Journalist1943 9.0 IQ 10.0 Build 9.3 Tack Sharp, Fast, Solid Build, Exceptional Coatings None The Gold Standard of the FD lineup. Reasonably sharp for the standard 50 1.4, Bokeh is pleasing, very well built, not too heavy or light, focus is easy with its fast speed.

All in all 100/100 must buy for FD collection.

twl 8.5 IQ 9.0 Build 8.7 Sharp and Contrasty. Solid build. Smooth focusing. Cheap. Heavy. Lots of vignetting. Bokeh can be harsh. I use this on the Sony A7s and a6000 and it delivers great image quality. It's pretty sharp wide open and super sharp by f4 on both cameras.

The lens vignettes a lot at f1.4 and the bokeh isn't always the smoothest. It's all metal, so the mechanical quality is great, but it does mean that the lens is a little too heavy for my cameras. (there are lighter 50/1.4 lenses out there)

Still, it's a good value, and a good choice for video shooting, too.



To see a more detailed review of the lens and lots of sample shots, please go to:

http://www.theweekendlens.com/canon-fd-50-f14-ssc.html



To see a sample video shot with the lens, check out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vlklHrxVUk

Jim_Miller 9.0 IQ 9.0 Build 9.0 Great lens even for video no auto focus and no rolling iris I've been in the network tv business for over 10 years and to be able to use these 30 year old lenses on my Sony FS100 or any of the DSLR cameras is amazing. The depth of field you can achieve will blow you away. You have to give up auto focus but that is a small price to pay. For an example you can check out this video.... the only lens used was the Canon FD 50mm lens.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXE3WF1Ff9I



More examples on our website: http://www.AtlantaVideo360.com

Thanks for letting me contribute,

Jim

zanxion72 9.5 IQ 9.5 Build 9.5 Fast lens. Not any You will love this one! It is fast and the fastest that many can afford next to 1.2. It looks cool with that red lettering on its face and it produces results of high resolution, high contrast and great sharpness.



My only complain (not really) is that I cannot have readout of the aperture value being used on my F-1N (not that I cannot live without it).

Guest 9.5 IQ 9.5 Build 9.5 Sharp, cheap, great bokeh Focusing can be a pain This is an exceptional lens, and beats out the nFD 1.4 and the 1.4 USM due to its use of oversize optics. The lens is sharp even wide open, and stays decently sharp into the corners (something usually only seen in much more expensive lenses). Vignetting is minimal and it practically free of chromatic aberration. An 8 blade aperture delivers excellent bokeh up to around f/5.6. Almost nothing bad I can say about this lens, other than the focusing it at wider apertures can take a bit to learn, especially when coming from an autofocus system.

Johannes 9.5 IQ 9.0 Build 9.3 sharp, ultra fast, beautiful bokeh slow focusing My work horse. Exceptional fast and sharp lens, which renders beautiful colours and bokehs. I never go shooting without it. The focus ring is a little tight which results in focusing happens to be a little slow when turning from closest to infinite position.



Superior everyday lens for difficult lightning situations. Since it only stops down to f16, I recommend to use it with a pol or nd filter when shooting in sunlight.

kippy 9.5 IQ 10.0 Build 9.7 Very solid feel, smooth focusing, massive aperture and great DoF A little on the heavy side I bought this lens to fill the gap in my FD lens collection; I had a 28mm and a 35mm, but no 50mm standard. Then the 50mm f/1.4 SSC came into the equation, for a staggeringly cheap £35. Naturally I snapped it up immediately; there's no way you can turn down a lens like this for that price. And I do not regret my purchase one iota.



It's a big lens for a camera like the AE-1, and the weight is very reassuring. The body feels well built and very sturdy. I don't really mind the extra bulk to lug around, but I'd imagine some people might. From what I can tell, the 2nd and 3rd incarnations are smaller and lighter, with little change in optical quality.



What really shines from the f/1.4 is the quality of the optics. The closest comparison I own is my Summicron f/2 (which is also excellent), and the f/1.4 really gives it a run for its money. The sharpness and saturation, for me, is absolutely perfect. The focusing is smooth, if a little slow, and the advantage of that huge aperture means the ability to work in a huge number of lighting situations (sadly, the maximum aperture of f/16 is a slightly limiting factor). f/1.4 gives a very shallow DoF, really wonderful for portraits in poorly lit environments.



I would definitely recommend hunting around for this lens, I love mine.