Trying to decide on FD Lenses

benjiboy · Mar 21, 2011

Excalibur2 said:
Well if you compared the Canon zoom lenses mentioned to equivalent Tamron SP or certain Kiron/Vivitar (esp series 1) zooms you might change your mind.

I have owned for more than twenty years a Vivitar Series1 70-210 f3.5 zoom, the second version made by Tokina that's reputed to be one of the best.

benjiboy · Mar 21, 2011

agphotography said:
One reason I wasn't looking at the 100-300 was because it's a push pull zoom. Personally I'm not a big fan of lenses like that and I prefer the more modern design "2-touch" zoom lenses. (thus - my interest in the 85-300)

Actually The first zoom lenses were two touch, its the push pull type that are the more recant.

agphotography · Mar 21, 2011

Oh whoops! My mistake. I just was never really a fan of the push pull design. I like having a ring for zooming, and for focusing.

benjiboy · Mar 21, 2011

agphotography said:
Oh whoops! My mistake. I just was never really a fan of the push pull design. I like having a ring for zooming, and for focusing.

I would prefer the two touch zooms too because it's too easy to turn your wrist with the push pull zooms and knock them out of focus while zooming if your not careful, but they are/ were the most produced type I would think

Excalibur2 · Mar 21, 2011

****And yes - the cheap platic 35-70 that everyone dismisses is a surprisingly good lens - I used to use one as a macro lens when I was repairing cameras to photograph the insides of cameras ****

Well of course the cheap Canon kit lenses can take pictures, but to help the original poster out (or any one else) it's quite simple in that you want the best lens to do the job that you can afford, and some third party lenses are better than some Canon lenses for the same price or a few ££££s more.

Excalibur2 · Mar 21, 2011

benjiboy said:
I have owned for more than twenty years a Vivitar Series1 70-210 f3.5 zoom, the second version made by Tokina that's reputed to be one of the best.

I'll swop you for my Canon 70-210 f4 then

benjiboy · Mar 21, 2011

Excalibur2 said:
I'll swop you for my Canon 70-210 f4 then

No way, I prefer the Vivitar although it's much heavier

3 Olives · Mar 23, 2011

I don't think you can wrong with with the Kiron 28mm f/2.

Excalibur2 · Mar 23, 2011

3 Olives said:
I don't think you can wrong with with the Kiron 28mm f/2.

...but be careful of ones with oil on the blades, can be a problem with Kiron/Kiron made vivitar...... lenses.

Markster · Mar 24, 2011

Any thoughts on the FD Cosina 35-70mm (maybe it was 35-80mm) ?

Saw one not too pricey lately when I dropped a camera off for repair.

Jeff Kubach · Mar 24, 2011

benjiboy said:
No way, I prefer the Vivitar although it's much heavier

I have the 80 - 200f4 which I love!

Jeff

Excalibur2 · Mar 24, 2011

Jeff Kubach said:
I have the 80 - 200f4 which I love!

Jeff

Probably the same as my Kiron 80-200mm f4, after many test it was equal to my Canon FDn 200mm f4 prime for sharpness....so the Canon stays at home as the zoom is more useful and only slightly longer than the canon.

benjiboy · Mar 24, 2011

Jeff Kubach said:
I have the 80 - 200f4 which I love!

Jeff

I can't comment on your particular lens Jeff because I've never used one although I used to sell them in my store, I do have the Canon FDn 80-200f4 L zoom which is a pro quality optic,and is indeed a very good lens that still sells for very good prices on the used market, however I.M.O. the Vivitar Series1 70-210 that was specifically commissioned by Vivitar to compete with the best lenses the marque camera manufacturers could produce at the time, and manufactured by some of the best Japanese optical firms is IMO better than my canon one which cost a lot more on the used market these days.
I bought my Vivitar series 1 in mint condition from a local camera shop boxed with the original rubber hood for £40 (about $65 US) with six months guarantee, there aren't any lenses of that quality available for that sort of money on the market, and the Vivitars are selling for very low prices these days.

agphotography · Mar 29, 2011

Is there any real reason to prefer the 50 f1.4 SSC vs the FDn 50 f1.4 I already have?

2F/2F · Mar 29, 2011

agphotography said:
Is there any real reason to prefer the 50 f1.4 SSC vs the FDn 50 f1.4 I already have?

Optically, no. In terms of build quality and "feel," possibly. It'd be up to you, though. Hard to quantify the difference of "feel."

agphotography · Mar 29, 2011

Well I just won a Canon EF and 50mm f/1.4 SSC on a whim, not sure what the real condition is, but it didn't cost much so maybe it'll be a nice surprise

CD55 · Mar 30, 2011

agphotography said:
Well I just won a Canon EF and 50mm f/1.4 SSC on a whim, not sure what the real condition is, but it didn't cost much so maybe it'll be a nice surprise

Was this the one at Goodwill? I dropped out just because I already had an EF and a 50mm f/1.4 but thought I could get one on the cheap. You still got it for a nice price even though the S&H was a bit too much I think.

agphotography · Mar 30, 2011

Yeah it was lol. I jumped on it at the last second and got burned on the shipping. Not too stoked on that one, but I bid w/ 15 seconds left haha

benjiboy · Mar 30, 2011

agphotography said:
Is there any real reason to prefer the 50 f1.4 SSC vs the FDn 50 f1.4 I already have?

The FDn is much lighter, and the bayonet fitting is quicker to change and less easy to drop the lens in the process.

frobozz · Mar 30, 2011

I've frequently heard that complaint about breechlock vs bayonet FD lenses... but in 35 years of using them I've never dropped one! I much prefer the breechlock lenses, myself.

Duncan

Jeff Kubach · Mar 30, 2011

I have the FD 24 2.8 and the 17/4 both are great!

Jeff

frobozz · Mar 30, 2011

I find the FD 17 a little bit vignette-y but it is a very nice lens. The 24 is a superstar!

Duncan

Jeff Kubach · Mar 30, 2011

frobozz said:
I find the FD 17 a little bit vignette-y but it is a very nice lens. The 24 is a superstar!

Duncan

I agree that the 24 is a superstar, but I never had any problems with the 17.

Jeff

agphotography · Mar 30, 2011

So the 24 f/2.8 (SSC or FDn) is preferred over the 28 f/2.8?

I'm personally a fan of a 28/35/50 trio (plus the 100 for good measure) as that's what I shot on rangefinders

blockend · Apr 1, 2011

I have 24 and 28mm F2.8 and they're both good lenses. The 24 is used more frequently as it's the widest lens that doesn't suffer from serious distortion, so handy for street work.

Trying to decide on FD Lenses

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