Canon FD 55mm 1.2 crome nose lens

[soo_choi]

Hi, is anybody out there have ever used this lens if so what quality

differences does this lens have compared to like say normal 50mm 1.4

SSC lens or anyother lens any answer will be appreciated.

[John Crowe]

Try searching the archives about chrome nose lenses. There has been a recent post about wideangle ones that says they were multicoated. If that is the case with the 55 then this is an excellent lens. Not quite as sharp as the 50mm/1.4 but is that little bit faster if you need it. I love my slightly later, 55/1.2 SSC.

[pensacolaphoto]

There is nothing special about chrome nosed FD lenses and it is a waste of money to spend larger amounts of money on a specific lens just because it is "chrome nosed". The 55mm/1.2 lenses were not very sharp wide open or close to wide open, except the aspherical one. The term "aspherical" is more important than "chrome nosed". Some earlier lenses had rare earth in them but I doubt that they are really worth the extra money.

[awahlster]

Raid no one said the poster was looking at spending extra money to get the 55mm f1.2 CN he only wanted info on it. In facdt from the four years of ebay auctions I have tracked the 55mm f1.2 CN is the least expensive of the f1.2 Canon Fd mount lenses you might find. I have a very nice example of one and from f1.2 to f2.0 is is just barely noticably softer then then either my 50mm f1.2L or 50mm f1.4 nFD From f2.8 to f4.0 only with extreme magnification of a test chart type subject do I see any real differance. From f5.6 to f11 it is identical to my other 50mm lenses.

 

The slightly soft wide open aspects of this paticular lens might be exactly what the origional poster is looking for. When I need a 50-55mm lens for a prortait of a woman I will always chose this lens over my 50mm f1.2L or 50mm f1.4 nFd as they are just a little to sharp wide open fgor all but the most perfect skin and makeup.

 

And there are in fact some slight differances between a few of the early Chrome noses and their later versions the 135mm f3.5 CN being of a different formula then the S.C version. This by the way is an excellent portrait lens.

[pensacolaphoto]

Mark,

I agree with you that if the photographer is looking for a soft portrait lens wide open, then such a lens would be a good choice.

I used for many years a 55mm/1.2 SSC lens just fo such applications.

 

Soo, if you are looking for a shrp lens wide open, then this would not be a good choice, compared to a 50mm/1.4 lens or the more expensive 50mm/1.2L lens or the 55mm/1.2 Aspherical lens.

[soo_choi]

Thank you everyone for great info on 55mm 1.2 lens.