Fast FD 50/55/58mm?

[Damp Cat]

There seems to be a myriad of different fast (f/1.2-1.4) FD fifties.

Question is: which one would be right for me?

I use a 6D, and I already have a EF 50 1.8 STM and a Helios 44-2.
(And I will be getting myself a Helios 40-2 soon, probably one of the reissues).

I don't need pixel-peeper pleasing sharpness or anything like that - but I would love to have decent contrast, smoooooooth bokeh (VERY important), good flaring characteristics, and glow (but maybe not too much of it).

[thebbm]

[Damp Cat]

[ks73]

Edmika kits are great! But I am afraid all FD 50's have mirror contact at infinity.

[AndreaEOS]

I have the same your 6D and I'm happy with Porst 55 f 1,2. unfortunatelly I'm out for business trip and I can't post anything .

[Mr G]

[Damp Cat]

[mackeral]

I'd seriously consider saving up and going for the 1.2 Aspherical 55mm. It's performance tops the other options.

[Mr G]

I haven't used a non ssc fd lens for over 30 years, picked my 1.2 up in a charity shop for £40 about 2 years ago and paid £120 for the full EF conversion.
Obviously focusing can be tricky with so little DOF, contrast, saturation and CA is very good. Wide open a tad soft at the edges, stop it down a little and it's very sharp, not the best bokeh but not the worst.

[dickb]

All the fast f/1.2 and f/1.4 50, 55, 57 and 58mm have pros and cons. Especially in foreground and background out of focus rendering they vary a lot. If smoothness is really what you want you may consider the pre-Art Sigma 50/1.4, which is smooth to the point of being called devoid of character. Most earlier f/1.2 lenses are less smooth and more characterful. The FD 55/1.2 Aspherical is very sharp but can be a little harsh in the OOF rendering. The 58/1.2 Rokkor is not quite as sharp at f/1.2 but has a bokeh more pleasing to my eye. The Olympus 55/1.2 is a bit more glowing at f1.2, but affordable and easy to use on a Canon. The Hexanon 57/1.2 has a lot of character as well. Most often though I put my FDn 50/1.2L in my camera bag, as it is relatively small and lightweight, and a good compromise between sharpness and character. As you can tell I have got way too many f/1.2 50s lenses. I am planning to make a thorough comparison of these lenses, but I have had that plan for a long time and haven't done it yet, so don't hold your breath..

[Koen Nhz]

I completely agree with you dickb, I also have the FD 55mm 1:1.2 Aspherical (for about a year now) and it's my most beloved lens by a large margin, but if you want smooth bokeh at all focus distances and settings I'm not sure any vintage lens is the way to go and I was also thinking about the 'old' Sigma or perhaps one of the new Samyangs.

Or choose a longer lens, even a 'cheap' FD 100 mm f/2.8 will give much smoother bokey in almost any condition.

There are lots of pics from me with the 55 Asph in this topic and also a link to a small test I did with it against my Rokkor with full sized samples: http://forum.mflenses.com/canon-fd-55mm-11-2-s-s-c-aspherical-samples-on-a7-many-t74050.html

Or Flickr album: https://flic.kr/s/aHskryu5NC

Finally 2 samples with almost the same focus distance, both @ f/1.2 (I think) but with a different background (distance) giving totally different bokeh (as with almost every lens):


DSC02825_2048px by Koen Nieuwenhuize, on Flickr


DSC02315_1920px by Koen Nieuwenhuize, on Flickr

[Mr G]

Hi guys, couple if pics of my ef converted 1.2 on my 6d, taken with my mobile. Hoped to get out this afternoon to shoot a little but Xmas shopping all morning and in laws imminent, so no joy.