which FD for black & white?

Hi all! I was wondering if any of you could recommend FD lenses for B&W? In

particular, which tele should I get: 85/1.8, 100/2.8, 100/2.0? I love good

bokeh, I must admit, and prefer a good tonal range to high contrast (am I asking

too much?)

Thanks a lot!

PS. To be used primarily for people rather than nature.

Any FD lens works well in black and white - tonal range and contrast is really more dependent on your processing than anything else. My 85mm f/1.8 has excellent out of focus highlights, as does the very economical 135mm f/2.5 breech-lock lens (this last lens goes for about $50 or $60 these days, has a very wide aperture, and is well-known for having creamy, out of focus highlights while being very sharp at the same time).

All unlike Nikon and some other companies Canon worked very very hard to produce a lens line up with a very natural contrast across the board. You will not generally find a FD lens that has extra contrast (the first versions of the 35mm f2.0 being an exception if the radioactive glass has ambered the lens which greatly increases contrast) any of the lenses you list will give outstanding results with either color or B&W photo's

As Joseph says the 85mm f1.8 wide open to about f2.8 has excellent background blur as does the slightly creamer 135mm f2.5 S.C.

Even my FL 135mm f/3.5 wide open gives nice bokeh. As the others mentioned, most FD lenses shoot a nice B&W shot. The just vary in result. For my B&W walk around lens, I shoot a plain old F/1.4 50. Does good in the city.

 

Hard to pick a bad FD lens for B&W.

I shoot mainly black and white, and FD is my main system. All the lenses I have used thus far allowed me any contrast level I Like with the right processing. The coatings are excellent so flair is well controlled, and after that its really about the film, developer and first of all, proper exposure. I can't speak for the others, but my 100 f2.8 is a beautiful lens, especially remarkable wide open. I wonder if the old FD version is nicer than the one I have, as apparently the number of apperture blades has an effect on bokeh, and mine has fewer blades than the old version... I think its probably splitting hairs, but perhaps someone with experience with both lenses could chime in. Other than that, it is my main portrait lens and definitely one of my favorites.

 

Of course if superior tonality is what you're after, I would suggest a medium format system - the difference would be greater than from any one major manufacturer 35mm lens to another.