What 5 FD lenses would you carry for most applications?

I sold off all but one of my fd zooms years ago before when I saw for myself that prime focal lengths are superior to zooms. That said there is nothing else like the Series One 90-180mm flat field autopsy marco so it being a zoom doesn't bother me a bit.

Thesedays zooms are usually your only glass option unless you can use old olympus and nikon manual focus glass on eos bodies. More of my pentax lenses are zooms than not, its the way the photo equiptment world has evolved. A common 28mm f2 pentax will set you back $600 for an obviously used copy. My mint FD 28mm f2 ran me $150 with rare Montreal 1976 lens cap and Montreal olympic box. Its the only 1976 montreal logo'd box I've ever seen and its Canada market only item I bought out of canada years ago.

FD is cool and most lenses offer outstanding image quality, I do hope someone makes a FD digital body so I can affordably reacquire most of the fd glass I sold off years ago before the values dropped below my purchase prices.

Funny thing Peter is I already use my FDn 400mm f4.5 on pentax k mount digital and its exceptional out to about 60 feet. I find it superior optically to Pentax own SMC-A 400mm 5.6. Canon lense mount converter B from the late 1960's makes it possible. And of course my FD autobellows mounted on macrostage along with and my leica 12.5mm f2.5 and 25mm f2 micro lenses work perfect too. I've said it before from what I've seen FD lenses image quite well on digital and any FD and FL mount macro assessory works just fine on pentax digital.

But if no one makes a credible fd dslr solution then it doesn't matter to me really, as the wife and I have clocked about 12,000 images in a year and a half via two dslrs. My second dslr and lens cost less than my AE Finder F-1N body only. In fact it cost less than the Pentax film body I bought the wife new in 2000. With dslrs at less than $400, why not add one to your kit? My last canon lensmount converter B ran me $10 new in the box off ebay. I buy'um when I see'um so I own several now. I still rememeber when they'd hammer $100 though I've never paid more than $35 for one.

I do plan to keep my mint collection FD lenses I have left. They are ones I know are exceptional and they've increased in value lately too. I likely don't need six F-1 bodies anymore. I'm glad I shaved them down from the 16 F-1 bodies I used to own.

Lindy

What I used to carry with me in FD lenses has changed over the years. In the past, most of the time, I would have this set-up;

Canon F1N + 80mm-200mm/4

Canon T90 + 28mm-50mm/3.5

I then add the Canon 24mm/2.8 and the 2X converter, plus a Canon 17mm/4 lens. Sometimes, the 300mm/4 is added.

If I were to venture out with a FD system these days, I may choose the following:

F1N + 85mm/1.2L

T90 + 50mm/1.2L

Then add the 17mm/4, the 28mm/2.0 and the 35mm/2.0 for wide angle shots.

I have been influenced by rangefinder street photography to go with shorter and faster lenses that I used to use.

No, John - not everyone has asked santa for a digital FD camera. As a matter of fact, its one of the most endearing qualities of the FD system: its entirely free of the digital influenza.

And Lyndy... 12000 images! Wow. Now if it was only about quantity... Oh wait - digital is. Never mind.

12k images is nothing. I know a lady at 24,000 is less than a year on one pentax and some eos dslr users already topped 100,000 in less than 2 years with no shutter problems.

I've had to add a couple external harddrives to store the keepers. My best stuff gets printed 16x20 for under $5 a pop, or 8x10's for $2.

Sure is nice not getting scratched up negatives back from the kids that run the machines.

Lindy

The lady hasn't located the delete button?

I suppose our definition of what a keeper is may be relative to the ability to store the images and not the quality of the image it's self?

Vaughan, She posted she paid for her entire pentax dslr kit and three pro lenses that ran her about $3,000 the first very week she owned it. I'd guess that was 23,000 images ago. Shes using Nikon and is new to pentax dslrs.

Lindy

It's all gone now, but for many years it was:

Canon FD 17mm f4

Canon FD 24mm f2

Canon FD 55mm f1.2 SSC

Canon FD 200mm f2.8

Canon FD 300mm f2.8 SSC Fluorite (later replaced by a 400/2.8 L)

The 17 and 200 were my most used lenses by far!

I'd have to say my choices are all over the map but all Canon glass:

15mm f2.8 full frame fisheye

35-105mm f3.5

35mm f2.8 Tilt and Shift

85mm f1.2

200mm f4 macro

The 200mm macro gets more use then any FD lens I've ever owned.

I also have an 800mm f5.6L that I really love. It's a bear to use but takes the most amazingly clear photos of the moon. But,way too heavy to carry

Peter,

I have also bought this Vivitar (fix F3.5 and macro) lens because I was happy with my V I 19-35 and I was disappointed with it.

My Tokina is sharper and much lighter...

Before buying it, I read a lot of good opinions on it...

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Now it has been "replaced"(note the parantheses!) by a Vivitar S1 70-210 (1st version)... I am not sure why it has such a cult following: i