55mm f1.2 SSC

[joe_margetts]

Has anyone got an idea of what to expect to pay for a good f1.2

standard lens?

 

Jessops have got a 55mm f1.2 S.S.C which must be every bit of 30

years old but they still want £160.00 for it which seems excessive.

 

Yes the glass and the diafram are spot on clean but the barrel is

worn and the focus ring tight.

 

Please enlighten me as to a realistic price.

 

Joe

[douglas_green1]

A realistic price is whatever someone will pay for it. Going rate on the major on-line auction site seems to be around $150-200 depending on condition, and the reputation of the seller.

[gregory_nicholson]

Hi Joe, Just to warn you, I have been looking for a nice-nice original hood and front cap for this lens for six months now. Found a few rough ones but good ones are scarce.

 

The FDn 50mm f/1.2 uses the more common BS-52 and are less money, so if an original hood is important to you it's something to think about.

 

If you check keh.com they have some 58mm f/1.2's either SSC or the earlier chrome ring version, both excellent condition, either one is $150. The sales people will always e-mail you two pictures of a lens if you give them a few days.

[timothy_fitzgerald]

Joe:<P>

 

<A HREF="http://mywebpages.comcast.net/starka/CanonFD_ebay2.htm">Vlad's web pricing guide</A> seems to be a pretty reliable source for prices on that web auction. He also provides some of the "street values" for comparison. All prices are in US$, so you'll have to work through the conversion to British pounds yourself.

[awahlster]

I have the latest KEH flyer right here on my desk and it lists a EX condition 55mm f1.2 BL (breech lock could be a chrome nose or a S.S.C. both are equal in optical results) for $159.00 USD a bit cheaper then your local shop. They show a couple of 50mm f1.2 all in Bargin condition for $119.00 for the BL and $189.00 for the nFD version They also have a 50mm f1.2L in Bargin for $429.00.

 

I have one of the first 55mm f1.2 Chrome noses made in 1971 and it is a beautiful chunk of glass sharp as a tack in the mid range and quite useful wide open. I was lucky and got the Origional metal BS-58 hood with it along with a near collectors grade FTb in Black Also from 1971 I believe this camera and lens to have been purchasd at the same time if not as a set. I got it off ebay for less then $150.00 on a BUY IT NOW. So be patient or pay the going rate that's how this all works.

 

 

Hope this helps you decide.

[John Crowe]

160 pounds should just about buy the one marked "Aspherical", so I too would keep looking. I love mine but to be very honest the few times I have compared it to the FD 50mm f1.8 (last version) I couldn't see the difference on Kodachrome 25. Both were at about f8. For low light and/or flash it is amazing! (I just love all that glass!) Good luck!

[gregory_nicholson]

Also a chrome nose breech lock lens will read like this, 55 F1.2 FD BREECH LOCK (58). A breech lock S.S.C. lens will read like this, 55 F1.2 SSC FD BREECH LOCK (58), and will not have a chrome nose.

 

It is also widely known that chrome nose and SSC early breech lock lenses were the same optical formula. The SSC coatings are not part of the optical formula but will have an effect on flare control and color reproduction. In some cases, like the 35 f/2, they will have a different glass formula. In some cases the earlier one will be better, but for the most part the newer is usually better. Also the 50 f/1.2 breech lock is an FL lens and not a good choice by today's standards.

[leo s.]

I agree with what others have said - £160 is a little bit steep for the standard SSC. A bit more hunting around might save you something.

I was hunting around for the aspherical version last year and i came across a few for less than the price of the lens you found. One was a "user" lens for £100 - but good optics.

 

I didn't buy it in the end since i wanted a better condition lens which would be easier to resell if i no longer wanted it,so i ended up spending a bit more than i hoped,but both the lenses i eventually got were worth it for the condition they were in(pristine!)and their amazing performance - I got these :

 

Canon FD 50mm 1.2 L(asph) for £312(inc £85 uk duty/tax) from a US seller on ebay(i'm sure i could have saved a little on that if i had been a bit more patient and held out for another auction)

 

Canon FD 55mm 1.2 SSC ASPH which i found on a Swedish web site,and i ended up paying £245 in total for it.

 

There was also a 58/1.2 asph on ebay not long ago(now ended) - see :

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4687&item=2915842097&rd=1

 

For what you are willing to spend i think you could have either one of the older 55/58 aspherics or a bit more might get you a tatty but usable 50 1.2 L.

[doug_nelson1]

If money is a factor, I wouldn't reject an FL 55 1.2. I so regret selling mine that I check ebay occasionally for my serial number so I can buy it back. At mid apertures it is amazingly sharp. A family portrait I did at f5.6 and blew up to 8 x 10 is so sharp I can see the threads in the kids' clothes. For the money you'd save, you might be able to live with stop down metering and pretty soft performance at wide apertures. People pay $700 for a soft-focus lens. With the old 55FL at f2, you've got one, plus extreme sharpness when you need that.

[adam_lang1]

There are two 35/2 SSC versions, the first is the same optically as the phenomenal FD chrome nose (concave front element, thorium glass, discolored, f16 minimum, superb quality) and the second (convex front element, neutral color, f22 minimum, mediocre optics) is not worth buying.

I've owned all four 35/2's (including FDn), and still own three (dumped the second 35/2 which I'd acquired the first when I saw how much better the chrome nose was). The chrome nose lenese are all built like tanks and mass accordingly...