Canon 85mm F1.2L lens in the UK

[abhinav_chauhan]

<p>Hi. I have an AE-1 Program which use to be my fathers for the past few decades and he has now given it to me along with a few lenses. I have been using the camera for nearly a year after i cleaned and replace the light seals. I am now at a stage where i would like to buy a new modern camera such as a mirror-less system near the end of the year. In the meantime i am looking spending some cash now on a good quality lens which i can use and also on the future mirror-less i will be getting. <br>

A Lens that has could my eye is the 85mm F1.2L FD. I live in the UK and was wondering where are good places to look for apart from eBay. Also what would be a reasonable cost I'll be looking at for the lens at todays prices?</p>

<p>Cheers<br>

Abz</p>

[SCL]

<p>In spite of "apart from Ebay", that remains the biggest marketplace to find one in good condition without waiting around for months for one to show up, possibly at a reasonable price, although it may come from a Japanese seller. I've bought & sold a boatload of lenses and camera bodies for years on that site, you do have to conduct your own due diligence, but the rewards are usually well worth it.</p>

[jim_bielecki1]

<p>KEH, in the U.S., currently lists several FD 85/1.2's on their site. Prices range from about $800 - $1200 USD. You may want to contact them about shipping costs.</p>

[John Seaman]

<p>Other than Ebay you are confined to online dealers like Collectable Cameras, MW Classic Cameras, Ffordes, Peter Loy etc. There are probably others who advertise on the back pages of Amateur Photographer magazine.</p>

[mwmcbroom]

<p>Good advice from the above members and the KEH prices are right about what you'll be looking to pay for a clean FD 85mm f/1.2L. You might occasionally find one for cheaper on eBay, but be prepared to wait a while. Your best chance to find a better deal will be to wait for an auction as opposed to the Buy It Now listings.</p>

<p>I'd like to point something out to you about your current setup and what to expect when you get an FD 85mm f/1.2L. If you have the standard focusing screen in your AE-1P, you will likely find it to be very difficult focusing with that fast lens. I have an AE-1P and I also own an FD 85/1.2. I found that, after I bought the 85/1.2, I had the hardest time focusing with it, and the reason was the AE-1P's standard focusing screen isn't designed to handle that fast of a lens. It works fine with f/1.4 lenses, but f/1.2 is just a bit too much. So what I did was I bought a plain matte screen for my AE-1P (found it on eBay, by the way) and that solved the problem. But then, I prefer plain matte screens. If you're not used to them, it does take some getting used to, but given the alternative, it will probably be worth it for you to go this route in the long run.</p>

<p>BTW, I use my 85/1.2 on my NEX 7 mirrorless and it works great. However, if I'm shooting with the lens wide open, I've found that the NEX's focus peaking feature usually isn't accurate enough. I have to use the camera's 5.9x or 11x magnification to insure accurate focus.</p>

[chris_roberts10]

<p>In the UK, I'd check out <a href="http://ffordes.com/">Ffordes</a> for sure. Their stock is pretty limited right now to zooms and 28's, but normally they carry a wider variety of FD. Anywhere you go will be a compromise of course as eBay typically gives you the best quality and the best price. </p>

<p>Keep in mind that if you like the 85mm on the AE-1 but are moving to mirrorless, you'll get a completely different FOV that you might not be as wild about (depending on what system you choose). µ4/3 is the prominent system to adapt to and that would give you a 170mm FOV which isn't very useful - too long for portrait, too short for wildlife. If you like 85mm on film, maybe give the 50mm f/1.2L a try as it'll be more similar to the FOV that you like on the AE-1. It'll also save you a bit of money. </p>

<p>The new mirrorless world offers vastly improved high-ISO options compared to film, so you should also consider that the 1/2L glass could be overkill. For the cost of a good condition 85/1.2L (~$1000), you could get a mint condition 24/2 (~$375), a 50/1.4 (~$100), an 85/1.8 (~$200), and a 100/2 (~$300). Personally, I'd forget about the 85/1.8 and buy something nice for myself while investing in the other three. The 24/2 and the 100/2 are both outstanding lenses that are pretty unequalled at their focal lengths.</p>