I’m often asked about good lens options for M4/3 & Sony E-mount cameras. Most people are hoping to save quite a lot of money when building a vintage set, so this guide will concentrate on affordable lenses with a price tag no higher than $300 per lens (I’ll also share a full set option for under $500 at the end of this guide). It’s important to note that this guide is written with M4/3 & Sony E-mount users in mind (these lenses will not work well on Canon EF cameras without expensive mounts).
There are certainly quite a few vintage lens options to choose from including the various M42 lenses like Carl Zeiss Jena, Helios / Mir as well as Olympus, Minolta, Pentax lenses, but I don’t think that there are many better choices for mirror-less cameras than Canon FD Lenses. I personally use them on daily basis and find them to be the best value for money lenses for both Sony E and M4/3 mount cameras. Their character is not too clinical (unlike that of many modern lenses) and also not too crazy (I love Helios 44-2 but it can be too much for some stuff), so they are perfect for all kinds of projects from general corporate to shorts and music videos. One of the best things about Canon FD lenses though is that they can be used on any mirror-less cameras, from full frame ones like Sony A7S and all the way down to BMPCC which has a Super16 sensor. However, when it comes to building a whole set of vintage lenses for M4/3 cameras like Panasonic GH4 & even more so for BMPCC, wide angle lenses present the biggest challenge. There was no need for such wide lenses back in the days when Canon FD lenses were produced. Back then even a 28mm lens was wide enough for most situations, but fortunately there is a way to help our M4/3 cameras get wider without breaking the bank. Personally I’m using a really cheap “ROXSEN” focal reducer to help things out on my BMPCC and a Zhongyi Lens Turbo II focal feducer on my Sony E-mount cameras (from now I’ll refer to Focal Reducers as FRs). The LT2 is a very impressive FR for the price (see my comparison to Metabones Speedbooster here) and I’m pretty happy with my Roxsen M4/3 FR on BMPCC too. I’m sure it’s not perfect, but I also tried it on GH4 and was happy with real life footage I shot using it. We’ll talk about the FRs a bit more at the end of this guide, but now let’s get into the actual lenses. (just to make it clear, this is not the ultimate Canon FD lens guide listing all the FD lenses that exist, but a guide to FD lenses that fit into a $300 price bracket).
To find the current lenses listed on ebay, just click the highlighted links, which will take you straight to the relevant searches on ebay.
Affordable Canon FD Lenses for Sony-E & M4/3 | Buyers Guide
Let’s get into it, starting from the wide end:
20mm F2.8 (14.5mm F2 with FR) – Probably the most expensive lens in this set and also the widest Canon FD option for under $300. There is a 17mm F4 but it’s too expensive to make it into this set. Unfortunately 20mm not something that you’d call ultra wide on M4/3, but FR certainly helps. If you really need to get wider, then Tokina 17mm F3.5 (12mm F2.5 with FR) is a really good option, which can be bought for around $150-$200 on ebay. There is also a Vivitar 17mm F3.5 which is even cheaper and a Vivitar 19mm F3.8 (14.5mm F2.7 with FR) for those of you who might find the Canon FD 20mm a bit too expensive. It’s important to know that Canon FD lenses including 17mm, 20mm, 24mm, 28mm do not work with LT2 FR as the back element of the lens touches the front optical element of LT2 when focusing towards infinity. LT2 though works absolutely fine with Tokina 17mm F3.5 (haven’t tried the Vivitar alternatives), so if you need a very wide lens for Sony-E mount cameras and want to use it with LT2, then Tokina 17mm is the lens of choice. Roxsen M4/3 FR works fine with all the lenses though, so no limitation there.
24mm F2.8 (17mm F2 with FR) – 4mm makes a big difference in price when it comes to vintage wide angle lenses. 24mm with a focal reducer on a Super35 sensor camera will produce pretty wide shots, but on M4/3, especially on GH4 in 4K mode or BMPCC, I wouldn’t expect this lens to be used as the widest lens in the set. Never the less it’s a nice option if you decide to skip either the 20mm or 28mm.
28mm F2.8 (20mm F2 with FR) – Another 4mm up reduces the price even more. Unlike the 20mm, this is one of the cheapest lenses in the set. It will only cost around $50. There are also the F3.5 and F2.0 versions of this lens, but F3.5 is only $10-20 cheaper and F2.0 will usually cost almost $250 so I think F2.8 is the best value for money option here.
35mm F2.8 (25mm F2 with FR) – Another really affordable option, can be bought for as little as $50 on ebay. Same as with the 28mm, there are also the F3.5 and F2.0 versions of this lens, but again, F3.5 is only $10-20 cheaper and F2.0 is significantly more expensive. If you have the budget, F2.0 versions of 28mm and 35mm are of course better lenses, but if the budget is tight, F2.8 versions are definitely good enough and certainly fast enough with a focal reducer.
50mm F1.4 (36mm F1.0 with FR) – This is my current 50mm of choice. I love the images it produces and best of all it will cost no more than $100 on ebay. It’s a great low light, portrait/close up lens. This is not the only FD 50mm that fits into the $300 price bracket though. There is of course a dirt cheap $20-40 F1.8 (F1.2 with FR) version, which is definitely not bad for the price if you are on a very tight budget and you can even sometimes snap up the F1.2 (F0.9 with FR) version for under $300, but I think the F1.4 is best value for money option out of the 3.
85mm F1.8 (61mm F1.2 with FR) – Also a very, very sexy lens if you have the budget for it. It’s not the cheapest in the set but for around $150-200 it’s definitely worth it!
100mm F2.8 (72mm F2 with FR) – Very cinematic lens for little money. If the 85mm is a bit too expensive, then this is a nice alternative producing similar looking images. At F2.8 it’s a nice match to the wider F2.8 primes. There are also F2.0 version of this lens, but it can rarely be found for under $300, so a bit too expensive to be recommended in this guide.
135mm F2.8 (97mm F2 with FR) – Great telephoto option (especially on GH4/BMPCC). You won’t need to go higher for most shooting situations. I love the look 135mm lenses produce, similar to 85mm and 100mm for less money. If you are willing to spend a bit more, then there is also F2.5 version which is very nice and if you only have $20-30 to spare, then there is a mage cheap F3.5 version too!
200mm F2.8 (144mm F2.0 with FR) – If you need that extra push on the telephoto side, then this is the one! Still within the $300 bracket; still F2.8. Incredibly cinematic images can be produced with this lens. A solid and steady tripod as well as a lens support are pretty essential for this lens to avoid camera shake when focusing.
35-105mm F3.5 (25-75.5mm F2.5 with FR) – I wanted this guide to be about prime lenses so this is the only zoom I’ll recommend. Sometimes you just need that flexibility to work fast. It’s still pretty a fast lens for a zoom with such range and it has a handy MACRO function too. Best of all it’s very cheap, so definitely a “must have”, especially when you are starting to build a set and need to cover wide range of focal lengths.
I’ve mentioned a MACRO function on the 35-105mm, but it’s not really a competitor to a proper MACRO lens and if you happen to really need one as part of your set, you’ll be pleased to know that there are actually to Canon FD options for under $300 to choose from, the 50mm F3.5 and 100mm F4. Now I admit, they are not the fastest lenses in this guide, but being MACRO lenses, they usually need stepping down quite a lot anyway to get enough depth in focus, so slower apertures should not be a problem for MACRO users.
Now, let’s come back to Focal Reducers for a bit. Canon FD lenses themselves are great as they are, especially on FF frame cameras like Sony A7S, but to make them amazing on smaller sensors, a focal reducer is an absolutely essential addition. There are quite a few FD focal reducers our there. I don’t claim that the ones I use are the best out there but both do great job transforming FDs into faster & wider lenses, which makes a massive difference on cameras like GH4 and BMPCC, so I’d definitely recommend to get one. Improvement for the price is amazing!
I’ve listed a lot of lens options about, but if your budget doesn’t allow you to buy a full set, then to start with get the Tokina 17mm F3.5, Canon 35-105mm F3.5, FD 50mm F1.4 & 135mm F3.5 together will a focal reducer. Such set will cover almost any shooting situation. Together with a focal reducer you will effectively have a 12mm, 25-75.5mm and 97mm, all rated at F2.5, plus a 36mm F1.0 for low light situations. Looking at such specs, it does sound like this would be a very expensive set, but these 4 lenses together with a focal reducer will cost you just $500 which is pretty incredible for a full set of lenses that will cover just about any focal length you might need.
I have a pretty similar set to the one I recommended to you (see below) and I wouldn’t recommend something that I don’t like myself. I do hope you found this guide useful and it will help you save some money on your future lens choices! Eventually I will do a more in-depth guide to Canon FD lenses but I hope this a good start! 🙂
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Attention, I also use Canon FD lenses (many of those you mentioned) of MFT but I noticed errors in what you wrote. Also I have a Focal Reducer of Camdiox (Roxen) and I know how it works. The mistakes that I have noticed about the extent of focal lengths. For example: Canon FD 20mm f2.8 with a 28,8mm FR becomes f2 (20x2x0,72) and 14.5 mm so is everyone else. So you have it wrong calculations.
Hi Fausto. Your calculations are with MFT/GH4 in mind, but this is not a GH4 guide, so such cancellations will be wrong Super35 or Super16. I simply multiply the focal length by 0.72 and then depending on your camera you then add either 1.5x, 1.6x, 2x, 2.88x if you want to see what the FF equivalent will be. A lot of people don’t even use such calculations as Super35 is their base size for equivalent, therefore I just leave focal length without additional sensor crops. Hope that makes sense now 😉
You have been clear. Thank you. I always follow with interest your site
Canon FD 20mm f2.8 with FR is 28,8mm f2; Canon FD 50mm f1.8 with FR is 72mm f1.2 ecc…
[…] Source: Canon FD Buyers Guide | Vintage Lenses For Video […]
The Vivitar 17mm is made by Tokina and is actually the same exact lens as the RMC Tokina, I have it, and I can tell you it is a fantastic wide angle. Great review lineup BTW, I have some FL glass that is great. The 35mm 3.5, later version with rubber focus ring, is one of my favorite lenses.
Anyone Having problem with FR+ 50mm 1.4 combo. I can’t focus to infinity.
I haven’t had such issues with any my FRs. If 50mm works fine without your FR, then you know where the problem is.
I use a Canon FD 17mm f4 on my a7s… this lens is a beast for the price I paid it!!! (half the price hehe)
https://500px.com/photo/99297435
https://500px.com/photo/108219087
This is a great site, thanks. I picked up an FD 50mm 1.4 for $60 with an adapter and you are soo right… Awesome little lens.
I also found another zoom that’s not on your list… The FD 35-70mm f4… For $30 in near mint condition. It’s small, light and parfocal. I swear, even wide open it is tack sharp. I did an unscientific test between the zoom at 35mm wide open and a Nikkor, non-ai, 35mm 2.8 at f4, and I honestly couldn’t tell the difference, as far as sharpness goes.
To round out my FD set, I am looking for either the 24mm or 28mm f2.
On a side note, have you found that the FD lenses are similar in IQ and character to the Nikkors? The reason I ask, is because right before I bought the FDs, I picked up 3 Nikkor, non-ai lenses… a 24mm f2.8, a 35mm f2.8 and a 50mm f2. I expected the FDs to have different characteristics, but with interiors, they look similar. I’ll have to do a side by side outdoors.
Of course, I’d probably have a hard time deciding between the Canon’s and Nikon’s anyway, so I’ll end up just keeping both sets… They didn’t cost that much and I have found that having money invested in equipment forces me to do more work.
Anyway, thanks again for the review.
Is is possible to use the Canon FD 35-115 on a GH4 with an FD to EF adapter and then attached to a Speedbooster EF to MFT? Or will it just work with an FD to MFT adapter?
Hi,
Thank you for your helpful information and may I ask some questions.
I own these FD lenses: 14mm f2.8L, 20mm f2.8, 24mm f2, 28mm f2, 35mm f2, 50mm f1.2L, 85mm f1.2L, 135mm f2, 200mm f2, 300mm f2.8L.
I want to use them on a Sony video camera likes, Sony PXW-FS7 & Sony NEX-FS700. Both of them with the super 35mm size CMOS sensor.
I want to buy a FD-NEX adapter, do you recommend which is better, Metabones Speedbooster Ultra or the Zhongyi Turbo II for the video cameras?
Thank you.
On
Thanks for all the info you share with us, I bought a LT2 for my Sony A6000 following the results and advise from Vintage Lenses for Video, I would like to heard from you guys to solve my nubbies dubs, by some reason the adapter don’t allow me control the aperture from my canon fd 50mm 1.8… do I need another adapter to use my aperture ring? Sorry for my question but I need to make sure that I’m not missing something else… Also have a 35-70 canon and 28mm tokina fd with the same problem… Please help!
(“Canon FD lenses including 17mm, 20mm, 24mm, 28mm do not work with LT2 FR as the back element of the lens touches the front optical element of LT2 when focusing towards infinity”)
Since this is the case with these lenses, would it make sense to order an EF-NEX LT2 and then get a shallow FD-EF ring adapter to adapt the FD lenses to the LT2? That might give enough clearance to focus to infinity on those lenses, no?
But I think that EF to FD adapter will screw up infinity focus…
Does anybody know where in New York city I could buy some older FD lenses and do they sell the adaptors at B&H? I will be there next month and would like to pick up a good set of these lens to try out.
Anybody know of good stores that sell older FD lenses that are in better shape? I would rather hold them in my hand and test the focus ring to make sure it is smooth. I do not mind paying a little extra to buy them on the spot rather than through eBay where I cannot try them out. I would appreciate any advice. I will be in Manhattan.. Thanks!!
Hi, thanks for this amazing compilation!
Could you tell me – as fd lenses are for aps-c sensor sizes – used on a7sii camera would it show a vignette while 4k recording (because with 4k one can not crop to aps-c) ?
If so would a FR help to get the full frame sensor 100% covered with image?
Hi FD lenses are “full frame” lenses, so there is no vignetting in any mode, unless you add a focal reducer and still want to use the camera in full frame mode. 🙂
Hi, thank you for this awesome guide.
I just want to provide some info about the LT2, in case someone needs it.
I have a fd-mft LT2 and it works great with all my fd lenses without any problem.
I have 28mm f2.8 fdn, 50mm f1.4 fdn, 50mm f3.5 macro and 135mm f2.5 S.C.
Cheers
I’ve bought several FD lenses based on this guide for my A6300, and love them. My other/newer glass doesn’t come out much to play anymore. I also use the LT2 on all of them, unless I want to turn my 50mm F1.4 fdn into an 85mm because of the 1.5x crop factor on my A6300. It got me thinking about this guide and how many times I’ve gone back to re-read it. Because of the 0.726 reduction in focal length from the LT2, but the 1.5x jump up in focal length from my crop sensor, I had to keep doing the math to figure out where the focal length actually lands on my crop sensor/LT2 setup. So I made a little key that includes all the prime lengths listed in the guide, for the focal-reduced-crop-sensor folks out there (i.e. If you want a 30mm lens for your crop sensor and LT2, buy a 28mm) Here’s what I’ve come up with after the LT2 and then crop-sensored…
Lens focal length (x) Focal Reducer (=) Reduced length (x) Crop Sensor (=) Final length
17mm x 0.726 = 12.342, x 1.5 = 18.513mm
20mm x 0.726 = 14.52, x 1.5 = 21.78mm
24mm x 0.726 = 17.424, x 1.5 = 26.136mm
28mm x 0.726 = 20.328, x 1.5 = 30.492mm
35mm x 0.726 = 25.41, x 1.5 = 38.115mm
50mm x 0.726 = 36.3, x 1.5 = 54.45mm
85mm x 0.726 = 61.71, x 1.5 = 92.565mm
100mm x 0.726 = 72.6, x 1.5 = 108.9mm
135mm x 0.726 = 98.01, x 1.5 = 147.015mm
200mm x 0.726 = 145.2, x 1.5 = 217.8mm
[…] lenses check these posts out. If you’d like to build an affordable set of Canon FDs, check out this post. I’ve just finished cine-modding my Zeiss set, so a separate post dedicated to these lenses is […]
Thank you for this great post!
if I put an ed Mika mount on a 28mm 2.0 will that fit an EF to MFT focal reducer? I noticed you said the FD 28mm 2.0 would touch the glass as is
I have not tried such combo, so it’s hard to say, it also depends on the particular focal reducer.
[…] is its ability to match the rest of the Canon FD lenses, so if you are into Canon FD lenses or considering building a set, read […]
[…] Although I thought I recalled Besdin discussing them on the Indie Film Hustle podcast, his Canon FD Buyer’s Guide was really amazing and clued me in to a lot of little bits of information I didn’t realize. […]
The Canon FD lenses are now finding use on modern digital cameras, albeit with appropriate adapter. However, they are still usable for film cameras and can produce fantastic images for little outlay. When Canon introduced autofocus, they chopped the legs off the FD lens mount by introducing a new mount. Nikon of course, kept faith with the F mount, made since 1959. This is why Canon FD lenses are so inexpensive. I use my lenses (28/35/50/135/200mm) with an EF body (1973-77). I also prefer the breechlock lenses with the chrome mounting ring. My lenses all have 55mm filter threads.
Thanks for this great resource! It helped me decide to invest in some FD glass for my short film instead of renting expensive glass. Check out my short film which I shot on the Sony A7Rii + Canon FD.
My FD kit: 20mm, 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 70mm-210mm
I used old Canon FD lenses for all the interior shots and for the water scenes I used the 35mm Sony / Carl Zeiss lens since it was the only auto focus lens that would fit in the underwater housing we had. I constantly switched back and forth from fullframe / super 35 mode – which is what I love about the A7Rii.
The whole film was shot using only natural light. For the interior scenes I mostly exposed from the window since that was my source of light. Because I created the look mostly in camera, it made color grading pretty hard…I used a custom color profile – one which I’m not sure if I would use again because the a lot of footage came out very purple-y… maybe it’s from the old canon glass?
cool i love you vedio
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