[•] Canon FD 17mm F2.8 lens

pazrahn (51)in #photography • 7 years ago (edited)

I’m a big Canon fan from way back and especially fond the Canon FD lenses. I became an accidental collector of sorts when people didn't want the older lens mount and people wanted the new EOS EF range and I always had a soft spot for the make and build quality of the camera gear made in the 80's.

I used to spend hours on eBay looking to save older camera gear as they were at throw away prices especially when digital was taking over. After years of learning about the Canon FD range recently found this 17mm FD. I knew it was rare but not that rare.

So here I am writing an update on whats happening. As it stands it my most famous lens find to date and decided to name this 17mm “The Unicorn” Serial Number: 80101 also known by some as the $50,000 lens. This is a small joke between photography friends as that was what someone thought it could be worth.

Recent comment on Youtube video from leonche64 "I came across this video 2 weeks ago. I live in Hong Kong. There are a bunch of old guys over here that are the collective memory of photography for the last century. They know every company, mount, film type, etc ever made. There are stores upon stores that sell nothing but vintage lenses and bodies. Thousands of products, None of them has ever seen this lens, and only two knew it existed, and one insist that it does not exist at all. Whatever you paid for it, you paid too little. Congratulations."

It feels like its similar to the story of the guy with a ultra wide Nikon lens that sold for big dollars but I don't even know what the lens would really be worth.

Would I sell it? Never. As the thing is every time I use it I know that no one else can take the same images as its the only one around plus you should see how sharp the pictures are with really zero distortion in the images too. I’ve thought to myself why Canon did not put it into production. My theory so far is the EF mount was released shortly after this lens and that future designs was incorporated into all the new EF EOS lens range. And what I mean by that design is the focus ring is separate from the end lens barrel as many of the FD lenses rotate as a whole piece as this 17mm doesn’t.

I still really believe in the FD lens range and think it rivals the other lens manufacturers in build and quality. They work a treat on any mirrorless camera attached with an adaptor. If your new and want to get into photography you cant go wrong with a Sony A7II or Panasonic GH5 and use a few Canon FD lenses.

I use all the gear when I can and finished photographing a themed series called “The Dark Side of Japan” to showcase the coolness of Canon from the past.