The First 28mm Wide Angle Lens of Canon FD mount - Canon FD 28mm f/3.5

In nowadays that everyone are pursuing lens with large aperture,

a prime lens with f3.5 maximum f stop is not really something that worth a try.

However, back to the years of 60s~70s that the technology was not so perfect to manufacture large aperture lens, a 28mm wide angle lens with f3.5 was still an affordable option to taste the shocking power of this focal length.



My Canon FD 28mm f/3.5 came with my SLR - Canon FX.

I have wrote a review for it and you may read it here.

Canon FD 28mm f/3.5 - Silver Nose

In the history of FD lens, Canon had produced two models of 28mm f/3.5.

They are Canon FD 28mm f/3.5 which launched in 1971 and Canon FD 28mm f/3.5 S.C. which launched in 1973.

So what is the differences between these two lens?

You can see the difference on their nameplate. The newer version was marked as S.C. which stands for the Spectra Coating technology, while the older version was just a single coated lens.

Besides, you may also notice that the silver ring in front of the lens which grants the older version the name of Silver Nose.

Canon FD 28mm f/3.5 x Lomo Xpro Chrome 100

Today I'm gonna talk about this "Silver Nose".

It has 6 glass elements in 6 groups. Minimum aperture is f/16 and the shortest focus distance is 0.4m.

Like many other lens in the early age, it weighs 290g and makes you feel so sturdy when you grab it in your hand.

As mentioned before, it was only coated with a single layer coating. So you have to be more cautious when you shoot it in backlight situation.

Canon FD 28mm f/3.5 x Agfa Vista 100

  It has a common defect faced by most of the wide angle lens that will cause the image quality gradually drop down from the center to the fringe of image.

Some shooting limitation also come with the f/3.5 largest aperture and the 0.4m shortest focus distance.

Overall operating experience, it works a little bit slow, especially when I'm focusing and adjusting aperture。

Seems like this whole article is writing about its disadvantage. Is there anything that make it worth to be owned?

Canon FD 28mm f/3.5 x Lomo Xpro Chrome 100

 
The answer is YES!!  The unsatisfied largest aperture, shortest focus distance and single coating,

all of these disadvantages made it a very low price wide angle lens.

Think about it!! A 20bucks lens that can take picture in not bad image quality, isn't it worth for the price?

Of course, you have to tolerate or adapt those defects.

28mm is a meaningful focal length. It is a lot wider than 35mm, also won't cause significant image distortion 
like 24mm or below.

I quite recommend Canon FD 28mm f/3.5 for newbie photographers as they can have their first try of the shocking wide angle of 28mm in fair price.

Afterward, they may update to a better wide angle lens if they found that they have fall in love with the view of 28mm.

Canon FD 28mm f/3.5 x Agfa Vista 100