Canon 50mm FD f1.4 S.S.C Lens

Canon 50mm FD f1.4 S.S.C with breech lock

Front of the Lens

I have received my Canon 50mm FD f1.4 S.S.C lens bought from Ebay.

First impression is the breech lock is different from all the lens I have owned. It is screwed via a turning ring. In order to screw on, the red dot on the ring must be reset to its zero position before it can be attached to the body mount of Canon AE-1 program. While turning the ring, the lens body does not move unlike modern lens design. I have to spend some time trying to mount the lens on the body.

Secondly, I am fortunate to get a rather clean body with not much scratches on the lens body and the glasses. So it looks pretty decent. The lens uses a 55mm lens filter.

I am currently trying to test it and the result will only make known after the film is developed. I noticed that on Canon AE-1 program and for that matter the A series of Canon camera, the original viewfinder focusing circle in the centre is a horizontal line instead of a slopping line (in Yashica FX-3). I find that the slopping focusing line is more easy to achieve focus. This is because the realistic world has many horizontal lines which coincide with the focusing line and hence does not differentiate easily.

The bokeh from its 1.4 aperture is nice looking through the viewfinder. Hopefully the developed photos stay the same. The lens is heavy because of its metalic component compared to plastic 50mm lens that is currently available. Hence the side grip on the body of AE-1 program is useful. The lens also has a automatic 'A' aperture which will work with the Program model to automatically select aperture and shutter speed.

The distance guide on the lens is coloured brightly for photographer to read. I realised that I have to estimate the distance of the subject and adjust the distance accordingly before even looking at the viewfinder. Something that modern camera and lens do have the convenience over vintage ones.