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Canon FD lenses.... any good?
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 9:09 pm    Post subject: Canon FD lenses.... any good? Reply with quote
Canon FD lenses, any good? They don't come up very often. How do they compare price/quality wise with the usual suspects?


PostPosted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 9:29 pm    Post subject: Re: Canon FD lenses.... any good? Reply with quote
andyw wrote:
Canon FD lenses, any good? They don't come up very often.


Sure they are good

the problem is that they are not suitable on Canon EOS

FD register is 2mm shorter than EF, so it is impossible to focus infinity on EOS.

Some succeed in converting FD lenses to EF, some other use the canon converter which alters the quality of the lens.

I believe they are mountable on Olympus


PostPosted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 9:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
So... FL and FD lenses should be better in macro capability, shouldn't they?


PostPosted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 9:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
spleenone wrote:
So... FL and FD lenses should be better in macro capability, shouldn't they?
no. they just have shorter registre distance, 2mm doesn´t make big advantage for macro work.

all at all, imho only reason to use them is if you have FD body. Canons F1n and T90 are really nice. using them on any other mount makes difficulties, and there really isn´t any special lens not available for any other mount.

take a look here:

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/canon/fdresources/fdlenses/index.htm


PostPosted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 10:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
***Canon FD lenses, any good?***

Most of the common ones are very good and I enjoy them on my film cameras.


PostPosted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 10:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I was thinking of getting a FD to Micro four thirds [GF1] adapter and giving them a try. I may wait and see what results others have got.


PostPosted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 10:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
berraneck wrote:
spleenone wrote:
So... FL and FD lenses should be better in macro capability, shouldn't they?
no. they just have shorter registre distance, 2mm doesn´t make big advantage for macro work.

all at all, imho only reason to use them is if you have FD body. Canons F1n and T90 are really nice. using them on any other mount makes difficulties, and there really isn´t any special lens not available for any other mount.

take a look here:

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/canon/fdresources/fdlenses/index.htm


and if I am thinking about wide lens like 20mm with adapter without glass... I can reach infinity easily... am I right?


PostPosted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 10:25 pm    Post subject: Re: Canon FD lenses.... any good? Reply with quote
andyw wrote:
Canon FD lenses, any good? They don't come up very often. How do they compare price/quality wise with the usual suspects?


When you look for example at German *bay you will find hundred of these lenses. I have a lot of them (from 24mm to 500mm) and usually they are good.

The adapter has an open-close ring where you can change the aperture if you have the aperture on A at the lens.

Look at this thread. Here are test shots of different lenses (not only Canon)

http://forum.mflenses.com/panasonic-g1-t20948.html

Wink


PostPosted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 10:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I've been shooting with Canon FD and FL lenses since 1982. I've always liked them.

The FL lenses I've liked the best are the 19mm f/3.5, 35mm f/2.5, and 55mm f/1.2.

The FD lenses I've liked the best have been 7.5mm f/5.6, 20mm f/2.8, 24mm f/2, 50mm f/1.4, 50mm f/3.5 macro, 85mm f/1.2 SSC Asph, 100mm f/2.8, 200mm f/2.8, 300mm f/2.8 L and f/4.

There are more great FL and FD optics that I haven't used (yet), but the above should give you some ideas to get you started.


PostPosted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 10:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
The only type of digital camera mount that can use FD lenses without modification(with infinity focus) is micro 4/3. The flange distance is 20mm for micro4/3, and 42mm for FD.


PostPosted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 11:03 pm    Post subject: Re: Canon FD lenses.... any good? Reply with quote
Nelson wrote:
andyw wrote:
Canon FD lenses, any good? They don't come up very often.


Sure they are good

the problem is that they are not suitable on Canon EOS

FD register is 2mm shorter than EF, so it is impossible to focus infinity on EOS.

Some succeed in converting FD lenses to EF, some other use the canon converter which alters the quality of the lens.

I believe they are mountable on Olympus


FD/FL lenses cannot be used with 4/3 cameras(with infinity focus), which includes Olympus DSLRs, even though the 4/3 mount has a flange distance of 38.67mm. The FD lenses have a breech/lock mount, which adds about 4mm to the back of the lens. This leaves no space for an adapter.


PostPosted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 11:08 pm    Post subject: Re: Canon FD lenses.... any good? Reply with quote
dnas wrote:
Nelson wrote:
andyw wrote:
Canon FD lenses, any good? They don't come up very often.


Sure they are good

the problem is that they are not suitable on Canon EOS

FD register is 2mm shorter than EF, so it is impossible to focus infinity on EOS.

Some succeed in converting FD lenses to EF, some other use the canon converter which alters the quality of the lens.

I believe they are mountable on Olympus


FD/FL lenses cannot be used with 4/3 cameras(with infinity focus), which includes Olympus DSLRs, even though the 4/3 mount has a flange distance of 38.67mm. The FD lenses have a breech/lock mount, which adds about 4mm to the back of the lens. This leaves no space for an adapter.


Shocked Shocked


PostPosted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 11:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Mechanically and optically good, at least the ones I own and have experience with. For what is concerning prices the most common of them are within reasonable amount.

Cheers, Marty.

Last edited by marty on Sun Jan 17, 2010 11:11 pm; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 11:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
andyw wrote:
I was thinking of getting a FD to Micro four thirds [GF1] adapter and giving them a try. I may wait and see what results others have got.


I've been using FD lenses with micro4/3 (Panasonic G1), and they are nice. However, the 50mm F1.4 SSC is not the best match, as it doesn't have anti-reflective coatings on the big back element(unlike modern "designed for digital" lenses), leading to additional reflections which I find produces a "ghost" at apertures larger than around F1.6


PostPosted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 11:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
spleenone wrote:
and if I am thinking about wide lens like 20mm with adapter without glass... I can reach infinity easily... am I right?
unfortanately no, as said here:
Code:
The FD lenses have a breech/lock mount, which adds about 4mm to the back of the lens. This leaves no space for an adapter.

focusing to infinity is possible only on m4/3 or with glass adapter for EOS - which is hard to find (and original canon adapter is even harder to find) and decreases image quality.

there are some really nice lenses, especially those in L line, but i don´t think it´s good investment due to problems with mounting on any other bayonet than FD or m4/3. unless you shoot film and want to buy FD body;)


PostPosted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 11:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
coz now I dreamed about 17 or 20mm glass Very Happy
I found nice adapters ...with glass for 30 usd without for 15... so and wide lens for ...cheap about 100 usd include shipping... and high end ssc from canon bran for 250usd =)


PostPosted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 1:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
berraneck wrote:

Code:
The FD lenses have a breech/lock mount, which adds about 4mm to the back of the lens. This leaves no space for an adapter.

focusing to infinity is possible only on m4/3 or with glass adapter for EOS - which is hard to find (and original canon adapter is even harder to find) and decreases image quality.

This bothers me, too. Who can share the expereince of FD lens mounted on EOS? Thanks. Mike


PostPosted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 4:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
djmike wrote:
berraneck wrote:

Code:
The FD lenses have a breech/lock mount, which adds about 4mm to the back of the lens. This leaves no space for an adapter.

focusing to infinity is possible only on m4/3 or with glass adapter for EOS - which is hard to find (and original canon adapter is even harder to find) and decreases image quality.

This bothers me, too. Who can share the expereince of FD lens mounted on EOS? Thanks. Mike


A few months ago I bought one of the FD-EOS adapters that you see on eBay. They aren't at all hard to find, by the way. There's about a bazillion of them on eBay last time I looked.

I found there was some image sharpness loss wide open with the use of the adapter on my EOS DSLR. There was also quite a bit of flare with my fast lenses that wasn't gone until about f/4. Which was really disappointing, since one of the reasons why I bought it was to be able to use my fast FD/FL glass with my EOS. Image sharpness also improved by about f/4, such that any loss is very slight.

The FD-EOS adapter amounts to about a 1.2x teleconverter. Now, I know there are good 1.4x teleconverters out there in which flair is very well controlled, and I don't see why a manufacturer cannot build a 1.2x that also has well controlled flare. I would be willing to pay more than the ~$38US I paid for mine -- substantially more -- if I could buy one that had well controlled flare.

Here are some examples:

FD-EOS Adapter with Canon FL 55mm f/1.2 @ f/1.2:


Same photo but this with contrast enhancement to reduce flare:


FD-EOS Adapter with FL 55mm @ f/8:


My DLSR was mounted on a sturdy tripod for the above shots. I used Live View for precise focusing (which was a bit hard to do when the lens was wide open, because of the flare), and the self timer to trip the shutter to reduce the possibility of shake. The only PP I did on any of the images, besides reducing size for web display, was some contrast enhancement with the second image. I did this to illustrate that, with some PP, the flare-ridden image can be cleaned up to look better, but it still doesn't look nearly as good as the one shot at f/8.

And just in case you're wondering, yes, this old FL 55/1.2 is somewhat soft wide open, but not that soft.


PostPosted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 5:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
djmike wrote:
berraneck wrote:

Code:
The FD lenses have a breech/lock mount, which adds about 4mm to the back of the lens. This leaves no space for an adapter.

focusing to infinity is possible only on m4/3 or with glass adapter for EOS - which is hard to find (and original canon adapter is even harder to find) and decreases image quality.

This bothers me, too. Who can share the expereince of FD lens mounted on EOS? Thanks. Mike


Some days ago i made this conversion... FD to EOS with 1.2/55mm SSC, directly converted to EOS Mount.

http://forum.mflenses.com/canon-1-2-55mm-s-s-c-eos-conversion-documentation-t24118.html

Works, but some limitations on a EOS 5D.. the lens is great. Conversion was easier than i thought.

You can reach infinity, and have full aperture control..
works perfect in the whole range on APS Cams.

LG
Henry


PostPosted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 7:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
That's cool. Herny, thanks. I hope I have that ability to make one. .... Sad


PostPosted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 8:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
djmike wrote:
That's cool. Herny, thanks. I hope I have that ability to make one. .... Sad


I am sure.. you have.. this is lot easier than i did thing.. I am not a mechanical craftsman. But this was so easy to do..

Now iam looking for some cheap old FD wide lenses to check out if this could also work on them.

Cheers
Henry


PostPosted: Fri Jan 22, 2010 10:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I am just getting into photography, and I bought some fast FD lenses last year for my pany G1. Here are some examples of what a beginner can do with the 85mm f1.2 Asph breech on an adapter to the G1











PostPosted: Fri Jan 22, 2010 10:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
WOW : those shots are great! Have you a link to the adapter that you used?


PostPosted: Fri Jan 22, 2010 11:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
here's a link to a review of an adapter that looks to be the same model as mine:

http://cjeastwd.blogspot.com/2009/06/rj-camera-fd-adaptor.html

I bought mine from ebay, and it was sent from china, but there seem to be a few sellers carrying these adapters now.



PostPosted: Fri Jan 22, 2010 12:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
dnhkng wrote:




What a shot! lot of details. Nice.
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