Calling Canon FL lens fans...

[jay moussy]

I just bought (or stole) a cheap Canon FT QL.
Came with the 50mm 1:4 lens: A-M ring, no "white dot" extra ring.

like this example.

This may be a silly question...
A-M ring, currently set to "A". Aperture ring is nice and free, but no blade movement, of course.
I do not seem to be able to move ring to the "M" position.

I wonder what I am doing wrong, or if the A-M ring itself is problematic in some way.
The generic FL lens manual is not providing much guidance, only saying moving to "M" should be not done with aperture wide open.
Notes:
When the lens is off, I can operate the aperture blades using the rear pin
No mercury battery equivalent on hand, so I cannot meter as normal, get lens aperture to do its thing.

 

[AgX]

"moving to M should be not done with aperture wide open"

This is weird. I have not come across such at my non-FL lenses with such switch.

 

[Mackinaw]

That's a later design FL lens. Earliest versions had a secondary stop-down ring adjacent to the primary ring. Canon changed to a "A/M" ring at some later time. Some lenses have a locking button (my FL 50/1.4 does), others don't (FL 28/3.5). Normally, depressing the button allows you to move the ring. Check your aperture blades. Any trace of oil? If not, something internal may be amiss.

JIm B.

 

[gone]

Don't you have to use FL lenses in stop down metering mode on a FT QL? Pretty sure those are pre set lenses. A = wide open, M = closed to the preset setting. I guess on the later lenses it doesn't work like that, not unless the aperture blades are stuck. The lens should stop down in M mode.

Also, try firing the camera w/ the back open to see if maybe the blades are trying to open or not at different aperture settings w/ the lens mounted on the camera.

 

[__Brian]

The Canon FL series require stop down metering, but have automatic aperture. A means the camera will stop down the aperture, M- the aperture stops down manually.
I have this same lens, converted it to RF coupled M-Mount, The A-M ring moves freely, but the Adapter I use for M-Mount always stops down the aperture anyway. The RF Cam- I made.
It is a very good lens, same optical formula as the later FD mount lens. Very low chromatic aberration and very low focus shift.

 

[AgX]

"moving to M should be not done with aperture wide open"

This is weird. I have not come across such at my non-FL lenses with such switch.

I checked this at my only Canon FL-lens, 35mm F2.5:

1) at aperture setting at full open that switch cannot be moved, the setting must be at some stop down
2) with the aperture setting at some stop down, with the switch the diaphragm can be closed down to that stop, and opened again
3) at this setting by twisting the aperture ring, the diaphragm can be opened to larger apertures, but not closed to smaller ones

Point 3 is a malfunction according to the zoom lens manual, the primary lens manual does not cover it. But setting each aperture singulary by operating two rings would be most bothering at manual operation.

Now I likely got yet another lens to repair...

 

[jay moussy]

This is the only reference I found, the "Canon FL lenses Manual":

Now, it would appear that I can set shutter speed and aperture manually in "A" mode, which would suit me.
I just installed a 675 battery, the known substitute, got some movement on the pointer with battery check.
Metering may gone, or need the full 1.6V?

 

[AgX]

Yes, this is the one I referred to as primary-lens manual.


Anyway, at your lens that switch does not work at all, at my lens is works only at a most impractical and deceiving way.

 

[mtnbkr]

I have an FT with the 50mm 1.4 lens the OP linked to in the first post. With my lens on A, the aperture remains open until I press the stop-down lever or fire the shutter. With it on M, the aperture moves as I move the aperture ring and stays at the selected setting. The 50mm 1.8 I have (was the lens my dad used with his TL) works identically.

Regarding the battery, I just use a commonly available 625 alkaline. I've done that with three different "mercury cell" cameras (Canon TL, Canon FT, and Olympus OM-1) without issue. I only shoot print film, and with the FT, only B&W.

Chris

 

[dynachrome]

The FT QL will not meter properly with an alkaline battery. I have had later FTb and FTbN cameras converted to 1.5 volts and they're fine. Without conversion and with an alkaline battery you will get underexposed film until the battery's voltage drops to 1.35 volts, correct exposure for a time at the 1.35 volt level and overexposed film after that. Without conversion there are a few ways to work around the issue. You can buy an MR-9 adapter which fits a smaller battery and converts the voltage. In this case the silver oxide 386 battery is recommended. The MS76 or A76 will work but it's too thick and the battery cover will not screw down all the way. The battery cover of the FT QL and later FTb models has a spring which will hold a 675 Zinc-Air hearing aid battery in place well enough. You can also use a 625A battery in a different way. Take a reading with a camera which has a good meter. Meter with the camera with the 625A battery and rotate the ASA dial until the reading from that camera matches the good camera's reading. That should work for at least one day of shooting. The fact that you are using print film does not mean that the film's latitude will solve all of your problems. Even underexposure of one stop will lower the quality of your results. Film is much more expensive today so getting the most from it is even more important.