn't say no at that price, especially recalling what they sold for when new.

One reason why I picked it up was to see for myself just how good it was, and I found it to be an excellent optic when used with my Sony NEX 7. But I was also curious to see just how big of a difference there is between the 80-200 and the "amateur" 70-210. I haven't performed any testing between the two yet. Another project I haven't gotten around to yet.


Well, the 70-210 is said to be optically superior to the albeit more expensive 80-200. Even on these pages we have seen really eloquent images, and some even go so far as to bring it close to the 80-200 L.
I, however, sympathize with the old one, because I prefer the double ring, and if I can I take the old FDs that do not suffer from the well-known bearing problems of the new ones, of which I have also always disliked the unsexy and plasticky aperture ring.

First-world problems, of course Laugh 1


PostPosted: Thu Sep 22, 2022 2:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ultrapix wrote:


Well, the 70-210 is said to be optically superior to the albeit more expensive 80-200. Even on these pages we have seen really eloquent images, and some even go so far as to bring it close to the 80-200 L.
I, however, sympathize with the old one, because I prefer the double ring, and if I can I take the old FDs that do not suffer from the well-known bearing problems of the new ones, of which I have also always disliked the unsexy and plasticky aperture ring.

First-world problems, of course Laugh 1


Well I just looked up that famous test of tele zoom which was published in the German "Color Foto" in the beginning of the 1980s'. The tested FD 80-200 mm f/4 and 70-210 f/4 lenses showed optical performances which were much too similar to declare one as being better than the other Wink . In fact, I once tested the two lenses and results were very hard to distinguish when not pixelpeeping the images at 200% in Photoshop....

Of the two lenses, I definitely prefer the 80-200 f/4 for practical reasons : MFD (1 m versus 1,20 m), lens hood (integrated vs. separate), build quality and handling, I find the 80-200 mm f/4 nicer to use in the field than his push-pull brother, to the point that my optically superior 80-200 L often stays at home.

BTW, the 80-200 f/4 does suffer from failed bearings and replacing them in my two samples (SSC and nFD) vastly improved the precision (infinity stop on different focal lengths) and sharpness (mainly at the longest focal length).


PostPosted: Thu Sep 22, 2022 2:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Alsatian2017 wrote:
Ultrapix wrote:


Well, the 70-210 is said to be optically superior to the albeit more expensive 80-200. Even on these pages we have seen really eloquent images, and some even go so far as to bring it close to the 80-200 L.
I, however, sympathize with the old one, because I prefer the double ring, and if I can I take the old FDs that do not suffer from the well-known bearing problems of the new ones, of which I have also always disliked the unsexy and plasticky aperture ring.

First-world problems, of course Laugh 1


Well I just looked up that famous test of tele zoom which was published in the German "Color Foto" in the beginning of the 1980s'. The tested FD 80-200 mm f/4 and 70-210 f/4 lenses showed optical performances which were much too similar to declare one as being better than the other Wink . In fact, I once tested the two lenses and results were very hard to distinguish when not pixelpeeping the images at 200% in Photoshop....

Of the two lenses, I definitely prefer the 80-200 f/4 for practical reasons : MFD (1 m versus 1,20 m), lens hood (integrated vs. separate), build quality and handling, I find the 80-200 mm f/4 nicer to use in the field than his push-pull brother, to the point that my optically superior 80-200 L often stays at home.

BTW, the 80-200 f/4 does suffer from failed bearings and replacing them in my two samples (SSC and nFD) vastly improved the precision (infinity stop on different focal lengths) and sharpness (mainly at the longest focal length).


Like 1 small