So I went crazy last week and bought a bunch of lenses from Henry's Outlet Store, because they were clearing out manual focus lenses. This 100mm f4 macro was one of the many I bought. Before Micro 4/3 cameras came along, Canon FD mount lenses could only be used on old Canon FD mount film bodies, and prices for them were very low. The Micro 4/3 cameras give FD lenses, among others mounts, new life. If you work with telephoto or macro lenses a lot, this is even better because the Micro 4/3 cameras essentially make the focal length 2x longer. So this 100mm f4 macro lens becomes a 200mm lens. The slow f4 maximum aperture is not even a problem, as the Electronic View Finder will just make the view finder brighter to compensate.
The nFD 100mm f4 macro lens (I also have the older FD 100mm f4, which I will try later) is very sharp. Well, there are no bad macro lenses, but some may not perform as well at infinity as at macro. This particular lens is pretty decent at infinity. Too bad I haven't taken any macro shots yet, but a couple of sample below will give you some ideas.
Naked Tree -- Panasonic G1 & Canon nFD 100mm f4 Macro.
Hot Cross Buns -- Panasonic G1 & Canon nFD 100mm f4 Macro.
Hi my friend, wow I found someone who might help :D
ReplyDeleteI'm interested on the same lens u r talking about, and I found a couple of sellers that selling it on ebay.com
can you please recommend one of them so that I can buy it?
the first one
http://cgi.ebay.com/Canon-FD-100mm-F-4-Macro-Lens-FD-50-Tube-Used-/350344016847?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Camera_Lenses&hash=item51922173cf#ht_3647wt_939
the second one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/CANON-FDn-100mm-f4-MACRO-LENS-90-DAY-WARRANTY-/350334137514?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Camera_Lenses&hash=item51918ab4aa#ht_4078wt_939
Thank you so much for the further help :)
Hello,
ReplyDeleteThe first lens is the old breech mount whereas the second one is the New FD mount and is a newer lens. But, the first one comes with a the extension tube for 1:1 magnification support but the not the second one. I don't know if there is a difference optically between the two, but I would go for a newer lens over the old design if the price is similar.
Good luck!
Thanks a lot for your reply, much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteBut will this fit my camera? Canon 450D?
This lens WILL NOT fit your camera. Only fits micro 4/3 cameras such as the Panasonic G1, GF1 and Olympus EP series.
ReplyDeleteNaaaah.. ok thank you my friend :)
ReplyDeleteActually that lens WILL work on your 450D with a simple glassless adapter. Macro lenses are only intended for close-up work, so it won't make any difference that it won't be able to focus on far away objects (or "infinity" focus). Those old FD macro lenses are great alternatives for today's digital EOS cameras. The adapters WITH glass in them are horrible, however. You could have bought either of the lenses you saw, added a $10 glassless FD to EOS adapter, and used them on your camera.
ReplyDelete