According provided by lens B&H/CANON LENS FD 50mm 1:1.4 SSC CANON LENS MADE IN JAPAN many thanks to the store FOCUSFILM (subscribe to INSTAGRAM). There you can find many interesting film cameras and manual lenses.
B&H/CANON LENS FD 50mm 1:1.4 SSC CANON LENS MADE IN JAPAN
In short
B&H/CANON LENS FD 50mm 1:1.4 SSC CANON LENS MADE IN JAPAN is a classic manual high-aperture prime from a bygone era. There is a whole family of similar fifty-kopeck and 'about fifty-kopeck' lenses from Canon, which includes almost 30 (!) main models.
B&H/CANON LENS FD 50mm 1:1.4 SSC is a rebranding of the “regular” CANON LENS FD 50mm 1:1.4 SSC, which began to be produced around the spring of 1973. Bell & Howell collaborated with CANON selling cameras under the mixed B&H/CANON brand (Bell & Howell / CANON, or simply Bell & Howell) from 1961 to 1976. Most likely there is absolutely no difference between the “regular” CANON LENS FD 50mm 1:1.4 SSC and the B&H/CANON LENS FD 50mm 1:1.4 SSC
Nowadays, the B&H/CANON LENS FD 50mm 1:1.4 SSC is interesting due to its large relative aperture, which can be used for artistic purposes. The lens also has a collectible value due to the rare name “B&H/CANON”; usually B&H/CANON (or Bell & Howell / CANON, or simply Bell & Howell) cameras were equipped with “regular” lenses with the name “Canon”.
All lenses of the Canon 50/1.4 EF/FD/nFD/FL class (except for the first versions of the FL from 1965-1966) use the same optical design of 7 elements in 6 groups (classic Gauss lens design).
This B&H/CANON LENS FD 50mm 1:1.4 SSC belongs to the line of Canon FD series lenses with an FD mount. The FL and FD series lenses are easiest to use on mirrorless cameras. It is difficult to use this lens on Canon EOS EF DSLR cameras - to be able to focus at infinity, you definitely need corrective lens adapter.
B&H/CANON LENS FD 50mm 1:1.4 SSC CANON LENS MADE IN JAPAN
Main technical characteristics of B&H/CANON LENS FD 50mm 1:1.4 SSC CANON LENS MADE IN JAPAN:
| Review Instance Name | B&H/CANON LENS FD 50mm 1:1.4 SSC CANON LENS MADE IN JAPAN (N700, black “trunk”) |
| Basic properties |
|
| Front Filter Diameter | 55 mm, metal thread for filters |
| Focal length | 50 mm |
| Zoom ratio | 1 X (this is a fixed lens, it does not have a zoom). |
| Designed by | for film cameras with a frame size of 24 x 36 |
| Number of aperture blades | 8 petals. Petals dark matte |
| Tags |
|
| Diaphragm | from f / 1.4 to f / 16.
The lens has an aperture control ring. On the aperture control ring there are marks for F / 1.4, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16. The aperture control ring rotates with clicks, there are no intermediate values. |
| MDF | 0.45 meters, maximum magnification about 1:6.9 |
| The weight | 350 grams |
| Optical design | 7 elements in 6 groups
The lens does not use special optical elements in its optical design. The same scheme is used by some other lenses from Canon. |
| Lens hood | Threaded, screwed into the front filter thread |
| Manufacturer country | LENS MADE IN JAPAN (lens made in Japan) |
| Period | Approximately March 1973 to June 1973 |
| Price | About 200 cu for used option. |
Canon FD series lenses have an additional fixation ring, which is responsible for installing the lens on the camera.
B&H/CANON LENS FD 50mm 1:1.4 SSC CANON LENS MADE IN JAPAN, lens shown on Bell & Howell FD35
Assembling, focusing
B&H/CANON LENS FD 50mm 1:1.4 SSC CANON LENS MADE IN JAPAN is well built.
The focusing ring is metal, with ribs and notches, and rotates approximately 225 degrees (5/8 of a full turn). The ring travel is a little tight. During focusing, the front retractable part of the housing frame does not rotate. Focusing occurs by moving the entire lens unit. When focusing towards the MDF, the focus ring does not move forward. There is a metal protrusion on the focus ring. Focusing is carried out by moving the entire lens unit.
B&H/CANON LENS FD 50mm 1:1.4 SSC CANON LENS MADE IN JAPAN, lens shown on Bell & Howell (no “Canon” brand) FD35
Sample photos (Full Frame)
The photographs in the gallery were taken using a Sony a7s camera. Auto settings Perfect Clear Workbanch v4. Prepared photo for review Alexey Loboda.
Original photos in RAW '.ARW' format can be download / watch this link (30 photos).
B&H/CANON LENS FD 50mm 1:1.4 SSC CANON LENS MADE IN JAPAN
How to use FL/FD/FDn mount lenses
To use a Canon FL, Canon FD, or Canon FDn mount lens on modern mirrorless cameras, you should use the appropriate adapter:
- Canon RF/RF-S: adapter FD/FDn/FL -> RF/EOS R
- Canon EF-M: adapter FD/FDn/FL -> EF-M/EOS M
- Sony NEX/ILCE/IMCE/FE/E: adapter FD/FDn/FL -> NEX/ILCE/FE/E
- Nikon Z: adapter FD/FDn/FL -> Z
- Panasonic L / Sigma L / Leica L/T/TL: adapter FD/FDn/FL -> L
- fujifilm x: adapter FD/FDn/FL -> X/FX
- Samsung NX: adapter FD/FDn/FL -> NX
- Micro 4/3 (Panasonic/Olympus): adapter FD/FDn/FL -> M4/3
- Nikon 1 : adapter FD/FDn/FL -> N1
The adapters are suitable for FL, FD and FDn mount lenses, these mounts are backwards compatible. But using lenses with a Canon FL / Canon FD / Canon FDn mount on SLR cameras is difficult due to the long working distance. In such cases, a corrective lens adapter must be used, which will degrade the image quality.
B&H/CANON LENS FD 50mm 1:1.4 SSC CANON LENS MADE IN JAPAN
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Material prepared Arkady Shapoval.
Thanks for the interesting review and a little excursion into history.
In the captions on the photo, it would be nice to indicate the aperture value when shooting, shutter speed and ISO, so you can see it in EXIF.
And thanks for the RAW files, without them the lens review is meaningless.
It just seems to me that the photo looks like it’s strangely over-sharpened, but is that even intended? like this
I think so too
Thanks for the review.
There appears to be a typo, the text states “This CANON LENS FL 58mm 1:1.2 Canon Camera Co., INC. belongs to the line of Canon FD series lenses with FD mount”, and should be 50mm 1: 1.4
225 degrees is 5/8 of a full turn, not 3/8. Sorry for being pedantic.
Fixed