Canon FD 50mm f1.4 SSC Sample

Red & White -- NEX-5 & Canon FD 50mm f1.4 SSC. Click for larger.

The more I use the Canon FD lenses, the more I feel they are way under appreciated.  I especially like the starndard 50/55mm lenses, from FL to nFD mount and all of them are excellent.  Well made, optically excellent and all have very pleasing bokeh.  The problem is, there are so many variant on the  Canon FD 50/55mm lenses that just having one of each will cost a small fortune, not to mention the exceptionally good FD 24mm f1.4L, FD 85mm f1.2L, FD 135mm f2, and the jaw dropping FD 200mm f1.8L which was the brother of the superb EF 200mm f1.8L.  Perhaps, it's better to concentrate on the FD line than having so many other brands.

Rudolph the Reindeer without the Red Nose

Reindeer -- Panasonic G1 & Canon FD 50mm f1.4 S.S.C

The human brain is a real work of art.  Even when something is out of focus, we can still immediately recognize the shape and reconstruct the fuzzy picture into something we know.

Santa Bear

Santa Bear - G1 & Canon FD 50mm f1.4 SSC @ f1.4. Click to see larger

Continuing the holiday theme.  My goal for December is that any pictures I post here is holiday related.  Shouldn't be too difficult, considering holiday decorations and happenings are everywhere.

As I use the FD lenses more, I have a new appreciation of the old Canon manual focus lenses.  Makes me want to sell off all other old lenses and start a FD collection.  There are so many of them, and some of them are definitely equal to, if not better than today's modern lenses.  This is especially true for the the L series.  50mm f1.2L, 85mm f1.2L, 24mm f1.4L, 200mm f1.8L, etc, which are predecessors of today's auto focus EF L lenses.  But, these FD L lenses still command a very high premium, probably more so later on as more and more people discover the beautifully made, and optically great FD lenses to use on the Micro 4/3 and NEX cameras.

JOY

JOY - G1 & Canon FD 50mm f1.4 SSC

As the Christmas holiday gets closer, we see and feel more and more signs and spirit of the season.  At the same time, I feel that Christmas has become more commercial.

Sunset Over Port of Toronto

James Morris -- G1 & Canon FD 50mm f1.4 SSC. Click to Enlarge.

After using the GF1 a few times, I find that its handling is nowhere close to as good as the G1.  The GF1 is nice and small (if used with pancake lens), but if you are going out to shoot, the G1 is by far a better choice, especially using manual focus lenses.  I think I should have bought a GH1 or GH2 instead of the GF1.  With the GH1 or GH2, I can get full HD with the versatility of handling of the G1.  Time to rethink.

In the meantime, after seeing some wonderful pictures from obakesan using FD lenses, I was itching to try some of mine which have been collecting dust of late.  By far my favourite so far, besides the 55mm f1.2 SSC, is the Breech-Lock version of the FD 50mm f1.4 SSC.  In so many ways, this lens is better than the EF 50mm f1.4.  Slightly sharper wide open, tack sharp from f2 on, 8-blade aperture, built like a tank, and focuses butterly smooth.  The later, nFD version's built quality is not as good, although it should be optically similar.  Also have an Canon FL 50mm f1.4, which is even better built, but not optically as good.  I have an FD 50mm f1.2 on the way.  It would be interesting to see how the f1.4 stacks up against the f1.2 version.
 
By the way, if you are wondering why I have so many pictures from this vantage point, it's because this is right outside T&T on Cherry street.  I bring my camera when doing grocery shopping there and naturally, take pictures.  Depending on time of the day and weather, you can get very different pictures from the same position.  There, mystery solved.

New Toy -- Panasonic GF1

Picked up a used GF1 from Uwe today.   I have known Uwe for years from buying/selling on Craigslist.  He's a super nice guy who also enjoy old, manual focus lenses.

Now, I really do not need the GF1.  It's just more evidence that I am a real incurable gears addict.  Part of the reason was that my son Ryan has been nagging me to get a camera that can do HD movie, since I no longer have the T2i or the 7D.  Another reason was that I want to see if it can replace my G1, so that I don't have to carry a larger camera.  The answer is probably a "No".

It's awkward to hold the GF1, especially if you have larger/long lenses.  This a camera not suitable for manual focus lenses, unless you put it on tripod.  The high-res viewfinder and articulated LCD screen on the G1 is much much better for this purpose.  The major strength I see with this camera, is to use with pancake lenses, especially the 20mm f1.7, which unfortunately I do not have.

The movie is quite respectable.  Very high quality video and the continuous focusing in video is a real plus.  The speed of focus is a magnitude faster than the T2i/7D, even with the slow kit lens in dim light. I think I will use this camera more for video clips than taking pictures. 

The image quality is similar to the G1 -- very good in low ISO but falls apart after ISO 400.  I will use ISO 800 in emergency, but anything higher than that is too noisy.

Overall, it's a nice little camera that needs some nice small AF pancakes.

Flower -- GF1 & Canon FD 50mm f1.4 SSC at f1.4. Click to enlarge.

Dead Leaf - GF1 & Canon FD 50mm f1.4 SSC. Click to enlarge.

Bridge - GF1 & Canon FD 50mm f1.4 SSC. Click to enlarge.