Canon FD Lens help
 

Can anyone shed a bit of light on the FD aperture control?
I went to Jessops today to get some more info and I now understand that there is a pin on the FD mount which needs to be slid to a different position to enable manual aperture.

Has anyone succesfully mounted an FD lens on a 35mm adapter and been able to stop down the aperture? A shallow depth of field certaintly isnt practical all of the time.

As far as I understand Quyen managed to trip the switch on his 50mm 1.4 and I also believe that he as unsuccesful in tripping the 50mm 1.8..

has anyone got a solution?

Thanks all,

Dan

The lever I am referring to is on the left side of lens.
Have a look at this picture;

http://canonfdtaiwan.tripod.com/100F28/100F28_3.jpg

One of the levers onthe back of the FD lens moves about halfway, by hand. What I have done is move it halfway then put a bit of blutac behind it to stop it returning. When mounted, this then allows the aperture control to work. I believe others have wedged matchsticks in, but I prefer blutac.

My suggestion is to stick with FL lenses. Canon FD is somewhat of a mystery to me, but here's what I've been able to conclude (by no means am I an expert);

Canon FDs come in two flavors: those that have an FL mode (and therefore can switch over into manual aperture mode) and those that do not. I count the ones with the lever that you can prop in the 'open' position as manual focus ones. There are other versions (breach lock??) that no matter what you do, will always have the aperture stay in the open position. From what I can tell, if you can hold the lens in your hand and manually close the aperture and see it close, it is a safe bet.

Canon FL lenses are also great, and have a manual aperture. FL lenses don't seem to have the mystery associated with the FDs.

With the FD, it is sometimes more than switching the aperature lever. Also, there is (sometimes) a little button inside the female part that needs to be pushed down to work as in my 1.8 FD lens. When the aperature level is in the right position and the button is pushed in (mounting will push the button in), the iris works. With my 24mm Kitstar, it is different. I have had to wedge a piece of wood to stop the aperature level from kicking back and then my iris works on the barrel.

It seems like the non-Canon FD lenses are much easier to trigger... I have a Rokunar 80-200mm lens and a no-name 28mm Korean lens that are both triggered easily enough (if you want to use such lenses)... I'm considering just investing in a decent cine lens off ebay instead.

thanks for the info everyone. FL lenses seem hard to get but if I can find some I'll snap em up. For now I'll buy some FD's off ebay.

Has anyone had experience with zoom lenses? I'm gonna get mostly primes but for framing etc. I think a zoom lens is very handy. something like a 50-135mm

Zooms are a great value for the price. They tend to be slower and they breathe, so their real use is somewhat limited.

I have a nikon 80-200 f2.8 that is really great - it costs a pretty penny, but nice to cover all the longer focal lengths without investing in a bunch of primes.


BTW anyone notice prices for old nikon manual focus lenses have increased about 50% in the last 6 months?!

i got my 50mm 1.8 in the mail today. It seems the only movement the blades have is when i move the cap back and forth in the female mount. The aperture control moves but the blades just stay almost closed. someone help me?

There are two small pins: one close to the red dot and the next one in the following opening.
http://www.care2.com/c2c/photos/view...00008.JPG.html
Push one down while gently keeping a light rotation pressure on the mount as if you were doing the same WITH the rear cap on, and then push the second one down. It will unlock the mount, allowing you to rotate it as if you would have it mounted on the camera. Now the aperture is free. All you need to do is stick a piece of plastic to keep the larger aperture lever tensed counterclockwise.
http://www.care2.com/c2c/photos/view...00009.JPG.html

thanks dan.. its working now. appreciate the help

another question: i dont have an adapter yet.. so i dont know but: when i've got it so i can control the aperture after you rotate the base.. how would it secure to the adapter cuz i cant even get the back cap on because of the little pieces of plastic when the aperture is set like that.

It may be that the plastic you use is too high, or... most likely, you have to rotate the mount back (so you can put the rear cap on). Whether you mount the lens on a camera/adapter or you "mount it" on the rear cover, the aperture should work. (did u receive your gear?)

Thanks Dan that's a very clear explanation.

dan, i have no problem getting the cap on if i need to.. im just wondering though : an fd mount for an adapter would have the same "male piece" as the lens cap. ... so if you had the lens tricked out how could you put it on the adapter if the lens cap cant go back on until i put it back to normal?