Canon F-1 / FD 55mm f1.2 problem

Mainecoonmaniac · Dec 20, 2019

AgX said:
There is no such pin.

As I said the mechanics are the same as the screw cap at a bottle.

Only at newFD there is a locking pin, at the barrel. But still this does not engage at the camera, but just is a lock within the lens itself, needed to avoid unlocking of the mount during handling of the barrel. As here the whole barrel controls mounting/unmounting and no longer that slim silver ring.

I think I may have gotten the two confused. So theoretically with no pin, the collar should rotate to release the lens.

AgX · Dec 20, 2019

Exactly.

If it does not, the friction at its thread may have risen, either after having no lubrication at all, or hardened lubrification. As indicated above I tend to exclude both.
There may have come a grain of sand into the female part, stuck to the thread and at untightening getting into the thread, blocking it.
There might have got a grain of sand between the bayonet flanges.

But from the evolving of this thread I think the OP just twisted the breech-lock ring quite strongly, and now after a long time wondered about the forces he would need and in addition erroneously considered interaction of that autoexposure switch at the lens.

John Koehrer · Dec 20, 2019

There were two versions of FD lens. The earlier that Jeremy has with the "o" on the aperture ring has no locking pin for
the breech lock. The next version with the "A" on the ring Does have a locking pin. The FDn obviously doesn't have the ring.
The later version would lock the locking ring in position to make mounting easier because it would hold the ring in proper
position to align with the red dot. The earlier lens could allow the locking ring to move out of position so it would have to
be rotated back in position to line everything up.

AgX · Dec 20, 2019

John, there are two "locking pins"

-) breech-lock lenses: nearly all Canon FD lenses and some 3rd-party lenses had the auto-locking feature. Here the breech-lock ring is cocked in the mounting position, and by mounting is unlocked. By this the breech-lock ring gets autmatically twisted so far that the lens is secured but not finally locked.

-) newFD lenses got an arrest if twisted enough for stable mounting. This arrest must be unlocked by a button at the lens to be able to unmount the lens.
(Several mounts that use a twisting of the whole barrel, have not got such demounting lock. The most known and most troublesome (today) is the M42 mount. If the helicoid lubricant got high viscous over time any focusing to "nearby" will unscrew the lens....)

John Koehrer · Dec 21, 2019

The non locking mount was made for several years before the locking version came out. If I remember correctly(?)
the lenses with the silver filter ring and NON multicoated(SC/SSC are all non-locking.

AgX · Dec 21, 2019

The Canon breech-lock mount version was introduced in 1959, the "true-bayonet" mount version in 1979.

The SSC is a multilayer-coating.

benjiboy · Dec 21, 2019

The early "chrome nosed " FD lenses were SC "spectra coated " (single coated ), none of 50mm f1.8 or f2 FD lenses either breech-lock or the new FD bayonet fitting ones was ever SSC multi-coated.

blockend · Dec 21, 2019

benjiboy said:
none of 50mm f1.8 or f2 FD lenses either breech-lock or the new FD bayonet fitting ones was ever SSC multi-coated.

By SSC do you mean multicoated? It's sometimes said Canon never made a multicoated 50mm 1.8, other people claims that's untrue and all new FD (late 1970s) lenses were multicoated. Looking at a FD 50mm 1.4 and same era 1.8, the coatings appear to be identical.

AgX · Dec 22, 2019

benjiboy said:
None of the new FD bayonet fitting ones was ever SSC multi-coated.

Well, by the time the newFD mount was introduced multicoating was standard and to Canon-authorized saying they no longer saw need to emphasize their multicoating.

benjiboy · Dec 22, 2019

blockend said:
By SSC do you mean multicoated? It's sometimes said Canon never made a multicoated 50mm 1.8, other people claims that's untrue and all new FD (late 1970s) lenses were multicoated. Looking at a FD 50mm 1.4 and same era 1.8, the coatings appear to be identical.[/QUOTE

AgX said:
Well, by the time the newFD mount was introduced multicoating was standard and to Canon-authorized saying they no longer saw need to emphasize their multicoating.

Not true ,read this the new FD 50mm f 1.8 lens was SC as I wrote not SSC http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/canon/fdresources/fdlenses/50mm.htm#f1.8
It was also the only lens in the FDn series that was given the S.C. (Spectra Coating) treatment as opposed to S.S.C.

AgX · Dec 22, 2019

I apologize.
I quoted you incorrectly, as I misread your statement.

My point however was to say, that the cancellation of hinting at the type of coating did not meant that anything changed (what actually is along what you said).

As a side-note, "Spectra-Coating" does not necessarily mean single-coated. There alsa was/is such as 2- or 3-layer coating what still is not subsumized under "multi-coating".

benjiboy · Dec 22, 2019

AgX said:
I apologize.
I quoted you incorrectly, as I misread your statement.

My point however was to say, that the cancellation of hinting at the type of coating did not meant that anything changed (what actually is along what you said).

As a side-note, "Spectra-Coating" does not necessarily mean single-coated. There alsa was/is such as 2- or 3-layer coating what still is not subsumized under "multi-coating".

I didn't know this AgX I always have thought that "SC" was a single coating on all elements and "SSC" was multi-coating.

AgX · Dec 22, 2019

That is common believe, but as indicated I am not sure that is true. Furhermore, if one looks at charts depicting the effectivity of the different forms of anti-reflection coating I think that multi-coating is more a holy grail at forums than its superiority in figures does justify.

jtk · Dec 22, 2019

One possible explanation (fantasy) might be that this is a TV camera lens...Canon made FD mount lenses for big TV studio cameras long before the F1 was introduced and MAYBE those mounts are different from still camera FD mounts.

In any case, if the stuck F1 is "minty" I think the answer is to find a repair shop that will DISMANTLE the camera to save it from creative solutions.

gl_r · Dec 22, 2019

Jeremy Greenaway said:
Thanks for all the responses and advice. I'm not exactly a newbie at photography - been a practitioner for 65 years using everything from VN and Speed Graphic 5x4, Rollei, Blads, Leica et al and the F-1n too. Never had a problem swopping lenses before - as well as the stuck 55mm f1.2 I have and use 200mm f2.8, 135mm f2.8, 85mm f1.8, 50mm f1.4, 35mm f2, 24mm f2.8, 20mm f2.8, but the last time it came out of the kit locker was four or five years ago. But thanks to your help it's now off - I'd forgotten the aperture ring had to be set to the green dot auto mark . . . problem solved, thanks all! (these damned senior moments)

Glad to hear you got it off. I know what you mean by senior moments...I get them once in a while myself. Cheers.

Canon F-1 / FD 55mm f1.2 problem

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