Canon FD 600mm and 800mm

[richard_mccaw]

<p>Hi all,<br>

I am new to this forum. Have been looking around at FD telephoto primes for use on my Nex over the past few days. Aside from the 400mm f4.5 SSC, the 600mm and 800mm look quite tempting especially since I cant afford the EF ones, not in the next decade I would expect.<br>

There doesnt seem to be that much though, especially on how the lenses turn out on Sony Nex bodies, both images and functionality-wise.<br>

Happy to hear more from yall here. Thanks.</p>

[Bill C1664885404]

All I use on my NEX-7 are Canon FDn lenses with a CIECIO7 FD / NEX adapter up to including the 400/4.5...and get

outstanding results...

[User_1172872]

<p>What were you planning to use them for? By modern standards, these have an extremely long minimum focus distance - 14 meters if I am correct. OK for landscapes, not OK for small birds.</p>

[richard_mccaw]

Small birds actually. I forgot to

pay attention to the MFDs.

Thanks. 14m is one heck of a long

MFD!

[rick_janes]

You can greatly reduce that minimum focusing distance by simply pairing the lens with an extension tube.

[awahlster]

<p>The 600mm f4.5 is not an L lens and granted I have only ever owned one comparing it to my 500mm f4.5L the 600 was noticeably softer with a slight loss of contrast.<br>

I ended up selling it off.</p>

<p>As to the long minimum focusing distance. That is what the FD-15 extension tube is for to shorten up the focal distance.</p>

<p>My back yard bid lens was for a long time a Canon 500mm f4.5L S.S.C. with a FD-15 extension tube and a 2X-A extender. My back yard is only about 20' wide and I had no trouble with the combo.<br>

The Extension tube will also add a little bit of magnification.<br>

Using this combo a Blue Jay would pretty much fill the frame so on a APS-C or half frame sized sensor you might want to drop to the 1.4X-A extender or loose the extender all together.<br>

The 800mm is an excellent lens by all reports but very long heavy and clumsy to handle. And with a half frame you better have the tripod to end all tripods to keep it steady. </p>

[alan_swartz]

<p>The FD 600mm minimum focusing distance is 8 meters or 27 feet. The 800mm L minimum focusing distance is 14 meters or 45 feet.</p>

<p>To reiterate previous comments, the 600mm is an average optical performer on film, with noticeable chromatic aberration. The 800mm is better, thanks to its UD element, but improper technique can quickly render that advantage useless. Even good technique is usually improper with that lens.</p>

<p>Mark is correct about needing a combat-ready tripod. I shoot the 800 on 35mm film using a huge Manfrotto double-shank-leg tripod with gear head and an additional support strut from leg to camera body. It isn't enough. Vibration is still the factor that ruins images. Multiply this problem by the crop factor inherent to your digital body and you will likely find that the planet Earth is not stable enough. As I understand it, the NEX bodies do not have inbuilt stabilization...too bad!</p>

<p>The 600 is 462mm long (18-3/16 inches) and weighs 3.8kg (8.38 pounds). The 800 is 577mm long (almost 23 inches) and weighs 4.27kg (nearly 9-1/2 pounds). The 800 is the most fun to handle because so much of the weight protrudes waaayyyy out ahead of the mount. Without a nice, heavy F-1 and motor drive to counterbalance it, it will mostly want to point at the ground.</p>

<p>But the absolute most fun is the 400/2.8L, which weighs in at 5,395g, just a couple of ounces under 12 pounds, almost all of it in big glass in the nose! And for focusing woe, the old FL 1200mm f/11 was the winner (loser?) at 130 feet minimum, if I recall corectly.</p>

<p> </p>

[richard_mccaw]

Thanks a lot for the reminders. I

prob would need to spend a near

equal amount on a good tripod

setup if I want to get serious

about birding.

[rwbowman]

<p>I owned a 600mm f/4.5 lens, and found it disappointingly soft. I used a heavy Gitzo tripod and a Foba SuperBall head with the lens and usually shot Provia 100 film. I would think using it with a Sony Nex camera would result in even more disappointment. On the other hand, the well-known bird photographer Artie Morris at the beginning of his career used the 800mm and a T90 with great success.</p>

[Bill C1664885404]

<p><strong>".....I would think using it with a Sony Nex camera would result in even more disappointment....."</strong><br>

<br />Which model Sony NEX camera did you try it on?</p>

 

[peter_szwed]

<p>I have the 800mm f5.6 that I have used with a Sony NEX 5N and 5T. Not as good as my New F-1 but acceptable. The peeking feature is an invaluable aid when focusing this giant lens. Any breeze or vibration will cause it to shake so I use the timer on its fastest setting to get my hands off the camera. The only way I've found to stabilize this monster is to brace the lens or use two tripods, one on the lens and one on the camera. my only complaint is the spring fingers in the bayonet mount allows some movement between the camera body and the lens.</p>

<p> </p>

[User_1577653]

<p>Just to throw out another possibility, you could consider the FD 300/2.8L lens in conjunction with the 2X-B teleconverter. That gets you to 600mm with a minimum focus distance of only 3m (adding the TC doesn’t change the MFD), so quite a bit closer than the 600/4.5 lens. This particular combo is considered something of a standout in that you lose surprisingly little (if any) image quality with the TC in place. It is a flexible approach too since the 300mm lens is such a highly regarded image maker all by itself, offering the possibility of 420mm and 600mm focal lengths as sort of a bonus, just by adding TC’s. Of course the downside with this approach is that you lose two stops of light due to the 2X TC, so actual maximum aperture is only f/5.6. But my experience is that f/5.6 is still generally quite do-able for most wildlife work.</p>

<p>I have to at least mention one other possibility not yet discussed – the Canon new FD 150-600mm f/5.6L zoom. OK, I know it’s a ZOOM and you were looking for a prime, and it’s not exactly what you would call inexpensive either (if you can even find one for sale in the first place!). But its big 4X zoom range, excellent image quality, and its 3m minimum focus distance, all make it a very flexible and capable lens for wildlife and other applications. I use mine with and without TC's for wildlife (including small birds), for closeups, and for astrophotography.</p>

[ian_bell]

<p>If you can afford the relatively small max aperture, don't discount the 500mm f8 mirror. It is much more handleable lens.<br>

I have a Canon SSC breechlock version . If you found a FDn mount version you could get it converted to EF mount here <a href="http://www.thelensdoctor.co.uk/index.html">http://www.thelensdoctor.co.uk/index.html</a>.</p>

<p>I also have a Sigma 600mm f8 mirror which isn't a bad lens either. </p>

<p>Before it raises a storm of comment, I am well aware that mirror lenses are what we call in the UK "marmite lenses". (For those of you in the colonies who haven't come across Marmite, it is a yeast based spread for toast or sandwiches. There are no two ways about this stuff, you either love or loathe it!)</p>