thomas_goehler

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<p>Given the "H" suffix and that H was used on my bodies are 1976 and later, I think it is may very well be a Q.</p>

 

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<p>The H suffix still confuses me. This suffix is supposed to indicate the place of production, but on the usual websites that offer information about the code, there is never an "H" mentioned. So what does it stand for?</p>

<p>@Jeff: all FD lenses can be used with automatic exposure on AE-1 and AE-1program and T90. There is no problem and no difference between the old and the new FD lenses when it comes to that.</p>

<p>no offence taken, guys! That's fine by me.</p>

<p>Ok, sorry about the misleading "dating", but English is not my mother tongue, though I'm supposed to know the meaning of dating. I was just too quick writing this post.</p>

<p>Thanks Mark. I had my code from the discontinued web page by Christian Rollinger (www.canonfd.net), and there is obviously a mistake there, as I just found out, because he skipped 1971. Therefore, my "O" and "Q" position differ from the ones you mentioned. I guess December 1974 is more likely then, though the letter could well be a "Q", but it is a bit blurred.<br>

Still, the H at the last position irritates me, as it does not refer to any of the Canon production sites.</p>

<p>nFD means the new FD lenses without chrom rings, built from 1979 onwards.</p>

<p>Hi folks,<br>

actually I know how to read the date codes in the film chamber of the Canon FD cameras, but my "new" FTb gives me a problem here: it reads Q 1210 H (the first letter could also be "O"). This would mean it was either manufactured in 1976 or 1977. Was the FTb still in production then? It is the FTb N-model, so it must have been produced after 1973, this I know.<br>

Also the "H" confuses me, it does not refer to any of the production sites.<br>

Can someone out there help me?</p>

<p>James, the golden rule is to use filtres only when you really need one. As we usually take pictures in an environment that doesn't show an excess of UV radiation, why use such a filtre? I have an old Canon book from the 80s in which Canon themselves warn against the constant use of UV filtres as protection filtres.</p>

<p>With b&w and contrast filtres this is a different cup of tea. Here, you want to achieve better contrast etc., same with polarisation filtres. Again, the idea you want to put into practice defines the use of any type of filtre. But it is useless and in the worst case even harmful to use UV filtres as a constant protection on your lenses which are multi-coated anyway.</p>

<p>James, I hope you don't mean, you use UV filters instead of dedicated lens hoods, that would be desastrous as the use of any kind of UV filtre is doubtful unless you really have to shoot in an area of high uv concentration such as in alpine regions. Otherwise you only add an extra lens-air-surface to the lens and lessen its potential achievement. UV filtres can seriously blur your pics.</p>

<p>The hood is BW58C, and this lens was among the last FD zooms to enter the world. I've had mine since 2003 and I am still very satisfied with it. true, it sports a lot of plastic, but it is an ideal walk-around lens, if you don not want the big equipment.</p>

<p>Most serious repair shops will not accept lenses with fungus, e. g Zeiss does not repair even their own lenses when they come with fungus. So I guess, it will be hard to find a place that can and will do it.</p>

<p>I have got one. Got it as a giveaway with an old A-1 on ebay for a song (less than 70$ all together) . It is an absolutely outstanding performer and is rated as one of the non-L L-lenses, if you know what I mean. They often sell for high prices on ebay.<br>

For a zoom that old, the optical performance is very, very good. Distortions are hardly visible, same goes for vignetting. I have never had a zoom lens with so little vignetting.</p>

<p>Here are some examples from my Flickr photostream:<br>

<p>yes, you can use the same flashes that you use for your AE-1 they will work just the same.</p>

<p>Hm, I suppose then it got stuck mechanically, i.e. some dust or filth has come in the way of the zoom ring. Try and pull it back with force. If it's only some dust etc., nothing will happen, if you break it, don't worry, these lenses sell for 5 bucks on ebay!</p>

<p>It might have a special macro mode at 200mm. See if you can pull it back to 80mm when you set the focus ring to infinity first. Alternatively, there might be a safety switch that secures it at 200mm. Check this!</p>

<p>nice holiday pics</p>

<p>But don't foregt while recommending the Olympus 4/3 system for Canon FD lenses that you suffer from a 2x crop factor then.</p>

<p>@Kevin: The shutter squeal on the A-1 can easily be fixed. There is a (German) instruction for this repair on the net.</p>

<p>@Steve Smith: No, it's not extreme to suggest that a UV filter can create blurry images, just go tothe typical forums on the net and look for the respective topics. You'll find lots of them! The blur does not come from dusty or soiled filters, it is a result of an extra air/glass surface you add to your lens which might result in loss of contrast. The golden rule is: Use a UV or protection filter whenever you, the photographer, would wear protective goggles (Or, of course, in high altitudes where you are exposed to an excess of UV light).<br>

I have an old Canon system manual in which Canon warns against the use of UV filters as pure protection, since their lenses are sturdy enough to weather some dust etc.</p>

<p>@JDM von Weinberg: I DID mention the T90 just 4 posts above yours ;-)</p>

<p>But the manual mode on AE-1 is rather clumsy, as is also with A-1, AE-1p.</p>

<p>Yes, F-1NEW would satisfy your needs, but of course it's not digital. Shortest exposure time is 1/2000, if you want to stay in Canon FD-land and still go faster, than you should consider the Canon T-90, which gives you 1/4000 and a built-in motor winder with 4,5fps. Both cameras, however, need to bechecked thoroughly before buying, as the F-1 used to be a professional model which might show signs of very heavy use, whereas the T90 might suffer from sticky shutter problems now, which can be reapired (here in Germany this cost me 200$ last year).</p>

<p>AE-1program does not offer aperture priority, in fact not many Canon FD-system cameras do. Only the aforementioned T90, A-1, AL-1 and AV-1 do so apart from F-1 (only with AE-finder) and the often overlooked T60, which is a rather cheap model made by Cosina for canon and is not very sturdy. It also offers 1/1000 as the fastest time.</p>

<p>Leave the UV filter at home. The lenses are coated anyway and you'll spare yourself the disappointment of blurred pictures.</p>

<p>I also wrote a blog entry about the AL-1 on gamborang.com, for those of you who are able to read German this might be of interest:<br>

http://gamborang.com/start/?p=243</p>

<p>Still, as James Turner said, due care and attention should avoid this problem which still baffles me, as I imagine you really need to treat your camera in a brutal way to achieve results like this. My first camera was a Canon AE-1program which I bought exactly 25 years ago and it still is in mint condition. I only had to cure the typical asthma once. http://www.flickr.com/photos/teegee_pics/5128643270/in/set-72157625271658568</p>