Fast FD 55mm Competition. Guess the lens!

[dnhkng]

In todays competition, we have two contenders for the Ultimate FD 55mm lens:

The Contender
Weighing in at 565g, and released in 1973, the classic FD 55mm f/1.2 S.S.C!
With an original price of 50,000 yen, and comprising of 7 lens elements, this lens is both affordable and of excellent build quality. Often found on ebay for ~140 euro, it has found a new lease on life on micro four third format cameras.

Versus.
The Big-Pricetag
Weighing in at a heavier 575g and released in 1975, it has been said that Canon used every trick they knew when building the FD 55mm f/1.2 S.S.C. Aspherical!
Priced at 80,000 yen, this was once the most expensive standard lens in the world, and is comprised of 8 lens elements, including one aspherical surface, and a kind of floating construction where the last lens stayed in postion and the rest seven elements moved as a group when focusing. Found on ebay for ~350 euro, this is no paperweight!

In this competition, both lenses were used wide open on a Panasonic G1. Two sets of pictures will be posted, and you, the viewers will have your chance to vote on which set you think is the best. Please post your opinions too!

After 10 days, I will reveal the identities of both lenses. Let the best lens win!

[dnhkng]

PART A

Set 1 : Set 2


Set 1 : Set 2


Set 1 : Set 2

[dnhkng]

PART B



Set 1 : Set 2

[dnhkng]

I have edited the order of the pictures to make side-by-side comparisons easier. Please judges pictures on all criteria, sharpness, color, contrast and artistic feel. And post opinions!

[dnhkng]

More info:

I have taken these pictures on a good tripod, and used the zoom feature on the G1 to carefully manually focus on the same object in both pictures. I don't have a remote shutter release, so I used the 10 second timer to take the images. I left on auto white balance for both sets of pictures.

[Orio]

A suggestion: since most people uses LCD monitors, that change luminosity with the viewing angle, it is best, for comparison purposes, to put the two images to be compared on the same eye level, rather than one after the other.
Example

A B
A B
A B

instead of

A
B

A
B

A
B

[Orio]

When seeing the images at the same height, the differences are minimal. I would say set 1 has a little better contrast, but it also has slightly worse CA.

I'd call it a draw.

hm... there is no draw in the voting options.

[no-X]

I completely agree with Orio. A = more contrast, B = less axial CA. Not easy to decide.

[dnhkng]

Ok, the photos have been arranged for better viewing. So far it looks like there isn't a clear winner, even though one lens is famous and costs double or triple the price of the other. This is good news for bargain hunters.


But so far, there has been over 80 views of this thread and only 3 votes

Orio: there can be only one. Two lenses enter, but only one will leave!

[Esox lucius]

Well, I dragged the photos to my desktop and did a back-forth-back-forth comparison in Bridge, easier to spot the differences when you see what is changing though framing stays the same.

Yes, I voted.

[hk300]

so ... these pics were made full open?

I have the non-Aspherical version, and i am totally not impressed by this lens when used full open.

[dnhkng]

yep, both are at F1.2

neither lens seems any near as good as my 85mm F1.2 aspherical though, but thats for another thread.

[Rusty]

Guess the lens.......hmmm first set non aspherical second set aspherical
But , i like the first set more !

[hinnerker]

As an owner of the FD 1.2/55mm S.S.C. (non Asph.) and after testing some 1.2 lenses, i prefer and did vote for this version (1st Set), because it gives me more contrast in low light situations if there are no direct lights in the image and no reflecting metal surfaces. I prefer lenses, which gives me strong contrasts and sharpness.

1.2 lenses for me are divided in two categories... one categorie is low contrast and less sharpness wide open like the Bokeh-Monster Minolta Rokkor 1.2/58 PG or your shown 1.2/55mm Asperical, which is also not as sharp and contrasty as the normal 1.2/55mm S.S.C.

IMHO you can either get from a 1.2 a good sharpness and contrast or you lost this and get the advantage of less CA...

Just my 2 Cents after testing some 1.2 Lenses like the Rokkor, Canon FD 1.2/55mm, Porst 1.2/55mm and in the next weeks my new SMC Pentax 1.2/50mm Takumar, which should be the symbiosis of both... will see..

Cheers
Henry

[indianadinos]

+1 for the first set, clearly with a better contrast ...
But, frankly, cannot guess between the two lenses ... Unless ... FD 55mm f/1.2 S.S.C for the first set and the Aspherical for the second ?

[hinnerker]

[cooltouch]

Well, my internet connection is having problems right now, so maybe I can blame it. But I'm not seeing any photos at all. Just rectangles with red dots inside, where the photos should be.

I went to the galleries and loaded several threads there to see if I'd have the same problem, but no. The images there displayed fine, although the pages took a long time to load (my internet connection problem, not mflenses).

So, did something happen to the photos? Or is my internet connection showing yet another problem? Please let me know if you can see the photos because I will be calling my ISP in the morning, and I want to be able to list all the problems I'm having.

Thanks.

BTW, dnhkng, I think you should have included the Canon FL 55mm f/1.2 in this comparison as long as you were comparing Canon 55/1.2s -- if you had access to one, that is. I have an FL 55/1.2, and I also have an FD 85/1.2 Aspherical. My FL 55/1.2 isn't as sharp as the 85/1.2 Asph, but it ain't bad.

[indianadinos]

Hi Michael,

Just checked, the pictures show right now ...

[dnhkng]

Well, with the voting going so clearly in one direction, I may as well reveal the identities of the lenses now.

Set 1 is the FD 55mm f/1.2 S.S.C

and

Set 2 is the FD 55mm f/1.2 S.S.C Aspherical

It seems that the cheaper lens takes better photos, as judged by the folks on this forum.

I have had a 55mm SSC for a few months now, and when my aspherical version arrive, I was a little surprised by how soft the images seems, and so I started this poll. I wanted to know if the soft feel to the images was countered by the reduced spherical aberration.

I dont feel it is to be honest; I think the high prices commanded by these lenses is mostly due to legend, and the fact that it was one of the earliest consumer aspherical lenses.

[dnhkng]

*UPDATE*


Well, I was considering selling one of the lenses, most probably the Aspherical, but I decided to do a few more last minute test shots. This time, the shots are taken with a high contrast background, and the results are interesting. The non-aspherical lens is still sharper, but now overall it seems worse in my opinion Any comments?

S.S.C : Aspherical

[indianadinos]

Here i would say that the Aspherical performs better with such kind of scene ...

Are you looking for a reason to keep both lenses instead of selling one ?

[cooltouch]

Interesting. The image on the left appears to be sharper than the right, but it also exhibits quite a lot of flare compared to the right image.

So the right image is the Aspherical? Well, at least flare is well controlled. And that's kinda important in my book.

[dnhkng]

I have decided to sell the 55mm S.S.C, non-aspherical; its on the marketplace section together with some other lenses I need to sell.

Damn this lumix G1! I just went and bought a FD 24mm F1.4 for 400 euro on impulse, and now I am way over my credit card limit and need to sell a large portion of my FD collection.

This is an expensive hobby

[indianadinos]

[wilson.c]

Damn! My old FD 55mm f/1.2 S.S.C is getting a new lease on live after these tests. I've been eyeing the aspherical one for ages and it's good news to hear the non-aspherical version is still very good glass!