what other FD lenses do you recommend?

[summitar]

I have a Canon T90 and an F-1. The FD lenses I have are a 28 mm f2.8,

a 35 mm f3.5, a 50 mm f1.4, and a 100 mm f2.8. For a zoom, I have a

35-70 f3.5. I also have an FD 50 mm macro f3.5. Can anyone recommend

other lenses to round out my equipment? Please set an upper

threshold of no more than $200 per lens. I know there are some great

f1.2 lenses out there, but the prices tend to out of sight.

[robert meier]

You have a great pair of cameras. I have a similar combination and I use the FD 20/2.8 a great deal inside of buildings. The 24/1.4 L is a lens I have always wanted to get, but have never been willing to pay for. But it is probably worth it. My fastest wide lens is the FD 35/2, and it is an extremely good lens.

[lance_dennis]

Kerry,

 

I have a T90 and F1 also. The two best cameras!

 

You have nice lenses.

 

To stay under $200 and get an f1.2 lens is possible, if you don't mind stop down metering. For less than $100 you can get a Canon FL 55/1.2. They are on that auction site and keh.com. It is a great lens. I had one. I am sorry that I sold it. It is similar in design to the FD BL 55/1.2. Do not get the 58/1.2.

 

-Lance

[stuart_richardson]

Well, my stock answer is 85 mm f/1.2, but since you can't do that, I would recommend

selling the 28 and using the funds to acquire a 24mm f/2. The 28 and 35 are fairly close,

and you don't have anything that is very wide. I think the 24mm is closer to a true wide

angle than the 28, yet it is still normal enough to use regularly. I think 24, 35, 50 is more

balance than 28, 35, 50...

[jay ott]

How about a 300mm f5.6? It's a bit slow but cheap but quite useable.

[billangel]

The Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f2.8-4.0 is an excellent lens.

[dave_s]

Well, it's not the answer to your question (sorry), but if it were me, I might just save the money and blow it on film and processing. Or on travel. Or an inexpensive medium format camera-- now's the time to buy 'em.

 

You've got a great range of lenses already, although you could of course go wider (20) or longer (200 and up) depending on personal style. What shots do you find you're missing with your current setup?

[neil_forster]

i also have these 2 cameras!

 

i find that i use 24mm f2.8, 50mm f1.4 , 100mm f2.8 virtually all the time. i would also recommend the 24mm over the 28mm, but the choice is very personal. i also have 300mm f4 L for occasional use and some zooms which i always leave at home.

 

if i had ooodles of cash, i would buy 24mm f1.4, 35mm f2, 85mm 1.2, but at moment i tend to use medium format the most.

[._._z]

I recommend against collecting lenses. Use what you've got, and if you need anything more

you'll know it.

[greg_campbell1]

As always, don't let the equipment bug interfere with your shooting. I've known people (and have encountered dozens others on-line) that spend so much time, money, and effort worrying about what lenses and bodies to buy that they never get around to actually taking any pictures. Get out and shoot. You'll soon figure out what lenses you are missing.

 

<Queue ominous, scary music>

Read http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/7.htm and heed his warnings!

</music>

 

With that in mind....

 

 

 

The super fast or L lenses have collector's cachet and cost a boatload. Unless you do a lot of low light shooting, you'll never see a difference between them and the more modest lenses.

 

You might keep an eye out for a 200/F4. The are < $100. The 200/2.8 is a sweet lens, but is substantially more spendy. Either will be a big jump from your 100. The long lens' 'compression effect,' coupled with the limited depth of field causes you to be very conscious of the background and the 3rd dimension when composing.

 

If you're into shooting race cars, birds, etc., you already know you'll want something longer.

 

On the other end, if you use your 28 a lot, a 20 or 24 would probably be handy. (17's and below are REAL cool, but get REAL expensive) As with the 200, once you reach 20~24mm, you start to use the lens in new ways; the extreme DOF allows some neat effects. Do you know anyone with a superwide lens that you could borrow for a day, just to get an idea what they are about? Unless in near mint condition, 28's are fairly cheap, so a trade won't get you too far.

 

Keep an eye out for an extension tube or two. I've got a 25m that allows some startling close ups. A $30 ring will get you into the macro universe. (For best macro results, you need a dedicated lens, but most standard lenses work fairly well if stopped down.) If you're into photographing small dangerous animals (rattlesnakes, killer bees, giant wasps, etc ;) ) a 50mm stacked onto the 25mm unit will improve the close focus ability of your longer lenses, giving you a 'remote microscope' function.

 

-Greg

[Rob_L1664876404]

Kerry,

 

I'll second Bill's suggestion for the Vivitar telephoto zoom (f/2.8-4.0). I just want to clarify that he's talking about an older, all-metal and glass lens that hasn't been made for a while. I use mine on an A-1 and a T90 and I haven't seen any sharper images at the sizes I commonly enlarge to (not wall-size, though!). Current Vivitar lenses appear to be largely cheap junk (with a few exceptions).

 

Rob

[John Crowe]

Yes, it really depends upon your needs. You have a good range of lenses. If you want wider then the 20/2.8 or 24/2.8 are logical choices and if you want to go longer you should be able to get one of the 200/2.8 lenses within that budget. Good luck!

[pensacolaphoto]

One other option could be to get pentax screwmount lenses and get a cheap Canon FD adapter to allow you to do this. I have successfully used the sharp Pentax 85mm/1.8 lens on my Canon T90. You can then use aperture priority (stopped down). You could also get the execllent Pentacon mount (Zeiss Jena) 180mm/2.8 lens and the adapter for Canon FD. It is a medium format lens that will give you great results with your Canon FD camera. Both options mentioned above can be achieved with about $150 (Pentax) -$250 (Zeiss).

[fast_primes]

I agree with Z and Greg! Collecting excess gear will distract you from the craft of photography itself. Bustling about and fussing with umpteen lenses and cameras is an utter waste! If anything, get yourself a tripod and ball head, keeping your present lenses.

[steven_clark]

80 f1.8 135 f3.5

[james e. petts]

Um, Kerry...

 

We can't really answer your question unless you tell us what you want the lenses for. What kinds of pictures do you like to take? What are you good at?

 

But those are nice bodies :-)

[nigel whitaker]

Depending on what you're into, the 200mm f2.8 is a lovely lens, great focussing and pleny of light coming in the front, makes a lovely portrait lens or for action sports.