Canon 19mm f/3.5 lens

what do people think of the old Canon FL 19mm f/3.5 lens? meant for old Canon SLRs

in mirror lockup mode but easily converted to LSM and M mount.

 

how does this lens compare, say, to Nikkor 21mm f/4?

 

how much should the going price be for this lens, in nice but not amazing condition?

 

thanks in advance

I bought one of these brand new back in 1968, complete with case, finder, Lens Mount Converter B, and an M adapter. The dealer couldn't wait to get rid of it since Canon had just come out with the retrofocus version. It cost me a whopping $100, I suppose about equal to $500 in today's shrunken dollars. Since I lost it in a break-in a dozen years ago I can't make as comparison to my 21/3.4 SA, but it was a damned good lens. The first year I had it I sold a photo and article on using ultra-wides to Camera 35 magazine, and I used it for a photo of a band sitting on the beach at sunrise that ran double-truck inside their record album cover, about 12x24 inches. Had it not been stolen I suspect that it would still be part of my regular kit today and I never would have bought the 21/3.4 SA.

I use a Vivitar 19mm/3.5 lens that is also rather sharp and contrasty.

Is that FD mount Raid?

Sheldon: Yes. I read an article about the Vivitar lens in Shutterbug many years ago, and I went ahead and bought it. It is very light and much smaller than the older style metal 19mm lens by Vivitar. I tried it out and liked the results. It takes a 62mm filter and focuses down to 20cm.

Correction: It is a 19mm/3.8 lens and not 3.5.