FD 35mm f2 Concave at British Museum

<p>Took the old Thorium lens for a workout at the British Museum. All shots with an F-1N and FD 35mm f2 Concave on Superia 400.</p><div></div>

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<p>A gryphon.</p>

<p>Really enjoying these shots. Thanks</p>

<p>The Enlightenment Hall is not very brightly lit. Most light comes from large windows at the top of the East Wall. Most of these shots were hand-held at f2 and between 1/8 and 1/30 sec. Some were done hand-held, but with the rim of the lens braced against glass. </p>

<p>Love the effect of the light. Sort of a late 18th c light? Anyway thanks.</p>

<p>From experience I can say that taking photographs in a museum with only available light is always a challange. Most institutions do not allow flash photography. You've done well. Thanks for sharing.</p>

<p>Well done, Frederick! A lovely set of pictures. I love the Greek bowl and ladle shot. Good lens for available light.</p>

<p>Nice shots - especially considering the difficult lighting situations</p>

<p>Great , Frederick, you just can't beat available light to convey the mood of the exhibition, and the very limited DOF seems to enhance the subjects. Sort of like "being there"...Thanks for a nice post.</p>

<p>Hi Frederick<br>

Great work mate - I love the light, colour and DOF control and my real favourite is the Greek Bowl and Ladel - superb!.<br>

My favourite shop in the entire world is Aperture Photographic in Museum Street right opposite the Museum - it's the best camera shop ever (loads of second hand Leica's and other lovely kit) and it's an internet cafe too!. Did you get a chance to pop in?.<br>

Best regards<br>

Dave<br>

<a href="http://www.david-thrower.blogspot.com">www.david-thrower.blogspot.com</a></p>

<p>Hi David, it just so happens that Aperture is one of my favourite haunts, being something of a Leica enthusiast as well. Patrick and Richard run a very nice, cozy little shop. Maybe we'll run into each other there some time!</p>

<p>When I was in High School I used to shoot by available light with my Konica Autoreflex T2 and a 35/1.9 Vivitar at the Museum Of Natural History in NY. That was with pushed Tri-X. Today I would use Portra 800 or Fuji 1600. The 35/2 FD SSC with the concave front element is one of my favorite lenses. The faster film will give you a little more depth pf field so more of your subject is in focus.</p>

<p>Make that depth of field.</p>

<p>Nice shots, I have one of these lenses I like a lot and it's rarely of one of my camera bodys, but they are heavy they have nine elements and weigh almost a pound.</p>

<p>Jeff, it is sometimes surprising how thin the depth of field is when shooting wide open, even with wide angle lenses.</p>

<p>My widest fast lenses are two Vivitar 24/2s. One is the earlier 22XXX... lens which is in Konica AR mount. The second is the 28XXX... lens which I have in Minolta MD mount. The 22 lens is a floating element design and is actually quite sharp. The problem is that it gets oil on its aperture blades like the 28mm f/2 22 lenses and also gets its floating element section gummed up. I don't find the 24mm 28 lens quite as sharp wide open but it doesn't seem to have the oil problem. In some cases when I visited aquariums and had a rubber lens hood I pressed the camera up against the glass of a tank so I could shoot at a slower speed and close down a little more. Superia 400 is one of my favorite films if I don't need something faster. My fastest 35 is an f/1.8 MC Rokkor and my fastest 28 is an f/1.9 Vivitar Series 1. </p>

<p>Thanks for the tour, Frederick. I have seen many postings about this particular model of the 35/2, but I have never used such a lens. My 35/2 is the later model 35/2 FD by Canon. Still, even that lens is excellent.</p>

<p>Thanks for the tour, Frederick. I have seen many postings about this particular model of the 35/2, but I have never used such a lens. My 35/2 is the later model 35/2 FD by Canon. Still, even that lens is excellent.</p>

<p>I have the new FD Canon 24mm f2 and f2.8 lenses. A long time ago I had the 24mm f2.8 Breech-Lock. The 24mm f2 is all it's been made out to be.</p>