Canon FD 1.4 or 1.2????

J

JerryB

Well-known member
I currently own the GH1 stock lens, the 20mm f1.7 (amazing) a Canon FD 35mm at f2 and a Canon FD 50mm at 1.8. I pretty much have all the focal lengths covered and some decently fast lenses.

My question is....

I am not extremely happy with my Canon FD f1.8. It does reasonably well in low light but it is not as sharp as I would like. I am considering purchasing another Canon FD but at either f1.4 or f1.2. I want the FD f1.2 because hear great things about its clarity, contrast, sharpness and lowlight use but it is easily in the $3-500 (not L series) range where as the 50mm FD f1.4 sits right above or below $100.

Would it even be worth it to go from a 50mm f1.8 to an f1.4 (not that much cost to do so) or better to just wait and save up for the 50mm 1.2? Has anyone had any personal experience with the Canon FD f1.2 over f1.4 over f1.8.

It may be silly and I may just be splitting hairs, but I just haven't been super happy with my f1.8 since all my other lenses are pretty steller.
 
I have a 55mm f1.2 FD lens that is really great and really BIG.... but when it's wide open, things get pretty soft. I only open it all the way in desperate situations. It's worth it if you can find one, and is significantly faster than the f1.8. I also have a f1.8 50mm FD lens, and frankly I prefer its color representation and contrast characteristics over the f1.2 in many situations.
 
I've got the FL 55mm f1.2. They are available so cheaply that I think it is worth having for low light. It is a bit soft at 1.2, but it isn't that bad and it gets very sharp by F2. If you are shooting interiors, or even at night, the 1.2 looks great, but you'll want to be pretty close to your subject, landscapes and wide shots with lights and what not "glow" quite a bit and probably *too* much - but if you are tight on your subject, while you will have very shallow DOF, the image holds up very well and has a look you just can't get any other way. Bokeh is amazing and having that extra half stop over 1.4 really can make a difference more often than you'd think.

I've got a bunch of f1.4 lenses as well as this 1.2, and man, whenever I switch over to a lens that has a wide open aperture of f2 or f2.8, I'm always like "Man, this is DARK!"

I love fast and wide open!
 
I think the FD 1.4 is much sharper than the 1.8, so if just for image quality I would say the 1.4 is a worthy upgrade from the 1.8. I got my 1.4 on eBay for around $60 shipped.

Haven't used a 1.2 so I can't comment on that
 
Thanks! I was thinking of just grabbing a 1.4 because I have heard it was sharper (which is what I haven't loved about the 1.4) than the 1.8 and they go for pretty cheap.

I was just curious if the f1.2 was worth the extra $2-300. Probably not.
 
Question on the FL glass...does it focus to infinity? I am using the Cielo7 adapter, but my old 50mm 1.8 fl won't focus to infinity, I had to pickup an FD 1.4 instead.
 
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