Canon FD 35-70mm f/4

[leng]

I just received a Canon FD 35-70 f/4 that I bought on e-bay and there was a problem with it. Fortunatly I can return for a refund, however I would like some feed back on the e-mail exchange I had with the buyer, because I am still interested in finding a good example of the lens. If what he says about the lens is true I will give up on going after it.

MY E_MAIL TO THE SELLER
I rxed the lens yesterday and looked at it carefully last night, there are problems that where not in the descrption which you have already removed from E-Bay. With these problems the lens should have been put up describing the problems and listed as, AS IS. If this had of been done I of course would have never bid.

At first sight the infinity symbol does not line up centered over the focusing line. Two both the zoom and focus wheel have play in them and anyone with experience would tell you that they just don't feel right, three when focused on something 30 feet away at 70 mm where the split screen says that I am focused but clearly I am not property focused, I zoom back to 35mm and then back to 70 mm the split screen says I am out of focus. The later is beacause of the play the former where the split screen says in focus but the ground glass says not, I don't know the cause but either is not right. There are also problems with focusing on what should be taken as infinity.

E-MAIL FROM SELLER

Hi,
I've had the lens for a number of years and when I bought it, the focus scales were never entirely accurate. However, in close focusing it was accurate and it can focus to infinity as well so I never thought it was a problem (certainly the photos I took with it indicated none).

As for the zoom and focus- that is the nature of this particular lens. In fact, if you look at every other lens of this type, the amount of play is the exact same. The lens is already of quite an unusual design as you can see, and it's always had some amount of play due to the manufacturing tolerances of the coils.

However, I do have to say that when you mentioned 30 ft. away at 70mm you said it wasn't focused, even though the split screen says you are? That is quite unusual.

If you are unsatisfied, you can return the lens to me and I'll refund you your money. I'm sorry about the lens causing you trouble.


Back to me and to you on apug

Is what the seller is saying here true, was the lens originally a sloppy performer right from the start when it was new, or was it and should be still if in good condition have a good smooth solid feel playless action?

 

[eSFotos]

I am not sure about the quality of this 35-70 F4 lens because I've never owned one but I'd like to make the following comments.
The infinity symbol not lining up centered over the focusing line is not an issue and many lenses are like that with no effect.
Secondly, when you said "split screen says that I am focused but clearly I am not property focused" that sounds like a camera problem.
Saying that, I personally don't like play in focus or zoom rings.
While I owned and traded a lot of lenses, a lesson I learnt was that if you don't like the lens at its first impression you will never like that lens - lenses are like girls ...

 

[leng]

I managed to get down to Toronto today and go Henry's, a major Toronto and Ontario Camera store, and found two examples of the lens. The seller was full of it. However seeing the state of some of their used lens's I don't think I will ever touch a sight unseen used lens again.

 

[sangetsu]

Some of these Canon zooms are quite loose, which is one of the reasons they are so cheap. The new FD models are more prone to this problem due to their plastic construction. I can find an FD 35-70 lens any day of the week here in Japan for $20 or less.

You should pick up an FD 35-105/3.5 zoom. These are a bit more pricey, but are a better lens which also focuses very closely. I'm not sure how much they sell for where you are at, but in Japan they are usually less than $100.