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Lenses for Canon FD mount
  • 188 Replies sorted by
  • About Vivitar 55/2.8 made by Komine, does the mount type matter on optical performance? e.g. FD, AR, F.
  • >About Vivitar 55/2.8 made by Komine, does the mount type matter on optical performance? e.g. FD, AR, F.

    I think not. Just choose reputable seller and lens in good shape.
  • >Considering current price hike on old F2.8 zooms, selling it and buying Canon L zoom is good idea.
    From similar F2.8 zooms it is best to go for new Tamron. It is much much sharper.


    You're right. It weighs a ton and it's not terribly sharp. Thanks for the suggestions.
  • some "lens test footage". No piano score though ...



    GH2 and Canon Macro Lens FD 50mm f3.5

    (the test was, how much shake does the lens take before it disintegrates. Next time I'm going to build a wind breaking tend around my friends the plant louses)
  • If anyone want to have really good FD lens, here is another candidate:

    image

    http://cgi.ebay.com/Vivitar-Canon-FD-200-mm-3-0-Series1-TOP-2861439-/250821134746?pt=DE_Foto_Camcorder_Objektive&hash=item3a661ac99a

    Price is not bad, especially if you live in Europe.

    If you like prime lenses and don't have 135mm and 200mm Series 1, something is not right :-)
  • got outbid on the Vivitar Series 1 105mm Macro - damn!
    next would be the 90mm ...
  • >Vivitar Series 1 105mm Macro

    Just never bid on this lenses again.
    Especially after NEX release such auctions frequently end up in strange prices :-)
  • I got you all beat. Behold the magnificence! Brand New Rokinon 70-180mm F 4.5 Canon FD Lens
    image
    Bought it "Brand New" off ebay for around $30 shipped. OK seriously, I have zero camera experience and I was literally buying random cheap lenses, just to have them and try them out. It was new and there's a reason it's never been sold. Ultimately it useless indoors on the GH1 becaue of FPN. This produced the worst FPN indoors I've yet seen. Out doors it's decent, but I haven't used it much.

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  • You'd need 2.8 or faster for indoor.
  • I just won Vivitar 55mm 2.8 Macro made by Komine at $44.65. Original front and rear caps and a original case.

    It's Konica AR mount. FD mount version was priced ridiculously high. I really like AR adapter. It's pretty solid and there's no play. Here comes macro!!!
  • >I just won Vivitar 55mm 2.8 Macro made by Komine at $44.65. Original front and rear caps and a original case.

    It's a steal :-)
    Price for FD lenses jumped considerably.
    My 55mm was about $100, but this is NOS, boxed, absolutely prestine.
  • Other exceptional lenses in FD mount are the Tamron SP 28-80mm f/3.5 (27A) Macro and the Tamron SP 35-80mm f/2.8 (01A) Macro. Both are exceptional and affordable although the word got out on the 35-80mm so it often sells for around $500 or so. :0

    If you know what the numbers at the bottom mean you will be impressed just by them alone:
    01A: http://adaptall-2.org/lenses/01A.html
    27A: http://adaptall-2.org/lenses/27A.html


    Here's some shots with the 27A:

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    28mm f/4

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    55mm f/4

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    80mm f/4 - which is wide open for 80mm on this lens (it nudges via zoom to f/4.2 I think).


    image
    That flower is approximately 1.5cm ~ 1.7cm so I guess this little guy is about 8mm ± 2mm, in body length.


    The following look as if they've been sharpened after reduction but they haven't. This is what the lens renders like:
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  • @Tesselator what lens did you use to take those pics of the lenses you're selling?
  • The Yashica ML 24mm f/2.8 - It's a C/Y mount. I think it's the best 24mm lens I have tried so far. I think it's the poor man's Zeiss 21mm - which is only better in the corners of a full-frame image (from my research). The Yashica 24/2.8 typically goes for between $200 and $400 depending on condition, accessory, and seller desperation. :) I auctioned one for $240 not long ago and was kinda pissed that it went so cheap. BTW, all my lenses are always for sale. I buy, try, and sell'em. It's the only way I can keep the river flowing - I highly recommend everyone do that actually - unless your productions demand specifics and are all-time-consuming. ;)
  • Thanks. I asked because I'm looking for a good lens for product/food photography w/GH2. What is the minimum focusing distance on that lens?

    Anyone know of any good FD mount lenses for food photography? I currently have a 50mm 1.4 and a 28mm 2.8.
  • The FD 20/2.8 and the FD 24/2.0 both are. the 24/2.0 is actually better than the FD 24L. Focal length of course depends on your setup. Remember 50mm is 100.5mm on the M4/3. If you've got plenty of room to work - (large room) 50 to 85mm may just be what you want/like. If you're on desktop or one of those mini light-box stage thingys tho I recommend something in the 20 to 35mm neighborhood. Even an awesome zoom like i just mentioned above would do you, Zooms typically suffer less from CA, purple fringing and etc. so IMO it you can get something reasonably flatfield-ish that covers 24 or 28mm to about 70 or 80mm that would totally be the way to go.

    Disclaimer:
    I've never done professional food photography so I could be talking out my ass. :D I did a lot of stage and texture photography for the movie industry tho. Stage to match set and lighting in CG/FX and texture photography for CG model building. That was my life from the early 80's till just recently when I retired. I taught the subject at Uni (in Japanese LOL) too. :)

  • @Jive

    It depends that focal lengh you need.
    Plus, my understanding is that you do not need very fast lens for food, as you set proper lighting and need enough DOF.
    Look at 80-200mm F4 L I recommended above (but it'll be 160-400mm :-) ).
    I am not very big fan of 20 or 24mm legacy lenses as modern ones are normally much better.
  • Oh, and the MFD on the yashica 24/2.8 is about 8 inches. But you can get 7" stopped down just a little bit and closer yet stopped way down.

  • @Tesselator thanks for the info :)
  • I will be receiving an FD Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f3.5 any day now, I'll post my findings.
  • Hey! I was just given a Tamron Adaptall-2 17mm in FD mount. Has anyone used this lens? build quality is out of this world, and I'm trying to decide if I should just get a FD-M4/3 adaptor, or if I should also get along with it and Adaptall-M4/3?
  • @Tesselator: what do you think of the Canon FD 20-35mm f3.5L. The one i have performs very poorly in any direction except with the sun/overcast light behind the lens. Contrast and colour washes out big time. It's like there is no coating on the lens at all. If i put my finger in front of the lens blocking part of it, the true colour and contrast of the background appears in a halo around my finger. All my FD's do this to a degree, but this is extreme to the point the lens is unusable outdoors and at f3.5 useless indoors.

    I expected much better performance from an expensive red band L lens than this.
    Is this a coating issue?

    R
  • The problem with zooms is the more elements they have the more vulnerable they will be to flare/ghosting...and the faster/more expensive e.g f2.8 longer zooms will not have the resolution performance of a slower e.g. f4 of the same focal length because of many more elements in the design. I personally have found that some of the old Zeiss Contax T* short focal length zooms perform better than my Nikkor AIs or FD's.

    An interesting place to have a look at tests is:

    http://www.16-9.net/lens_tests/
  • Haha... well what do you know, i fixed the issue with Canon FD 20-35mm f3.5L. All it needed was a good quality Japanese Hoya UV Filter. All the problems are gone. I like the colors from this more than my 20mm Pancake. The vase is a Screen-grab of the video frame.

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    hoya2.jpg
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  • Update: Tamron Adaptall-2 17mm 3.5 absolutely KILLS!!! Tack sharp, great tactile feel to the whole thing, If you want them, flares are reasonably easy to evoke . . . insane deep blue/purple with a rose haze if you get it just right. 34mm equiv. simply kills! Looks like you can pick them up for around $300 or so USD. If I get a second GH, I'll get a second one of these, its that good.